theduran--2020-03-28--The Art of Gaslighting

The Art of Gaslighting

Authored by Cynthia Chung via The Strategic Culture Foundation : For those who have not seen the 1944 psychological thriller “ Gaslight ” directed by George Cukor , I would highly recommend you do so since there is an invaluable lesson contained within , that is especially applicable to what I suspect many of us are experiencing nowadays .
The story starts with a 14 year old Paula ( played by Ingrid Bergman ) who is being taken to Italy after her Aunt Alice Alquist , a famous opera singer and caretaker of Paula , is found murdered in her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one who found the body , and horror stricken is never her old self again .
Her Aunt was the only family Paula had left in her life .
The decision is made to send her away from London to Italy to continue her studies to become a world-renowned opera singer like her Aunt Alice .
Years go by , Paula lives a very sheltered life and a heavy somberness is always present within her , she can never seem to feel any kind of happiness .
During her singing studies she meets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during her lessons ) and falls deeply in love with him .
However , she knows hardly anything about the man named Gregory .
Paula agrees to marry Gregory after a two week romance and is quickly convinced to move back into her Aunt ’ s house in London that was left abandoned all these years .
As soon as she enters the house , the haunting of the night of the murder revisits her and she is consumed with panic and fear .
Gregory tries to calm her and talks about the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ air and sun , and then Paula comes across a letter written to her Aunt from a Sergis Bauer which confirms that he was in contact with Alice just a few days before her murder .
At this finding , Gregory becomes bizarrely agitated and grabs the letter from Paula .
He quickly tries to justify his anger blaming the letter for upsetting her .
Gregory then decides to lock all of her Aunt ’ s belongings in the attic , to apparently spare Paula any further anguish .
It is at this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behaviour dramatically .
Always under the pretext for “ Paula ’ s sake ” , everything that is considered “ upsetting ” to Paula must be removed from her presence .
And thus quickly the house is turned into a form of prison .
Paula is told it is for her best not to leave the house unaccompanied , not to have visitors and that self-isolation is the best remedy for her “ anxieties ” which are getting worst .
Paula is never strictly forbidden at the beginning but rather is told that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own good .
Before a walk , he gives as a gift a beautiful heirloom brooch that belonged to his mother .
Because the pin needs replacing , he instructs Paula to keep it in her handbag , and then says rather out of context , “ Don ’ t forget where you put it now Paula , I don ’ t want you losing it.
” Paula remarks thinking the warning absurd , “ Of course I won ’ t forget !
” When they return from their walk , Gregory asks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her handbag but it is not there .
It continues on like this , with Gregory giving warnings and reminders , seemingly to help Paula with her “ forgetfulness ” and “ anxieties ” .
Paula starts to question her own judgement and sanity as these events become more and more frequent .
She has no one else to talk to but Gregory , who is the only witness to these apparent mishaps .
It gets to a point where completely nonsensical behaviour is being attributed to Paula by Gregory .
A painting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night .
Gregory talks to Paula like she is a 5 year child and asks her to put it back .
Paula insists she does not know who took it down .
After her persistent passionate insistence that it was not her , she walks up the stairs almost like she were in a dream state and pulls the painting from behind a statue .
Gregory asks why she lied , but Paula insists that she only thought to look there because that is where it was found the last two times this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thinks she has been seeing things , the gas lights of the house dimming for no reason , she also hears footsteps above her bedroom .
No one else seems to take notice .
Paula is also told by Gregory that he found out that her mother , who passed away when she was very young , had actually gone insane and died in an asylum .
Despite Paula being reduced to a condition of an ongoing stupor , she decides one night to make a stand and regain control over her life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of her Aunt Alice ’ s close friends Lady Dalroy , to attend a high society evening with musical performances .
Recall that Paula ’ s life gravitated around music before her encounter with Gregory .
Music was her life .
Paula gets magnificently dressed up for the evening and on her way out tells Gregory that she is going to this event .
Gregory tries to convince her that she is not well enough to attend such a social gathering , when Paula calmly insists that she is going and that this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Aunt , Gregory answers that he refuses to accompany her ( in those days that was a big deal ) .
Paula accepts this and walks with a solid dignity , undeterred towards the horse carriage .
In a very telling scene , Gregory is left momentarily by himself and panic stricken , his eyes bulging he snaps his cigar case shut and runs after Paula .
He laughingly calls to her , “ Paula , you did not think I was serious ?
I had no idea that this party meant so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will get ready.
” As he is getting ready in front of the mirror , a devilish smirk appears .
Paula and Gregory show up to Lady Dalroy ’ s house late , the pianist is in the middle of the 1st movement of Beethoven ’ s Piano Sonata # 8 in C minor .
They quickly are escorted to two empty seats .
Paula is immediately immersed in the piece , and Gregory can see his control is slipping .
After only a few minutes , he goes to look at his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his pocket .
He whispers into Paula ’ s ear , “ My watch is missing ” .
Immediately , Paula looks like she is going to be sick .
Gregory takes her handbag and Paula looks in horror as he pulls out his pocket watch , insinuating that Paula had put it there .
She immediately starts losing control and has a very public emotional breakdown .
Gregory takes her away , as he remarks to Lady Dalroy that this is why he didn ’ t want Paula coming in the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Paula has by now completely succumbed to the thought that she is indeed completely insane .
Gregory says that it would be best if they go away somewhere for an indefinite period of time .
We later find out that Gregory is intending on committing her to an asylum .
Paula agrees to leave London with Gregory and leaves her fate entirely in his hands .
Before we proceed further and see how this story ends , let us take a look at its relevance for today ’ s mass psyche .
Why @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
“ But I don ’ t want to go among mad people , ” Alice remarked .
“ Oh , you can ’ t help that , ” said the Cat : “ we ’ re all mad here .
I ’ m mad .
You ’ re mad.
” “ How do you know I ’ m mad ?
” said Alice .
“ You must be , ” said the Cat , “ or you wouldn ’ t have come here.
” We are living in a world where the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reached such a state of affairs that , possibly for the first time ever , we see the majority of the western world starting to question their own and surrounding level of sanity .
The increasing frenzied distrust in everything “ authoritative ” mixed with the desperate incredulity that “ everybody couldn ’ t possibly be in on it !
” is slowly rocking many back and forth into a tighter and tighter straight jacket .
“ Question everything ” has become the new motto , but are we capable of answering those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resounding no .
The social behaviourist sick joke of making everyone obsessed with toilet paper of all things , during a time of crisis , is an example of how much control they have over that red button labelled “ commence initiation of level 4 mass panic ” .
And can the people be blamed ?
After all , if we are being lied to , how can we possibly rally together and point the finger at the root of this tyranny , aren ’ t we at the point where it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ problem , because if too many people actually allow themselves to believe such foolishness , we will be left with a population that has essentially agreed to gouge out their eyes .
That is , if the people accept that such a tyranny is everywhere and yet remains faceless to them , we will have a population that is no different from the sad case of Paula , who leaves her fate to her very oppressor .
In the case of Paula it is clear .
She has been suspecting that Gregory has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” but he has very artfully created an environment where Paula herself doubts whether this is a matter of unfathomable villainy or whether she is indeed going mad .
It is rather because she is that she doubts herself , because there is seemingly no reason for why Gregory would put so much time and energy into making it look like she were mad , or at least so it first appears .
But what if the purpose to her believing in her madness was simply a matter of who is in control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ upper-hand in this power-struggle , the evening she decided to go out on her own no matter what Gregory insisted was in her best interest .
If she would have held her ground at Lady Dalroy ’ s house and simply replied , “ I have no idea why your stupid watch ended up in my handbag and I could care less .
Now stop interrupting this performance , you are making a scene !
” Gregory ’ s spell would have been broken as simple as that .
If he were to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they would also respond , “ Who cares man , why are you so obsessed about your damn watch ?
