b well, b.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Oct 13 2021 16:06 utc | 4

b well and we’ll be here when you return:-)

Posted by: jo6pac | Oct 13 2021 16:30 utc | 6

https://journal-neo.org/2021/10/11/the-green-agenda-or-how-this-energy-crisis-is-different-from-all-others/
very good read..

Posted by: snake | Oct 13 2021 16:40 utc | 8

Posted by: b | Oct 13 2021 16:02 utc | 1
So, you had an ‘event’ and the swabs, samples and biopsies showed no major problems?
Phew!

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Oct 13 2021 17:09 utc | 10

rest and restore b

Posted by: ld | Oct 13 2021 17:15 utc | 12

Lots of reading material online to keep you amused while resting in bed, b!
Fyodor Lukyanov, the editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Affairs, chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, and research director of the Valdai International Discussion Club, writes about the Nuland visit:
“Apparently, President Biden and his administration are seeking to secure the Russia–Ukraine status quo, avoiding escalation, especially when it comes to Donbass. I would even go as far as to say the White House is ready to exercise its leverage with Kiev, particularly since President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent change of political character has come as a surprise even to the US, which had high hopes for him as a liberal reformer.
“In the meantime, political developments in Kiev are picking up pace. Zelensky is fixated with consolidating his personal power and cracking down on numerous centres of influence, which until recently has been a notorious and persistent trend in Ukrainian politics.
“However, without a strong footing, he has embarked on building a complex system based on bluff. He is appealing to the West, exploiting it as a bogeyman for domestic tycoons, on a promise to fight corruption with Washington’s assistance. He is also teasing Russia, because the “Russian threat” can force the West to back Kiev despite any tangible progress in the fight against corruption, at least in the form that would make Washington happy.
“It is a shaky and risky venture. It is risky because this rationale might prompt you to escalate the Donbass crisis purely for domestic considerations. Russia does not have too much thick skin, either. Judging by the publications of Russian leaders, Putin’s op-ed on shared historical routes over the summer and former president Dmitry Medvedev’s recent criticism of rising nationalism, the Kremlin has got only so much patience.”
As he admits later, it’s difficult to judge the talks because of “confidentiality”, which is to admit he really doesn’t know what’s happening thus his rambling op/ed.
The Outlaw US Empire’s military is faced with a huge dilemma given vaccine mandates that demand you get jabbed or lose your job–situations that have recently involved very highly paid athletes who sacrificed their values for money. The big problem: The military will lose a great number of its personnel if it fires them for not getting vaccinated. And a href=”https://www.rt.com/usa/537308-pentagon-archbishop-vaccine-mandate/”>the military’s clergy has said soldiers do have the right to refuse and cannot be discharged for having that position. Wow! What a huge difference from Civilian Life where you no longer have any such right. Again, we see the total lack of logic where masking, distancing and hygiene are far more important than the vaccine when it comes to prevention and spread-stopping. Not getting jabbed is now the equivalent of being a Jew in 1930s Germany with a big yellow star you must display at all times:
“Mike Berry, legal representative for the First Liberty Institute, a religious freedom organization that initially passed the documents to Fox, dubbed the Coast Guard guidance among ‘the worst constitutional violations I’ve ever seen.’
“‘This is nothing less than a modern-day Inquisition. It demonstrates that the [Coast Guard’s] real motivation is religious hostility.'” [My Emphasis]
Meanwhile in the corporate world, Southwest Airlines is taking a beating for its jab mandate:
“Whatever the individual reasons, a mandate mutiny began brewing. It’s manifested now, asserting itself over these last few days in a way that can’t be ignored. Pilots save up paid sick days, often accumulating months’ worth, even years. As their concerns have gone unheard by executives and, faced with the ignominy of sacrificing bodily autonomy for corporate compliance, or being fired and losing their careers – including all those saved hours they’ve earned – pilots are simply calling in sick and cashing in their paid leave.”
And it’s not just pilots as the writer gets to the meat:
“Perhaps the most baffling aspect of the entire scenario is the fact that there isn’t even a rule with which Southwest Airlines is complying. When President Biden delivered his ultimatum in September, lawmakers and legal scholars were dubious. Many wondered how Biden intended to give teeth to his speech, as he’s not a part of any legislative body. His answer: use the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to define vaccination as a workplace safety concern and issue a rule accordingly.
“Regardless of the small agency’s legal standing to accomplish such a legislative workaround, or its ability to subsequently enforce it, a more foundational problem remains for Southwest and other employers: OSHA has not yet made such a rule, much less navigated the legal challenges already being made.” [My Emphasis]
And this is the basis for what’s at stake:
“Perhaps even more so than the nurses and doctors once held up as heroes and now fired for refusing the jab, these pilots and crew members are showing concerned Americans, Europeans, Australians, and all free citizens, a potential way forward through this miserable morass of mandates. In Western democracies, government is designed to represent the people, not rule them. At some point, our elected officials decided that they would prefer to be masters rather than servants, entangling themselves with corporate leadership in a moldering rat king of stifling bureaucratic fiat and decree.
“Just tell them no.
“American corporations exist at the whim of their customers and through the willingness of their employees.
“The United States government serves only with the consent of the governed.
“Neither is the king of anybody. It’s high time they stop behaving as if they are.” [My Emphasis]
The author comes close to saying the mandate’s being made as a sop for Big Pharma, which it appears more and more people are becoming hip about thanks to news reports like this:
“The US government gave Merck some $29 million towards the development of molnupiravir, a drug that the company says ‘reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by approximately 50%’ in clinical trials on Covid-19 patients. Despite this generous funding, Merck will still charge the federal government an estimated $712 for a five-day course of pills that costs $17.74 to produce, meaning the US taxpayer will pay for this fortyfold mark-up.” [My Emphasis]
And I’ll wager that Merck pays zero corporate taxes.

Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 13 2021 17:20 utc | 14

More grave breaches of numerous articles of the 4th Geneva Convention and the Hague Convention eg, pillage, prohibited destruction, collective punishment and particularly Article 130, paragraph 1, respect for graves.
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/israel-razes-historical-palestinian-cemetery-jerusalem?fbclid=IwAR2WezhnAtDZ0Z_9Bh1jyuvpMW4Iz3OqFSXCs5ggK4ZiENZQFCS3MzdFh44
These are the actual ‘rules based international law’ provisions Anglo/Zionist politicians from the Captive Nations like to endlessly talk about but offer the bandit state impunity from.

Posted by: Paul | Oct 13 2021 17:21 utc | 16

Enjoy your well-deserved rest!

Posted by: Scotch Bingeington | Oct 13 2021 17:26 utc | 18

Get well soon, B.

Posted by: Misotheist | Oct 13 2021 17:35 utc | 20

Hope it is all well.
Explains the relative quiet output.
But …not that I am paranoid (much)…without getting into personal details , talk generally about symptoms and chronology?
Bloggers are being legally silenced and jailed evermore everywhere. Including the latest ratchet in Singapore.

Posted by: D.G. | Oct 13 2021 17:42 utc | 22

Yes, lots of news as I said @14. This ought to surprise a few people, “China-US trade surges 35.4% to reach $543 billion in first nine months”, thus making Gordon Chang of The Coming Collapse of China fame even more infamous as he continues to peddle his crap.
“Experts expected this year’s bilateral trade will surpass the level before the China-US trade war in 2018 to reach $700 billion as trade relations between the two countries are getting back to normal.
“The growth showed the intertwining character of the world’s two largest economies. [My Emphasis]
As Qui-Gon Jinn explained in The Phantom Menace: They form a symbiont system geoeconomically, but with the Outlaw US Empire being far more dependent on China than the reverse. Trump tried to tie a ball and chain around China’s leg only to discover it was first attached to Uncle Sam, which is why all attempts at decoupling will fail, thus begging the question: Which is more important for the USA: China or Taiwan? The answer ought to be obvious, but isn’t apparently thanks to the perceived threat of Socialism. Soon, the day will come when China tells Uncle Sam he must use Yuan to buy its products as the dollar is no longer wanted.
At Kunming, site of the Biodiversity Summit, a joint declaration was issued, Towards an Ecological Civilization: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth:
“The Kunming Declaration embodies the consensus of all parties, shows the political determination of all parties to take action to address the challenges of biodiversity and jointly build a community of life on earth, Zhao Yingmin, vice minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said at Wednesday’s press conference.
“In the Kunming Declaration, Parties vowed to accelerate formulating or revising biodiversity action plans in each country, set up or optimize a reserve system, actively improve the global environmental legal system and increase funding and technical support for developing countries to achieve the post-2020 global biodiversity framework to push protection and restoration of land, freshwater and marine biodiversity.
“The Kunming Declaration is the main achievement of this conference. The declaration commits to ensuring the formulation, adoption and implementation of an effective post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework to reverse the current loss of biodiversity and ensure that biodiversity is on the path to recovery by 2030 at the latest to fully meet the 2050 vision of living in harmony with nature.” [My Emphasis]
IMO, that’s a very impressive goal, one no western nation would ever attempt to articulate. The following tells us why:
“Qin, who is also chief expert with the Academy of International Law and Global Governance at Wuhan University, said the protection of biodiversity is more complex than tackling climate change, where countries negotiate on a simpler goal of carbon reduction. Biodiversity, the protection, use and share of relevant resources, plus the situations in different countries, make the issue complex, he said.”
So, what’s the Outlaw US Empire stance?
“One major power has long been absent in global biodiversity protection efforts – the US. It hasn’t approved the Convention on Biological Diversity 30 years after signing it.
“US utilitarianism has prompted it not to join many global biodiversity protection conventions, and US biofirms are part of the reason, experts said.
“Qin said joining those conventions would increase US firms’ costs to access bio resources in many developing countries, and add pressure on them to provide funding and transfer technologies on biodiversity protection.
“Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on Wednesday that the US’ absence has damaged global biodiversity protection efforts, and urged it to cast aside utilitarianism and assume its responsibilities.” [My Emphasis]
As usual, business/profit takes precedence over everything, even life itself. How much longer will that “value” be allowed to exist, for it’s 100% artificial? Fortunately, the nations attending the Summit arrived at an extremely important consensus that will make further political decisions easier, although that massive impediment, the Outlaw US Empire and its diehard vassals, still remains.

Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 13 2021 18:03 utc | 24

“This is how irrational most liberals and even many so-called progressive leftists have become. They want a dictatorship in the name of liberalism and progressivism. They have gone nuts for tyranny. Or maybe they always were nuts, maybe they just covered it up really well, maybe now they feel they no longer have to hide their love of tyranny over the common rabble.” Tulsi Gabbard Has Not Changed — Her Critics Have

Posted by: Kal | Oct 13 2021 18:22 utc | 26

Paco @23–
Hola!! I read your comment on the previous thread and looked at the Kremlin’s site to see how much transcript was there–not much–then I went news hunting and have found much bet almost no mention of Putin’s Energy Summit interactions; but I’m still hunting.
Escobar linked to this Cradle article written by its mysterious Lebanon Correspondent:
“Hezbollah is prepared to expel America from Lebanon: As US interference in Lebanon’s collapse continues, Hezbollah threatens retaliatory steps to eject American influence across all Lebanese institutions.”
Yes, it’s juicy:
“In a bold announcement that made no foreign headlines, the head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council Hashem Safieddine has declared that the Lebanese resistance group will seek to expel US meddling and influence from Lebanese state institutions.
“‘The US is an enemy no less hostile than Israel, and sometimes more hostile than Israel,’ insisted Safieddine, an extremely close confidante of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, during a 4 October internal party meeting. ‘We cannot deny America’s security, financial, and economic power and influence; it has a strong presence in the Lebanese state.’
“According to Hezbollah sources, the Lebanese Army establishment, led by General Joseph Aoun, tops the list of institutions under strong US influence, followed by the Central Bank of Lebanon and other Lebanese security departments, state administrations, and development ministries, all deeply infiltrated by America’s yes-men.”
And also Saudi’s yes-men. The entire article must be read for those wanting to stay abreast of West Asian developments. I can see why Pepe linked to it.
And another article coming from Kunming’s Biodiversity Summit explains China’s “ecological Red Lines” and that the method will be exported initially to BRI nations:
“Initiated in 2011, China’s ecological conservation ‘red line’ program identifies the country’s crucial ecological zones and enforces strict protection in those areas.”
As far as I’m aware, this marks the first time China seeks to export any portion of its system:
“Alice Hughes, from the Center for Integrative Conservation of the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the Global Times that China’s ecological red line program is pushing the frontiers on how we can manage the ecological environment, and it’s the first systematic way of managing land use across China.
“‘We hope such methods can help other countries realize their post-2020 targets based on the red line program,’ she said, noting that a research paper on how the red line system could be applied across Southeast Asia was going to be published soon.
“‘China’s ecological red line may be applied together with Chinese overseas investments, and that would be a very bold move in terms of how we’re going to develop. But we’re going to help you develop,’ she said.”
I’m awaiting that paper’s publication as it ought to complement the biodivedrsity White Paper issued prior to the Summit.
I see Sputnik has several articles about Putin and the Energy Summit that I’ll now investigate!

Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 13 2021 18:33 utc | 28

Cuba
Here’s a gem, Telesur has a 25 minute interview of one of the Cuban 5, Gerardo Hernandez, talks about why he and the other Cuban intelligence people were sent to Miami, recounts some of his 16 year imprisonment, back home in Cuba now, worth your time to watch. The video is linked at the bottom of an article about the firing of the new Miami police chief, pointing to the Cuban cesspool which he called a mafia… I wouldn’t give them that much credit: they’re not organized enough to be called that.
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Miami-Police-Chief-Who-Said-the-Citys-Run-by-Cuban-Mafia-Fired-20211012-0022.html

