"Radioactive hybrid terror pigs..." LOL...can't wait for the boar war movie.

Posted by: Sarcophilus | Jul 4 2021 14:09 utc | 1

Today is formerly known as USA “Independence Day”.

It’s easy for many USAians to see and admit that D.C. controls nearby banana republics, depriving those people of liberty. But, how easily can USAians see they are in turn controlled as well?

The government in D.C. is completely unresponsive and unaccountable to its subjects, leading me to believe DC. is a puppet government.

Probably, we’ve been reintegrated into the English crown criminal empire. Maybe for a century.

Posted by: oglalla | Jul 4 2021 14:15 utc | 2

Before the pandemic was a pandemic, already 4.75 million Americans had been exposed to the novel coronavirus.

https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/72/12/e1004/6012472

Serologic Testing of US Blood Donations to Identify Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)–Reactive Antibodies: December 2019–January 2020

Clinical Infectious Diseases, Volume 72, Issue 12, 15 June 2021, Pages e1004–e1009,
https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa1785
Published: 30 November 2020

Abstract
Background

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, with subsequent worldwide spread. The first US cases were identified in January 2020.
Methods

To determine if SARS-CoV-2–reactive antibodies were present in sera prior to the first identified case in the United States on 19 January 2020, residual archived samples from 7389 routine blood donations collected by the American Red Cross from 13 December 2019 to 17 January 2020 from donors resident in 9 states (California, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin) were tested at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for anti–SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Specimens reactive by pan-immunoglobulin (pan-Ig) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) against the full spike protein were tested by IgG and IgM ELISAs, microneutralization test, Ortho total Ig S1 ELISA, and receptor-binding domain/ACE2 blocking activity assay.
Results

Of the 7389 samples, 106 were reactive by pan-Ig. Of these 106 specimens, 90 were available for further testing. Eighty-four of 90 had neutralizing activity, 1 had S1 binding activity, and 1 had receptor-binding domain/ACE2 blocking activity >50%, suggesting the presence of anti–SARS-CoV-2–reactive antibodies. Donations with reactivity occurred in all 9 states.
Conclusions

These findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may have been introduced into the United States prior to 19 January 2020.

My calculation is based on the statistical extrapolation of 106 out of 7389 samples over 331 million people in the USA. That gives 4.75 million cases of sars-cov-2 infection having gone "silent" in the USA prior to the report of the outbreak in China.

The unwillingness and secrecy of the USA government in the initial phase of the official arrival of corona in the USA, the strange and unexplained outbreak of the still mysterious EVALI disease in the summer of 2019 (that in hindsight shared oddly many symptoms with COVID), the bad flu season that suddenly disappeared when corona appeared in the USA: it all points to Fort Detrick.

Posted by: Lurk | Jul 4 2021 14:52 utc | 3

I admit to some amusement over the suspension of the female American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson by WADA. Imagine if she were Russian. WADA has waged a political war against Russian Olympians ruling against the entire national team most of whom never used performance enhancing drugs according to independent testing. And now the expected cries of racism against a blood test for a banned drug. Sort of ironic I suppose, but watched a clips of several African American sports pundits and they all agreed that rules are rules and must be followed. It has been mostly white pundits who have virtue signaled that her suspension must be lifted due to racism.

Posted by: Erelis | Jul 4 2021 14:53 utc | 4

Re: ransomware and cryptocurrencies
It is nonsense that a ban on cryptocurrencies would stop ransomware.
Yes, crypto makes it easier. But people are still running counterfeit check scams using networks of mules (money laundering).
The reality is that ransomware exists because of the ubiquity of IT in everyday operations, and the lack of security that accompanies it. The costs of business continuity interruption (BCI) are so high that the value of a ransomware attack is high, and it in turn will ensure that the attacks continue even if some magic wand could be waved to terminate all cryptocurrencies.

The real fix would be to put a counterparty incentive: insurance companies paying large bounties for whomever to assist LE in taking the flagship and 2nd tier ransomware gangs down.

The cybersecurity industry isn't it: they make more money with ransomware attacks.

Nor are governments and government agencies any better - their own performance shows cybersecurity is a problem already, and their ability to push private parties to exercise more cybersecurity is nonexistent. Law enforcement groups are simply overwhelmed by the enormous scale of cyber crime: the jurisdictional aspects are only an excuse.

Posted by: c1ue | Jul 4 2021 15:22 utc | 5

by: oglalla @ 2 Probably, we’ve been reintegrated into the English crown criminal empire. Maybe for a century. <==

In the old days, it was necessary for a county to invade, occupy and colonize a place in order for its upper classes to profit from a foreign colony..

To make profits, the colony profiteers often took slaves from one part of the world to the foreign place where the colony existed, and used the low cost slave labor to produce products that provided profit to the owners of the mother-country land-grant (owner of the plantations).

Thus the plantation provided not only the land grant owner a profit, but also the foreign king or queen (royalties) who gave the land upon which the plantation was built to the plantation owner, and also the ship owners that transported the slaves to the colonies and that transported the slave produced product back to the mother country(owner of the colony); where the products could be again divided and shipped to far away places in the world..(see History of the West Indies company). The king got a share of the British Merchant profits and British ship owner profits for example. Profits were mostly transported by ship (the British Navy was kept a most powerful Navy to support its ship owners piracies).

I believe the re-integration you talk about happened the same day the constitution wiped out the Articles of Confederation (July 7, 1776 to June 21, 1788). Have a look at Article VI, of the Constitution of the USA.
It reads [1] All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution as under the Confederation.

what do you think Article VI of the Constitution meant ? my take follows:

The post revolutionary Aristocrats who wrote the constitution were threatened with loss of land ownership (land grants), made by foreign kings and kings. The Articles of Confederation (AoC 1776-1778) government (defeated the British, the US constitutional government did not come into existence until 1788 and it did not defeat the British. The First President of the AoC USA both governments had the same name) was John Hanson, not George Washington.)

The instigators of the Constitution made sure the Articles government could not take from them, the massive estates foreign governments had given by land grant to the Aristocrats before the American Revolution (1776) took place.
The aristocratic owners in the colonies privately-owned all of the land in America one way or another until the day the British were defeated, and they wanted to keep it that way.

What happened was the British Aristocrats (land grant owners) refused to pay taxes to their respective states for fear the states would continue to fund the Articles of Confederation (AoC) Government. Problematic because The AoC government intended to convert all land in America, that traced its title to a foreign government, into public land, and to divide the public land into shares to be given to those soldiers who helped the AoC defeat the British Empire.

Once the constitution was in place, the vast lands in America, Aristocrats claimed to be the owners of (titles traced back to royal grants from foreign governments) were no longer in jeopardy of seizure by the AoC government, so the ex British Aristocrats managed to pay their taxes to the constitutional USA instead of the AoC USA.

What was at issue was the AoC government planned to deny land owner claims to any land title obtained from any foreign source. If the source of a land title reached outside of America, the pre revolutionary owner no longer would be the owner of that land in post revolutionary America.

In other words, on the day of the American Revolution all land with a title that tranced to a foreign government belonged to the Revolutionary [AoC] Government and the AoC was making plans to distribute ownership of all of that foreign land grant land, in fixed size parcels, to those who helped fight the revolutionary war.

War veterans would be given the land in America that Aristocrats before the War, thought they privately owned in the independent USA (AoC).

Posted by: snake | Jul 4 2021 15:58 utc | 6

Tigray news
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/bridge-tekeze-river-ethiopias-tigray-destroyed-aid-group-2021-07-01/
https://borkena.com/2021/07/01/tekeze-river-bridge-linking-tigray-amhara-destroyed-report/
https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/rest-of-africa/aid-delivery-in-tigray-at-stake-after-tekeze-river-bridge-is-destroyed-3458154
https://www.trtworld.com/magazine/uae-dismantles-africa-base-to-avoid-us-wrath-but-policy-change-unlikely-44329
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/03/world/africa/tigray-leader-interview-ethiopia.html

Ethiopia is friend to USA, UAE, Isr and China. It helps.

Posted by: Mina | Jul 4 2021 16:07 utc | 7

I will add more to what I state above:
Very few companies, or people, practice any form of business continuity planning (BCP).
BCP matters as the auto industry is finding out with the semiconductor shortages: US automakers are getting crushed by Toyota because they can't make enough cars. Toyota likely is in better shape only because they had a potentially enormously damaging incident in 1997
Toyota escaped without major damage only due to the entire Japanese auto industry (and related companies) jumping in to help.
It seems highly unlikely that they didn't learn some lessons from this.

IT is a prime culprit in failed BCP. Because of its "always on" nature, even the companies that have pro-forma BCP plans have mostly never tested them.