” We are in a very similar situation to Paula .
And the voice of Gregory is represented by the narrative of false news and the apocalyptic social behaviourist programming in our forms of entertainment .
The things most people voluntarily subject themselves to on a daily , if not hourly , basis .
Socially conditioning them , like a pack of salivating Pavlovian dogs , to think it is just a matter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with a ring of their master ’ s bell…be at each other ’ s throats .
Paula ends up being saved in the end by a man named Joseph Cotten ( a detective ) , who took notice and quickly discerned that something was amiss .
In the end Gregory is arrested .
It is revealed that Gregory is in fact Sergis Bauer .
That he killed Alice Alquist and that he has returned to the scene of the crime after all these years in search for the famous jewels of the opera @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rather worthless from the standpoint that they were too famous to be sold , however , Gregory never intended on selling these jewels but rather had become obsessed with the desire to merely possess them .
That is , it is Gregory who has been all this time .
A Gregory is absolutely dangerous .
He would have been the end of Paula if nothing had intervened .
However , the power that Gregory held was conditional to the degree that Paula allowed it to control her .
Paula ’ s extreme deconstruction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to let the voice of Gregory in .
That is , a Gregory is only dangerous if we allow ourselves to sleep walk into the nightmare he has constructed for us .
“ If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it , people will eventually come to believe it .
The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political , economic and/or military consequences of the lie .
It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie , and thus by extension , the truth is the greatest enemy of the State [ under fascism ] .
” And here we find ourselves today , at the brink of fascism .
However , we have to first agree to forfeit our civil rights as a collective before fascism can completely dominate .
That is , the big lie can only succeed if the majority fails to call it out , for if the majority were to recognise it for what it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ power .
Thus during times like these , where we are faced with a crisis situation , we need to be very careful with what we agree to concede to .
One tragic concession was displayed by Tulsi Gabbard ’ s decision to bow out of the race and endorse a demented Biden ( who likely won ’ t even remember his name four years from now ) , as a response to this “ state emergency ” .
This tragic decision of Tulsi ’ s has now made it official that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the “ necessity ” to “ adapt ” to the “ emergency situation ” , the extent of which we are told to “ stay tuned ” .
While there are yet many unknowns , one thing is certain : there will be many more emergency measures that will be advocated during this global crisis .
Some of these measures may be necessary while others will certainly be advanced by forces wishing to abuse power .
Thus , let us recognise that it is within our duty and power to ensure this crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ society , rather than passively permit ourselves to be gaslighted into accepting a dictatorship that disorients us against one another and gradually removes our freedoms , like a Paula , as we sleepwalk towards our own destruction .
“ When I use a word , ” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone , “ it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.
” “ The question is , ” said Alice , “ whether you can make words mean so many different things.
” “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dumpty , “ which is to be master – – that ’ s all .
”

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Authored by Cynthia Chung via The Strategic Culture Foundation:
For those who have not seen the 1944 psychological thriller “Gaslight” directed by George Cukor, I would highly recommend you do so since there is an invaluable lesson contained within, that is especially applicable to what I suspect many of us are experiencing nowadays.
The story starts with a 14 year old Paula (played by Ingrid Bergman) who is being taken to Italy after her Aunt Alice Alquist, a famous opera singer and caretaker of Paula, is found murdered in her home in London. Paula is the one who found the body, and horror stricken is never her old self again. Her Aunt was the only family Paula had left in her life. The decision is made to send her away from London to Italy to continue her studies to become a world-renowned opera singer like her Aunt Alice.
Years go by, Paula lives a very sheltered life and a heavy somberness is always present within her, she can never seem to feel any kind of happiness. During her singing studies she meets a mysterious man (her piano accompanist during her lessons) and falls deeply in love with him. However, she knows hardly anything about the man named Gregory.
Paula agrees to marry Gregory after a two week romance and is quickly convinced to move back into her Aunt’s house in London that was left abandoned all these years. As soon as she enters the house, the haunting of the night of the murder revisits her and she is consumed with panic and fear. Gregory tries to calm her and talks about the house needing just a little bit of air and sun, and then Paula comes across a letter written to her Aunt from a Sergis Bauer which confirms that he was in contact with Alice just a few days before her murder. At this finding, Gregory becomes bizarrely agitated and grabs the letter from Paula. He quickly tries to justify his anger blaming the letter for upsetting her. Gregory then decides to lock all of her Aunt’s belongings in the attic, to apparently spare Paula any further anguish.
It is at this point that Gregory starts to change his behaviour dramatically. Always under the pretext for “Paula’s sake”, everything that is considered “upsetting” to Paula must be removed from her presence. And thus quickly the house is turned into a form of prison. Paula is told it is for her best not to leave the house unaccompanied, not to have visitors and that self-isolation is the best remedy for her “anxieties” which are getting worst. Paula is never strictly forbidden at the beginning but rather is told that she should obey these restrictions for her own good.
Before a walk, he gives as a gift a beautiful heirloom brooch that belonged to his mother. Because the pin needs replacing, he instructs Paula to keep it in her handbag, and then says rather out of context, “Don’t forget where you put it now Paula, I don’t want you losing it.” Paula remarks thinking the warning absurd, “Of course I won’t forget!” When they return from their walk, Gregory asks for the brooch, Paula searches in her handbag but it is not there.
It continues on like this, with Gregory giving warnings and reminders, seemingly to help Paula with her “forgetfulness” and “anxieties”. Paula starts to question her own judgement and sanity as these events become more and more frequent. She has no one else to talk to but Gregory, who is the only witness to these apparent mishaps. It gets to a point where completely nonsensical behaviour is being attributed to Paula by Gregory. A painting is found missing on the wall one night. Gregory talks to Paula like she is a 5 year child and asks her to put it back. Paula insists she does not know who took it down. After her persistent passionate insistence that it was not her, she walks up the stairs almost like she were in a dream state and pulls the painting from behind a statue. Gregory asks why she lied, but Paula insists that she only thought to look there because that is where it was found the last two times this occurred.
For weeks now, Paula thinks she has been seeing things, the gas lights of the house dimming for no reason, she also hears footsteps above her bedroom. No one else seems to take notice. Paula is also told by Gregory that he found out that her mother, who passed away when she was very young, had actually gone insane and died in an asylum.
Despite Paula being reduced to a condition of an ongoing stupor, she decides one night to make a stand and regain control over her life. Paula is invited, by one of her Aunt Alice’s close friends Lady Dalroy, to attend a high society evening with musical performances. Recall that Paula’s life gravitated around music before her encounter with Gregory. Music was her life. Paula gets magnificently dressed up for the evening and on her way out tells Gregory that she is going to this event. Gregory tries to convince her that she is not well enough to attend such a social gathering, when Paula calmly insists that she is going and that this woman was a dear friend of her Aunt, Gregory answers that he refuses to accompany her (in those days that was a big deal). Paula accepts this and walks with a solid dignity, undeterred towards the horse carriage. In a very telling scene, Gregory is left momentarily by himself and panic stricken, his eyes bulging he snaps his cigar case shut and runs after Paula. He laughingly calls to her, “Paula, you did not think I was serious? I had no idea that this party meant so much to you. Wait, I will get ready.” As he is getting ready in front of the mirror, a devilish smirk appears.
Paula and Gregory show up to Lady Dalroy’s house late, the pianist is in the middle of the 1st movement of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata #8 in C minor. They quickly are escorted to two empty seats. Paula is immediately immersed in the piece, and Gregory can see his control is slipping. After only a few minutes, he goes to look at his pocket watch but it is not in his pocket. He whispers into Paula’s ear, “My watch is missing”. Immediately, Paula looks like she is going to be sick. Gregory takes her handbag and Paula looks in horror as he pulls out his pocket watch, insinuating that Paula had put it there. She immediately starts losing control and has a very public emotional breakdown. Gregory takes her away, as he remarks to Lady Dalroy that this is why he didn’t want Paula coming in the first place.