Posted by: migueljose | Oct 13 2021 18:51 utc | 30

Paco @23 again–
I’m just now reading the translated Russian at the Kremlin’s website as the entire English transcript isn’t completed yet, and I must say that Putin sinks poor, miserable Hedley Gamble, who actually tied the anchor to herself before throwing herself into the ocean! After patiently explaining the dynamics of the current energy issue that began with the answer to this question about weaponizing gas:
“I want to ask you directly: Is Russia using energy as a weapon?”
Beware about drinking something while reading Putin’s answer:
“Russia does not use any weapons at all, if you have noticed. As for the economy, where do we use guns? What conflicts are we involved in? As for the economy, this is generally excluded. Even during the most difficult periods of the Cold War, Russia regularly supplied gas to Europe on a permanent basis, fully fulfilling its contractual obligations. By the way, at that time, your compatriots, the United States, also fought against this project – ‘pipes in exchange for gas’. The then leadership of the Federal Republic still insisted on its own, implemented this project. It is still active and actively participates in the energy balance in Europe.
“This is politically motivated chatter that has no basis in itself – as for the use of energy as a weapon.”
Then the explanation about dynamics which elicited this question from Gamble:
“But this year the European gas limit has increased by 60 percent, it happened in a few weeks, and world prices soared.
“How can you make Europe believe that you are a reliable gas partner when you are not supplying this energy through gas pipelines?”
Putin: “Beautiful woman, pretty. I tell her one thing, she tells me something completely different. It was like I didn’t hear what I said. I’ll tell you again.”
She says that she heard him, but Putin continues (Recall this is a machine translation):
” Look, you just said that you are not supplying gas to Europe via gas pipelines. You are being misled. And you, dear colleague, and all those who feed on information from such sources. We are increasing supplies to Europe, Gazprom by 10 percent, and Russia as a whole has increased supplies to Europe by 15 percent. And the gas pipelines increased by 10 percent, and LNG to 13 percent caught up. We increase, not reduce, but increase supplies. And other suppliers reduced by 14 billion cubic meters. Of these, half of the cuts are accounted for by suppliers from the United States.
“Did I say something incomprehensible? Did you hear me? Increase. And if we are asked to increase more, we are ready to increase more. We increase as much as our partners ask us. There is not a single refusal, not a single one, and we are increasing in the direction of Turkey, in the Blue Stream in the good sense of the word, in the Turkish Stream, we are increasing these supplies to the Balkans, now we are going through the Turkish Stream, increasing them along existing routes. We even increased supplies through the GTS of Ukraine. The increase this year through the GTS of Ukraine in excess of our contractual obligations for transit will be approximately 10 percent. You can’t increase there anymore. Everyone hints to us: increase more supplies through Ukraine. It is dangerous to increase, the GTS has not been repaired there for decades, it is possible, if the pressure increases, it will burst altogether, Europe will completely lose this route. There is 80 percent of equipment wear, over 80 percent. No one wants to listen to or hear anything. Everyone is only determined to blame Russia for something.” [My Emphasis]
Well, even the Russian transcript isn’t complete as it ends with that exchange. The reason why Ukraine doesn’t repair its pipelines ought to be obvious: If that was done, there’d be less money available for kleptocrats to steal. English language Russian media is sparing the woman further embarrassment by not publishing her exchange with Putin.

Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 13 2021 19:28 utc | 32

karlof1 | Oct 13 2021 19:28 utc | 32
Lovely, but I think Putin’s patience is wearing very thin. I suppose talking to idiots has a limit somewhere.
According to Zelensky, he “needs” the £3 billion to pay the army. The klepocracy only come second best, to siphon off the “aid” from the US and EU. Many of them live abroad anyway. (Kolomoiski was in Switzerland not so long ago, much easier to walk round the corner to the Bank. Do Oligarchs still walk?)

Posted by: Stonebird | Oct 13 2021 19:50 utc | 34

Test post of a Saker URL, Medvedev article.

Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 13 2021 19:57 utc | 36

Again, we see the total lack of logic where masking, distancing and hygiene are far more important than the vaccine when it comes to prevention and spread-stopping. Not getting jabbed is now the equivalent of being a Jew in 1930s Germany with a big yellow star you must display at all times:
karlof1 | Oct 13 2021 17:20 utc | 14
The modelling which suggested that 80% vaccination rates would lead to effective “herd immunity” has not held up, which eliminates the main rationale. Yet, on a sort of auto-pilot, the insistence on this strategy continues.
Posted by: jayc | Oct 13 2021 18:25 utc | 27
——
i have never been in the USM, thank Christ, but I know enough vets to know that stories of military resistance to vaccines are total rubbish. “you are a guinea pig” is the most common phrase said to a recruit in bootcamp. grunts are injected w/all kinds of experimental shit, w/o complaint or the tiniest rumble or grumble of resistance.
i’m all for the US military totally collapsing and if anti-vaxxing bullshit does it, more power to it. don’t tell the deep brains here at MoA, much less where it matters at the DOD, that China, Russia (yes, that Russia), etc., don’t give soldiers these kinds of choices. is Israel giving its troopers an “opt out”? is Mexico? Turkey?
comparing anti-vaxxers to Jews under Hitler…”inside every American, there is a wounded chest thumping Proud frat boy just waiting to get out and avenge being stabbed in the back.” half the US isn’t vaccinated.