Without testing, it is impossible to know if the plan actually is valid for the present state of IT - and even if it is valid - whether it works. The nature of IT itself doesn't help: the constant software updating, the stealth use of it both personal and professional, the ever changing nature of it.

I have been predicting the ongoing rise of ransomware since 2016 - and I have yet to have the tiniest bit of concern that my predictions were too aggressive.

These predictions included that the size of ransoms would keep increasing because attackers didn't have any idea how much value they were impeding; the early Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital billed over $1B a year vs. the $16K paid to its ransomware attacker. The recent pipeline attack netted $5M and the amount reclaimed by the FBI was almost certainly just the share of the "insertion" team; Ransomware As A Service (RaaS) outsources the intrusion and proliferation to outsiders, after which the payment, customer service and decode support is handled by the RaaS gang itself.

I will predict more: the reality is that the ransomware attackers are only in the 1.5 stage out of 10 or more.
It is still largely green fields for attackers and will continue to be so long as companies don't directly address the BCP/BCI planning as opposed to try and prevent the problem with tools and tech of unknown value and high cost.

I predicted in 2018 that attackers would start doing direct intrusions rather than the then typical spam email - that has happened.

The next steps are beginning: the bribing or compromise of internal staff at a target. Also infiltration.

As the attackers grow ever wealthier and more sophisticated, they will start taking pages from the drug lord playbooks: putting their money to work influencing laws and processes behind the scenes - not only in their own countries but in the US. Mule networks can also serve as excellent political donation masks.

People keep thinking cyber attackers are kids sitting in a basement - while this is sometimes literally true - the correct dynamic is the English economy in the era of Sir Francis Drake and Queen Elizabeth I: an entire nation and economy focused on piracy. Networks of suppliers both to provide the ships/men/guns/supplies for pirates and other suppliers to handle the stolen merchandise, to launder the profits, to facilitate information on targets, to provide political cover, etc etc.

Posted by: c1ue | Jul 4 2021 16:09 utc | 8

Posted by: c1ue | Jul 4 2021 16:09 utc | 8

Yeah, I have to agree. The basic problem here is that we have moved everything onto IT, and then put it all on the internet, and then expected it to be safe there. And with all those people out of work now. "Security through obscurity". This was always a dumb idea.

Posted by: Bemildred | Jul 4 2021 16:19 utc | 9

Ukraine slowly but surely capitulating:

China, Ukraine sign deal to strengthen infrastructure cooperation

--//--

Pandemic Wave of Automation May Be Bad News for Workers

But wait: wasn't this recent rise in wages in real terms being propagandized as a new boom for the working class in the USA by the MSM until some days ago?

--//--

In order to fight communism, Poland will revive a communist project:

The dirtiest in Europe. Why Poland is completing the Soviet project

Ignoring calls from Brussels to switch to green energy, Warsaw continues to burn coal and wants to abandon Russian gas in favor of liquefied American gas, although LNG is an expensive resource and it is not easy to supply it across the ocean. A way out was found in the construction of a nuclear power plant, the project of which was prepared by the Polish communists.

Should've finished the project decades ago. They didn't because they're not interested in the welfare of their own people, but in the profits of their elite.

Capitalism in Eastern Europe is a failed project. The only reason it is not perceived as so is because of the phenomenon of mass immigration to Western Europe - that was also what saved German reunification of 1989, because installment of capitalism in the DDR was also a monumental failure.

--//--

Over 800 kg of chlorine leak in Russia’s Izhevsk, evacuation not required

About 800 kilograms of chlorine leaked from a container at a water treatment facility in Izhevsk, a city with a population of more than 600,000 people west of the Ural Mountains.

The OPCW will claim it was chemical weapons, though.

--//--

Make Americans’ Crushing Debt Disappear

The most interesting part of this article is not the article itself, but the top-rated comments. They reflect how much the American people have fetichized money and debt as if it was a window to the human soul.

Either way, the problem of student debt is unsolvable. The explanation is very long and tedious, but it is scientifically conclusive: there's no way the USA can forgive debt on a socially significant scale, ever. The key here is that the USA is an extremely advanced capitalist economy, therefore everything already is carefully calibrated in monetary terms (even social relations). If you simply "forgive" one category of debt (doesn't need to be student debt), the whole house of cards fall, like 2008.

Here the Marxist concept of History is very well illustrated: once a development path is chosen, it cannot be taken back; it will continue developing on the same path until every possibility contained within it is depleted. Then it collapses (it doesn't go back in time: entropy is still valid in the social world) in order to give birth to a brand new, superior mode of production (which may or may not happen elsewhere in the world). Put it simply, the USA has gone down the capitalist rabbit hole to the point where it cannot follow another path that is not capitalism or collapse.

Posted by: vk | Jul 4 2021 16:22 utc | 10

Isn't it possible these cyber-attacks are merely pretext to exert absolute control over populations? "They" are always trying to 'keep us safe' aren't they? And so many threats to keep us safe from - germs, populists, UAPs, cyber-pirates, 'extremists'. Just as cyber-war-games are reaching the apex of gaming Cybergeddon, a cyber war starts? Please. This seems more like CIA/WEF agenda than corporate blackmail schemes.

Posted by: gottlieb | Jul 4 2021 16:41 utc | 11

Спасибо Б!

The last link about the radioactive boars in Japan sounds like it would be a great plot for an animated horror film by Hayao Miyazaki. Spirited Away to the forests of Fukashima. Happy Fourth of July!

Posted by: lex talionis | Jul 4 2021 16:57 utc | 12

Pro-democracy demonstrations in Palestine

Not MSM newsworthy, because it is not in Hong Kong, Venezuela, Belarus or other regime change targets.

Posted by: Keith McClary | Jul 4 2021 17:07 utc | 13

Is your nation sovereign (independent) or a suzerainty (controlled)? Who wants to make us all, whether we be nations or individuals, ENSLAVED? Name a democracy that isn’t a suzerainty.

Today slavery is less about people owning other people, instead, it is about exploiting and controlling them. The Financial Empire wants to build a global empire by capturing various regions, privatizing their assets and controlling them using financial mechanisms. Its CONTROL elements are:

— MEDIA -> Mind. Control individual’s & society’s information and RICHNESS of thinking. The media enables matrix & servitude.

— MARKETS -> Money. Control individual's REACH of influence & impact by controlling their money supply and its value. Majority (90+%) of money is created by private banks controlled by the Global Financial Syndicate. This enables it to consolidate assets with its kleptocrats and power with its elites (financial, political, bureaucrats, business,...).

— MIS (Military Intelligence Service) -> Might. If the individual/society/elites wants to be independent and have marshaled enough resources to build a good RESISTANCE then they’re constrained or eliminated by intelligence agencies, coup masters or use of force.

However, the foundation of this Financial Empire is based on lies, myths, deceits, frauds, ... What is its Achilles’ Heel?

“It is not possible to found a lasting power upon injustice, perjury, and treachery. These may, perhaps, succeed at first, and limp along on hope for awhile with a flourishing appearance. But time betrays their weakness, and they eventually fall into ruin of their own designs."
– Demosthenes

Posted by: Max | Jul 4 2021 17:12 utc | 14

@Keith McClary | Jul 4 2021 17:07 utc | 13

Not MSM newsworthy because it was not instigated and backed by the regime changers.

There, fixed it for you. :)

On the failed HK regime change:

The untold story of Apple Daily: deception, misogyny and quiet Americans

A few days ago a fanatic walked up to a random policeman from behind at one of the busiest street corner in HK, stabbed him (the policeman is now serious but stable) then he also stabbed himself in the heart afterwards and died (good riddence). Though for the days since there were people arriving placing flowers for the attempted murder/suicider. This is the kind of brain damaged folks regime changers leaves behind.

Video of the unprovoked stabbing is available from all the usual outlets...

Posted by: A.L. | Jul 4 2021 17:25 utc | 15

Cont 15.

But you won't hear about it in the MSM because it will not put the retarded useful idiots and their backers in a good light....

Posted by: A.L. | Jul 4 2021 17:29 utc | 16

oglalla @Jul4 14:15 #2

Probably, we’ve been reintegrated into the English crown criminal empire. Maybe for a century.

We've been integrated into a neoliberal system that keeps >$50 trillion dollars off-shore. Sources of that money: tax avoidance schemes, criminal enterprises, etc.

!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jul 4 2021 17:41 utc | 17

thanks b.... here is a new documentary on julian assange Julian Assange and WikiLeaks — story of a whistleblower | DW Documentary 42 minute video..

Posted by: james | Jul 4 2021 17:42 utc | 18

“Indeed, surveys of the local boar population suggest they are contaminated by up to 300 times the safe human dosage of lethal isotope caesium-137.” With no mutations. I had no idea this was possible. Is b subtly trying to promote gene editing? Did Bayer get to him?? (Just kidding.)