When they arrive home, Paula has by now completely succumbed to the thought that she is indeed completely insane. Gregory says that it would be best if they go away somewhere for an indefinite period of time. We later find out that Gregory is intending on committing her to an asylum. Paula agrees to leave London with Gregory and leaves her fate entirely in his hands.
Before we proceed further and see how this story ends, let us take a look at its relevance for today’s mass psyche.
Why is a Raven like a Writing Desk?
“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn’t have come here.”
– Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”
We are living in a world where the degree of disinformation and outright lying has reached such a state of affairs that, possibly for the first time ever, we see the majority of the western world starting to question their own and surrounding level of sanity. The increasing frenzied distrust in everything “authoritative” mixed with the desperate incredulity that “everybody couldn’t possibly be in on it!” is slowly rocking many back and forth into a tighter and tighter straight jacket. “Question everything” has become the new motto, but are we capable of answering those questions?
Presently the answer is a resounding no. The social behaviourist sick joke of making everyone obsessed with toilet paper of all things, during a time of crisis, is an example of how much control they have over that red button labelled “commence initiation of level 4 mass panic”.
And can the people be blamed? After all, if we are being lied to, how can we possibly rally together and point the finger at the root of this tyranny, aren’t we at the point where it is everywhere?
Well, that is the problem, because if too many people actually allow themselves to believe such foolishness, we will be left with a population that has essentially agreed to gouge out their eyes. That is, if the people accept that such a tyranny is everywhere and yet remains faceless to them, we will have a population that is no different from the sad case of Paula, who leaves her fate to her very oppressor.
In the case of Paula it is clear. She has been suspecting that Gregory has something to do with her “situation” but he has very artfully created an environment where Paula herself doubts whether this is a matter of unfathomable villainy or whether she is indeed going mad. It is rather because she is not mad that she doubts herself, because there is seemingly no reason for why Gregory would put so much time and energy into making it look like she were mad, or at least so it first appears. But what if the purpose to her believing in her madness was simply a matter of who is in control?
Paula almost succeeds in gaining the upper-hand in this power-struggle, the evening she decided to go out on her own no matter what Gregory insisted was in her best interest. If she would have held her ground at Lady Dalroy’s house and simply replied, “I have no idea why your stupid watch ended up in my handbag and I could care less. Now stop interrupting this performance, you are making a scene!” Gregory’s spell would have been broken as simple as that. If he were to complain to others about the situation, they would also respond, “Who cares man, why are you so obsessed about your damn watch?”
We are in a very similar situation to Paula. And the voice of Gregory is represented by the narrative of false news and the apocalyptic social behaviourist programming in our forms of entertainment. The things most people voluntarily subject themselves to on a daily, if not hourly, basis. Socially conditioning them, like a pack of salivating Pavlovian dogs, to think it is just a matter of time before the world ends and with a ring of their master’s bell…be at each other’s throats.
Paula ends up being saved in the end by a man named Joseph Cotten (a detective), who took notice and quickly discerned that something was amiss. In the end Gregory is arrested. It is revealed that Gregory is in fact Sergis Bauer. That he killed Alice Alquist and that he has returned to the scene of the crime after all these years in search for the famous jewels of the opera singer. The jewels were in fact rather worthless from the standpoint that they were too famous to be sold, however, Gregory never intended on selling these jewels but rather had become obsessed with the desire to merely possess them.
That is, it is Gregory who has been entirely mad all this time.
A Gregory is absolutely dangerous. He would have been the end of Paula if nothing had intervened. However, the power that Gregory held was conditional to the degree that Paula allowed it to control her. Paula’s extreme deconstruction was thus entirely dependent on her choice to let the voice of Gregory in. That is, a Gregory is only dangerous if we allow ourselves to sleep walk into the nightmare he has constructed for us.
As Goebbels infamously stated,
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie , and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State [under fascism].”
And here we find ourselves today, at the brink of fascism. However, we have to first agree to forfeit our civil rights as a collective before fascism can completely dominate. That is, the big lie can only succeed if the majority fails to call it out, for if the majority were to recognise it for what it is, it would truly hold no power.
Thus during times like these, where we are faced with a crisis situation, we need to be very careful with what we agree to concede to. One tragic concession was displayed by Tulsi Gabbard’s decision to bow out of the race and endorse a demented Biden (who likely won’t even remember his name four years from now), as a response to this “state emergency”.
This tragic decision of Tulsi’s has now made it official that the 2020 elections will indeed be subject to the “necessity” to “adapt” to the “emergency situation”, the extent of which we are told to “stay tuned”.
While there are yet many unknowns, one thing is certain: there will be many more emergency measures that will be advocated during this global crisis. Some of these measures may be necessary while others will certainly be advanced by forces wishing to abuse power. Thus, let us recognise that it is within our duty and power to ensure this crisis is used to advance positive reforms of society, rather than passively permit ourselves to be gaslighted into accepting a dictatorship that disorients us against one another and gradually removes our freedoms, like a Paula, as we sleepwalk towards our own destruction.
“When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone,
“it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.”
“The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.”
“The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master – – that’s all.”
– Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass”
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The Armenian Genocide

It inspired Hitler .
As the Nazi supremo said , ‘ Who know remembers the Armenians ?
’ .
Der Fuhrer believed that as a large scale genocide had been committed and the perpetrators had gotten away it with the crime all but forgotten then he too could do likewise .
It is the one genocide that is consistently denied by a government .
What happened in the Armenian Genocide ?
From 1915 up to the early 1920s at least hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Empire .
Some were killed directly and some were killed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time such a huge scale atrocity had been carried out by the Ottoman State against its beleaguered Armenian minority .
We know all this because the Ottomans happily recorded it .
Their German and Austro-Hungarian confederates also recorded it .
Some German officers and bureaucrats were aghast at these acts of barbarity .
Others heartily approved .
But none disputed that it was happening .
The United States was neutral in the First World War until 1917 .
US diplomats were well apprised of these crimes against humanity .
Even after 1917 the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war on each other .
American diplomats roamed freely and gathered superabundant evidence of the enormous crimes against the Armenians .
Other neutral nations such as Sweden had diplomats in Turkey who attested to the genocide .
The Ottoman authorities did not attempt to conceal the truth .
They were unabashed about what they had been doing .
Who carried out the killing ?
Not all the killers were Turks .
The Ottoman Empire was a polyglot and multiethnic smorgasbord .
Some of those who killed Armenians were Kurdish .
This did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Who was a Turk anyway ?
That was a very vexed question .
Many people even in Anatolia were ethnic minority people and spoke languages other than Turkish .
Istanbul even had the cheek to apply to an American life insurance after the war to claim payouts for the deaths of Armenians whom it had murdered .
Should the payments not go to the next of kin ?
No , no said the Ottoman State – all the relatives were dead so the Ottoman State was the beneficiary .
There can be no @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mass murder .
There were trials in Turkey after the Armenian Genocide .
A few people who committed crimes against the Armenian civil population were punished .
Why ?
Was this a mere PR exercise to sate the Allies desire for justice ?
It ought to go without saying that no one should be mistreated for his ethnicity or faith .
This goes for Armenians , Turks and Christians and Muslims and all people .
This article is not in the least bit Turkophobic .
Anti-Turkish prejudice is as detestable as anti-Armenian prejudice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was involved in the Armenian Genocide .
However , there are many people in Turkey today who claim that such a gargantuan crime against humanity did not occur .
Armenians were sent on forced marches into Syria .
Many fell by the wayside .
Some found sanctuary in Syria .
A few managed to make it to Cyprus which was then beneath the aegis of Britannia .
There the Armenians found succour and some have made it their domicile to this day .
There are Turks who come out well from this sage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Turks valiantly sheltered their Armenians neighbours .