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Oct 13 2021 20:19 utc | 38

A couple of months ago I posted a comment on MoA (Posted by: dh-mtl | Aug 22 2021 14:28 utc | )speculating that there has been a split in the ranks of the American section of the ‘Global Elites’ between those who are true internationalists (Atlanticists) and those who are US-centric.
Alasdair Crooke, in this article (https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/europa-scorned-and-forsaken), permits to offer more definition around this split. From reading the article it seems that the US-centric elites would be aligned with Stratfor, a U.S. geo-political think-tank based in Austin, Tx. As I discussed in the comment cited above, it seems that these US-centric elites now control much of the U.S. military industrial complex as well as the Federal Reserve Bank. The political connections of these elites would be primarily with the Republican Party.
The opposing Atlanticist Global Elites are those who would be aligned with the likes of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Alantic Council etc. and effectively control the CIA, State Department, Justice Department, FBI and most domestic government agencies. They also effectively control the DNC, most of the Democratic Party, and are supported by some Republicans (for example Liz Cheney).
As I speculated in the comment two months ago, the open split between these two groups, the Atlanticist Elites and the US-centric Elites, would have happened in the March-April time frame when the U.S. military walked away from the confrontation with Russia that the British and Nato were ginning up around Ukraine and Belarus. The U.S. pull-out from Afganistan would be the second phase of what Alasdair Crooke calls ‘America’s abandonment of the Great Game ploy’. Crooke goes on to state that ‘George Friedman (of Stratfor fame)’ ‘implied (to the Europeans) that NATO and Europe are not particularly relevant to the US in the new context of ‘China competition’.
It seems that the split between these two groups has been in the making for some time. Indeed during Obama’s last term it often appeared that John Kerry, as State Secretary, would go to the Middle-East to announce a US policy initiative only to have some faction in the military pull the rug out from under his feet. From reading Alasdair Crooke’s article it appears that this US-centric group used the Trump years to consolidate their position in the Military-Industrial Complex, and that the Atlanticists were not able to replace them when the Biden administration took power, with the exception of a few figure heads such as the Secretary of Defense, General Lloyd Austin.
The confrontation between these two groups for control of the U.S. could well be the defining conflict in geopolitics for the next 5 to 10 years. For each group the other represents an existential threat.
For the Atlanticists, a U.S. foreign policy as outlined by George Friedman, and described in Crooke’s article, would mean the end of the their project to create a Globalist Empire (i.e. global governance by global institutions largely based in Europe). It would, in all likelihood lead to the demise of both NATO and the EU. For the Atlanticists, Russia is the key adversary, for if they can control Russia, then they can control China. China is not a threat, but rather, if under their control, China would be the production center for the Globalist Empire.
For the US-centric elites, whose objective is to reestablish the U.S. as an industrial and economic super-power, the Atlanticist policies of open borders, Green New Deal and racial reparations represent the destruction of the U.S. as a modern industrial economy. Under the Atlanticist Global Empire the U.S. would be assigned the role of world policeman, and would cease to be an economic and geo-political super-power.
China is also an existential threat for the US-centric elites. The rebuilding of the U.S. as an industrial power is based on the development of advanced military, transportation, energy and industrial technologies. The backbone of these technologies is advanced chip manufacturing which is currently located in Taiwan. Building an equivalent U.S. based advanced chip manufacturing capability is a project measured in decades. If China should take take control of Taiwan, as they are currently threatening to do, it would instantly inherit this advanced chip capability and eliminate any possibility of the U.S. regaining its position as a leading industrial power.
Looking at the political situation in the U.S. as a confrontation between these two groups of elites, (one, an Atlanticist group aligned with a Globalist project that sees a limited and subordinate role for the U.S. in a Globalist world run by global institutions, and the second a US-centric group looking to rebuild the U.S. as an economic and industrial super-power, where each group views the policies of the other as an existential threat,) enables to better understand the depth and virulence of the political war that is taking place in Washington. Could the forced resignations of the Fed governors over ethics issues one the one hand, and the Durham investigation leading to the Clintons, on the other hand, also be part of this war?

Posted by: dh-mtl | Oct 13 2021 21:02 utc | 40

Take care b

Posted by: Arata | Oct 13 2021 21:12 utc | 42

dh-mtl @Oct13 21:02 #40
The ‘Woke’ Left is being set up for a fall. That elite globalists are conflated with the woke is silly. The elite globalists will still have influence long after the ‘woke’ hoards have been turned back.
The Empire is globalist. ‘America First’ jingoism doesn’t change that. It is simply necessary to rally the troops/people around the flag as conflict looms.
‘Woke’ globalists are not an existential threat, they are foil for a move to the right that crushes dissent.
IMO hyper-partisanship is both a tool for shaping a political outcome and smokescreen.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Oct 13 2021 21:22 utc | 44

Welcome to Canada. Half of us have had “colds” lately. It’s the wee ones you see. They think they have to hug everything.
Because it’s within my purview, I have been paying attention. There’s nobody feaked out about what specifically it is. No uncomfortable silence greets my witty Covid jokes. No inquiries about tests.
All the immune compromised adults want the kids in school and hanging with their friends. We take vit C, D and zinc. Which we should regardless. Good enough.
It is what it is. Might my Covid death be imminent? Pfffft. Whatever. Life is for the young is it not? If we let them live it that is.
Our ICUs in western Canada are overloaded and I have no objection to flattening the curve. However that is more an issue of our gutted medical system than Covid.
It’s the vulnerable that need to self isolate in the mid term though. Long term there’s now a great deal of science focused on this; I am seeing results already.
Are we animals ruled by our fears? It’s one of those self evident things we avoid thinking about. I do think this whole Covid drama has helped prove the case. I am certain of it.

Posted by: David G Horsman | Oct 13 2021 22:02 utc | 46

@44 “The ‘Woke’ Left is being set up for a fall.”
Does that mean the Rolling Stones can sing Brown Sugar again?

