offguardian--2020-03-19--ISS Report: 99% of Covid19 Deaths had Pre-existing Serious Illness

Report on Covid19 morbidity in Italy is shocking reading…but not in the way you ’ d imagine Anything up to 99.2 % of all of Italy ’ s recent Covid19-associated deaths could have been caused by pre-existing chronic conditions , according to a report released by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità ( Italian Institute of Health , ISS ) The report was translated and sent to us by Swiss Propaganda Research .
Their team have been doing some great work collating and translating sources of information on the coronavirus pandemic .
Their daily updated thread , here , is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up-to-date .
There are some very important facts here , all ignored by the mainstream .
There ’ s the epidemiological study done by a Japanese research group that found the case-fatality ratio to potentially be as low as 0.04 % ( markedly lower even than seasonal flu ) .
There ’ s German and Chinese biologists reporting the unproven nature of Covid test kits and that they can generate “ false positives ” .
There ’ s the Italian study finding that up to 75 % of positive test patients are entirely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doctors that panic and systemic overload pose a much greater threat to public health than the coronavirus .
As we said , it ’ s all very valuable information , and we highly recommend you read the whole thread , and check their daily updates .
An excellent piece of research .
…but we mostly want to focus on their most recent update , the translation of the ISS report on the morbidity of coronavirus patients .
The statistics are highly interesting .
According to this report : • The median age is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 83.7 for women ) .
• 10 % of the deceased was over 90 years old ; 90 % of the deceased was over 70 years old .
• Only 0.8 % of the deceased had no pre-existing chronic illnesses .
• Approximately 75 % of the deceased had two or more pre-existing conditions , 50 % had three more pre-existing conditions , in particular heart disease , diabetes and cancer .
• Five of the deceased were between 31 and 39 years old , all of them with serious pre-existing health conditions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) .
• The National Health Institute hasn ’ t yet determined what the patients examined ultimately died of and refers to them in general terms as Covid19-positive deaths .
Consider what these statistics mean , especially the third and final point together , followed to their logical conclusion .
99.2 % of Italian Covid19-related deaths were already sick with something else , and the ISS hasn ’ t actually determined they died of Covid19 at all .
That ’ s shocking .
Especially when paired with the reports that the test kits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s entirely possible that dozens , even hundreds , of deaths in Italy ( and perhaps the rest of the world ) are being mistakenly attributed to Covid19 rather than the heart disease , cancer , emphysema or whichever comorbidity actually caused the death .
Let us do some simple maths .
Italy currently reports 2978 pandemic-related deaths .
99.2 % of those were already sick , meaning 0.8 were not .
0.8 % of 2978 is just under 24 .
Which means , only 24 people have died whilst having no comorbidity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t know their age or social circumstances ) .
The question becomes , why is this happening ?
Why are we getting stories about overflowing funeral homes , when the worst-case Covid19 scenario ( ie , no false positives or misattributed deaths ) would be an increase of ~2 % in the expected mortalitiy rate ?
Why are we hearing rumours about Italian ICUs being over-burdened to breaking point this year , but heard no such thing when the ICUs in Lombardy were swamped with flu cases in 2017/18 ?
Why are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of our governments , totally irreconcilable with statistical reality ?
That should be a cause of concern for everyone .

Report on Covid19 morbidity in Italy is shocking reading…but not in the way you’d imagine
Kit Knightly
Anything up to 99.2% of all of Italy’s recent Covid19-associated deaths could have been caused by pre-existing chronic conditions, according to a report released by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Italian Institute of Health, ISS)
The report was translated and sent to us by Swiss Propaganda Research. Their team have been doing some great work collating and translating sources of information on the coronavirus pandemic. Their daily updated thread, here, is a valuable resource to anyone trying to keep up-to-date.
There are some very important facts here, all ignored by the mainstream.
There’s the epidemiological study done by a Japanese research group that found the case-fatality ratio to potentially be as low as 0.04% (markedly lower even than seasonal flu).
There’s German and Chinese biologists reporting the unproven nature of Covid test kits and that they can generate “false positives”.
There’s the Italian study finding that up to 75% of positive test patients are entirely symptomless, coupled with warnings from Spanish doctors that panic and systemic overload pose a much greater threat to public health than the coronavirus.
As we said, it’s all very valuable information, and we highly recommend you read the whole thread, and check their daily updates. An excellent piece of research.
…but we mostly want to focus on their most recent update, the translation of the ISS report on the morbidity of coronavirus patients. The statistics are highly interesting.
According to this report:
The median age is 80.5 years (79.5 for men, 83.7 for women).
10% of the deceased was over 90 years old; 90% of the deceased was over 70 years old.
Only 0.8% of the deceased had no pre-existing chronic illnesses.
Approximately 75% of the deceased had two or more pre-existing conditions, 50% had three more pre-existing conditions, in particular heart disease, diabetes and cancer.
Five of the deceased were between 31 and 39 years old, all of them with serious pre-existing health conditions (e.g. cancer or heart disease).
The National Health Institute hasn’t yet determined what the patients examined ultimately died of and refers to them in general terms as Covid19-positive deaths.
Consider what these statistics mean, especially the third and final point together, followed to their logical conclusion.
99.2% of Italian Covid19-related deaths were already sick with something else, and the ISS hasn’t actually determined they died of Covid19 at all.
That’s shocking. Especially when paired with the reports that the test kits can produce false positives.
It’s entirely possible that dozens, even hundreds, of deaths in Italy (and perhaps the rest of the world) are being mistakenly attributed to Covid19 rather than the heart disease, cancer, emphysema or whichever comorbidity actually caused the death.
Let us do some simple maths. Italy currently reports 2978 pandemic-related deaths. 99.2% of those were already sick, meaning 0.8 were not. 0.8% of 2978 is just under 24. Which means, only 24 people have died whilst having no comorbidity at all. (And we don’t know their age or social circumstances).
The question becomes, why is this happening?
Why are we getting stories about overflowing funeral homes, when the worst-case Covid19 scenario (ie, no false positives or misattributed deaths) would be an increase of ~2% in the expected mortalitiy rate?
Why are we hearing rumours about Italian ICUs being over-burdened to breaking point this year, but heard no such thing when the ICUs in Lombardy were swamped with flu cases in 2017/18?
Why are the media narratives, and the actions of our governments, totally irreconcilable with statistical reality?
That should be a cause of concern for everyone.


offguardian--2020-03-20--Viral Reactions: The Smugness of Celebrity Self-Isolation

The rush to elevate self-isolation to Olympian heights as a way to combat the spread of COVID-19 has gotten to the celebrities .
Sports figures are proudly tweeting and taking pictures from hotel rooms ( Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton being a case in point ) .
Comics are doing their shows from home .
Thespians are extolling the merits of such isolation and the dangers of the contagion .
All speak from the summit of comfort , the podium of pampered wealth : embrace social distancing ; embrace self-isolation .
Bonds of imagined solidarity are forged .
If we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The message of warning varies in tones of condescension and encouragement .
Taylor Swift prefers to focus on her cat .
“ For Meredith , self-quarantining is a way of life , ” she posted on Instagram .
“ Be like Meredith.
” Meredith , of course , had little choice in the matter .
John Legend delivered a concert on Instagram , wife Chrissy Teigen beside towelled and quaffing wine .
“ Social distancing is important , but that doesn ’ t mean it has to be boring .
I did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your spirits.
” Then there was Arnold Schwarzenegger , who actually boasted two miniature ponies .
“ We will get through this together.
” So good of him to let us know .
Others , like model Naomi Campbell , can barely hide their revelations , moments of acute self-awakening amidst crisis .
Similarly , singer Lady Gaga has found that within that deodorised , heavily marketed form of celebrity is the heart of a human .
“ This is reminding me I think a lot of us , ” she reflected on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ feel like and be like a human being.
” Self-isolation has seen the rich with their entourages making an escape for holiday homes and vast retreats .
Then come the eccentric and the slightly ludicrous options : the well-stocked and equipped bunker ; the safe room .
Such an approach is far more representative of the estrangement between haves and have-nots .
“ One of the best options is in Middle America , ” comes the recommendation from Adam Popescu in Vanity Fair .
“ If you ’ re part of the 1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support when you can burrow 175 feet underground in a refurbished Air Force missile silo in rural Kansas that markets itself as a survival condo ?
” The condo in question , the brainchild of developer Larry Hall , sports nine-foot think concrete walls , epoxy-hardened for good measure .
Their purpose , ostensibly , is to withstand nuclear blasts .
Current interest , however , is over a possible occupancy to ride out the coronavirus pandemic .
Florida entrepreneur Tyler Allen has already reserved his spot .
While he has “ other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ preference for the Kansas condo project .
His advice is not cloying and congratulatory .
It is more of the self-preservation school of thinking .
Let the idiots watch the disaster unfold on phones , screens and social media while I go about arming myself for doom .
All this excitement about upright behaviour provides a noisy distraction from those who are simply in no position to isolate themselves .
Food from increasingly bare counters must still be put on the table .
Doctors and nurses must still perform their dangerous tasks in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jobs where contact with the public inevitably continue .
Then come those who have been in isolation well before the term came into vogue : the forgotten elderly , the impoverished , the vulnerable .
But even here , the celebrities lurk with message and instructions , waiting to pounce .
Never let chances to do the good deed , and talk about it , go by .
At the very least , it has presented opportunities to tell others to do good works for the poor .
For actor Ryan Reynolds , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and low income families … If you can give , these orgs need your help.
” Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively have donated $ 1 million to be divided by Feeding America and Food Banks Canada .
Lively , for her part , has a lesson .
“ Though we must be distancing ourselves to protect those who don ’ t have the opportunity to self-quarantine , we can stay connected , ” she suggested in an Instagram post .
“ Remember the lonely and the isolated .
Facetime , Skype , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forms of life , combating disease comes with its hierarchies .
Luxuries and miseries are unevenly distributed .
The allocation of resources is skewed .
But valiant efforts are made to suggest that the well moneyed celebrity shares the lot with the proles and the hoi polloi .
An Esquire contribution does just that , though the effort is risibly unconvincing .
“ Celebrities , they ’ re just like us !
” it cheekily proclaims .
“ Self-isolating in their cavernous houses , dancing up their marble stairs , pouring themselves a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into the home-cinema to wait for all this to blow over.
” Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College , Cambridge .
He lectures at RMIT University , Melbourne .
Email : [ email protected ]