These righteous Turks ought to be hailed for their heroism just as Germany honours the glorious memory of those Germans who , actuated by principles of humanity , saved Jews and other would be victims from slaughter at the hands of the Third Reich .
Morality knows no ethnicity nor does immorality .
There are brave souls in Turkey today with the moral courage to publicly state their people of their nationality carried out these barbarous crimes on a huge scale in 1915 and for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to acknowledge that their compatriots did so .
What is the case for the defence ?
Turkish ultranationalists – which is a large percentage of Turkey ’ s population – will try to divert attention from this .
These hardline nationalists say that recounting the historical fact is anti-Turanist .
They will say that many Turks and other Muslims were butchered in the region during and after the First World War .
That is true though the numbers cited might be inflated .
Crimes committed against Turks are worthy of study .
Turkish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
None of this brings the Armenian Genocide within a million miles of acceptable .
The attempts to defend the Ottoman Empire on this issue are exercises in polishing a turd .
There are people in the Turkish Republic who acknowledge that hundreds of thousands of Armenians died as a result of the war .
They are brave enough to admit that some of the Armenians will killed outright such as being shot .
They also note that other Armenians were killed through forced marches and malnutrition .
However , they blanche at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was not large enough scale or that the slaying was not centrally directed .
If one person is killed for his ethnicity this is not genocide though it is a racist murder .
How many people have to be slain for it to meet the number requisite to qualify for the term genocide ?
Is it 100 or 1 000 or 100 000 ?
If it is a million the it surely qualifies .
The figure for the victims is in the high hundreds of thousands by even the most conservative estimate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There are others who state that whilst the Ottoman Empire slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Armenian civilians this was an act of virtue .
The depravity of such a stance is beyond comprehension .
The Republic of Turkey has a pernicious law on the statute book .
It states that ‘ insulting Turkishness ’ is a crime .
‘ Insulting Turkishness ’ is what most people called ‘ telling the truth ’ when it comes to the Armenian Genocide .
The Erdogan Administration has been especially stringent in enforcing this law .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is permitted but that dishonouring him is not .
In effect any critique of Ataturk is treated as dishonouring his memory .
Ataturk was the founder of the Turkish Republic .
His status in Turkey is legendary .
Every town , no matter how inconsiderable , has a public place named after him .
All this adulation covers up the fact that Ataturk was not ethnically Turkish and he was not born in modern day Turkey .
He was born in Thessaloniki which is in Greece and had only a minority of Turks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ held to account and sometimes excoriated .
This goes for leaders such as de Valera and Churchill .
Western countries have generally fought shy of calling the Armenian Genocide by its proper name .
This is because Turkey is a NATO country .
They are chary about upsetting their friends in Ankara lest the Turks get the hump and quit NATO .
There are 90 000 000 Turks and only 3 000 000 Armenians .
It s not hard to figure out who carries more weight in realpolitik .
The Turks have their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Central Asia .
There is an Armenian diaspora but it is tiny in comparison to the 60 000 000 or more Turkic people outside Turkey .
France is one of few Occidental nations to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide .
This is partly due to the presence of a significant Armenian community in France .
The United States has taken pains to avoid treading on Ankara ’ s toes .
This is a very sensitive issue for the Turks .
This article does not advocate that legislatures recognise or dispute any genocide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be politicised .
The question is one for historians and not for public representatives .
However , once France ’ s National Assembly voted in 2011 to declare that what happened to the Armenians was genocide then the Turkish Government threw the toys out of the pram .
They cancelled many contracts with the French .
They also accused France of genocide in Algeria in the 1950s .
Counterinsurgent campaigns are never immaculate .
Civilians are inevitably killed .
Security forces often break their own ethical rules .
The conduct of French forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was deplorable .
Was this genocide ?
It is a moot point .
I suspect that it does not meet the standard – not enough civilians were killed to count as that .
Further , the French Government did not order its men to slay civilians .
Indeed there were plenty of Algerians in the French Army at the time .
But even if France is also guilty of genocide two wrongs do not make a right .
No more with this what aboutery .
People may hurl a branding reproach at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your people took part in genocide against Native Americans , the Transatlantic Slave Trade , you butchered people in India when your men served in the British Army ’ and so on .
All this is true .
This article does not deny the grave wrongdoing by people from the British Isles .
I do not try to say that any nation is better or worse than another .
If you wish to talk about monstrous crimes committed by people from the British Isles then let ’ s talk about them .
Turkey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Erdogan Government is keen to lay claim to its Ottoman patrimony .
The cult of neo-Ottomanism is worrisome .
All empires had their credit and debit side .
But the Ottoman Empire ’ s credit column is decidedly thin .
It has but a paltry claim on the gratitude of any of its onetime subject peoples .
What did it have to recommend it ?
Its culinary creations or architecture ?
It had few scientific or technological advances to its name .
Further , it can never be said to have furthered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quite the reverse .
There would be less need for Ankara to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide if it did not embrace its Ottoman past with such perfervid relish .
What is to be done ?
Ankara could come clean about the manifold wrongs it predecessor committed against the Armenian people .
That would be the way to reconciliation .
An apology would not hurt .
May peace and amity reign between the Armenian and Turkish people .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Submitted by George Callaghan…
It inspired Hitler. As the Nazi supremo said, ‘Who know remembers the Armenians?’. Der Fuhrer believed that as a large scale genocide had been committed and the perpetrators had gotten away it with the crime all but forgotten then he too could do likewise.
It is the one genocide that is consistently denied by a government. What happened in the Armenian Genocide?
From 1915 up to the early 1920s at least hundreds of thousands of Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Empire. Some were killed directly and some were killed indirectly. Nor was this the first time such a huge scale atrocity had been carried out by the Ottoman State against its beleaguered Armenian minority.
We know all this because the Ottomans happily recorded it. Their German and Austro-Hungarian confederates also recorded it. Some German officers and bureaucrats were aghast at these acts of barbarity. Others heartily approved. But none disputed that it was happening.
The United States was neutral in the First World War until 1917. US diplomats were well apprised of these crimes against humanity. Even after 1917 the US and the Sublime Porte never proclaimed war on each other. American diplomats roamed freely and gathered superabundant evidence of the enormous crimes against the Armenians.
Other neutral nations such as Sweden had diplomats in Turkey who attested to the genocide. The Ottoman authorities did not attempt to conceal the truth. They were unabashed about what they had been doing.
Who carried out the killing? Not all the killers were Turks. The Ottoman Empire was a polyglot and multiethnic smorgasbord. Some of those who killed Armenians were Kurdish. This did not save the Kurds 60 years later. Who was a Turk anyway? That was a very vexed question. Many people even in Anatolia were ethnic minority people and spoke languages other than Turkish.
Istanbul even had the cheek to apply to an American life insurance after the war to claim payouts for the deaths of Armenians whom it had murdered. Should the payments not go to the next of kin? No, no said the Ottoman State – all the relatives were dead so the Ottoman State was the beneficiary. There can be no clearer evidence of the state directing the mass murder.
There were trials in Turkey after the Armenian Genocide. A few people who committed crimes against the Armenian civil population were punished. Why? Was this a mere PR exercise to sate the Allies desire for justice?
It ought to go without saying that no one should be mistreated for his ethnicity or faith. This goes for Armenians, Turks and Christians and Muslims and all people. This article is not in the least bit Turkophobic. Anti-Turkish prejudice is as detestable as anti-Armenian prejudice. No one alive in Turkey today was involved in the Armenian Genocide. However, there are many people in Turkey today who claim that such a gargantuan crime against humanity did not occur.
Armenians were sent on forced marches into Syria. Many fell by the wayside. Some found sanctuary in Syria. A few managed to make it to Cyprus which was then beneath the aegis of Britannia. There the Armenians found succour and some have made it their domicile to this day.