Posted by: dh | Oct 13 2021 22:23 utc | 48

Jackrabbit wrote;
Republicans, especially of the “populist” sort, prefer to think that they are heroically battling “the Left” and/or a Deep-State that is aligned with the Left.
______________________________________________________________
heh heh, there is always something that anyone prefers, but there are few who can resist preferring to be something heroic…
___________________________________
and then jackrabbit wrote:
The ‘Woke’ Left is being set up for a fall.
_______________________________________
Well yah obviously, but you also got admit they entirely deserve it…
But in all fairness you have to also admit that the populist right is also being set up for a fall.
and sure they deserve it, also…

Posted by: jinn | Oct 13 2021 22:37 utc | 50

Dear B,
No need to apologise for not posting! We barflies can find plenty to keep us occupied. Take care and get as much rest as you need.

Posted by: Jen | Oct 13 2021 22:52 utc | 52

“Veering to the Abyss… U.S. and Allies Are Intellectually Comatose,” has Finnian Cunningham interviewing Michael Brenner–when I read Brenner’s replies, I hear myself. I picked one of the exchanges to highlight:
“QUESTION: All three AUKUS members stand to lose economically if relations with China slump further. The economies of the U.S., Britain and Australia rely heavily on China’s vast markets, so what accounts for the self-defeating antagonism of their governments towards Beijing? Could they be so stupidly shortsighted?
“MICHAEL BRENNER: Yes – just as the Europeans are in regard to Russia. There is not a strategic mind in a position of authority anywhere in the West. The United Kingdom is run by a bunch of buffoons who live in a ‘Jewel in the Crown’ mental world. While Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is just posturing. He will be brought up short when the economic losses inevitably hit Australia’s population. Against that, however, the big news is in Japan where Fumio Kishida, the new prime minister, has shifted the country’s attitude towards the PRC by at least 90 degrees. In a breakthrough cordial exchange with China’s President Xi last week both leaders reportedly agreed to pursue ‘constructive and stable relations’ based on increased dialogue.”
In these interviews, I’m always puzzled about the utter lack of questions regarding those pulling the strings as the focus is always on the puppets, a frustration I’m sure is shared by most barflies. Perhaps we can make inferences based on the puppets’s performances and the discourse emerging from their scripts.
As we saw from the earlier trade report I provided, it appears China and Russia’s strategy is to cut away the vassals from the Outlaw US Empire as it’s already isolated itself to a large degree internationally. Putin emphasized the energy backstabbing delivered to the EU when promised LNG shipments went everywhere but the EU and sank the Establishment Narrative that Russia’s to blame for increased energy costs. China meanwhile is boosting its Soft Power by offering its leadership on two critical, interconnected ecological issues, Climate and Biodiversity and has effectively shoved the Outlaw US Empire out of the way.

Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 13 2021 23:15 utc | 54

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Oct 13 2021 21:22 utc | 44
I fully agree that the ‘Woke Left’ is not an existential threat. However, people such as George Soros and Klaus Schwab and their bosses, who are behind these Woke policies, open borders, Green New Deal, racial reparations etc., that are designed to turn the U.S. into a de-industrialized, third world colony of the Globalist empire, certainly are an existential threat to anyone who’s well being is dependent on the well-being of the U.S.
On the other hand policies such as those that George Friedman outlined to the Europeans are the last thing that Soros, Schwab, etc. want to hear. They will essentially destroy the whole Globalization project.
‘IMO hyper-partisanship is both a tool for shaping a political outcome and smokescreen.’ I don’t think so. These people are playing for keeps!

Posted by: dh-mtl | Oct 13 2021 23:21 utc | 56

Michael @47–
What can Russia do to reverse the continual upward CO2 rise?
It could snuff out the massive wildfires that occur annually in the Taiga, burning the CO2 absorbing forest while releasing more CO2. The fires there make those we have out here in the Western USA like campfires. This year set a new record at well over 18 million hectares of land. I believe Putin is close to changing Russia’s policy dealing with them, but it’s possible more CO2 will be emitted in fighting them than letting them burn since they’re almost always in very remote regions of Siberia that can only be access via airplane. But Putin wants Russia’s forests to be counted as CO2 absorbers when counting Russia’s CO2 footprint.
Overall, the entire planet’s energy use/CO2 output is in a state of flux. ROSATOM’s closing the nuclear fuel cycle is a big step forward as is it’s ability to design much smaller reactors that will allow the many nations still in development to bypass the heavy fossil-fuel usage phase of development. But lots of CO2 gets emitted when making concrete to build things. Eventually, humanity will solve the fusion problem, but IMO it won’t have an impact on the Climate Crisis until 2100. One of the goals China has for its space program’s new space station is to experiment with solar collection and downward transmission to Earth to assess its feasibility. My favorite’s the harnessing of stratospheric winds by kites tethered to generators having the ability to operate continuously given the constancy of winds at that altitude. Then there’re improvements in long distance high voltage transmission and related grid structures. Concentrated solar generation is being given an opportunity to produce by the Chinese.
My opinion on geoengineering isn’t favorable primarily because it ignores the huge problem of ocean acidification and diverts scarce resources away from genuine solutions. As for the IPCC scenario humanity faces, it doesn’t have one since the state of the crisis is currently beyond the worst case.