To fuel the flames of Canadian paranoia, I see that according to TASS, the Kremlin believes the UK’s senior partners in the US were responsible for the HMS Defender provocation. Those British, they can even win over the Kremlin. Let’s see what the King of Sweden has to say about this budding friendship. That worked in previous centuries sort of.

And I regret to say that I am getting a first dose of COVID vaccine this week. While not mandatory in Canada, if I want to do anything other than sit alone in my apartment, I need to be vaccinated. I keep waiting for an eleventh hour reversal and it’s not coming.

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Jul 4 2021 18:19 utc | 19

Here's another wretched example of the MSM (in this case Associated Press) spinning a story so as to deliberately deceive its readers:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/human-chain-northern-syria-keep-162025561.html?guccounter=1

And this example is but one of many stories on the same topic over the past two weeks, all with the same spin. The common features are the careful euphemisms used to describe the residents of Idlib, but most glaring the omission of the harsh US sanctions which deny aid and assistance to the majority of Syria's citizens.

In Peru, it seems the right wing, along with American advisors, has determined that the election can be voided "legally" if if the certification can be delayed until the end of the month. South America has rapidly become a focus of geo-political intrigue over influence (USA vs China), with the biggest battle ahead in Brazil with election scheduled for next year.

Posted by: jayc | Jul 4 2021 18:31 utc | 20

And I regret to say that I am getting a first dose of COVID vaccine this week. While not mandatory in Canada, if I want to do anything other than sit alone in my apartment, I need to be vaccinated. I keep waiting for an eleventh hour reversal and it’s not coming.

While not mandatory in South Africa yet, the company I work for has made it subtly clear that if you do not vaccinate you will need to find other employment.

Posted by: Down South | Jul 4 2021 18:42 utc | 21

i really recommend the article b recommended.. it's inspirational.. we need more of that! thanks b!

How Ren Zhengfei grew up, in the Huawei founder's own writing

Posted by: james | Jul 4 2021 19:08 utc | 22

Lurk @3:

"My calculation is based on the statistical extrapolation of 106 out of 7389 samples over 331 million people in the USA."

You can't make that extrapolation, the sample size is too small, and the total population too heterogenic. The cases might reflect an out break in just one state, or even one area. And we don’t know the characteristics of the virus strain found – for all we know what happened in Wuhan could very well be that the virus mutated in a way that made it more contagious. Among other things; after all it's just a hundred positives.

But the article clearly shows that there are still questions to be answered about where the virus came from – if I’m not mistaken there has been pre jan 2020 cases found in Italy as well.

Posted by: Jörgen Hassler | Jul 4 2021 19:11 utc | 23

snake @ 6

I am curious about how Crown Lands work in the British Empire. Does that old lady really own that much land administered by the Crowns governments?

The land of Canada is solely owned by Queen Elizabeth II who is also the head of state. Only 9.7% of the total land is privately owned while the rest is Crown Land. The land is administered on behalf of the Crown by various agencies or departments of the government of Canada. The Canadian Act has no provision for any Canadian to own physical land in Canada. Canadians can only own an interest in an estate. Of the land owned by the Queen, 50% is administered by the provincial governments and the rest by the federal government. The Crown Land administered by the federal and provincial governments can be defined as land not assigned in freehold tenure. The land in Canada is mainly used as national parks, forests, private homes, and agriculture.

No wonder they wanted to kick the Crown out. The Bill of Rights was an excellent piece of work almost not included in the founding. Purely it was a stab at the Crown's inherited power.

Posted by: circumspect | Jul 4 2021 19:21 utc | 24

This guy.
So the logic of solving ransomware attacks by banning cryptocurrencies...
Is a bit like banning freedom to solve a flu like respiratory disease...
Or like banning guns will stop gun crime.
You're over the hill mate. Lost your edge. How did the FBI 'recover' the Bitcoin from the pipeline 'attack'? Just opened the wallet? We're all getting played and you believe it's real.

Posted by: Jezabeel | Jul 4 2021 19:27 utc | 25

@gottlieb | Jul 4 2021 16:41 utc | 11

Isn't it possible these cyber-attacks are merely pretext to exert absolute control over populations?

In any case they're a bland attempt to reinforce the narrative that evil Russia and Iran are behind all hack attacks.

Considering that "Iran" is getting blamed makes me suspect that Israel is involved.

Posted by: Lurk | Jul 4 2021 19:46 utc | 26

@ snake

Very interesting!

...

Regarding those irradiated pigs: If there’s to be a revival in “traditional” nukular power in Oceania, its subjects will need to hear stories about mammals that are healthy despite high radiation.

I would look into survivorship bias and data fudging.

Posted by: oglalla | Jul 4 2021 19:50 utc | 27

Posted by: Jezabeel | Jul 4 2021 19:27 utc | 24

With you and others on the banning of cryptocurrencies. That's flat out ridiculous. Banning them will 1) make them more attractive and 2) involve the creation of a cyber police state the likes of which has never been seen and only imagined in science fiction novels.

That said, banning guns seemed to work quite well for Australia. I bet if you totaled up the gun related deaths in every other English speaking country in the world (Canada, England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, etc.) the population actually starts to approximate the USA population, but more importantly the gun related deaths per capita are no comparison at all.

Of course with the NRA and Federalist Society having basically cemented their interpretation of the 2nd Amendment into the public consciousness (I like to say psychosis) despite various other - equally if not more plausible - interpretations, guns will ***never*** be banned or confiscated and they will continue their path from legal and unregistered sales (such as gun shows) into the hands of cartels in Mexico and gang members in Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, and elsewhere while the weapons and ammo manufacturers laugh their way to the bank. Pardon the rant, but I can think of one legitimate "good guy with a gun stops bad guy with a gun" story here in the US within the past 20 years. Otherwise the country is ***saturated*** with them and the guns in the hands of "bad guys" are ALWAYS initially sold to a "good guy." Something has to change, if not more than just restricting the types and/or numbers of weapons and ammo that Americans are allowed to buy and stockpile like psychotic delusional fools who think that their cache could hold off for more than a day or two the most dangerous enemy to their freedom and possessions - the US government and "law enforcement" agencies with military grade weaponry and surveillance capabilities.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jul 4 2021 19:53 utc | 28

23

You did not read the article.You did not read Lurk’s comment.

Posted by: Oldhippie | Jul 4 2021 20:01 utc | 29

Posted by: c1ue | Jul 4 2021 15:22 utc | 5 & 8

c1ue,

Very valid and well thought out counterpoints regarding ransomware attacks and the motivations, defense and contingency planning that is all over the map with regard to targets.

I would like to add to, perhaps simplify, your point and raise another potential issue. This comes down to laziness and being cheapskates on the part of typical American late stage capitalist companies (including hospitals). In many cases there are patches for the vulnerabilities that the ransomware attackers are exploiting. It's just that the IT departments, by way of the CFO and CTO above them have not yet forked out the cash or invested the time to implement them yet (when they aren't actually FREE courtesy of Microsoft and other firms). They are often understaffed in the operational layers and overstaffed (or at least over-compensated at the expense of lower layers) at the upper managerial level. Whoops!!! Forgot to apply that patch, now let's pay up the ransom!

But also, aren't some of these ransomware attacks based off of leaked NSA hacking tools that came out a few years ago? So the NSA has been busy coming up with ways to hack into every known computing/networking system in the world (as of the time of the last leak - another reason that it's older, out of date systems that are mostly affected) and then they made their way into the wild, kind of like what some people think happened with COVID-19 from the lab in Wuhan (or from America via Fort Detrick). I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but when you have an agency like the NSA coming up with exploits for every possible computing/networking system/software and not sharing it with the developers, even secretly, it's a recipe for disaster far greater than the ability of hackers to take payments in cryptocurrencies (which apparently posed no issue whatsoever to the FBI in retrieving the majority of the pipeline ransom payment). Banning cryptocurrencies for this reason would be foolish and ultra-authoritarian methods would set new precedents for cracking down on 'online' freedoms.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jul 4 2021 20:03 utc | 30

I wanted to check my memory and indeed, many of these ransomware attacks are being perpetrated using leaked NSA tools or variations thereof.

2017: https://www.engadget.com/2019-05-25-ransomware-attacks-use-stolen-nsa-tool.html

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170512/16332437353/leaked-nsa-hacking-tool-global-ransomware-rampage.shtml

2019: https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/333169-international-ransomware-flurry-shutters-hospitals-hobbles-telecom

And (partly) to c1ue's points: https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2020/10/07/mistakes-ransomware-security-planning/

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jul 4 2021 20:09 utc | 31

@Jörgen Hassler | Jul 4 2021 19:11 utc | 23

You can't make that extrapolation,

Well yes I can and I did. I was completely open about it being a statistical extrapolation. It is IMHO a relevant estimate, because even if the extrapolation is off by an order of magnitude, it would still imply almost half a million cases - or almost 50 million, if the error was to the other side.