There are Turks who come out well from this sage of woe. A small number of Turks valiantly sheltered their Armenians neighbours. These righteous Turks ought to be hailed for their heroism just as Germany honours the glorious memory of those Germans who, actuated by principles of humanity, saved Jews and other would be victims from slaughter at the hands of the Third Reich. Morality knows no ethnicity nor does immorality. There are brave souls in Turkey today with the moral courage to publicly state their people of their nationality carried out these barbarous crimes on a huge scale in 1915 and for a few years thereafter. It takes magnanimity to acknowledge that their compatriots did so.
What is the case for the defence? Turkish ultranationalists – which is a large percentage of Turkey’s population – will try to divert attention from this. These hardline nationalists say that recounting the historical fact is anti-Turanist. They will say that many Turks and other Muslims were butchered in the region during and after the First World War. That is true though the numbers cited might be inflated. Crimes committed against Turks are worthy of study. Turkish people who were victims deserve sympathy too. None of this brings the Armenian Genocide within a million miles of acceptable. The attempts to defend the Ottoman Empire on this issue are exercises in polishing a turd.
There are people in the Turkish Republic who acknowledge that hundreds of thousands of Armenians died as a result of the war. They are brave enough to admit that some of the Armenians will killed outright such as being shot. They also note that other Armenians were killed through forced marches and malnutrition. However, they blanche at dubbing this genocide. They claim that it was not large enough scale or that the slaying was not centrally directed. If one person is killed for his ethnicity this is not genocide though it is a racist murder. How many people have to be slain for it to meet the number requisite to qualify for the term genocide? Is it 100 or 1 000 or 100 000? If it is a million the it surely qualifies. The figure for the victims is in the high hundreds of thousands by even the most conservative estimate of any scholar worth the name.
There are others who state that whilst the Ottoman Empire slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Armenian civilians this was an act of virtue. The depravity of such a stance is beyond comprehension.
The Republic of Turkey has a pernicious law on the statute book. It states that ‘insulting Turkishness’ is a crime. ‘Insulting Turkishness’ is what most people called ‘telling the truth’ when it comes to the Armenian Genocide. The Erdogan Administration has been especially stringent in enforcing this law. The law states that criticising Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is permitted but that dishonouring him is not. In effect any critique of Ataturk is treated as dishonouring his memory. Ataturk was the founder of the Turkish Republic. His status in Turkey is legendary. Every town, no matter how inconsiderable, has a public place named after him. All this adulation covers up the fact that Ataturk was not ethnically Turkish and he was not born in modern day Turkey. He was born in Thessaloniki which is in Greece and had only a minority of Turks at the time. Leaders should be held to account and sometimes excoriated. This goes for leaders such as de Valera and Churchill.
Western countries have generally fought shy of calling the Armenian Genocide by its proper name. This is because Turkey is a NATO country. They are chary about upsetting their friends in Ankara lest the Turks get the hump and quit NATO. There are 90 000 000 Turks and only 3 000 000 Armenians. It s not hard to figure out who carries more weight in realpolitik. The Turks have their kith and kin in several Turkic states in Central Asia. There is an Armenian diaspora but it is tiny in comparison to the 60 000 000 or more Turkic people outside Turkey.
France is one of few Occidental nations to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. This is partly due to the presence of a significant Armenian community in France.
The United States has taken pains to avoid treading on Ankara’s toes. This is a very sensitive issue for the Turks.
This article does not advocate that legislatures recognise or dispute any genocide or alleged genocide. This should not be politicised. The question is one for historians and not for public representatives. However, once France’s National Assembly voted in 2011 to declare that what happened to the Armenians was genocide then the Turkish Government threw the toys out of the pram. They cancelled many contracts with the French. They also accused France of genocide in Algeria in the 1950s. Counterinsurgent campaigns are never immaculate. Civilians are inevitably killed. Security forces often break their own ethical rules. The conduct of French forces in Algeria was often bad. Sometimes it was deplorable. Was this genocide? It is a moot point. I suspect that it does not meet the standard – not enough civilians were killed to count as that. Further, the French Government did not order its men to slay civilians. Indeed there were plenty of Algerians in the French Army at the time. But even if France is also guilty of genocide two wrongs do not make a right. No more with this what aboutery.
People may hurl a branding reproach at me. ‘You are Irish: your people took part in genocide against Native Americans, the Transatlantic Slave Trade, you butchered people in India when your men served in the British Army’ and so on. All this is true. This article does not deny the grave wrongdoing by people from the British Isles. I do not try to say that any nation is better or worse than another. If you wish to talk about monstrous crimes committed by people from the British Isles then let’s talk about them.
Turkey is not the Ottoman Empire. But the Erdogan Government is keen to lay claim to its Ottoman patrimony. The cult of neo-Ottomanism is worrisome. All empires had their credit and debit side. But the Ottoman Empire’s credit column is decidedly thin. It has but a paltry claim on the gratitude of any of its onetime subject peoples. What did it have to recommend it? Its culinary creations or architecture? It had few scientific or technological advances to its name. Further, it can never be said to have furthered the cause of liberty. It was quite the reverse. There would be less need for Ankara to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide if it did not embrace its Ottoman past with such perfervid relish.
What is to be done? Ankara could come clean about the manifold wrongs it predecessor committed against the Armenian people. That would be the way to reconciliation. An apology would not hurt. May peace and amity reign between the Armenian and Turkish people.
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theduran--2020-03-28--Panic Rolls Back Empire

Panic Rolls Back Empire

One irony of the Elite mindest , they have zero compunction about spending trillions on the US military and its contractors but when it comes to medical equipment to save lives that is another matter except when needed to preserve their own existence .
Meanwhile US-State struts about the stage , braying its venomous rhetoric while the crazed demons who lead it cower in fear isolated in the place they infect .
An engorged bloated US Secretary of State — the very caricature of the engorged US State he represents — splutters obscenely by mouth and print about changing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shows frustration that his globalist Axis of Evil can not change a regime despite years of trying .
As a result one set of US oligarchs ridicules the other , saying US-State ’ s current demons are not as efficient at spreading their horror throughout the world as the regime that preceded it .
There is no satisfaction in hailing a potentially deadly disease as the catalyst to challenge Washington ’ s deadly geopolitical grip .
That the perverse axis Washington created to include the world ’ s worst actors — the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saudi Arabia , and Israel — may now be threatened logistically and financially does inspire hope however .
Like US-State ’ s bloated girth , the financial bubble that burst in 2008-2009 was reinflated again and showed signs of growing instability since the end of 2018 .
The Fed/Treasury believed they had the problem licked but 2019 issues in the gold and repo markets seriously challenged the consensus view that Wall Street ’ s bull market bubble would last forever .
As in finance , world events began to push back on Washington @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gulf attacks , US Global hawk RQ-4 shoot down , attacks on Saudi oil fields , the GRACE-1 affair , blowback from the US assassination of Iran ’ s top military leader , and an apparently pre-arranged US stand down after strikes on its own military in Iraq .
All seemingly major events capable of bursting the US financial bubble — but none did .
Arguably it was the OPEC+ split that finally did the damage occurring in conjunction with the COVID panic .
Now the panic provides cover to the G20 powers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oil prices , finance , and control of the populace .
However the recent G20 meeting highlighted major divisions between globalists and sovereigntists .
Signal divisions among semi-belligerents caused the Saudi-hosted summit to accomplish precisely nothing in a failure ironically embodied by the vacant , vacuous , confused stare seen in the ceremonial titular head ’ s photo .
The G20 ’ s irrelevance at a time of global panic well highlights the same vacuous countenance amongst all first world leadership .
Monetary realists tend to concentrate on ( physical ) gold as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic indicator is oil pricing as defacto agreed by the world order after August 15th , 1971 .
Great shocks to the post-1971 oil standard have largely defined major global economic recessions since then and the Panic of 2020 is no different .
At the time the OPEC+ oil talks collapsed the pandemic was in the news but was just one consideration for the failure .