Binoy Kampmark
The rush to elevate self-isolation to Olympian heights as a way to combat the spread of COVID-19 has gotten to the celebrities. Sports figures are proudly tweeting and taking pictures from hotel rooms (Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton being a case in point). Comics are doing their shows from home. Thespians are extolling the merits of such isolation and the dangers of the contagion.
All speak from the summit of comfort, the podium of pampered wealth: embrace social distancing; embrace self-isolation. Bonds of imagined solidarity are forged. If we can do it, so can you.
The message of warning varies in tones of condescension and encouragement. Taylor Swift prefers to focus on her cat. “For Meredith, self-quarantining is a way of life,” she posted on Instagram. “Be like Meredith.” Meredith, of course, had little choice in the matter.
John Legend delivered a concert on Instagram, wife Chrissy Teigen beside towelled and quaffing wine. “Social distancing is important, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring. I did a little at-home performance to help lift your spirits.”
Then there was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who actually boasted two miniature ponies. “We will get through this together.” So good of him to let us know.
Others, like model Naomi Campbell, can barely hide their revelations, moments of acute self-awakening amidst crisis.
“I’m learning what it means to put my busy or complicated life on hold and just to be still for a while, in one place, with hyper awareness of the people and spaces directly around me and the moment to moment actions I am making.”
A long dormant, cerebral world, awoken by a virus.
Similarly, singer Lady Gaga has found that within that deodorised, heavily marketed form of celebrity is the heart of a human. “This is reminding me I think a lot of us,” she reflected on Instagram “what it is to both feel like and be like a human being.”
Self-isolation has seen the rich with their entourages making an escape for holiday homes and vast retreats. Then come the eccentric and the slightly ludicrous options: the well-stocked and equipped bunker; the safe room. Such an approach is far more representative of the estrangement between haves and have-nots.
“One of the best options is in Middle America,” comes the recommendation from Adam Popescu in Vanity Fair. “If you’re part of the 1%, why wait or sluggish government support when you can burrow 175 feet underground in a refurbished Air Force missile silo in rural Kansas that markets itself as a survival condo?”
The condo in question, the brainchild of developer Larry Hall, sports nine-foot think concrete walls, epoxy-hardened for good measure. Their purpose, ostensibly, is to withstand nuclear blasts. Current interest, however, is over a possible occupancy to ride out the coronavirus pandemic.
Florida entrepreneur Tyler Allen has already reserved his spot. While he has “other fortified locations”, he has a preference for the Kansas condo project.
“Some of my hard facilities have a bunker but it doesn’t have protection for biological infection, doesn’t have protection for radiation. The survival condo has layering; it has it all. I’m protected from everything.”
His advice is not cloying and congratulatory. It is more of the self-preservation school of thinking. Let the idiots watch the disaster unfold on phones, screens and social media while I go about arming myself for doom.
All this excitement about upright behaviour provides a noisy distraction from those who are simply in no position to isolate themselves. Food from increasingly bare counters must still be put on the table. Doctors and nurses must still perform their dangerous tasks in increasingly overwhelmed health systems. The menial jobs where contact with the public inevitably continue.
Then come those who have been in isolation well before the term came into vogue: the forgotten elderly, the impoverished, the vulnerable. But even here, the celebrities lurk with message and instructions, waiting to pounce. Never let chances to do the good deed, and talk about it, go by. At the very least, it has presented opportunities to tell others to do good works for the poor. For actor Ryan Reynolds, “COVID-19 has brutally impacted older adults and low income families … If you can give, these orgs need your help.”
Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively have donated $1 million to be divided by Feeding America and Food Banks Canada. Lively, for her part, has a lesson. “Though we must be distancing ourselves to protect those who don’t have the opportunity to self-quarantine, we can stay connected,” she suggested in an Instagram post. “Remember the lonely and the isolated. Facetime, Skype, make a video.”
As with other forms of life, combating disease comes with its hierarchies. Luxuries and miseries are unevenly distributed. The allocation of resources is skewed. But valiant efforts are made to suggest that the well moneyed celebrity shares the lot with the proles and the hoi polloi.
An Esquire contribution does just that, though the effort is risibly unconvincing. “Celebrities, they’re just like us!” it cheekily proclaims. “Self-isolating in their cavernous houses, dancing up their marble stairs, pouring themselves a crystal tumbler of citrus-scented tequila and sauntering into the home-cinema to wait for all this to blow over.”
Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He lectures at RMIT University, Melbourne. Email: [email protected]


offguardian--2020-03-21--The Everything Bubble, Fictitious Capital and Coronavirus

Interestingly enough 1971 was the year when Nixon took the world off the gold standard , which had been in effect since 1944 .
Fiat-bugs please note .
More to the point , however .
Booms and busts have always been normal in a capitalist economy .
But in recent years this has been a feature which has been exacerbated by and involves that part of the economy indicated by the acronym FIRE ( Finance , Insurance and Real Estate ) and its growing importance in the economy in both qualitative and quantitative terms .
Financialisation is a process whereby @ @ @ @ @ @ @ financial elites gain greater influence over economic policy and economic outcomes .
Financialisation transforms the functioning of economic systems at both the macro and micro levels .
Its principal impacts are to : • elevate the significance of the financial rent-seeking sector relative to the real value-producing sector • transfer income from the real value-producing sector to the financial sector Since 1970 this part of the economy has grown from almost nothing to 8 % of US Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ) .
This means that one dollar in every ten is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corporate profits finance ’ s contribution now represents around 40 % of all corporate profits in the US .
This is a significant figure and , moreover it does not include those overseas earnings of companies whose profits are repatriated to their countries of origin .
Thus , the increasing presence and role of finance in overall economic activity and the increase of profits channelled to the financial sector represent the salient indicators as to what has been termed financialization .
It is argued by some that financialization may put the economy at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Financialisation operates through three different conduits : changes in the structure and operation of financial markets , changes in the behaviour of nonfinancial corporations , and changes in economic policy .
Countering financialisation calls for a multifaceted agenda that : • makes corporations responsive to interests of stakeholders other than just financial markets • reforms the political process so as to diminish the influence of corporations and wealthy elites The rent-seeking nature of finance is common to all forms of insurance , banking , monopolistic pricing , and property .
This has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least wasn ’ t as pronounced as it is at present .
There was a time when the banking system was junior partner in the relationship between banks and industry .
Banks provided industry with loans for investment with a view to maximising profit for both .
This is patently not the case today .
Generally speaking , banks will lend for property purchases , stock buy-backs , and perhaps loans for dubious mergers and acquisitions .
Moreover , when we speak of ‘ profits ’ this has now assumed a rather @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a realization of surplus value .
Firms made stuff – goods and services – which had a value , which was then sold on the market at a profit .
Given the competitive nature of the system , firms invested in increased capital formation and output which increased productivity , surplus value and ultimately profit .
With regard to Investment banks like Goldman Sachs and the commercial banks they do not create value ; they are purely rent-extractive .
For example , commercial banks make a loan out of thin air , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who then becomes a source of permanent income flow to the bank for the next 25 years .
Goldman Sachs makes year-on-year ‘ profits ’ by doing – what exactly ?
Nothing particularly useful .
But then Goldman Sachs is part of the cabal of central banks and Treasury departments around the world .
It is not unusual to see the interchange of the movers and shakers of the financial world who oscillate between these institutions .
Hank Paulson , Mario Draghi , Steve Mnuchin , Robert Rubin … on and on it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in ever-increasing levels of instability .
But what did we expect when the whole institutional structure – its rules , regulations and practises – were deregulated and finance was let off the leash .
Thatcher , Reagan , the ‘ Big Bang ’ had set the scene and there was no going back : neoliberalism and globalization had become the norm .
From this point on , however , there followed a litany of crises mostly in the developing world but these disturbances were in due course to move into the developed world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chastened monies moved out of this market and into property speculation .
It is common knowledge what happened next .
The run-up to 2008 was floated on a sea of cheap credit .
The price of stocks pushed property prices to vertiginous heights until – pop , went the weasel .
The reason was quite simple .
Any boom and bust has an inflexion point where boom turns to bust .
This is when buyers incomes , and borrowers inability to extend their loans could no longer support the rise in the price @ @ @ @ @ @ @ borrowers who once clamoured to buy were now desperate to sell .
2008 had arrived .
The strange thing , however , regarding the property price boom-and-bust was that it was based upon pure speculation .
Prices went up , prices went down .
Some – a few – made money , quite a few lost money .
Investors were wondering what had happened to their gains which they had made during the up phase .
Where had all that money gone ?
The short answer is – nowhere .
It was never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was fictitious capital .
Gains which had appeared and then disappeared like a will ‘ o ’ the wisp .
As opposed to physical capital – machinery , labour and raw materials , and money capital which enabled through purchase the production of value to take place , we have fictitious capital which is a claim on future production .
If my house goes up by 10 % that is a capital gain , if everybody ’ s house goes up by 10 % that is asset-price inflation Fictitious capital is a by-product @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concept used by Karl Marx in his critique of political economy .
It is introduced in chapter 25 of the third volume of Capital .
Fictitious capital contrasts with what Marx calls “ real capital ” , which is capital actually invested in physical means of production and workers , and “ money capital ” , which is actual funds being held .
The market value of fictitious capital assets ( such as stocks and securities ) varies according to the expected return or yield of those assets in the future , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the growth of real production .
Effectively , fictitious capital represents “ accumulated claims , legal titles , to future production ’ ’ and more specifically claims to the income generated by that production .
The moral of the story is that it is not possible to print wealth or value .
Money in its paper representation of the real thing , e.g.
, gold , is not wealth it is a claim on wealth .
Of course , this would be lost on establishment economists , bankers , and financial journalists , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be QE , liquidity injections , and so forth .
A one-trick pony .
And what has all of this to do with Coronavirus ?
Well , everything actually .
I take it that we all knew that the grotesquely overleveraged world economy was heading for a ‘ correction ’ but that ’ s a rather a soothing description .
“ Massive correction ” would be a better description .
That is the nature of the beast .
The world was a bubble of paper money looking for a pin .
It found @ @