In both cases, it paints the origins of the pandemic in a dramatically different light.

Hell, even if my estimate was off by two orders of magnitude - 50,000 cases - that would still be a huge number of cases and make an entirely new investigation of the WHO on USA territory an evident priority - if these organiztions were independent, objective and free from political pressure.

the sample size is too small, and the total population too heterogenic. The cases might reflect an out break in just one state, or even one area.

While 7389 samples is not a huge sample size, it is not ridiculously small either. The samples were from 9 states, clearly not from a single cluster. Read the article, mkay? If the statistical foundations were really that bad, it would not have been published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

And we don’t know the characteristics of the virus strain found – for all we know what happened in Wuhan could very well be that the virus mutated in a way that made it more contagious.

Oh come on, you're really pushing things here. None of the strains identified thus far differ by an order of magnitude in infectiousness or transmissibility. The assumptions that you are trying to introduce are far more shaky than any of my statistical broadstrokes.

Posted by: Lurk | Jul 4 2021 20:20 utc | 32

https://www.dw.com/en/cubas-covid-vaccine-rivals-biontech-pfizer-moderna/a-58052365

Cuban vaccine has 90%+ efficacy.

Posted by: Prof | Jul 4 2021 20:24 utc | 33

Interesting. Swiss team retracted a paper on the little benefit of massive vaccination
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/9/7/729/htm
It included this kind of statement "Thus, we need to accept that around 16 cases will develop severe adverse reactions from COVID-19 vaccines per 100,000 vaccinations delivered, and approximately four people will die from the consequences of being vaccinated per 100,000 vaccinations delivered....Adopting the point estimate of NNTV = 16,000 (95% CI, 9000–50,000) to prevent one COVID-19-related death, for every six (95% CI, 2–11) deaths prevented by vaccinationwe may incur four deaths as a consequence of or associated with the vaccination. Simply
put: As we prevent three deaths by vaccinating, we incur two deaths."

Another case of Swiss-paid research (as in the time of Tobacco is good?) or do they have a point? After all, even Cuba, Russia and Iran see the need for vaccinating their populations.

Posted by: Mina | Jul 4 2021 20:34 utc | 34

This piece from Lurk's link

" Of these 106 specimens, 90 were available for further testing. Eighty-four of 90 had neutralizing activity, 1 had S1 binding activity, and 1 had receptor-binding domain/ACE2 blocking activity >50%, suggesting the presence of anti–SARS-CoV-2–reactive antibodies."

As with all diseases, some people will have a natural immunity to SARA-Cov_2 virus. How can natural or innate immunity be differentiated from acquired immunity?

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 4 2021 20:35 utc | 35

Most who follow Pepe Escobar know he's an Arts Aficionado, and in that vein he's penned a very different essay in tribute to the 50th Anniversary of Jim Morrison's death that's current available at The Saker's and here at Unz's. While it helps to have read some of Pepe's previous muses on the Arts, most will be able to navigate his prose. Now to see if this will post.

Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 4 2021 20:35 utc | 36

@Jörgen Hassler | Jul 4 2021 19:11 utc | 23

And then there are other interesting factiods, apart from the mysterious EVALI that I have already mentioned before.

What about the biggest German corona cluster in the town of Gangelt? Look it up on the map, it is right next to NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, the major European AWACS base and Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum, a huge underground NATO command and control base.

In the Netherlands, the big early cluster was in an otherwise agricultural backwater area that just happens to be the location of Volkel Air Base, the Dutch site where the USA stores nuclear weapons (in the latter half of 2019, they had been very busy modernizing said nukes, causing a lot of extra traffic to and from the USA).

Contributors to this site from Spain and possibly Italy (from memory - reports were made early 2020) made similar observations about the geographical peculiarities of early corona clusters in their localities.

What about the 2019 Wuhan Military World Games and the noteworthy competitive results (or should I say absense thereof) of the USA athletes, who were too sick to perform and were medevac'ed back to the USA? The Wuhan International Hotel that the USA team stayed in was closer to the infamous wet market than any Biolabs. The Chinese authorities were quick to point out the hotel as a much more prominent source of infections than the market, but western media never picked up on those pesky details.

Posted by: Lurk | Jul 4 2021 20:40 utc | 37

Mina 33

One of the figures that is coming out is that serious illness is greatly reduced after vaccination.

What will not be showing on the official downside of vaccination re new tech mRNA is both long term side effects and also the things that doctors write of as chronic fatigue syndrome, it all in your mid ect ect but totally fuck peoples lives.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 4 2021 20:43 utc | 38

@Peter AU1 | Jul 4 2021 20:35 utc | 34

As I understand it, the 84 out of 90 explicitly showed acquired immunity, in the form of antibodies specifically to the new coronavirus, not some older type coronavirus. The researchers were careful to differentiate between antibodies against the new virus and older, known coronaviruses.

The article, https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/72/12/e1004/6012472 has all the details.

Posted by: Lurk | Jul 4 2021 20:46 utc | 39

Mina | Jul 4 2021 20:34 utc | 33

'After all, even Cuba, Russia and Iran see the need for vaccinating their populations.'

Maybe that's because, at least in the case of Russia, they are using vaccines that are based on proven technology, and haven't shown significant side effects, as opposed to the experimental gene therapies that are being thrust upon the so-called 'Western Democracies'.

Posted by: dh-mtl | Jul 4 2021 20:50 utc | 40

everything new is experimental in the beginning... the problem as i see it, it these vaccines weren't advertised as such... either one believes in the need for experimentation, or not.. or perhaps people just feel wronged over the fact they mrna vaccines haven't been promoted as experimental... that is indeed what they are..

Posted by: james | Jul 4 2021 20:56 utc | 41

Read this on the semiconductor "iron curtain" the US is erecting against China:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/04/technology/tech-cold-war-chips.html

The analysis is typically poor.

But it shows the fundamental contradictions of global capitalism: on the one hand, the internationalization of division of labor as an aspect of technological advancement; on the other hand, divisions and rivalries between states and the monopolistic ambitions of technological leaders, which act against cooperation, mutual gain and ultimately human and social development for all.

This is why capitalism has to be overthrown and eradicated. It is anti-development for the poor. And its fundamental dynamics of geopolitical division pave the way for world war.

Posted by: Prof | Jul 4 2021 21:00 utc | 42

I agree, dh, considering the billions of profit made by Pfizer, and the complete politicization of the authorizations, there is no reason to be optimistic about the West's intentions.
https://qz.com/1999082/jj-sold-100-million-worth-of-covid-19-vaccine-shots/
Depopulation and elimination of dozens of thousands of +80 years old has been and still is on the agenda. Many ppl, even in the West, have had their eyes opened by the covid deathporn. Watching crowds in football stadiums these latest days and reading about athletes obliged to get vaxxxed to go to the Olympics in Japan further adds to the dismay. Live experiment for all or house arrest for the rest of life.

Posted by: Mina | Jul 4 2021 21:06 utc | 43

@ Mina, dh-mtl and james about the mRNA vaccines

The axiom of always taking advantage of a crisis, even if you have to sell the crisis, is at play here. The facts we are seeing come out support this perspective.

Think about how much money Big Pharma saved by foisting their mRNA research costs off on the brainwashed public. And if it doesn't work out they have immunity from prosecution....its all legal as Obama has said about the financial rape by the global private finance cult.....if it does work out then they have a big new income stream instead of using out-of-patent therapies.....win-win for the wrong side.

The shit show continues until it doesn't....who is "winning" this week?

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 4 2021 21:09 utc | 44

@39 dh-mtl - "at least in the case of Russia, they are using vaccines that are based on proven technology, and haven't shown significant side effects"

Same in Cuba - as we could expect from that medically advanced nation. And Iran has been working on its own vaccine, as well as producing the Russian Sputnik-V domestically, and it has also started clinical trials with Cuba's vaccine, the Soberana-02.

Your point remains very strong, and it's worth repeating: no one is saying that vaccines are not the answer to the virus; they're saying that the western experimental gene therapies being pushed as vaccines are killing perhaps as many as two-thirds of the number of people they're saving - as Mina quotes @33:

"As we prevent three deaths by vaccinating, we incur two deaths."

And of course, all of this fallout is just with relatively immediate results. No one yet knows what longer term harms will come from these gene therapies - although Dr. Robert Malone, the inventor of mRNA therapy, has already suggested on the Dark Horse podcast many dangers that he sees.

Posted by: Grieved | Jul 4 2021 21:18 utc | 45

One more post about the new coronavirus, the associated COVID-19 and the "dreaded" vaccines. Caveat emptor, I am not a medically trained person, just a curious information hoarder.