Behind the scenes , the Russian leadership may have lost patience with Saudi Arabia and its double-dealing , and the continuance of Saudi-led state-sponsored horror in Syria @ @ @ @ @ @ @ States imports a small amount of oil from Saudi Arabia , and US weapons sales to Saudi Arabia far exceed the expense of Saudi oil purchased .
Against this backdrop , the US continues to boast about being the number one producer of oil even as US rig counts fall drastically .
* Alleged to be the land of free markets , should profit-hungry oil majors ditch US shale and opt for mass imports of cheap oil from Russia ( and Saudi Arabia ) then the US financial house of cards may be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ example , cheap oil from Russia could realign Turkey with Russian hopes for peace in the Middle East and Africa curtailing Turkey ’ s aggression in Syria and Libya where it acts as a surrogate for Washington , in another double-dealing game .
And it ’ s a game which has cost many thousands of lives .
In Iraq , Petronas evacuated the Gharraf field and Iraq has limited its oil production .
In another blow to the US illegal US occupation of Iraq , France just withdrew its military from the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that their troops be withdrawn from Iraq even if details remain sketchy .
The US military withdrew from al Qaim after Iraq condemned US air strikes supposedly intended to interdict “ Hezbollah terrorists ” but killed a number of civilians .
However there is no doubt that the outbreak of disease forced the US to reconsider its presence in Iraq — just as France , Australia , and Germany have done .
The US withdrawal from al Qaim has been lightly reported in the west .
al Qaim is strategically important being near @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which the United States military presently occupy .
Iraq ’ s Popular Mobilization Units can now interact with their counterparts in Syria and thus pose a flanking threat to US troops occupying the oil fields .
That ’ s because the PMU are not “ Hezbollah terrorists ” they are a mixed group of veteran fighters effectively opposed to the occupation of Iraq and Syria ( some Sunni ) and opposed to Islamic State group terrorists there as well .
How a cornered US-State will react to this new PMU link-up is still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where US State contradicts the US president on Iraq intentions and vice versa , reports say that the United States will withdraw from its so-called war versus the Islamic State group in Iraq due to corona virus .
It ’ s rich to think that an invisible enemy can cause tanks and APC ’ s to be vacated and quickly become worthless to Washington ’ s war machine .
Israel too is concerned about worldwide media exposure of its blockade and siege of Gaza .
The outbreak threatens to expose Israel ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to relieve Gaza will challenge Israel ’ s military authority .
Illegal militant settler outposts in the occupied territories pose a complicating disease factor too .
For example Israeli forces have declared a closed military zone around a settler encampment called ‘ Kipa Sruga ’ in an effort to enforce an eminent lockdown .
Settlers threw five Molotov petrol bombs at a police vehicle for their efforts .
The situation in war zones is deteriorating especially in Libya , the Occupied Territories , and Yemen .
Yemen may find a way out as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first in four years — after the UN issued yet another appeal to end hostilities on March 25th .
But in another contrarian move the United States just discontinued its humanitarian aid to Yemen further underlining US moral bankruptcy .
As for Saudi , that the Crown Prince may have met his match in the palace is a far more likely scenario than any predilection for mercy in Yemen .
This is not to write that peace may be breaking out in the world — far from it .
Perhaps to support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ face of events the US can not control , Mnuchin the Magnificent just announced a new round of sanctions versus Iran and the Department of Justice declared Venezuela ’ s president to be a wanted drug pusher .
Illustrating that the challenge to roll back US State ’ s Axis of Evil has only just begun… whether invoked by an invisible enemy or by the US Evil Empire ’ s own vile actions .
* Noting that the US is far down the list as an oil exporter .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Submitted by Steve Brown…
One irony of the Elite mindest, they have zero compunction about spending trillions on the US military and its contractors but when it comes to medical equipment to save lives that is another matter except when needed to preserve their own existence.
Meanwhile US-State struts about the stage, braying its venomous rhetoric while the crazed demons who lead it cower in fear isolated in the place they infect. An engorged bloated US Secretary of State — the very caricature of the engorged US State he represents — splutters obscenely by mouth and print about changing a foreign sovereign nation’s behavior or shows frustration that his globalist Axis of Evil cannot change a regime despite years of trying. As a result one set of US oligarchs ridicules the other, saying US-State’s current demons are not as efficient at spreading their horror throughout the world as the regime that preceded it.
There is no satisfaction in hailing a potentially deadly disease as the catalyst to challenge Washington’s deadly geopolitical grip. That the perverse axis Washington created to include the world’s worst actors — the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Israel — may now be threatened logistically and financially does inspire hope however.
Like US-State’s bloated girth, the financial bubble that burst in 2008-2009 was reinflated again and showed signs of growing instability since the end of 2018. The Fed/Treasury believed they had the problem licked but 2019 issues in the gold and repo markets seriously challenged the consensus view that Wall Street’s bull market bubble would last forever.
As in finance, world events began to push back on Washington’s agenda in 2019 with the Gulf attacks, US Global hawk RQ-4 shoot down, attacks on Saudi oil fields, the GRACE-1 affair, blowback from the US assassination of Iran’s top military leader, and an apparently pre-arranged US stand down after strikes on its own military in Iraq. All seemingly major events capable of bursting the US financial bubble — but none did. Arguably it was the OPEC+ split that finally did the damage occurring in conjunction with the COVID panic.
Now the panic provides cover to the G20 powers to address their primary concerns, whether oil prices, finance, and control of the populace. However the recent G20 meeting highlighted major divisions between globalists and sovereigntists. Signal divisions among semi-belligerents caused the Saudi-hosted summit to accomplish precisely nothing in a failure ironically embodied by the vacant, vacuous, confused stare seen in the ceremonial titular head’s photo. The G20’s irrelevance at a time of global panic well highlights the same vacuous countenance amongst all first world leadership.
Monetary realists tend to concentrate on (physical) gold as economic indicator, but the true global economic indicator is oil pricing as defacto agreed by the world order after August 15th, 1971. Great shocks to the post-1971 oil standard have largely defined major global economic recessions since then and the Panic of 2020 is no different. At the time the OPEC+ oil talks collapsed the pandemic was in the news but was just one consideration for the failure. Behind the scenes, the Russian leadership may have lost patience with Saudi Arabia and its double-dealing, and the continuance of Saudi-led state-sponsored horror in Syria.
By its own production the United States imports a small amount of oil from Saudi Arabia, and US weapons sales to Saudi Arabia far exceed the expense of Saudi oil purchased. Against this backdrop, the US continues to boast about being the number one producer of oil even as US rig counts fall drastically.* Alleged to be the land of free markets, should profit-hungry oil majors ditch US shale and opt for mass imports of cheap oil from Russia (and Saudi Arabia) then the US financial house of cards may be threatened at least in part.
For example, cheap oil from Russia could realign Turkey with Russian hopes for peace in the Middle East and Africa curtailing Turkey’s aggression in Syria and Libya where it acts as a surrogate for Washington, in another double-dealing game. And it’s a game which has cost many thousands of lives. In Iraq, Petronas evacuated the Gharraf field and Iraq has limited its oil production.
In another blow to the US illegal US occupation of Iraq, France just withdrew its military from the country. Now Australia and Germany have requested that their troops be withdrawn from Iraq even if details remain sketchy. The US military withdrew from al Qaim after Iraq condemned US air strikes supposedly intended to interdict “Hezbollah terrorists” but killed a number of civilians. However there is no doubt that the outbreak of disease forced the US to reconsider its presence in Iraq — just as France, Australia, and Germany have done.
The US withdrawal from al Qaim has been lightly reported in the west. al Qaim is strategically important being near the Deir Ezzor oil fields in Syria which the United States military presently occupy. Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units can now interact with their counterparts in Syria and thus pose a flanking threat to US troops occupying the oil fields. That’s because the PMU are not “Hezbollah terrorists” they are a mixed group of veteran fighters effectively opposed to the occupation of Iraq and Syria (some Sunni) and opposed to Islamic State group terrorists there as well. How a cornered US-State will react to this new PMU link-up is still unclear.