Frank Lee
The years since the 1970s are unprecedented in terms of their volatility in the price of commodities, currencies, real estate and stocks. There have been 4 waves of financial crises: a large number of banks in three, four or more countries collapsed at about the same time. Each wave was followed by a recession, and the economic slowdown which began in 2008 was the most severe and most global since the great depression of the 1930s.”
Manias, Crashes and Panics – Kindelberger and Aliber
Interestingly enough 1971 was the year when Nixon took the world off the gold standard, which had been in effect since 1944. Fiat-bugs please note.
More to the point, however. Booms and busts have always been normal in a capitalist economy. But in recent years this has been a feature which has been exacerbated by and involves that part of the economy indicated by the acronym FIRE (Finance, Insurance and Real Estate) and its growing importance in the economy in both qualitative and quantitative terms.
Financialisation is a process whereby financial markets, financial institutions, and financial elites gain greater influence over economic policy and economic outcomes. Financialisation transforms the functioning of economic systems at both the macro and micro levels. Its principal impacts are to:
elevate the significance of the financial rent-seeking sector relative to the real value-producing sector transfer income from the real value-producing sector to the financial sector increase income inequality and contribute to wage stagnation
Since 1970 this part of the economy has grown from almost nothing to 8% of US Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This means that one dollar in every ten is associated with finance. In terms of corporate profits finance’s contribution now represents around 40% of all corporate profits in the US. This is a significant figure and, moreover it does not include those overseas earnings of companies whose profits are repatriated to their countries of origin.
Thus, the increasing presence and role of finance in overall economic activity and the increase of profits channelled to the financial sector represent the salient indicators as to what has been termed financialization. It is argued by some that financialization may put the economy at risk of debt deflation and prolonged recession.
Financialisation operates through three different conduits: changes in the structure and operation of financial markets, changes in the behaviour of nonfinancial corporations, and changes in economic policy. Countering financialisation calls for a multifaceted agenda that:
restores policy control over financial markets challenges the neoliberal economic policy paradigm encouraged by financialisation makes corporations responsive to interests of stakeholders other than just financial markets reforms the political process so as to diminish the influence of corporations and wealthy elites
The rent-seeking nature of finance is common to all forms of insurance, banking, monopolistic pricing, and property. This has not always been the case, or at least wasn’t as pronounced as it is at present. There was a time when the banking system was junior partner in the relationship between banks and industry. Banks provided industry with loans for investment with a view to maximising profit for both. This is patently not the case today.
Generally speaking, banks will lend for property purchases, stock buy-backs, and perhaps loans for dubious mergers and acquisitions. Moreover, when we speak of ‘profits’ this has now assumed a rather obscure meaning. Profits were generally understood as a realization of surplus value.
Firms made stuff – goods and services – which had a value, which was then sold on the market at a profit. Given the competitive nature of the system, firms invested in increased capital formation and output which increased productivity, surplus value and ultimately profit.
With regard to Investment banks like Goldman Sachs and the commercial banks they do not create value; they are purely rent-extractive. For example, commercial banks make a loan out of thin air, debit this loan to the would-be mortgagee who then becomes a source of permanent income flow to the bank for the next 25 years.
Goldman Sachs makes year-on-year ‘profits’ by doing – what exactly? Nothing particularly useful. But then Goldman Sachs is part of the cabal of central banks and Treasury departments around the world. It is not unusual to see the interchange of the movers and shakers of the financial world who oscillate between these institutions. Hank Paulson, Mario Draghi, Steve Mnuchin, Robert Rubin … on and on it goes.
This financialised system now moves in ever-increasing levels of instability. But what did we expect when the whole institutional structure – its rules, regulations and practises – were deregulated and finance was let off the leash.
Thatcher, Reagan, the ‘Big Bang’ had set the scene and there was no going back: neoliberalism and globalization had become the norm. From this point on, however, there followed a litany of crises mostly in the developing world but these disturbances were in due course to move into the developed world. Serial bubbles began to appear.
US stock prices [which of course would only ever go up] began to decline in the Spring of 2000, and fell by 40% in the next three years. Whilst the prices of NASDAQ stocks decline by 80%.”
Manias, Panics and Crashes – Kindleberger and Aliber
Chastened monies moved out of this market and into property speculation. It is common knowledge what happened next. The run-up to 2008 was floated on a sea of cheap credit. The price of stocks pushed property prices to vertiginous heights until – pop, went the weasel.
The reason was quite simple. Any boom and bust has an inflexion point where boom turns to bust. This is when buyers incomes, and borrowers inability to extend their loans could no longer support the rise in the price level. Euphoria turned to panic as borrowers who once clamoured to buy were now desperate to sell. 2008 had arrived.
The strange thing, however, regarding the property price boom-and-bust was that it was based upon pure speculation. Prices went up, prices went down. Some – a few – made money, quite a few lost money. Investors were wondering what had happened to their gains which they had made during the up phase. Where had all that money gone?
The short answer is – nowhere. It was never there in the first place. It was fictitious capital. Gains which had appeared and then disappeared like a will ‘o’ the wisp. As opposed to physical capital – machinery, labour and raw materials, and money capital which enabled through purchase the production of value to take place, we have fictitious capital which is a claim on future production. If my house goes up by 10% that is a capital gain, if everybody’s house goes up by 10% that is asset-price inflation
Fictitious capital is a by-product of capitalist accumulation. It is a concept used by Karl Marx in his critique of political economy. It is introduced in chapter 25 of the third volume of Capital. Fictitious capital contrasts with what Marx calls “real capital”, which is capital actually invested in physical means of production and workers, and “money capital”, which is actual funds being held.
The market value of fictitious capital assets (such as stocks and securities) varies according to the expected return or yield of those assets in the future, which Marx felt was only indirectly related to the growth of real production. Effectively, fictitious capital represents “accumulated claims, legal titles, to future production’’ and more specifically claims to the income generated by that production.
The moral of the story is that it is not possible to print wealth or value. Money in its paper representation of the real thing, e.g., gold, is not wealth it is a claim on wealth.
Of course, this would be lost on establishment economists, bankers, and financial journalists, whose view is that the policy should be QE, liquidity injections, and so forth. A one-trick pony.
And what has all of this to do with Coronavirus? Well, everything actually.
I take it that we all knew that the grotesquely overleveraged world economy was heading for a ‘correction’ but that’s a rather a soothing description. “Massive correction” would be a better description. That is the nature of the beast. The world was a bubble of paper money looking for a pin. It found one.
Have a nice day all.


offguardian--2020-03-21--Coronavirus Crackdown – Beware “the new normal”