While sars-cov-2 primarily targets epithelial cells, the damaging COVID-19 syndrome appears to be largely related to mast cells. Mast cells are part of the innate immune system and are the oldest form af immune system. The mast cells are also involved in tissue growth and regeneration.

I read an interesting article that made a link between secondary dengue syndrome and covid, suggesting that both are forms of slow-motion anaphylaxis. Classical anaphylaxis reactions(as eg. peanut allergy) are mediated by mast cells.

It seems that both "long covid" and similar symptoms that arise as complications from vaccinations are related to an overactivated mast cell system. Check out "mast cell activation syndrome" for more info. Ivermectin, quercetin and other "maverick" medications that appear to hold no antiviral efficacy could simply be what quiets the mast cells and dampens the inflammatory chain reaction.

On another note, there are the reported blood clotting incidents with the Astra Zeneca vaccine. There is an ongoing discussion that these are caused by improper application of the vaccine. It has to be injected intramuscularly, and not intravenously. In the former case, the innate immune system (mast cells) triggers and the reaction is primarily contained locally in the muscle tissue. From there the larger immune system is informed about the invader. In case of accidental intravenous application, the vaccine attaches to blood platelets. This in turn triggers a reaction in the spleen, causing the adaptive immune system to attack the platelets and white blood cells in an autoimmune type reaction.

So, for the mRNA vaccines (and also COVID itself), it could be important to have a stabilized mast cell system.

For the Astra Zeneca and (J&J?) vaccine, asking the person applying the vaccine to draw blood before injecting (in order to test for accidental venous injection) is important.

Well, at least that's what I understand from what I've picked up lately. Do your own research and correct me on anything above that I wrote in well-meant ignorance.

Posted by: Lurk | Jul 4 2021 21:18 utc | 46

I see Dr. Michael Hudson's website's now blocked. I get this when I try to access:

Fatal error: Declaration of WordPressPopularPosts\Block\Widget\Widget::render($attributes) must be compatible with WordPressPopularPosts\Block\Block::render(array $attribute) in /home/customer/www/michael-hudson.com/public_html/wp-content/plugins/wordpress-popular-posts/src/Block/Widget/Widget.php on line 9

Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 4 2021 21:47 utc | 47

@karlof1 | Jul 4 2021 21:47 utc | 46

It looks suspiciously like a WordPress (website content management software) upgrade gone sour.

Should be available in a little while. Have you ever tried archive.org? That also works wonders in cases of intermittant web breakage.

Posted by: Lurk | Jul 4 2021 21:55 utc | 48

This article is a US hit piece on China but it also shows the military games may have been the world superspreader event.
At the outbreak of covid, US military refused to have their athletes tested, but the article looks at many other teams that become ill around the time they were returning from the games. Absolutely nothing on the US team other than they only came in 35th place, deligation included seven "senior leaders" and two dept of state people
https://prospect.org/coronavirus/did-the-military-world-games-spread-covid-19/

Lurk, quite interesting post @45 On the allergies, symptoms range from mild to severe. Hives are mild, choking to death severe.
anaphylaxis I refers to those that are severe as in face or throat swelling resulting in death.
Long covid, and other virus that can take a long tome to recover from I believe trigger inflammation of the myelin sheath that insulates the nerves.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 4 2021 22:09 utc | 49

Hard to know if related, but the coming weeks will be revealing as lots of ppl in uk and france are getting their 2nd jabs
Https://cceverybody.com/black-notebook-windsurfer-lise-vidal-is-dead/

Posted by: Mina | Jul 4 2021 22:31 utc | 50

@lurk 45,
great to see that mast cells get more "publicity" - they are still on a search of their role! I have been interested in the mast cells for very long time. They connect the triangle "Inflammation - oncogenesis - arteriosclerosis".

Posted by: bystander04 | Jul 4 2021 23:36 utc | 51

An interesting thing happened in Modistan. Back in June Modi’s foreign minister, the grovellingly servile American stooge S Jaishankar, travelled twice to Qatar in one week to negotiate with Taliban there. The Qatar government confirmed the negotiations were taking place. Modi’s lapdog mouthpiece media stated making noises about how India needed to mend relations with the Taliban and turn it against Pakistan (fat chance).

Now, since the day before yesterday, the same Modi regime media is making a sudden concerted propaganda drive against the Taliban, as though a switch was thrown. It’s taken to calling them “terrorists”, and claiming that Taliban in the liberated areas are making men grow beards and forbidding women to go out alone, which not just the Taliban but people in those areas denied.

And the Modi regime is now suddenly and stridently denying, after two weeks of silence, that it met the Taliban at all.

There is really just one explanation: the Taliban were offered a bribe of some kind by Modi, possibly a “power sharing arrangement ” that would leave creatures like Ghani and Abdullah in office, in return for letting India ship terrorists, spies and saboteurs to Pakistan through Afghanistan like it used to before the Taliban resurgence. And the Taliban told Modi to stick his bribe up where the sun doesn’t shine.

There were probably a lot of sorrows being drowned in cow urine in Modi’s foreign ministry the other night. Wonder if the bearded genocidaire, who does not like being thwarted, will try and send troops to Afghanistan. His militarily illiterate supporters would love that. And the Indian army, which with half a million troops in Kashmir has still not managed to crush the Kashmir insurgency in 32 years, will break the back of the Taliban, I'm sure!

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Jul 4 2021 23:37 utc | 52

@Peter AU1 | Jul 4 2021 22:09 utc | 48

Long covid, and other virus that can take a long tome to recover from I believe trigger inflammation of the myelin sheath that insulates the nerves.

How interesting that you should mention that. The proverbial affliction featuring inflammation of myelin sheaths is multiple sclerosis. Mast cells are suspected to play a major role in the onset of ms.

Guess what serendipitous nugget I found when searching for links between ivermectin and mast cells?
Common Anti-Parasitic Agent Eases Motor Symptoms, Aids Remyelination in MS Mouse Model

The actual study that the above article reports on, investigated the effect of ivermectin on microglia, but as another study puts it: Microglia and mast cells: two tracks on the road to neuroinflammation. Both cell types are part of the innate immune system.

Another similar find was that palmitoylethanolamide, which is sometimes used to ameliorate ms progression and symptoms, was proposed for combating severe lung inflammation in covid-19

On an entirely different track, "antiparasitic" ivermectin was shown to remarkably aid wound healing and decrease scar tissue formation. As I stated in the previous post, mast cells are involved also in tissue growth and regeneration, so this could be related. (I have in the past personally used mimosa hostilis root bark infusion to heal third degree burn wounds without any scarring, who knows if and what substance in that plant (also known as tepezcohuite - "skin tree") might have similar effects on mast cells.)

Anyway, to end the speculation here are two medical articles pointing out the relation between severe covid and mast cell activation:

Covid-19 hyperinflammation and post-Covid-19 illness may be rooted in mast cell activation syndrome
and
Signatures of mast cell activation are associated with severe COVID-19

Oh and here's the article (appears to be self-published but no less interesting) speculating on the parallels between covid and secondary dengue virus infection syndrome:

Immunological mechanisms explaining the role of IgE, mast cells, histamine, elevating ferritin, IL-6, D-dimer, VEGF levels in COVID-19 and dengue, potential treatments such as mast cell stabilizers, antihistamines, Vitamin C, hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin and azithromycin

Posted by: Lurk | Jul 4 2021 23:44 utc | 53

@psychohistorian, 43

And if it doesn't work out they have immunity from prosecution,

They do not have immunity from prosecution if the human participant did not give informed consent to participate in the experiment. Informed consent means that the risks have to be explained and the participant has to comprehend these risks.

Posted by: cirsium | Jul 4 2021 23:49 utc | 54

This is why capitalism has to be overthrown and eradicated. It is anti-development for the poor. And its fundamental dynamics of geopolitical division pave the way for world war.

Posted by: Prof | Jul 4 2021 21:00 utc | 41

This is an example of "better is an enemy of good". Eradicating and/or overthrowing capitalism is not feasible in the vast majority of countries, but changing what became "anti-development for the poor" ideology as the regnant ideology of the West and most of the rest, seems far more feasible and sufficient to deliver "development for the poor".

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Jul 4 2021 23:52 utc | 55

Piotr Berman@54 advocates compromising with imperialism. Sadly, imperialism doesn't return the favor. The operation of the imperialist world system inevitably leads to economic crises, which cannot be resolved by a good policy, because it's the system that is crazy. The system makes the people running it go nuts, not the overlords being crazy that cause things to go nuts. World economic crises, including the inability to cope with world systemic threats like climate change, inevitably afflict the poor worse. Reforms will not take away this disparity in effect. Most of all, of course, war, threats of war, fears of war, arms races, interventions, economic sieges are indispensable to the normal function of the imperialist world system.