Embarrassed by the confused narrative where US State contradicts the US president on Iraq intentions and vice versa, reports say that the United States will withdraw from its so-called war versus the Islamic State group in Iraq due to corona virus. It’s rich to think that an invisible enemy can cause tanks and APC’s to be vacated and quickly become worthless to Washington’s war machine.
Israel too is concerned about worldwide media exposure of its blockade and siege of Gaza. The outbreak threatens to expose Israel’s basic inhumanity, and outside humanitarian efforts to relieve Gaza will challenge Israel’s military authority. Illegal militant settler outposts in the occupied territories pose a complicating disease factor too. For example Israeli forces have declared a closed military zone around a settler encampment called ‘Kipa Sruga’ in an effort to enforce an eminent lockdown. Settlers threw five Molotov petrol bombs at a police vehicle for their efforts.
The situation in war zones is deteriorating especially in Libya, the Occupied Territories, and Yemen. Yemen may find a way out as a ceasefire has just been agreed — the first in four years — after the UN issued yet another appeal to end hostilities on March 25th. But in another contrarian move the United States just discontinued its humanitarian aid to Yemen further underlining US moral bankruptcy. As for Saudi, that the Crown Prince may have met his match in the palace is a far more likely scenario than any predilection for mercy in Yemen.
This is not to write that peace may be breaking out in the world — far from it. Perhaps to support the illusion of global power in the face of events the US cannot control, Mnuchin the Magnificent just announced a new round of sanctions versus Iran and the Department of Justice declared Venezuela’s president to be a wanted drug pusher. Illustrating that the challenge to roll back US State’s Axis of Evil has only just begun… whether invoked by an invisible enemy or by the US Evil Empire’s own vile actions.
* Noting that the US is far down the list as an oil exporter.
Follow Steve Brown on twitter: @newsypaperz
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theduran--2020-03-28--The COVID World Order Is Coming

The COVID World Order Is Coming

Authored by Andrew Korybko via One World Press : COVID-19 has fundamentally changed life as we know it , and it ’ s more than likely that our future will be a dystopian one given how various governments have already responded to this viral outbreak .
The skeptics among us are fearful that this whole pandemic is overblown and being exploited as a smokescreen for stealing our freedoms , and while their attitude towards this disease is questionable ( and quite possibly dangerous ) , their suspicion about a government takeover of society is warranted .
Never before have governments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , though in these emergency conditions , that might not be an entirely bad thing for the time being seeing as how it could very well be necessary for our survival .
The problem , however , is that these newly assumed powers probably won ’ t be voluntarily surrendered after this epidemic ends , which is why many people are so concerned .
They ’ re convinced that we ’ ve suddenly entered a period of global dictatorship , and it ’ s difficult to argue with them .
So much else @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s hard to keep up with the “ COVID World Order ” that ’ s been thrust upon us , but what follows is an attempt to briefly describe everything that ’ s already taken place and predict what will probably follow : There ’ s no other way to describe both the “ recommended ” and mandatory quarantines that many in the world are experiencing than to call them what they are , a state of de-facto martial law , which isn ’ t being formally declared in order to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already is .
Now that de-facto martial law of a seemingly indefinite period has been accepted by the people ( whether willingly or begrudgingly ) , it ’ ll probably become the “ new normal ” and be implemented countless times in the future , be it as an “ overabundance of caution ” in the event of another outbreak or under any other pretext .
“ Big Brother ” is already here , but he ’ s going to become a bigger bully than ever before by intensifying his censorship of people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basis that they ’ re “ socially irresponsible ” ( e.g .
questioning the seriousness of this disease ) , after which the “ politically incorrect ” net will widen to encompass other topics too .
* Travel Will Never Be The Same Again : Domestic and international travel will never be the same again , with internal restrictions on movement likely becoming commonplace and most foreign guests being required to self-quarantine for a period of time except in special circumstances , thus all but killing the global tourism industry .
* Border @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are the days of so-called “ open borders ” where anyone can freely move between jurisdictions at will ( whether legally or otherwise ) , with more stringent controls being put into place to protect the local population from outsiders ( including their own compatriots from elsewhere in the country ) .
For whatever one thinks about vaccines , there ’ s probably no way to stop them from becoming mandatory after the COVID-19 pandemic , with it being predicted that people will have to prove that they ’ ve been vaccinated in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as study , work , travel , and receive government benefits .
With so many people stuck at home and unable to leave except to purchase essential goods in most cases , it ’ s predictable that remote learning and working ( the latter which will of course be for those whose jobs allow them to do so ) will pick up in the coming future as society gets used to this way of doing things .
The massive surge of online traffic from folks who are learning , working , or simply @ @ @ @ @ @ @ roll-out of 5G technology despite what some people suspect are its serious health concerns .
* Society Depends On Just A Few Jobs To Function : The “ new normal ” of de-facto martial law has made many people realize that society really just depends on a few jobs in order to continue functioning at the bare minimum , with these being techies , grocery store and pharmacy employees , bank clerks , healthcare professionals , food service workers , farmers , and truckers .
For better or for worse , governments across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spree in order to take control of what they regard as “ essential industries ” ( though whether some of them truly are or not is another story ) , which could lead to the informal imposition of either socialist or fascist economic models .
Given the scale and scope of the global economic collapse that was catalyzed by the world ’ s uncoordinated response to COVID-19 , it ’ s foreseeable that governments will unveil what ’ s been described as a “ universal basic income ” in order to ensure that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ purchase basic goods and services .
Medical training is arguably more important than military service nowadays , so the state will probably make it mandatory in schools from here on out and for anyone who wants to receive government benefits , thereby enabling the government to draft them in the future whenever there ’ s a dearth of healthcare professionals .
The cashless society is coming , whether justified by the ( real , false , or exaggerated ) fear that lethal viruses can be spread by paper currency or as the government @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ universal basic income ” , meaning that the authorities can cut folks off from their funds at any time that they want to .
There ’ s no guarantee that everything that was described above will come to pass , but there ’ s certainly a high likelihood that at least some of it will transpire with time , though it ’ ll remain to be seen how sustainable these socio-economic and political changes are and whether or not they can ever be reversed .

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Authored by Andrew Korybko via One World Press:
COVID-19 has fundamentally changed life as we know it, and it’s more than likely that our future will be a dystopian one given how various governments have already responded to this viral outbreak. The skeptics among us are fearful that this whole pandemic is overblown and being exploited as a smokescreen for stealing our freedoms, and while their attitude towards this disease is questionable (and quite possibly dangerous), their suspicion about a government takeover of society is warranted. Never before have governments had so much power over the people, though in these emergency conditions, that might not be an entirely bad thing for the time being seeing as how it could very well be necessary for our survival. The problem, however, is that these newly assumed powers probably won’t be voluntarily surrendered after this epidemic ends, which is why many people are so concerned. They’re convinced that we’ve suddenly entered a period of global dictatorship, and it’s difficult to argue with them. So much else is also changing as well, and it’s hard to keep up with the “COVID World Order” that’s been thrust upon us, but what follows is an attempt to briefly describe everything that’s already taken place and predict what will probably follow:
* De-Facto Martial Law…:
There’s no other way to describe both the “recommended” and mandatory quarantines that many in the world are experiencing than to call them what they are, a state of de-facto martial law, which isn’t being formally declared in order to not provoke any more panic than there already is.
* …Is The “New Normal”:
Now that de-facto martial law of a seemingly indefinite period has been accepted by the people (whether willingly or begrudgingly), it’ll probably become the “new normal” and be implemented countless times in the future, be it as an “overabundance of caution” in the event of another outbreak or under any other pretext.