Posted by: karlof1 | Oct 14 2021 0:02 utc | 58

Time for your daily dose of RT:
Putin says US itself killing dollar as reserve currency by weaponizing sanctions & uncontrolled money printing, fueling inflation
You know you crossed the limits when neoliberalism sympathizer Vladimir V. Putin tells you you abused your financial system.
—
Overdoses soar by nearly 30 PERCENT in US, breaking record for second year in a row – CDC
More US soldiers killed themselves in few months than died from Covid-19 since start of pandemic, Pentagon reveals
That’s why Russia and China want peace. Americans simply kill themselves in peacetime.
—
Holy shit:
Bow and arrow attack kills 5, injures 2 people in Norway, terrorism not ruled out (PHOTOS)
Norwegians are so rich they’re killing themselves in exotic ways out of boredom.
–//–
How inflation works in capitalism (fiat system only):
Stagflation: a demand or supply side story?
The scientific answer is in paragraph #27.

Posted by: vk | Oct 14 2021 1:39 utc | 60

jinn @Oct13 22:37 #50:

But in all fairness you have to also admit that the populist right is also being set up for a fall.

Yes. After the turn to the right.
More accurately: populism itself is being set-up for a fall.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Oct 14 2021 1:51 utc | 62

Get well soon B !!

Posted by: carlD | Oct 14 2021 2:17 utc | 64

B, best wishes for your health and congratulations on the negative results.

Posted by: bobzibub | Oct 14 2021 2:56 utc | 66

The Canadistani propagandist Gwynne Dyer (which among other things spent 25 years, 1989-2014, predicting the imminent and inevitable collapse of China, claims that billionaires are the best rulers for poor countries since they are already rich and “don’t need to steal”, alleges Putin poisoned Navalny and Lukashenko “probably” lost the election in Belarus) admits in one of its recent (obesely smug) articles that if it wanted to, China could invade and capture Taiwan even today. However, it bloviates, Amerikastan would immediately “destroy China” by imposing a “sea blockade”. Apparently it has yet to get its fat-saturated brain around the concept that China can do ten times more damage to Amerikastan, since it literally makes everything Amerikastanis depend on for their existence, and that Amerikastanis aware of that.
https://bangordailynews.com/2021/10/11/opinion/contributors/will-china-invade-taiwan/

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Oct 14 2021 3:46 utc | 68

b. Probes, swabs and allegedly small cameras stuffed into nooks and crannies that were not designed for it are not the most pleasant of things. Best.

Posted by: Billb | Oct 14 2021 4:05 utc | 70

Covid update from India.
From day to day covid cases are coming down slowly. At present daily cases average around 20,000 with Kerala contributing around half. In typical beaurcratic style govt took out ivermectin and HCQ usage once cases were under control and emphasis is back to jabs. Govt has especially cleared Gates sponsered covaxin for administration to children from 2 to 18 and is probably awaiting signal from abroad for its launch. The tragedy is people are so brainwashed from media and govt that many are welcoming jabs to kids so that the children can go back to school. As with everything the jabs to kids may end in disaster but we have to wait and see what happens next.

Posted by: R M Rao | Oct 14 2021 4:30 utc | 72

Be well b. You are important to all of us.

Posted by: blues | Oct 14 2021 7:30 utc | 74

The new NSW premier has been advise to push for two million migrants over five years to drive economic growth and fill labour shortages. This from todays AFR:
“These three surprising countries could win the global war for talent
The “great lockdown” will be followed by the “great migration”, and among the front runners to attract the best and brightest are Canada, Japan and – wait for it – Kazakhstan”
Meanwhile, the best NZ can do is encourage Pacific Islanders to come to pick berries and be cheap exploited farm labourers because NZ refuses to make Managed isolation places available. There are TEN beds available in Wellington, the national capital. NZ refuses to provide managed isolation places available for Kiwis returning home. A pathetic lack of governance.

Posted by: Paul | Oct 14 2021 9:33 utc | 76

Gobbling China’s exports, US sinks into dependency
David P. Goldman forgot to mention China’s imports from the USA grew even more (by some 42%), so dependence of the USA on China is even greater.

Posted by: vk | Oct 14 2021 11:21 utc | 78

TSMC looking to build Japan plant in 2022 and start operations in 2024
All of this “according to sources with knowledge of the matter”.
One semiconductor factory for the USA, another one for Japan… TSMC is giving semiconductor factories like candy!
How long until they realize TSMC is selling bridges in Brooklyn?
P.S.: the tactic of using taxpayer money to pay for the costs of relocation is standard Japanese practice, and has absolutely no novelty in it. This is the same tactic Japan tried to use to remove manufacturing from China during the apex of the “decoupling” fever (roughly the Trump era). It failed.