You can't win a rigged game. Telling people they should play anyhow because it's the only game in town, makes no sense.

When the end of the road comes into view, it's too late. Insisting on mile markers till the catastrophe is not wisdom.

Posted by: steven t johnson | Jul 5 2021 0:01 utc | 56

Posted by: Lurk | Jul 4 2021 23:44 utc | 52

Interesting link regarding ivermectin (topical cream - is this available?) and wound healing. I wish I'd known about this in the past as I would have requested it if it was available for topical applications. Perhaps a compounding pharmacy can somehow create a feasible lotion or gel by pulverizing pressed pills. I've numerous scars including one on my eyebrow from previous youthful indiscretions (fights, accidents, etc.).

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jul 5 2021 0:03 utc | 57

Posted by: karlof1 | Jul 4 2021 20:35 utc

Posted by: Ruben | Jul 5 2021 0:41 utc | 58

Prof @ 32:

Thanks so much for that link about the Cuban vaccine. This tiny country, despite being attacked for 60 years, has achieved a leading position in world medicine.

Remarkable! This shows how concerted initiative from the top can bring huge results. So-called 'private enterprise' can never produce results like this.

And this is also true in other major fields of science, like aerospace, where the privately run US industry heavily relies on Russia, and is still decades behind in key technologies!

The same kind of central initiative is required to build a world class higher education infrastructure. None of this stuff happens by the mythical 'invisible hand.' The very thought is ludicrous, lol!

Posted by: Gordog | Jul 5 2021 1:01 utc | 59

Posted by: Down South | Jul 4 2021 18:42 utc | 21

Simply tell your prospective employer that they need to provide a legal document accepting full liability for your forced vaccination.

Posted by: biosecuritystate | Jul 5 2021 1:05 utc | 60

Bolivia
Greg Wilpert from the Analysis (Paul Jay)has a 30 minute interview with Ollie Vargas of Kawsachun News, worth the time watching.
Vargas captures, IMO, the spirit of Bolivians in explaining how they have both resisted the fascists and also built their coalitions. Bolivia's ongoing success is having a huge impact in Latin America which I believe is a game changer. My personal experience is mostly in Mexico and the Mexican community; his descriptions fit Mexicans: fighters, gracious until you betray their trust, very independent and skeptical of elites (Zapata and the current Zapatistas). Current Bolivian president Arce and vp Choquehuanca grew up studying Marx but are connected with and embrace their indigenous roots along with Evo Morales who is clearly a co-leader and very high profile. If you want to keep in touch with what is happening and will happen in Latin America Bolivia is essential.
https://orinocotribune.com/us-institutions-encourage-coup-impunity-in-bolivia/

Posted by: migueljose | Jul 5 2021 1:07 utc | 61

Apparently USA base in omar Oil field, Syria is dealing with of control explosions? Who knows anything about this?

Posted by: snake | Jul 5 2021 1:41 utc | 62

Posted by: snake | Jul 5 2021 1:41 utc | 63

I see SOHR and one other source saying a rocket attack there. Also says we (USA) are attacking people in Traq & Syria:

https://www.syriahr.com/en/218974/

Posted by: Bemildred | Jul 5 2021 2:30 utc | 63

Bezos to retire with $199 billion:

https://www.businessinsider.com.au/jeff-bezos-retirement-age-net-worth-compared-to-average-american-2021-7

Posted by: Paul | Jul 5 2021 2:53 utc | 64

Lurk 52

Thanks for putting all that up. I will spend a bit of time going through your link.
I have one diagnosed auto immune issue, but something else brought me to a stop a number of years ago. I have to take antihistamines and anti inflammatory constantly. Cinchona bark (quinine) gives solid results though a few bad side affects after taking it for a month. In the last week I experimented with ibuprofen, 600mg every two hours or so for several days and that also gave a good result. Early on in this bout of illness I had problems with hands and fingers losing feeling and one nerve running down to a muscle for my foot not functioning at all. That one was diagnosed as inflammation of the myelin. I took a lot of ibuprofen over several days and that cleared up.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 5 2021 3:20 utc | 65

I have to laugh at that link to the Forbes article "It’s Getting More Likely The Japanese Would Fight For Taiwan"

The author stresses that "The real revelation in Sevastopulo and Hille’s reporting isn’t the prospect of a joint U.S.-Japanese war plan. It’s that Japanese leaders apparently have resigned themselves to war in the event China invades Taiwan."

Hello, David.

The real revelation is this: the Japanese "asked American officials to share U.S. plans for defending Taiwan", and the American refused.

As in: The Americans have made no commitment whatsoever that it will go to war with China over Taiwan, and are not the least bit interested in having their lackey put them on the spot.

"because it wanted to focus on boosting co-ordination with Tokyo in phases."

Translation: there will be multiple applications of lipstick on that porcine doctrine.

"the goal was for the U.S. and Japanese armed forces eventually to write a single integrated plan for a Taiwan contingency"

Translation: the USA and Japan will agree on a face-saving excuse for not doing anything.

I read that Forbes report and what I see is a US backpedalling at the idea that they actually have to do a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. when/if the S**t ever hits the Fan. They certainly aren't interested in committing themselves to doing anything, least of all because they are being pressured over it by the Japanese.

After all, just who is the monkey and who is the organ-grinder in that relationship?

Posted by: Yeah, Right | Jul 5 2021 4:11 utc | 66

@ Yeah, Right | Jul 5 2021 4:11 utc | 67 who wrote about the US/Japan relationship
"
After all, just who is the monkey and who is the organ-grinder in that relationship?
"

I ask myself that very question when I see tiny little defeated colony Japan holding more US Treasuries than China.....who's set of books should we be looking at?

As you know, the way I see it is that they are both monkeys to the global private finance organ grinders....and their set of books.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 5 2021 4:22 utc | 67

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 5 2021 3:20 utc | 66

Be careful of ibuprofen, tinnitus is a recognised possible side effect. Inflammation also causes an iron deficiency.

Posted by: Paul | Jul 5 2021 4:36 utc | 68

I was told once that the only thing we really have to share with each other is the example of how we live our life.

I think this scales as well and offer the following posting from Xinhuanet as example

"
Three Chinese astronauts have completed all tasks for their first extravehicular activities in space.

Two of the three-man crew of China's Shenzhou-12 mission stepped out of Tianhe core module of China's space station on Sunday Beijing Time, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

Liu Boming opened the hatch of Tianhe's node cabin at 8:11 a.m., the CMSA said.

Donning new-generation homemade EMU (extravehicular mobility unit) spacesuits Feitian, meaning flying to space, the two astronauts completed installing the foot restraints and extravehicular working platform on the mechanical arm, the CMSA said.

They have also finished lifting the panoramic camera by 12:09 p.m., the agency said.

They then continued to work together to install other relevant extravehicular equipment with the aid of the mechanical arm, it said.

After around 7 hours of maneuvers, the two astronauts returned to the Tianhe core module in the afternoon Sunday Beijing Time.

Astronaut Nie Haisheng has been staying inside Tianhe in cooperation with Liu and Tang for their EVAs.

The three astronauts were sent into space aboard the Shenzhou-12 spaceship on June 17.
"

I expect China will falter along their growth path but their progress is undeniable....it reminds me of a sign my dad had in the back side window of his station wagon...."Lead, Follow, or get the Hell out of the Way!".

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 5 2021 4:43 utc | 69

Lurk @31:

"While 7389 samples is not a huge sample size, it is not ridiculously small either"

Since the population is 331 000 000 it is. And since the US is a huge country, it's even smaller than it seems. I mean why not include Mexico? It's closer to and has more contacts with California than does New York.

I'm out; I'm too sick to be teaching you guys research methods 101.

Posted by: Jörgen Hassler | Jul 5 2021 5:13 utc | 70

Paul 69

Whatever I got triggered tinnitus long ago. No iron deficiency but couple others I take supplements for. Lurk's links were good. Cinchona juce worked well but no idea how much quine and other alkaloids I was getting. That had some nasty side effects. Ibuprofen worked well in very large amounts but a few other things started happening.
Lurk's links were good. I had been looking into that sort of thing. Got some of this stuff coming - palmitoylethanolamide.
Test it on the human guinea pig.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 5 2021 5:25 utc | 71

=> Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 5 2021 3:20 utc | 66

Sounds like serious neuropathy. I have heard people use R-Lipoic Acid for that (which is actually safe). 240+ mg per day.

I actually avoid ibuprophen.

But I ain't a physician, so...

Posted by: blues | Jul 5 2021 5:28 utc | 72

@Down South | Jul 4 2021 18:42 utc | 21

While not mandatory in South Africa yet, the company I work for has made it subtly clear that if you do not vaccinate you will need to find other employment.