Martial Law in Lombardy , all of France under house arrest & UK passes sweeping “ Coronavirus Bill ” …our world is being reshaped .
But only if we let it .
A few days ago James Corbett posted a video titled “ Is this THE big event ?
” the answer to that increasingly looks to be “ yes ” .
Not the virus itself , you understand , which official statistics still show to be minor compared to annual flu outbreaks .
But rather , what it ’ s being used for .
The West ’ s vestigial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ liberties are facing a final assault from draconian authoritarians sensing ( or creating ) their big moment .
Spain is enjoying “ martial law in all but name ” , while Italy is likewise bringing in the army .
In France , Macron has “ declared war ” on the coronavirus , essentially locking the entire country up inside their homes unless they have “ a good reason ” to leave .
A reason which must be submitted in writing to the police .
Public gatherings are of course strictly forbidden .
Elections @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what the Gilets Jaunes plan to do .
There is a march – Act 71 – planned for today .
Will it go head ?
If so , will they be met with more violence ?
Maybe .
Only now instead of being ignored by the media they will be branded “ selfish ” for putting “ members of the public at risk ” .
War metaphors are prevalent in the UK too , the “ spirit of Blitz ” lives on .
Apparently .
We ’ re going to start making ventilators @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( presumably we ’ ll be asked to send in our pots and pans to help in that regard ) .
The Daily Mail actually interviewed the 103 year old Vera Lynn , who thinks we should all “ pull together ” .
This encouragement of ersatz community spirit is all a prelude to the passing of the Coronavirus Bill , a truly terrifying piece of legislation .
The proposed measures span everything from the predictably totalitarian to the worryingly bizarre .
First , the police can detain a person they suspect of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worry , it ’ s only for a “ limited period ” ( which is legally meaningless .
A “ limited period ” can be defined as any time less than forever . )
They will also remove “ restrictions ” on vaccination : …and grant legal immunity to people involved in treating the disease ( of special relevance given the likelihood of untested vaccines be rushed into mass use ) : It ’ s a grab-bag of vaguely worded powers , wide open to “ interpretation ” .
It is highly dangerous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ London could be put under total lockdown .
Most bizarre are the relaxed legal regulations for registering deaths ( which we discuss in more detail here ) .
All told , it ’ s a terrifying prospect for the future of the country .
It ’ s not hard to envision a world where a person can be “ detained ” on “ suspicion of having the virus ” when they are perfectly healthy , and their family has all their social media posts about it taken down for spreading “ misinformation ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then make it easier to cover up any deaths in custody by having private funeral directors register deaths that require no secondary confirmation .
A claim this person died “ whilst being treated for Covid19 ” would also render all those involved legally immune .
That is an extreme example , but there lies the danger of vaguely worded “ powers ” .
They are wide open to abuse .
Yesterday Britain saw its first arrest under these new rules , a young man ( not reported to be sick at all ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for refusing to self-isolate .
He now faces up to 3 months in prison , or a fine of £10,000 .
Also announced yesterday , Boris is shutting all service businesses down .
Clubs , bars , cafes , gyms , leisure centres , restaurants , cinemas .
All gone .
Putting potentially millions of people out of work , but introducing a new benefit ( one you have to attend a Job Centre to claim , where it ’ s well known you can ’ t catch viruses ) .
The Danish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at this point .
China is tagging people with electronic bracelets , and scanning crowds with special helmets to monitor anyone with a slight temperature .
Israel , having suspended Netanyahu ’ s corruption trial , is now busying itself eradicating some civil liberties .
Their proposed use of harvested mobile phone data to track and surveil those possibly infected is the most heartwarming use of illegally gathered private information I can recall .
Never to be outdone , the US is putting entire cities and states under total lockdown .
Dystopian “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ issued for the whole of California .
Meetings of more than 10 people are banned , with some regions setting helplines for mean little volunteer Kapos to report any illegal congregations .
“ Secret emergency plans ” for a military government in the event DC is “ devastated ” were recently “ leaked ” to Newsweek .
You can feel the General ’ s eagerness through the prose .
Sean Penn is all for the idea .
The private sector is getting in on the act too , with YouTube announcing their automated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a lot more videos ( they blame working from home , but the idea Google doesn ’ t already have a facility for working remotely is frankly absurd ) .
The five major Tech Giants released a joint statement on “ combatting misinformation ” and “ boosting authoritative sources ” .
Well-known medical expert Bill Gates did an AMA on Reddit ( transcribed here ) , in which he casually drops some chilling ideas into the conversation : All in all , our freedoms are being swamped .
Big corporations and states alike @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a flimsy pretext .
Is anyone in the media reporting that ?
Of course not .
Instead we ’ re getting fawning celebrity-based drivel like this in the Independent , trying to convince us “ we ’ re all in this together ” , or weasel-worded nonsense like this from Jonathan Freedland in The Guardian where he mourns Johnson ’ s “ libertarian ” spirit and reluctance to impose social control .
That would be the mass-surveilling , drone executing , war-supporting type of libertarian .
A crass and obvious example of narrative @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are falling for this , with prominent voices hailing the measures as necessary or demanding “ further action ” ( one usually sane analyst is advocating locking all of those “ probably infected ” inside empty sports stadiums to be “ medically monitored ” ) .
Somehow former Goldman Sachs banker and Hedge Fund manager Rishi Sunak is being praised as some kind of Nye Bevan figure .
It ’ s almost literally insane .
We ’ ve gone over the numbers countless times .
They don ’ t add up .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus , in pure numbers terms , is a rounding error on the annual flu season .
The Swine Flu “ pandemic ” of 2009 was 10x more widespread and 100s of times more fatal…did any of this panic porn appear ?
Did it “ change what normal meant ” ?
No , it was just a new type of flu .
It passed , there was media hype , of course , but the world remained the same .
The time for arguing over whether the CFR is 2 % or 3 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the disease is as bad as they are reporting , none of it can justify the Orwellian nightmare that Britain ( and much of the rest of the developed world ) is turning into .
People with platforms need to focus on this , without falling for rhetorical traps or emotionally manipulative sob-stories .
Human-interest anecdotes are meaningless , and feel good articles about “ pulling together ” or “ not taking any risks ” are negative panic at best or enabling emergent fascism at worst .
That would be actual fascism .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ resistance ” has been rabbiting on about for three years .
Consider that : This is the EXACT SITUATION everybody from the NYT to CNN was hysterically warning Trump would introduce since he was first elected , and where are those people now ?
Cheering him on .
Because of “ public health ” .
The same people ranting about Boris Johnson being an alt-right neo-Nazi racist and unfit for public office before Christmas , now want to give the man legal authority to arrest anyone with a cough and nail pensioners @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” is just another word for mass quarantine , and as Dr Joel Kettner said on the radio last week , there ’ s no evidence to suggest it actually works to control diseases .
Control people though ?
Well , that it does like a charm .
But maybe I ’ m over-reacting , right ?
After all , this is only for a short time .
We ’ ll go back to normal soon enough .
Those two years will just fly by .
Perhaps a quick history lesson in “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” ?
Well , let ’ s look at the Patriot Act – sweeping , authoritarian changes to the US legal system which were enacted after 9/11 on a “ temporary ” basis and have been extended and expanded by every President since .
It is still very much in place today .
Or France ’ s “ state of emergency ” , granting “ special powers ” to the police after 2015 shootings in Paris .
Those were extended by Hollande for years , until Macron “ ended ” the State of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law permanently .
They became the “ new normal ” too .
Or , the golden oldie , the Reichstag Fire Decree .
Passed after the eponymous fire , it “ temporarily ” suspended German civil liberties in name of rooting out communist insurgents .
You probably already know how that turned out .
“ Special powers ” don ’ t go away .
They are not temporary , they won ’ t be surrendered .
Everything we give the government our permission to do , they will do .
For the foreseeable @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they become the Bear Patrol .
The rock that keeps tigers away .
Once they are there , and everything calms down , they can be hailed as the reason everything is calm .
In two years , when the bill is set to expire , there will be no more “ pandemic ” …but the powers will stay .
Because they “ kept us safe during the pandemic ” .
Because they cut knife crime , or boosted public health , or they are good for the environment ( that will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ll be some scary stories in the media in the last couple of weeks before the expiry date , and the bill will be extended .
Pandemic or no pandemic , you can ’ t just shut your eyes to the world being re-shaped .
That ’ s what world governments are doing , ALL world governments .
We can ’ t fall back on increasingly obsolete notions of US/UK/EU = “ bad ” and China/Iran = “ good ” .
Rulers are rulers , they want authority and need power .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that better suits their purposes , attempting to change what people consider “ normal ” .
How do we know that ?
Because they are telling us .
The Guardian alone has had three opinion pieces discussing the “ new normal ” in less than a week , two of them on the same day .
The technocrats and eugenicists are all over it too , barely containing their glee that the “ world will never be the same ” .
Perhaps the only good news is , en masse , the public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ convinced .
In fact , oddly enough , the alternate media crowd seem a lot more caught up in the hysteria than those who only vaguely follow the news .
An NPR poll showed that 56 % of Americans think the virus is being overblown .
Hence everyone from Taylor Swift to Kylie Jenner insisting it “ is a real thing ” .
In one key area , the Coronavirus Bill tells the absolute truth : “ Public support and compliance is crucial ” .
They need our permission to do this .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
It ’ s really important that we all wake up to what is happening here .
Because the police state they want to birth is a disease with a much higher death-rate than 2 % , and it won ’ t be cured with two-weeks bed-rest .