Posted by: vk | Oct 14 2021 11:36 utc | 80

The level of delusion in this article is off the charts:
How to Build a Better ‘Made in America’
Just one observation: to reach the level of international coordination the authors want, we would have to have a socialist world. In a capitalist world, you’re just asking for more coercion and military interventions by the USA.

Posted by: vk | Oct 14 2021 12:09 utc | 82

Manual recount in Iraqi elections B. Interesting to see if there is a significant difference in the results.

Posted by: Reggie | Oct 14 2021 13:56 utc | 84

: mastameta | Oct 13 2021 17:42 utc | 21
The following contradicts what you posted…
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/09/15/what-happens-soldiers-who-refuse-covid-vaccine.html

Posted by: notlurking | Oct 14 2021 14:08 utc | 86

if you spend a couple of nights sleeping on the sidewalks of the US, you might observe the operation of the modern day street sweeper. (it still says, “‘weep, ‘weep”, underneath all that grinding and churning, don’t you worry).
the street sweepers run 24/7/365 through the land. they are not cleaning up the beer cans, butts and needles of homeless people.
the ideological street sweepers run 24/7/365 through the land, scrubbing the filth, making it look pretty for the owners.
the machines run around behind the cars. the human scrubbers, inter alia, also run behind the cars, working overtime to induce a state of blindness in people. not hard to do when peripheral vision, awareness, is itself lost via driving a car. zooming off to a future that will never materialize b/c the bridge to the future has already been burned down.
more pipelines please!

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Oct 14 2021 14:51 utc | 88

forgot the /S

Posted by: Den Lille Abe | Oct 14 2021 14:55 utc | 90

Michael Hudson is re-issuing the Third Edition of Super Imperialism. I have the second edition – it’s great, can’t wait to get the third.

Posted by: spudski | Oct 14 2021 15:21 utc | 92

Paul @ 67
how would you like to be its next-door-neighbour?

Posted by: ld | Oct 14 2021 15:34 utc | 94

rjb1.5 @ 88, my son has done that, and longer than two nights. But you are wrong, nights are not for sleeping (hello darkness, my old friend). They are for walking until the soles of your shoes give out. You sleep in the daytime, away from the streets. And those bridges? If you only see the physical ones, if you only sleep by night, then yes, the future looks dark and fearful. But for the ones who have had to walk by night to stay warm, out beyond the streetsweepers and the lights, they see the stars.
And the stars are beautiful.

Posted by: juliania | Oct 14 2021 15:50 utc | 96

@rjb1.5 #90
Have you ever observed the workings of an actual modern(ish) port?
It isn’t lines of burly men carrying things back and forth on their shoulders.
There are real skills (and a strong union) involved in operating the container handling machinery as well as managing the whole process (every container looks pretty much like the other. Screwing up placement and/or tracking can cause enormous problems).
But I suspect the real problem is in the trucking side. Between unemployment payments, COVID and stimulus – there is a major shortage on truck drivers. Driving a truck is not a great job – not taxing in a physical strength sense but incredibly monotonous with long hours and a lot of physical isolation.
For example: Fox Biz on truck driver shortage in April 2021

The industry will need to hire 1.1M drivers to keep up with demand
…
One key reason for the dearth of drivers, according to an instructor at the Secaucus, New Jersey-based EZ Wheels Driving School, is that it’s taking longer for students to acquire a commercial driver’s license.
Prior to the pandemic, it would take about two months to gain a license in New Jersey. Now, it’s taking upward of six months, Victor, one of the driving instructors at EZ Wheels told FOX Business’ Lydia Hu.
…
At the end of 2018, there were an estimated 60,000 drivers needed, according to the American Trucking Association (ATA), which noted that the problem has only gotten worse.
The trucking industry moves nearly 71% of all freight in the U.S. and is heavily reliant on a vast number of trained and certified drivers to keep the supply chain running, according to estimates by the Commercial Vehicle Training Association, which is the largest association of commercial truck driving schools in the country.
To help offset the demand, the trucking industry will need to hire roughly 1.1 million new drivers over the 10 years or an average of 110,000 per year, ATA said.
The school issue matters because of the high turnover rate for truck drivers.

Posted by: c1ue | Oct 14 2021 16:06 utc | 98

Seward @Oct14 16:10 #98:

… the Deep State, in my estimation, is above party, favoring Tweedledee or Tweedledum: whichever side will best keep their revenue flowing.

The problem with this is that it suggests that “Tweedledee and Tweedledum” are independent and the Deep State just plays one off the other.
Close watchers of our managed democracy know that they are not independent.
Presidents, for example, are not elected and then pressured to act a certain way, they are PRE-SELECTED because they are already on the team. It makes no sense for the Deep State to gamble on “populist outsiders”. The “populist outsider” trope is made possible via controlled media.
And it works! Very few see beyond the lies of their favorite pundits and media outlets. Especially in these times of political kayfabe and deliberately hyped partisanship. It’s only places like moa where these lies come to light.
!!

Posted by: Jackrabbit | Oct 14 2021 16:25 utc | 100