That is criminal behaviour.

Posted by: Norwegian | Jul 5 2021 5:35 utc | 73

I am retired in the US so I only see some of the working world through others eyes. What I am seeing more of is pressure to take the vaccine in US even though the infection numbers are going down in most states.

I have shared before that I have a cousin, my age, that got one of the mRNA vaccines and now has some sort of blood cancer. I believe this is related to the mRNA vaccines and that more cases like my cousin will occur and eventually it will effect an "important" someone who the MSM can't suppress the connection to the vaccines and the flood gates of related cases like my cousin will open....can you imagine what the blowback will be??.....the jaded in me says they are planning on that blowback to keep the chaos/fear/manipulation level high.....its all China's fault/snark

What is the final straw that will bring the barbarian shit show to a halt? Inquiring minds want to know. What will finally break through the brainwashing?

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 5 2021 5:50 utc | 74

psychohistorian "What will finally break through the brainwashing?"

A great deal of hardship. And that for the majority, not just a minority.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 5 2021 6:16 utc | 75

blues "But I ain't a physician, so..." so you're not a piece of dog shit. Arseholes have got a lot of money out of me and delivered nothing.

On the ibuprofen ... they work. Lipoic acid is on its way. This human guinea pig will test most things.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 5 2021 6:31 utc | 76

Our corrupt facist government doing dirty deals to buy blood clots. "national security" "national interest"...

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-05/australia-covid-astrazeneca-deal-withheld-national-security/100261920
The Australian government's entire vaccine supply agreement with AstraZeneca is being withheld from public release on the grounds it poses a "real and substantial risk" to national security if it were released."

"The total value of Australia's five vaccine deals is more than $5 billion in taxpayer funds."

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jul 5 2021 6:52 utc | 77

It does raise questions that the cheap, non-profit, one-shot J&J, which did not need special storage, got various problems that may also be related to the production of the vaccines (one case was publicized, https://time.com/5951709/johnson-johnson-covid-19-vaccine-error/).
All in all, it seems to have caused less critical effects than Pfizer, but its seems Pfizer was "lucky" on that (grin).

Posted by: Mina | Jul 5 2021 8:31 utc | 78

re the mRNA vaccines,

What are the most common side effects from the Pfizer vaccine? It's the only one available in my country as the Govt only accepts vaccines with 90%+ effectiveness and of the four vaccines we did deals for (Pfizer, AZ, J&J, Novavax) only Pfizer measures up (haven't heard about results from Novavax, too far down the queue for Moderna and Sputnik V doesn't exist apparently as we are a 5 eyes country).

Heard of allergic reactions that can be fatal for the very old or very sick, and heart inflammation issues. The way the heart issues were reported in the media (in the context of the trials for 12-16 y.o.) made it seem they only effected the young but apparently a problem for everyone. Doesn't seem as serious as the AZ/J&J clotting issues as it usually clears up without treatment? My parents are both over 65 and have had their 1st Pfizer doses, no side effects so far for Dad and a tetanus shot-style sore arm for Mum that lasted a couple of days.

Posted by: S.P. Korolev | Jul 5 2021 9:00 utc | 79

The state in which I live has made it compulsory for shops to vaaccinate all staff in order to be permitted to open.

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Jul 5 2021 9:04 utc | 80

Peter,
i would bet that part of the deal includes that countries will have to use all their obsolete doses even if new variants appear that would make them less effective.. that is probably why we don't hear of new vaccines to be put on the western market in the coming months that would be adapted to the latest strains, and instead, we are being told progressively that yes, there will be a 3rd jab (heard yesterday on French radio "for the mrna vaccines" and then in another sentence of the same guy, "for all"... but one may guess he did not want to attack Pfizer/Moderna's interests).

Posted by: Mina | Jul 5 2021 9:28 utc | 81

Finally some positive comments on ivm in the Western press
https://news.wttw.com/2021/07/02/covid-19-long-haulers-turning-ivermectin-relief-questions-over-drugs-effectiveness

Posted by: Mina | Jul 5 2021 9:51 utc | 82

Stalemate at opec talks on sunday
https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/416576/World/Region/OPEC-impasse-deepens-amid-rare-Saudi,-UAE-spat.aspx

Posted by: Mina | Jul 5 2021 10:34 utc | 83

Peter AU 1 @ 77:

That news about Scott Moronson's government doing a deal with Astra Zeneca, the details of which must be kept hush-hush, does not surprise me.

Look at this from Doctors 4 Covid Ethics:
Pfizer Vaccine Authorised, Data Sight Unseen

A Freedom of Information request to the Australian drugs regulator that approved the Pfizer vaccine confirms that they have never seen the study data.

A freedom of information request (FOI) request was made by one of our members in February 2021 to the Australian drugs regulator, the TGA (Therapeutic Good Administration) to ask what should have been simple questions. The TGA is the Australian equivalent of the FDA (US), MHRA (UK) and EMA (Europe) and is held in high regard worldwide. Essentially the FOI questions were:

1/ Did the TGA request the raw data from Pfizer
2/ Did any of the committees approving the vaccine look at the raw data and/or discuss it
3/ What were the “studies” referred to in the approval document relating to teratogenicity (risk of harm to a fetus)

The rationale of the request relates to concern over the validity and verifiability of Pfizer’s data given its legal history (and expressed by Peter Doshi in the BMJ in February) as well as the proven concerns over fraudulent data relating to Covid-19 as seen in the “Lancetgate” scandal of June 2020.

The document ... is a redacted version of the documents that were sent by the TGA in response to this request. What they show is that the TGA never saw or requested the patient data from Pfizer and simply accepted their reporting of their study as true. This means that when the head of the TGA John Skerritt said that “the safety evidence is pretty thorough” on the 6th February (here) his words would ring hollow to most Australians who have assumed, rightly or wrongly, that the TGA had actually looked at the patient data themselves.

A further concerning aspect of the FOI request is the efforts to which the TGA appeared to go to suppress the request – initially requesting a 6 months extension in view of a “voluminous request” which eventually yielded only one document of 14 pages, heavily redacted. This required an instruction from the Office of the Information Commissioner to the TGA to answer the request by the 26th May, a deadline that the TGA also failed to meet.

Eventually the only document that was produced from the FOI request was a heavily redacted single study (not studies, as claimed in the TGA assessment document) showing that the only investigation into the effects on the fetus was performed on 44 rats with no long term data on the offspring. It is impossible to assess this study fully because 98% of the document was removed in order to protect Pfizer’s intellectual property (points 32-44 of the report)...

... Doctors for Covid Ethics remain concerned that the TGA’s failure to validate the Pfizer data has been replicated at other agencies worldwide (FDA, MHRA and EMA). It is currently not known whether any of the major agencies has independently verified, or attempted to verify, Pfizer’s data, before proceeding with provisional/emergency authorisation of Pfizer’s mRNA therapy vaccine.

Bet this information about how the TGA applied so-called rigour to checking Pfizer's data before approving the Pfizer-BioNTech treatment sure gladdens your heart, don't it?

Posted by: Jen | Jul 5 2021 11:16 utc | 84

S P Korolev @ 79:

Israel was one of the first countries to get the Pfizer-BioNTech treatment some time last year after then-PM Netanyahu pushed Israel to the front of the queue using means both fair and foul (but perhaps more on the foul side).

The Israel People's Committee, comprised of people with medical, legal and epidemiological expertise, released a summary report of the country's experience with mass inoculation of the Pfizer-BioNTech treatment in April this year. It does not make for very comforting reading so maybe I'll allow Doctors 4 Covid Ethics to take up the narrative:

... The data collected by the group paint a grim picture:

- The overall mortality in the January-February vaccination period was higher in 2021 than in any other year within the preceding decade. In the age group of 20–29 years, mortality in this time period exceeded that of the previous year by 32%.

- 288 deaths overall, mostly within the first 10 days after vaccination, were reported to the group. This number is more than six times greater than the 45 deaths officially admitted to by the Health ministry.

- The group gives the following estimates for the mortality among the vaccinated: overall, 1:5,000; age 20–49 years, 1:13,000; age 50–69 years, 1:6,000; age 70+, 1:1,600.

- Across lethal and non-lethal adverse events there was a relatively high rate of cardiac-related injuries, 26% of which occurred in young people below the age of 40, a high prevalence of massive vaginal bleeding, neurological, skeletal and skin damage, and events directly or indirectly related to coagulopathy (myocardial infarction, stroke, miscarriages, disruption of blood flow to the limbs and pulmonary embolism).

According to the authors, the compilation of the report was severely hampered by obstruction on the part of government authorities, involving in particular the shutting down of all monitoring and tracking systems for adverse events ...