Martial Law in Lombardy, all of France under house arrest & UK passes sweeping “Coronavirus Bill”…our world is being reshaped. But only if we let it.
Kit Knightly
So this is how Liberty dies…with thunderous applause.
A few days ago James Corbett posted a video titled “Is this THE big event?” the answer to that increasingly looks to be “yes”.
Not the virus itself, you understand, which official statistics still show to be minor compared to annual flu outbreaks. But rather, what it’s being used for. The West’s vestigial democratic forms, and slowly atrophying civil liberties are facing a final assault from draconian authoritarians sensing (or creating) their big moment.
Spain is enjoying “martial law in all but name”, while Italy is likewise bringing in the army.
In France, Macron has “declared war” on the coronavirus, essentially locking the entire country up inside their homes unless they have “a good reason” to leave. A reason which must be submitted in writing to the police.
Public gatherings are of course strictly forbidden. Elections are halted.
No word yet on what the Gilets Jaunes plan to do. There is a march – Act 71 – planned for today. Will it go head? If so, will they be met with more violence? Maybe. Only now instead of being ignored by the media they will be branded “selfish” for putting “members of the public at risk”.
War metaphors are prevalent in the UK too, the “spirit of Blitz” lives on. Apparently. We’re going to start making ventilators like we used to make Spitfires, (presumably we’ll be asked to send in our pots and pans to help in that regard). The Daily Mail actually interviewed the 103 year old Vera Lynn, who thinks we should all “pull together”.
This encouragement of ersatz community spirit is all a prelude to the passing of the Coronavirus Bill, a truly terrifying piece of legislation.
The proposed measures span everything from the predictably totalitarian to the worryingly bizarre.
First, the police can detain a person they suspect of being infectious:
Therefore, the bill will enable the police and immigration officers to detain a person, for a limited period, who is, or may be, infectious and to take them to a suitable place to enable screening and assessment.
But don’t worry, it’s only for a “limited period” (which is legally meaningless. A “limited period” can be defined as any time less than forever.)
They will also remove “restrictions” on vaccination:
removing a current restriction in how Scottish territorial Health Boards can deliver vaccination programmes would mean that, when a vaccine becomes available, it can reach as many people as possible.
…and postpone elections:
postpone the local, mayoral and Police and Crime Commissioner elections that were due to take place in England in May this year until May 2021. Provision will also be made to postpone other electoral events over the course of the year (such as by-elections)
…and grant legal immunity to people involved in treating the disease (of special relevance given the likelihood of untested vaccines be rushed into mass use):
provide indemnity for clinical negligence liabilities arising from NHS activities carried out for the purposes of dealing with, or because of, the coronavirus outbreak,
It’s a grab-bag of vaguely worded powers, wide open to “interpretation”. It is highly dangerous. There’s even hints that London could be put under total lockdown.
Most bizarre are the relaxed legal regulations for registering deaths (which we discuss in more detail here).
All told, it’s a terrifying prospect for the future of the country.
It’s not hard to envision a world where a person can be “detained” on “suspicion of having the virus” when they are perfectly healthy, and their family has all their social media posts about it taken down for spreading “misinformation”.
Hell, the new rules would then make it easier to cover up any deaths in custody by having private funeral directors register deaths that require no secondary confirmation. A claim this person died “whilst being treated for Covid19” would also render all those involved legally immune.
That is an extreme example, but there lies the danger of vaguely worded “powers”. They are wide open to abuse.
Yesterday Britain saw its first arrest under these new rules, a young man (not reported to be sick at all) was arrested on the Isle of Man for refusing to self-isolate. He now faces up to 3 months in prison, or a fine of £10,000.
Also announced yesterday, Boris is shutting all service businesses down. Clubs, bars, cafes, gyms, leisure centres, restaurants, cinemas. All gone. Putting potentially millions of people out of work, but introducing a new benefit (one you have to attend a Job Centre to claim, where it’s well known you can’t catch viruses).
The Danish compulsory vaccine/treatment law is looking comparatively tame at this point.
China is tagging people with electronic bracelets, and scanning crowds with special helmets to monitor anyone with a slight temperature.
Israel, having suspended Netanyahu’s corruption trial, is now busying itself eradicating some civil liberties. Their proposed use of harvested mobile phone data to track and surveil those possibly infected is the most heartwarming use of illegally gathered private information I can recall.
Never to be outdone, the US is putting entire cities and states under total lockdown. Dystopian “shelter in place” orders have been issued for the whole of California. Meetings of more than 10 people are banned, with some regions setting helplines for mean little volunteer Kapos to report any illegal congregations.
“Secret emergency plans” for a military government in the event DC is “devastated” were recently “leaked” to Newsweek. You can feel the General’s eagerness through the prose.
Sean Penn is all for the idea.
The private sector is getting in on the act too, with YouTube announcing their automated system is going to be taking down a lot more videos (they blame working from home, but the idea Google doesn’t already have a facility for working remotely is frankly absurd). The five major Tech Giants released a joint statement on “combatting misinformation” and “boosting authoritative sources”.
Well-known medical expert Bill Gates did an AMA on Reddit (transcribed here), in which he casually drops some chilling ideas into the conversation:
Eventually we will have some digital certificates to show who has recovered or been tested recently or when we have a vaccine who has received it.
All in all, our freedoms are being swamped. Big corporations and states alike are setting boundaries on individual rights on a flimsy pretext.
Is anyone in the media reporting that? Of course not. Instead we’re getting fawning celebrity-based drivel like this in the Independent, trying to convince us “we’re all in this together”, or weasel-worded nonsense like this from Jonathan Freedland in The Guardian where he mourns Johnson’s “libertarian” spirit and reluctance to impose social control. That would be the mass-surveilling, drone executing, war-supporting type of libertarian. A crass and obvious example of narrative management.
Even members of the alt-media are falling for this, with prominent voices hailing the measures as necessary or demanding “further action” (one usually sane analyst is advocating locking all of those “probably infected” inside empty sports stadiums to be “medically monitored”). Somehow former Goldman Sachs banker and Hedge Fund manager Rishi Sunak is being praised as some kind of Nye Bevan figure. It’s almost literally insane.
We’ve gone over the numbers countless times. They don’t add up. The agenda is outstripping the statistics. The coronavirus, in pure numbers terms, is a rounding error on the annual flu season. The Swine Flu “pandemic” of 2009 was 10x more widespread and 100s of times more fatal…did any of this panic porn appear? Did it “change what normal meant”?
No, it was just a new type of flu. It passed, there was media hype, of course, but the world remained the same.
The time for arguing over whether the CFR is 2% or 3% is done, because even if the disease is as bad as they are reporting, none of it can justify the Orwellian nightmare that Britain (and much of the rest of the developed world) is turning into.
People with platforms need to focus on this, without falling for rhetorical traps or emotionally manipulative sob-stories. Human-interest anecdotes are meaningless, and feel good articles about “pulling together” or “not taking any risks” are negative panic at best or enabling emergent fascism at worst.
That would be actual fascism. Not the pretend type that the anti-Trump “resistance” has been rabbiting on about for three years.
Consider that: This is the EXACT SITUATION everybody from the NYT to CNN was hysterically warning Trump would introduce since he was first elected, and where are those people now? Cheering him on. Because of “public health”.
The same people ranting about Boris Johnson being an alt-right neo-Nazi racist and unfit for public office before Christmas, now want to give the man legal authority to arrest anyone with a cough and nail pensioners inside their homes.
“Social distancing” is just another word for mass quarantine, and as Dr Joel Kettner said on the radio last week, there’s no evidence to suggest it actually works to control diseases. Control people though? Well, that it does like a charm.
But maybe I’m over-reacting, right? After all, this is only for a short time. We’ll go back to normal soon enough. Those two years will just fly by.
Perhaps a quick history lesson in “special powers” and “temporary measures”?
Well, let’s look at the Patriot Act – sweeping, authoritarian changes to the US legal system which were enacted after 9/11 on a “temporary” basis and have been extended and expanded by every President since. It is still very much in place today.
Or France’s “state of emergency”, granting “special powers” to the police after 2015 shootings in Paris. Those were extended by Hollande for years, until Macron “ended” the State of Emergency by essentially signing those powers into law permanently. They became the “new normal” too.
Or, the golden oldie, the Reichstag Fire Decree. Passed after the eponymous fire, it “temporarily” suspended German civil liberties in name of rooting out communist insurgents. You probably already know how that turned out.
“Special powers” don’t go away. They are not temporary, they won’t be surrendered. Everything we give the government our permission to do, they will do. For the foreseeable. And you know why?
Because they become the Bear Patrol. The rock that keeps tigers away. Once they are there, and everything calms down, they can be hailed as the reason everything is calm.
In two years, when the bill is set to expire, there will be no more “pandemic”…but the powers will stay. Because they “kept us safe during the pandemic”. Because they cut knife crime, or boosted public health, or they are good for the environment (that will be the big one). There’ll be some scary stories in the media in the last couple of weeks before the expiry date, and the bill will be extended.
Pandemic or no pandemic, you can’t just shut your eyes to the world being re-shaped. That’s what world governments are doing, ALL world governments. We can’t fall back on increasingly obsolete notions of US/UK/EU = “bad” and China/Iran = “good”. Rulers are rulers, they want authority and need power.
And they are re-forging society to a shape that better suits their purposes, attempting to change what people consider “normal”.
How do we know that? Because they are telling us.
The Guardian alone has had three opinion pieces discussing the “new normal” in less than a week, two of them on the same day. The technocrats and eugenicists are all over it too, barely containing their glee that the “world will never be the same”.
Perhaps the only good news is, en masse, the public don’t seem to be totally convinced. In fact, oddly enough, the alternate media crowd seem a lot more caught up in the hysteria than those who only vaguely follow the news. An NPR poll showed that 56% of Americans think the virus is being overblown. Hence everyone from Taylor Swift to Kylie Jenner insisting it “is a real thing”.
In one key area, the Coronavirus Bill tells the absolute truth: “Public support and compliance is crucial”. They need our permission to do this. Do we really want to grant it?
It’s really important that we all wake up to what is happening here. Because the police state they want to birth is a disease with a much higher death-rate than 2%, and it won’t be cured with two-weeks bed-rest.


offguardian--2020-03-22--Coronavirus Bill slashes safeguards in death registration

One aspect of the horrifically disturbing Coronavirus Bill ( UK ) is the changes being made to the registration of deaths .
Here ’ s how it ’ s explained in the Introduction .
The Bill will ( our emphasis ) : – Expand the list of people who can register a death to include funeral directors acting on behalf of the family – Enable electronic transmission of documents that currently have to be physically presented in order to certify the registration of a death – Remove the need for a second confirmatory medical certificate in order for a cremation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Justice Act 2009 requirement that any inquest into a COVID-19 death must be held with a jury .
Other notifiable diseases will still require an inquest with a jury How do these changes help in the containment of a pathogen , which is the alleged purpose of this bill ?
Well , in an imagined scenario in which no one can leave the house for anything ( except visiting the Job Centre apparently ) , then sending documents might have to be done electronically .
But even so , the absence of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worrying .
Electronic copies are much easier to fake or alter .
The safeguards are reduced .
But , let ’ s be generous and accept this .
Is this about hastily managing the mass of corpses the most hysterical projections have been claiming are imminent ?
Well , ok , let ’ s assume they are panicking and this is the plan .
Now , how is this a precautionary or time-saving move ?
The current UK requirement about who can register a death is very specific .
The registrant must either @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a relative who was present at the death • a relative present during the person ’ s last illness • a relative living in the district where the death took place • anyone else present at the death • an owner or occupier of the building where the death took place and who was aware of the death • the person arranging the funeral ( but not the funeral director ) .
It ’ s not hard to see the rationale for this .
Once you remove all these requirements and start allowing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who will have no connection whatsoever to the deceased or their family , the capacity for malpractice of various kinds to enter the process increases considerably .
What good is served by increasing that risk ?
And what benefit accrues ?
Why do inquests into alleged Covid-19 deaths need to be held without a jury , when all other ‘ notifiable ’ disease inquests will continue to have juries present ?
Are they assuming an inquest on a potential Covid-19 victim will be more likely to bring the pathogen into the courtroom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Could they not find another way of getting round this perceived risk that didn ’ t involve dismissing the jury ?
I ’ m inclined to think they probably could .
What do all these new specifications add up to ?
With this new bill in place it will be possible for a funeral director ( a profession that requires no specific training or certification ) to register deaths of people he has never seen and knows nothing about , and to then perform their cremation based on nothing but the original death @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who will not , of course , be required to make any statement to anyone about any part of this , unless there happens to be an inquest .
And if there is an inquest , an alleged involvement of the ‘ novel ’ coronavirus is enough grounds exclude the jury , comprised of members of the public with the right to ask questions , and make the case directly to the Coroner , who is , of course , a government official .
So , is this about ‘ containment ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Or about removing safeguards and public scrutiny ?
Is it quicker to call a funeral director ( who is likely busy ) and ask them to register your loved one ’ s death , or to simply go online and do it yourself ?
How happy are you with this particular development ?
You tell me .