Posted by: Jen | Jul 5 2021 11:33 utc | 85

Jen | Jul 5 2021 11:33 utc | 85
These self-appointed Doctors for Covid-Ethics are a just a bunch of confirmed Covidiots and Antivaxxers, especially their Founding signatories.

Posted by: dustbunny | Jul 5 2021 11:55 utc | 86

dustbunny,
sorry to say but the list of signatories is very impressive.
for the videos i watched of the 1st name in the list, he is not at all anti-vaxx, as he states plainly in his talks.

As to the contracts, same opacity for the EU
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_302
here is one, heavily redacted
https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-eu-pfizer-idUSL1N2ME0Z5
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronovirus-eu-vaccines-idUSKBN2C10MU
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-07/eu-set-to-sign-off-new-pfizer-vaccine-contract-as-soon-as-friday
The EU has decided not to renew contracts for viral vectors vaccines when expired, with French Sanofi starting to produce Pfizer-s on a amssive scale and announcing it is investing a few billions into mRNA research. This will give them an excuse not to authorize Sputnik and other viral vectors vaccines.

Posted by: Mina | Jul 5 2021 12:14 utc | 87

I suspect they overstate the percent vaccinated to give appearance that they are close to stated objectives.
People are now conditioned to accept government mandated medical treatment - in preparation for next novel virus.
I have heard reasonable arguement that the delta (Indian) strain is substantially less dangerous (working at bottom end of scale).
I have had bought with virus only once here in US ground zero. Dont hear much of repeats. One would think that might be a point of interest in real life.

Posted by: jared | Jul 5 2021 12:24 utc | 88

@dustbunny | Jul 5 2021 11:55 utc | 86

"Confirmed" just how? Because of your unsourced badmouthing? Fool, you are covered yourself in the mud that you are throwing.

Looking at the list, apart from one psychologist, they all appear to be competent medical authorities.

Posted by: Lurk | Jul 5 2021 12:31 utc | 89

Jen @85

Cheers. I understand part of Israel's sweetheart deal with Pfizer involves keeping most data collected secret and sharing it only with the company so I'm not surprised data is hard to come by. The instances of 'coagulopathy' are new to me, likely a different mechanism than the cause of the AZ/J&J problems. The makers of Sputnik V have identified a possible cause of the adenovirus clotting disorder so hopefully they are looking into the mRNA vaccines also.

Posted by: S.P. Korolev | Jul 5 2021 12:31 utc | 90

steven t johnson @Jul5 0:01 #56

Great comment.

!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jul 5 2021 12:34 utc | 91

@Tom_Q_Collins | Jul 5 2021 0:03 utc | 57

Ivermectin is available as a topical cream - against scabies and head lice. Though the article claims that much lower doses than as used in antiparasitical formulations were most effective.

Anyhow, I doubt that it will be effective against scarring after the wound has already healed and the scar tissue has become established.

As always, read and study the articles for yourself. And don't confuse me or yourself with a trained medical specialist. This is just an internet forum where anyone can claim anything - even in the face of all the facts (happens here all the time). Don't be that fool gulping down the koi pond disinfectant because it said "contains hcq" on the bottle.

Posted by: Lurk | Jul 5 2021 12:38 utc | 92

psycho historian @ 44

Re research costs. Moderna has been primarily funded by DARPA and In-Q-Tel. The latter being the venture capital arm of the CIA. Additional funding from Bill Gates and Jeffrey Epstein. And people trust their product, put it in their arm.

The Pfizer shot is wholly from BioNtech. Which appears to be a black hole. If anyone can find out anything at all about them it could be interesting.

Posted by: Oldhippie | Jul 5 2021 12:48 utc | 93

Jörgen Hassler | Jul 5 2021 5:13 utc | 70

Since the population is 331 000 000 it is.

If you believe that statistics is invalid when a sample group is not of the same order as the population size, then you clearly have no idea what statistics is about. Statistics is a method of calculating uncertainties. It inherently and explicitly allows for error margins and confidence intervals.

As I mentioned in my answer to you, even in the case of a very large sampling error, the numbers are still of such magnitude that urgent consideration of the implications is still eminently in order. You gratuitously brush all that aside with your feigned methodical criticisms. Again, nice try, but no dice.

I'm out; I'm too sick to be teaching you guys research methods 101.

Well thanks anyway for your seminar "pooh-pooh by handwaving 101". In case that I do decide that I want to know more about statistical methodology and experimental design, I'll just ask my father in law, who happens to be an emeritus university professor on that very subject.

Posted by: Lurk | Jul 5 2021 12:59 utc | 94

@S.P. Korolev | Jul 5 2021 12:31 utc | 90

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.06.29.450356v1.full.pdf

Thrombocytopenia and splenic platelet directed immune responsesafter intravenous ChAdOx1 nCov-19administration.

Summary paragraph
Vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are based on a range ofnovelvaccine platforms, with adenovirus-based approaches (like ChAdOx1 nCov-19)being one of them.Recently a rare and novel complication of SARS-CoV-2 targeted adenovirus vaccines has emerged: thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS). TTS is characterized bylow platelet counts,clot formation at unusual anatomic sites and platelet-activating PF4-polyanion antibodies reminiscent ofheparin-induced thrombocytopenia. Here, we employ in vitro and in vivo models to characterize the possible mechanisms of this platelet-targeted autoimmunity. We show thatintravenous but not intramuscular injection of ChAdOx1 nCov-19triggers platelet-adenovirus aggregate formation andplatelet activation. After intravenous injection, theseaggregates are phagocytosedby macrophagesin the spleenandplatelet remnants are found in the marginal zone and follicles. This is followed by a pronounced B-cell response with the emergence of circulating antibodies binding to platelets. Our work contributes to the understanding of TTS and highlights accidental intravenous injection as potentialmechanism for post-vaccination TTS. Hence,safe intramuscular injection, with aspiration prior to injection,could bea potential preventive measurewhen administering adenovirus-based vaccines.

(emphasis mine.)

This is the very recent research that I mentioned earlier in the thread but without attribution.

Not sure if the reaction as described in the article is triggered by the protein impurities that Gamaleya claims to have found in the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Posted by: Lurk | Jul 5 2021 13:14 utc | 95

By the way, "don't inject adenovirus vectors intravenuously" should have been common knowledge to the Oxford vaccine makers, as this fact was already pointed out in April 2000:

https://www.nature.com/articles/3301137

Effective repeat administration with adenovirus vectors to the muscle

Abstract
Effective repeat administration of adenovirus vectors following intranasal or intravenous delivery is hindered by a strong neutralizing antibody response to the vector. Intramuscular administration of adenovirus vectors elicited a neutralizing antibody response that peaked between 14 and 21 days after infection. However, effective repeat intramuscular administration of adenovirus vectors was not hindered by the presence of neutralizing antibodies in the serum. [..]

Given that this was common knowledge, AstraZeneca may in fact be partly liable for the occurances of thrombocytopenia if they did not put in proper effort to ensure that correct administration procedure is adhered to.

Posted by: Lurk | Jul 5 2021 13:20 utc | 96

Oops, emphasis on the wrong sentence in the last post. Should have been to the preceding sentence.

Posted by: Lurk | Jul 5 2021 13:21 utc | 97

mrna vaccines haven't been promoted as experimental... that is indeed what they are..

Posted by: james | Jul 4 2021 20:56 utc | 41

The idea for mRNA vaccines has been around for about three decades, but until last year clinical evidence of their efficacy was minimal. I thus was skeptical about the ones developed for covid but so far it seems that they do work. Still, it remains to be determined whether they are as good as traditional vaccines.

You are absolutely correct that all new vaccines and drugs are experimental at first (whether people realize it or not), but the rules are that clinical trials must show safety and efficacy before these are licensed for use in the general population. Sometimes things that are useless or even harmful still manage to get pushed through, which is why postmarket safety surveillance is so important.

Posted by: farm ecologist | Jul 5 2021 13:28 utc | 98

farm ecologist @ 98

Sometimes things that are useless or even harmful still manage to get pushed through...

Yeah, more than 'sometimes'...

here's a partial list.

Posted by: john | Jul 5 2021 13:57 utc | 99

Thanks for this link
https://sputnikvaccine.com/newsroom/pressreleases/the-gamaleya-center-statement/
It gives a precise description of the difference between Sputnik Lite and J&J.
Not that I could understand the minutiae, of course.
The spike used in the J&J was developed in the US ("The stabilized version of the spike protein – that includes two mutations in which the regular amino acids are replaced with prolines – was developed by researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' Vaccine Research Center and the University of Texas at Austin" from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_%26_Johnson_COVID-19_vaccine)

Posted by: Mina | Jul 5 2021 13:58 utc | 100