Catte Black
One aspect of the horrifically disturbing Coronavirus Bill(UK) is the changes being made to the registration of deaths. Here’s how it’s explained in the Introduction. The Bill will (our emphasis):
– Expand the list of people who can register a death to include funeral directors acting on behalf of the family – Enable electronic transmission of documents that currently have to be physically presented in order to certify the registration of a death – Remove the need for a second confirmatory medical certificate in order for a cremation to take place – Remove the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 requirement that any inquest into a COVID-19 death must be held with a jury. Other notifiable diseases will still require an inquest with a jury
How do these changes help in the containment of a pathogen, which is the alleged purpose of this bill?
Let’s take a look.
* * *
“Enable electronic transmission of documents that currently have to be physically presented in order to certify the registration of a death”
Well, in an imagined scenario in which no one can leave the house for anything (except visiting the Job Centre apparently), then sending documents might have to be done electronically. But even so, the absence of hard copy in the records is obviously worrying. Electronic copies are much easier to fake or alter. The safeguards are reduced.
But, let’s be generous and accept this.
* * *
Remove the need for a second confirmatory medical certificate in order for a cremation to take place
Is this about hastily managing the mass of corpses the most hysterical projections have been claiming are imminent?
Well, ok, let’s assume they are panicking and this is the plan.
* * *
Expand the list of people who can register a death to include funeral directors acting on behalf of the family
Now, how is this a precautionary or time-saving move?
The current UK requirement about who can register a death is very specific. The registrant must either be: (our emphasis)
a relative who was present at the death
a relative present during the person’s last illness
a relative living in the district where the death took place
anyone else present at the death
an owner or occupier of the building where the death took place and who was aware of the death
the person arranging the funeral (but not the funeral director).
It’s not hard to see the rationale for this. Once you remove all these requirements and start allowing people in the commercial business of death, who will have no connection whatsoever to the deceased or their family, the capacity for malpractice of various kinds to enter the process increases considerably. What good is served by increasing that risk? And what benefit accrues?
* * *
Remove the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 requirement that any inquest into a COVID-19 death must be held with a jury. Other notifiable diseases will still require an inquest with a jury
Why do inquests into alleged Covid-19 deaths need to be held without a jury, when all other ‘notifiable’ disease inquests will continue to have juries present?
Are they assuming an inquest on a potential Covid-19 victim will be more likely to bring the pathogen into the courtroom than an inquest on anyone else?
Could they not find another way of getting round this perceived risk that didn’t involve dismissing the jury?
I’m inclined to think they probably could.
* * *
What do all these new specifications add up to?
With this new bill in place it will be possible for a funeral director (a profession that requires no specific training or certification) to register deaths of people he has never seen and knows nothing about, and to then perform their cremation based on nothing but the original death certificate, signed by a solitary MD, who will not, of course, be required to make any statement to anyone about any part of this, unless there happens to be an inquest.
And if there is an inquest, an alleged involvement of the ‘novel’ coronavirus is enough grounds exclude the jury, comprised of members of the public with the right to ask questions, and make the case directly to the Coroner, who is , of course, a government official.
So, is this about ‘containment’ of the virus and expediting the process? Or about removing safeguards and public scrutiny? Is it quicker to call a funeral director (who is likely busy) and ask them to register your loved one’s death, or to simply go online and do it yourself?
How happy are you with this particular development?
You tell me.


offguardian--2020-03-23--Sperm19 and Egg18: Squashing the Virus of Death

Scientists at Michael Bloomberg School of Multiplication at Johns Hopkins University have discovered a new and highly dangerous and contagious source of death .
It is called life .
The discovery was long in the making , with some great sages of Ancient world expounding it , but , it could not be scientifically proven , until the scientists zeroed in on a small mountainous region in Nepal , where people ( average age 90 ) all of the sudden began to die .
They were healthy before and then they began to drop like flies , reported local newspaper @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aforementioned university began to eliminate all the possible causes of death : these guys don ’ t drive , they don ’ t drink , they practice peaceful coexistence , and they eat solely vegan food .
Consequently , there was only one suspect left .
It is the virus called life , caused by the two highly powerful strains of this virus , called Sperm19 , and Egg18 .
Once the discovery has been made , the scientists got to work and came to the chilling discovery that explosion of life eventually @ @ @ @ @ @ @ within the species , and within the biosphere .
They were helped in this discovery by the team of the intrepid reporters from two British news outlets .
While The Guardian was updating its daily map of death – with highly vivid diagrams of new death explosions all over the planet , BBC worked very hard at creating the map of newly born .
And then : Eureka .
When one lonely British nerd , named White Helmet Belincat and still living in the basement of his mom ’ s house , had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ began to emerge .
But how do you convince the population , that one of the activities they so much like to get engaged into , such as making babies , leads to death ?
Leave it to CNN and the American knowhow .
Hollywood actors , celebrities , the most prominent politicians and scientists began to preach all forms of non-reproductive sex .
While making some inroads among gay and transgender communities , the message kept on falling on dead ears among the rest of the population .
Until a new crusader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into stardom by mass media .
You sentenced me to death , she began to scream to her parents , then to her local Swedish community , and eventually , she delivered her message to UN .
How dare you ?
How dare you to send us to schools , where they teach us sex education .
Just abstain , Just say no !
Who needs that stupid animalistic , germ-multiplying , baby producing activity to begin with ?
With Greta onboard , the mass media , consistent of the most conscientious and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a new campaign at nipping life at the bud .
Media began to parade the experts in the field , who demanded drastic actions from the government .
Our government is doing nothing .
In fact , such people like Trump and Johnson , along with former leaders , like Clinton or Kennedy , demonstrate a highly unhealthy attraction to sex with the opposite gender .
Trump was clearly the worst , populating White House with attractive females , and promoting baby making even without a dialogue : just grab them by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of deaths , occurring now all over the world , in the countries with highly old and decrepid population in particular , there was no time to waste .
In comes the foremost scientist of his generation , the Director of the Institute of Immunology , and the Winner of Bloomberg Award of Excellence , Doctor Faquci , who , summarizing the finding of other scientists , begins to preach an active intervention : It is not enough to supply all the population with birth-control methods .
Besides , our economy being prophet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children food , and children-cloth industries , are constantly sabotaging our efforts of dressing the population in condoms .
We need more active measures .
People can ’ t get in groups – there is always a danger that a man can meet a woman in a cinema , bar , or dance club .
People should be locked up in their rooms .
Preferably individually .
But in any case , no mixing of genders .
When you lock people up , you know damn well , what they gon na do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but no to reproductive sex .
The virus of death had to be conquered once and for all , and our exceptional nation is uniquely qualified to do so .
We have enough cooks , zealots , maniacs , and fools with guns , to see us through the victory .
While the president of the country , the aforementioned , evil Trump , has originally resisted the idea : he happened to like both babies and baby-making , the pressure from the media , security apparatus , and the most progressive governors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thick head .
The governors of two most progressive States , California and New York , declared a total lockdown with people locked in the single rooms .
On odd days , males were allowed to go shopping , on even – females .
Transgender and post-childbearing age adults were allowed to shop every day , at the specially designated hours .
Soon , other states had followed .
Special unit of the security apparatus , has been created to confront Russian and Chinese counter-efforts , which consisted in parading exceptionally attractive females @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social media and TV .
These outlets were declared , “ state sponsored propaganda ” and banned from all known media outlets .
Army was introduced into the cities , to make sure that everyone follows the orders .
Maternity wards of the hospitals were quickly transformed into sterilization clinics , where first celebrities , and then regular people decided to deal a deadly blow to the virus of life , sorry of death .
Families who sterilized in bulk ( parents and children ) were given Greta awards – a condom made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ how dare you ” written on it .
The virus of death had eventually been squashed .
( This story had been written on a piece of paper , found in the lonely bottle , floating down the Mississippi River ) .
Vladimir Golstein , former associate professor at Yale University , is currently Chair of the Department of Slavic Studies at Brown University .

by Vladimir Golstein
Scientists at Michael Bloomberg School of Multiplication at Johns Hopkins University have discovered a new and highly dangerous and contagious source of death. It is called life.
The discovery was long in the making, with some great sages of Ancient world expounding it, but, it could not be scientifically proven, until the scientists zeroed in on a small mountainous region in Nepal, where people (average age 90) all of the sudden began to die. They were healthy before and then they began to drop like flies, reported local newspaper.
The team of American researchers from aforementioned university began to eliminate all the possible causes of death: these guys don’t drive, they don’t drink, they practice peaceful coexistence, and they eat solely vegan food. Consequently, there was only one suspect left. It is the virus called life, caused by the two highly powerful strains of this virus, called Sperm19, and Egg18.
Once the discovery has been made, the scientists got to work and came to the chilling discovery that explosion of life eventually leads to explosion of death: both within the species, and within the biosphere. They were helped in this discovery by the team of the intrepid reporters from two British news outlets.
While The Guardian was updating its daily map of death – with highly vivid diagrams of new death explosions all over the planet, BBC worked very hard at creating the map of newly born. And then: Eureka. When one lonely British nerd, named White Helmet Belincat and still living in the basement of his mom’s house, had juxtaposed two maps, the uncontestable pattern began to emerge.
But how do you convince the population, that one of the activities they so much like to get engaged into, such as making babies, leads to death?
Leave it to CNN and the American knowhow. Hollywood actors, celebrities, the most prominent politicians and scientists began to preach all forms of non-reproductive sex. While making some inroads among gay and transgender communities, the message kept on falling on dead ears among the rest of the population.
Until a new crusader, called Virgin Greta, was catapulted into stardom by mass media. You sentenced me to death, she began to scream to her parents, then to her local Swedish community, and eventually, she delivered her message to UN. How dare you? How dare you to send us to schools, where they teach us sex education. Just abstain, Just say no! Who needs that stupid animalistic, germ-multiplying, baby producing activity to begin with?
With Greta onboard, the mass media, consistent of the most conscientious and most responsible members of the society began a new campaign at nipping life at the bud.
Media began to parade the experts in the field, who demanded drastic actions from the government. Our government is doing nothing. In fact, such people like Trump and Johnson, along with former leaders, like Clinton or Kennedy, demonstrate a highly unhealthy attraction to sex with the opposite gender. Trump was clearly the worst, populating White House with attractive females, and promoting baby making even without a dialogue: just grab them by the … he preached.
With the epidemic of deaths, occurring now all over the world, in the countries with highly old and decrepid population in particular, there was no time to waste. In comes the foremost scientist of his generation, the Director of the Institute of Immunology, and the Winner of Bloomberg Award of Excellence, Doctor Faquci, who, summarizing the finding of other scientists, begins to preach an active intervention:
It is not enough to supply all the population with birth-control methods. Besides, our economy being prophet driven and controlled by the lobbyists of children food, and children-cloth industries, are constantly sabotaging our efforts of dressing the population in condoms. We need more active measures. People can’t get in groups – there is always a danger that a man can meet a woman in a cinema, bar, or dance club. People should be locked up in their rooms. Preferably individually. But in any case, no mixing of genders. When you lock people up, you know damn well, what they gonna do. So say yes to sex, but no to reproductive sex. The virus of death had to be conquered once and for all, and our exceptional nation is uniquely qualified to do so. We have enough cooks, zealots, maniacs, and fools with guns, to see us through the victory.
While the president of the country, the aforementioned, evil Trump, has originally resisted the idea: he happened to like both babies and baby-making, the pressure from the media, security apparatus, and the most progressive governors, proved too much even for his thick head. The governors of two most progressive States, California and New York, declared a total lockdown with people locked in the single rooms. On odd days, males were allowed to go shopping, on even – females. Transgender and post-childbearing age adults were allowed to shop every day, at the specially designated hours. Soon, other states had followed.
Special unit of the security apparatus, has been created to confront Russian and Chinese counter-efforts, which consisted in parading exceptionally attractive females, and happy looking families in their social media and TV. These outlets were declared, “state sponsored propaganda” and banned from all known media outlets.
Army was introduced into the cities, to make sure that everyone follows the orders. Maternity wards of the hospitals were quickly transformed into sterilization clinics, where first celebrities, and then regular people decided to deal a deadly blow to the virus of life, sorry of death. Families who sterilized in bulk (parents and children) were given Greta awards – a condom made of gold, with the words, “how dare you” written on it. The virus of death had eventually been squashed.
(This story had been written on a piece of paper, found in the lonely bottle, floating down the Mississippi River).


offguardian--2020-03-23--The Coronavirus Is Not the Plague: The Plague Is US

The French-Algerian writer Albert Camus ’ great 1947 novel , The Plague , is a warning to us today , but a warning in disguise .
When he died sixty years ago at the young age of forty-six , he had already written The Stranger , The Fall , and The Plague , and had won the Nobel Prize for Literature .
The outward story of The Plague revolves around a malignant disease that breaks out in a town that is quarantined when the authorities issue a state of emergency .
After first denying that they have a problem , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ isolated .
Death fear runs rampant , much like today with the coronavirus .
The authorities declare martial law as they warn that the situation is dire , people must be careful of associating , especially in groups , and they better obey orders or very many will die .
So the town is cordoned off .
Before this happens and the first signs that something is amiss emerge , the citizens of the town of Oran , Algeria remain oblivious , for they “ work hard , but solely with the object @ @ @ @ @ @ @ habits , heavily drugging themselves with drink , and watching many movies to distract themselves , they failed to grasp the significance of “ the squelchy roundness of a still-warm body ” of the plague-bearing rats that emerge from their underworld to die in their streets .
“ It was as if the earth on which our houses stood were being purged of their secret humors ; thrusting up to the surface the abscesses and pus-clots that had been forming in its entrails.
” To them the plague is “ unthinkable , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are swept aside as the truth emerges from the sewers and their neighbors and families die from the disease .
“ Stupidity has a way of getting its way ; ” the narrator , Dr. Rieux tells us , “ as we should see if we were not always so wrapped up in ourselves … .
plagues and wars take people equally by surprise.
” The American people are wrapped up in themselves .
Nor do they recognize the true rats .
They are easily surprised ; fooled would be a better word @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disguise his real subject , which is the way people react when they are physically trapped by human rats who demand they obey orders and stay physically and mentally compliant as their freedom is taken from them .
The Plague is an allegorical depiction of the German occupation of France during World War II .
Camus had lived through that experience as a member of the French Resistance .
He was a writer and editor of the underground Resistance newspaper Combat , and with his artist ’ s touch he later made The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ especially for citizens of the United States , the greatest purveyor of the plague of violence in the world .
We are all infected with the soul-destroying evil that our leaders have loosed upon the world , a plague of killing that is now hidden behind the coronavirus fear that is being used to institute tight government controls that many will come to rue in the months ahead , just as happened after the attacks of September 11 , 2001 .
Coronavirus is a perfect cover-story for the occupation of the public ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has grown even more devious over the past 19 years .
Ask yourself : Where is the news about U.S. military operations in Syria , Afghanistan , Yemen , Iraq , eastern Europe , Africa , Latin America , Asia , etc.
?
There is none in the corporate mainstream media , and little in the alternative media as well .
Have those operations ceased ?
Of course not .
It ’ s just that the news about them , little that it was , has disappeared .
Now it is all about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is about how many of us might die .
It is about stocking toilet paper .
For the rich , it is about getting to their second or third houses where they can isolate themselves in splendor .
As I write , 150 or so Americans are said to have died of Covid-19 , and by the time you will read this the number will have climbed , but the number will be minuscule compared to the number of people in the U.S.A. and those numbers will be full of contradictions that few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fear , they did some comprehensive research .
But arguments are quite useless in a time of panic when people are consumed with fear and just react .
For we live in plague time , and the plague lives in us .
But to most Americans , Covid-19 is the plague , because the government and media have said it is .
Like the inhabitants of Oran , the United States is “ peopled with sleep walkers , ” pseudo-innocents , who are “ chiefly aware of what ruffled the normal tenor of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That their own government , no matter what political party is in power ( both working for “ deep-state , ” elite interests led by the organized criminals of the CIA ) , is the disseminator of a world-wide plague of virulent violence , must be denied and divorced from consensus reality .
That these same forces would use the fear of disease to cow the population should be no surprise for those who have come to realize the truth of the attacks of September 11 , 2001 and the anthrax attacks that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to justify the endless “ wars on terror ” that have killed so many around the world .
It is a shock for so many people who can ’ t countenance the thought that their own government could possibly be implicated in the death of thousands of U.S. citizens and the release of the deadly anthrax , which we know came from a U.S. lab and was carried out by a group of inside government perpetrators .
When it comes to the plague-stricken deaths visited on millions around the world for decades by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ denied by diverting attention to partisan presidential politics , and now the coronavirus that engenders fear , loathing , and a child-like tendency to believe Big Brother .
The true plague , the bedrock of a nation continually waging wars through various means – i.e .
bombs and economic and medical sanctions , etc .
– against the world , disappears from consciousness .
As U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albrecht said to 60 Minutes Lesley Stahl in 1996 when Stahl asked her if the U.S. sanctions on Iraq that had resulted in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ worth it : “ We think the price is worth it.
” For “ decent folks must be allowed to sleep at night , ” says the character Tarrou sarcastically ; he is a man who has lost his ability to “ sleep well ” since he witnessed a man ’ s execution where the “ bullets make a hole into which you could thrust your fist.
” He awakens to the realization that he “ had an indirect hand in the deaths of thousands of people.
” He loses any peace he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in every way he can .
“ For many years I ’ ve been ashamed , ” he says , “ mortally ashamed , of having been , even with the best intentions , even at many removes , a murderer in my turn.
” The rats are dying in the streets .
They are our rats , diseased by us .
They have emerged from the underworld of a nation plagued by its denial .
Unconscious evil bubbles up .
We are an infected people .
Worry and irritation – “ these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plague.
” But we don ’ t seem ashamed of our complicity in our government ’ s crimes around the world .
For decades we have elected leaders who have killed millions , while business went on as usual .
The killing didn ’ t touch us .
As Camus said , “ We fornicated and read the papers.
” He knew better .
He warned us : Yet the fight against the plague must go on .
Tarrou puts it thus : These days , I keep thinking of an incident that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of sexually transmitted diseases , working for the U.S. Department of Health , Education , and Welfare through the Public Health Service as an epidemiologist .
My job was to track down sexually transmitted diseases by finding links of sexual contacts .
One day I went to interview and take a blood sample from a poor woman who had been named as a sexual contact .
I knocked on her door on the third or fourth floor of a walkup apartment building .
She looked through the peep hole and asked who it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and what government agency I represented .
I could tell she was very wary , but she opened the door .
She stood there naked , a very heavy woman of perhaps 300 pounds .
She nonchalantly welcomed me in and I followed her as she padded down the hall where she took a housecoat off a hook and put it on .
There is , as you know , an old tale by Hans Christian Anderson called “ The Emperor ’ s New Clothes.
” Although the emperor parades around naked , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Only a child sees the obvious .
I was a 23-years-old naïve young man at the time of this unforgettable incident , but it echoes in my mind as a reminder to myself that perhaps that woman was unconsciously teaching me a lesson in disguise .
The year was 1967 , and when I went out to get into my government car with federal license plates , a white man in a white shirt in a white car in a poor black neighborhood , a hail of bricks rained down toward me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I quickly jumped in and fled as the ghettos were exploding .
Soon the National Guard would be called out to occupy them .
Intuition tells me that although the emperor has no clothes and a vast PSYOPS occupation is now underway , too many are too grown-up to see it .
It ’ s an old story continually updated .
Like The Plague .

Edward Curtin
“Two categories of propaganda must be distinguished. The first strives to create a permanent disposition in its objects and constantly needs to be reinforced. Its goal is to make the masses ‘available,’ by working spells upon them and exercising a kind of fascination. The second category involves the creation of a sort of temporary impulsiveness in its objects. It operates by simple pressure and is often contradictory (since contradictory mass movement are sometimes necessary).”
Jacques Ellul, The Technological Society
The French-Algerian writer Albert Camus’ great 1947 novel, The Plague, is a warning to us today, but a warning in disguise. When he died sixty years ago at the young age of forty-six, he had already written The Stranger, The Fall, and The Plague, and had won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The outward story of The Plague revolves around a malignant disease that breaks out in a town that is quarantined when the authorities issue a state of emergency. After first denying that they have a problem, the people gradually panic and feel painfully isolated.
Death fear runs rampant, much like today with the coronavirus. The authorities declare martial law as they warn that the situation is dire, people must be careful of associating, especially in groups, and they better obey orders or very many will die. So the town is cordoned off.
Before this happens and the first signs that something is amiss emerge, the citizens of the town of Oran, Algeria remain oblivious, for they “work hard, but solely with the object of getting rich.” Bored by their habits, heavily drugging themselves with drink, and watching many movies to distract themselves, they failed to grasp the significance of “the squelchy roundness of a still-warm body” of the plague-bearing rats that emerge from their underworld to die in their streets.
“It was as if the earth on which our houses stood were being purged of their secret humors; thrusting up to the surface the abscesses and pus-clots that had been forming in its entrails.” To them the plague is “unthinkable,” an abstraction, until all their denials are swept aside as the truth emerges from the sewers and their neighbors and families die from the disease.
“Stupidity has a way of getting its way;” the narrator, Dr. Rieux tells us, “as we should see if we were not always so wrapped up in ourselves …. plagues and wars take people equally by surprise.”
The American people are wrapped up in themselves. Nor do they recognize the true rats. They are easily surprised; fooled would be a better word.
Camus uses a physical plague to disguise his real subject, which is the way people react when they are physically trapped by human rats who demand they obey orders and stay physically and mentally compliant as their freedom is taken from them.
The Plague is an allegorical depiction of the German occupation of France during World War II. Camus had lived through that experience as a member of the French Resistance. He was a writer and editor of the underground Resistance newspaper Combat, and with his artist’s touch he later made The Plague a revelatory read for today, especially for citizens of the United States, the greatest purveyor of the plague of violence in the world.
We are all infected with the soul-destroying evil that our leaders have loosed upon the world, a plague of killing that is now hidden behind the coronavirus fear that is being used to institute tight government controls that many will come to rue in the months ahead, just as happened after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Coronavirus is a perfect cover-story for the occupation of the public’s mind by a propaganda apparatus that has grown even more devious over the past 19 years.
Ask yourself: Where is the news about U.S. military operations in Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iraq, eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia, etc.? There is none in the corporate mainstream media, and little in the alternative media as well. Have those operations ceased? Of course not. It’s just that the news about them, little that it was, has disappeared.
Now it is all about us and the coronavirus panic. It is about how many of us might die. It is about stocking toilet paper. For the rich, it is about getting to their second or third houses where they can isolate themselves in splendor.
As I write, 150 or so Americans are said to have died of Covid-19, and by the time you will read this the number will have climbed, but the number will be minuscule compared to the number of people in the U.S.A. and those numbers will be full of contradictions that few comprehend unless, rather than reacting in fear, they did some comprehensive research.
But arguments are quite useless in a time of panic when people are consumed with fear and just react.
For we live in plague time, and the plague lives in us. But to most Americans, Covid-19 is the plague, because the government and media have said it is.
Like the inhabitants of Oran, the United States is “peopled with sleep walkers,” pseudo-innocents, who are “chiefly aware of what ruffled the normal tenor of their lives or affected their interests.” That their own government, no matter what political party is in power (both working for “deep-state,” elite interests led by the organized criminals of the CIA), is the disseminator of a world-wide plague of virulent violence, must be denied and divorced from consensus reality.
That these same forces would use the fear of disease to cow the population should be no surprise for those who have come to realize the truth of the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the anthrax attacks that followed, both of which were used to justify the endless “wars on terror” that have killed so many around the world.
It is a shock for so many people who can’t countenance the thought that their own government could possibly be implicated in the death of thousands of U.S. citizens and the release of the deadly anthrax, which we know came from a U.S. lab and was carried out by a group of inside government perpetrators.
When it comes to the plague-stricken deaths visited on millions around the world for decades by the American government, this must be denied by diverting attention to partisan presidential politics, and now the coronavirus that engenders fear, loathing, and a child-like tendency to believe Big Brother.
The true plague, the bedrock of a nation continually waging wars through various means – i.e. bombs and economic and medical sanctions, etc. – against the world, disappears from consciousness. As U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albrecht said to 60 Minutes Lesley Stahl in 1996 when Stahl asked her if the U.S. sanctions on Iraq that had resulted in the death of 500,000 Iraqi children were worth it: “We think the price is worth it.”
For “decent folks must be allowed to sleep at night,” says the character Tarrou sarcastically; he is a man who has lost his ability to “sleep well” since he witnessed a man’s execution where the “bullets make a hole into which you could thrust your fist.”
He awakens to the realization that he “had an indirect hand in the deaths of thousands of people.” He loses any peace he had and vows to resist the plague in every way he can. “For many years I’ve been ashamed,” he says, “mortally ashamed, of having been, even with the best intentions, even at many removes, a murderer in my turn.”
The rats are dying in the streets. They are our rats, diseased by us. They have emerged from the underworld of a nation plagued by its denial. Unconscious evil bubbles up. We are an infected people. Worry and irritation – “these are not feelings with which to confront plague.”
But we don’t seem ashamed of our complicity in our government’s crimes around the world. For decades we have elected leaders who have killed millions, while business went on as usual. The killing didn’t touch us. As Camus said, “We fornicated and read the papers.”
He knew better. He warned us:
It’s a wearying business being plague-stricken. But it’s still more wearying to refuse to be it. That’s why everybody in the world looks so tired; everyone is more or less sick of plague. But that is why some of us, those who want to get the plague out of their systems, feel such desperate weariness.
Yet the fight against the plague must go on. Tarrou puts it thus:
All I maintain is that on this earth there are pestilences and there are victims, and it’s up to us, as far possible, not to join forces with the pestilences. That may sound simple to the point of childishness; I can’t judge if it’s simple, but I know it’s true. You see, I’d heard such quantities of arguments, which very nearly turned my head, and turned other people’s heads enough to make them approve of murder; and I’d come to realize that all our troubles spring from our failure to use plain, clear-cut language. So I resolved always to speak – and to act – quite clearly, as this was the only way of setting myself on the right track.
These days, I keep thinking of an incident that occurred when I was a young investigator of sexually transmitted diseases, working for the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare through the Public Health Service as an epidemiologist. My job was to track down sexually transmitted diseases by finding links of sexual contacts.
One day I went to interview and take a blood sample from a poor woman who had been named as a sexual contact. I knocked on her door on the third or fourth floor of a walkup apartment building.
She looked through the peep hole and asked who it was and I told her my name and what government agency I represented. I could tell she was very wary, but she opened the door. She stood there naked, a very heavy woman of perhaps 300 pounds. She nonchalantly welcomed me in and I followed her as she padded down the hall where she took a housecoat off a hook and put it on.
There is, as you know, an old tale by Hans Christian Anderson called “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” Although the emperor parades around naked, the adults make believe he is clothed. Only a child sees the obvious. I was a 23-years-old naïve young man at the time of this unforgettable incident, but it echoes in my mind as a reminder to myself that perhaps that woman was unconsciously teaching me a lesson in disguise.
The year was 1967, and when I went out to get into my government car with federal license plates, a white man in a white shirt in a white car in a poor black neighborhood, a hail of bricks rained down toward me and the car from the roof opposite. I quickly jumped in and fled as the ghettos were exploding. Soon the National Guard would be called out to occupy them.
Intuition tells me that although the emperor has no clothes and a vast PSYOPS occupation is now underway, too many are too grown-up to see it.
It’s an old story continually updated. Like The Plague.