* Social Media Censorship Will Intensify:
“Big Brother” is already here, but he’s going to become a bigger bully than ever before by intensifying his censorship of people’s social media posts on the basis that they’re “socially irresponsible” (e.g. questioning the seriousness of this disease), after which the “politically incorrect” net will widen to encompass other topics too.
* Travel Will Never Be The Same Again:
Domestic and international travel will never be the same again, with internal restrictions on movement likely becoming commonplace and most foreign guests being required to self-quarantine for a period of time except in special circumstances, thus all but killing the global tourism industry.
* Border Control Will Become More Robust:
Gone are the days of so-called “open borders” where anyone can freely move between jurisdictions at will (whether legally or otherwise), with more stringent controls being put into place to protect the local population from outsiders (including their own compatriots from elsewhere in the country).
* Mandatory Vaccines Are Coming:
For whatever one thinks about vaccines, there’s probably no way to stop them from becoming mandatory after the COVID-19 pandemic, with it being predicted that people will have to prove that they’ve been vaccinated in order to do anything at all such as study, work, travel, and receive government benefits.
* Remote Learning & Working Will Increase:
With so many people stuck at home and unable to leave except to purchase essential goods in most cases, it’s predictable that remote learning and working (the latter which will of course be for those whose jobs allow them to do so) will pick up in the coming future as society gets used to this way of doing things.
* 5G Is Inevitable:
The massive surge of online traffic from folks who are learning, working, or simply entertaining themselves online will necessitate the rapid roll-out of 5G technology despite what some people suspect are its serious health concerns.
* Society Depends On Just A Few Jobs To Function:
The “new normal” of de-facto martial law has made many people realize that society really just depends on a few jobs in order to continue functioning at the bare minimum, with these being techies, grocery store and pharmacy employees, bank clerks, healthcare professionals, food service workers, farmers, and truckers.
* Nationalization Might Be Imminent:
For better or for worse, governments across the world might go on a nationalization spree in order to take control of what they regard as “essential industries” (though whether some of them truly are or not is another story), which could lead to the informal imposition of either socialist or fascist economic models.
* “Universal Basic Income”:
Given the scale and scope of the global economic collapse that was catalyzed by the world’s uncoordinated response to COVID-19, it’s foreseeable that governments will unveil what’s been described as a “universal basic income” in order to ensure that their people can continue to at least purchase basic goods and services.
* Mandatory Medical Training In Exchange For Government Benefits:
Medical training is arguably more important than military service nowadays, so the state will probably make it mandatory in schools from here on out and for anyone who wants to receive government benefits, thereby enabling the government to draft them in the future whenever there’s a dearth of healthcare professionals.
* Say Goodbye To Cash:
The cashless society is coming, whether justified by the (real, false, or exaggerated) fear that lethal viruses can be spread by paper currency or as the government’s preferred method of dispersing its “universal basic income”, meaning that the authorities can cut folks off from their funds at any time that they want to.
There’s no guarantee that everything that was described above will come to pass, but there’s certainly a high likelihood that at least some of it will transpire with time, though it’ll remain to be seen how sustainable these socio-economic and political changes are and whether or not they can ever be reversed.
By Andrew Korybko
American political analyst
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theduran--2020-03-28--The 2019 novel coronavirus (Video)

The 2019 novel coronavirus (Video)

The 2019 novel coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) is a new virus that causes respiratory illness in people and can spread @ @ @ @ @ ?
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theduran--2020-03-28--End of an Era: The Cult of Monetarism is Crumbling

When the current hysteria around COVID-19 settles down there ’ s going to be a lot of things under the microscope .
Did the media report accurately or did they often encourage panic and fear of the unknown ?
Was shutting down the economy of the entire world justified given the seriousness of the outbreak ?
For now there are too many unknowns about COVID-19 , how it spreads , and how many are infected , and so overreaction may be the wisest course right now , and perhaps even justified when we can look back on it better informed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be under the microscope after this is over is how exactly we were able to instantly create money out of thin air to issue much needed relief to a collapsed economy .
Regardless of whether we are currently reacting appropriately to this pandemic , the fiction of monetary scarcity that bankers and politicians have been feeding us for decades now stands exposed for all to see , and nothing will ever be the same .
Suddenly , governments around the world are able to create trillions ( with a T ) of dollars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needs , or bailing out banks on Wall Street .
The latter we have been accustomed to for years .
It is the former part about the money going to the needs of the people which is so new .
“ Trump seeks $ 500 billion in checks for the taxpayers ” blares the New York Times .
Suddenly the U.S has over two trillion dollars for the COVID-19 stimulus package .
Did Wall Street lose big time ?
No problem , we ’ ll just have the Federal Reserve conjure up however @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go away .
And now that people can see that money is a fiction , and that it can be created at any time and for any reason , no one will accept the standard line that “ it would be nice , but how are you going to pay for it ?
” For years corrupt politicians have told us that we simply don ’ t have enough money to put into our hospitals , our schools , and all of our other productive infrastructure .
When banks go broke making bad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ paper , we can scrounge up trillions of dollars to help buy up those “ toxic assets.
” But actual physical assets that promote the general welfare of the population ?
Unheard of , until this disease started threatening these same elderly , corrupt politicians and bankers , and they started to realize we are all in this together , and that the well-being of my neighbor has a direct impact on my well-being .
Then all of a sudden money was no object .
Rest assured , the trillions of dollars governments @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to battle the coronavirus could have been spent at any time in the last several decades when savage austerity in our healthcare systems was instead pushed relentlessly .
Notice I said in the West and not also in China , because China has been successfully investing public credit productively for decades , both domestically and now around the world with their Belt and Road Initiative , building roads , ports , trains , schools and hospitals in virtually every country around the world that has been left destitute by years of impoverishment at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
No country understands the value of public credit for productive physical investment better than China .
They were able to rapidly finance and build all kinds of incredible responses to the coronavirus because they have been doing it for infrastructure generally for more than 15 years .
We must never again allow them to swindle us with their pathetic lies .
Money is a fiction !
We can create it for whatever we want .
We should create it for productive investment , and not bailing out bankers , but like any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can be used for good or evil .
What we need to focus on now is throwing out all the corrupt politicians who have been pushing austerity for years , electing new blood , and forcing them to issue credit in line with the needs of the country , and not the needs of the bankers and bond-traders .
Governments can create credit based upon the future value the investments will create in society , and the future tax revenue that the economic growth will bring .
This used to be a truism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Alexander Hamilton , the founder of America ’ s economic system , wrote extensively about the need for such “ internal improvements ” that increase the productive powers of labor and the need for proper credit mechanisms to finance them .
“ Good roads , canals , and navigable rivers , by diminishing the expense of carriage , put the remote parts of a country more nearly upon a level with those in the neighborhood of the town .
They are , upon that account , the greatest of all improvements , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Manufactures .
He wrote extensively on promoting the productive powers of the nation through government investment , and saw it as fulfilling his constitutional obligation to promote the general welfare .
In 1792 Hamilton wrote to the National Gazette , “ Persuaded as the secretary is , that the proper funding of the present debt , will render it a national blessing ; yet he is so far from acceding to the position , in the latitude in which it is sometimes laid down , that “ public debts are public benefits , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and liable to a dangerous abuse , —that he ardently wishes to see it incorporated , as a fundamental maxim in the system of public credit of the United States , that the creation of debt should always be accompanied with the means of extinguishment .
This he regards as the true secret for rendering public credit immortal.
” In other words , we can issue public credit , but it has to go towards productive investment that stimulates economic growth that will allow the government to pay back the debt .
Endless @ @ @ @ @ @ @ good thing , it was seen as liable to be abused and inviting wasteful spending , say on buying up the worthless credit default swaps of some City of London tentacle to save them from bankruptcy .
We must let the speculators go bankrupt , and publicly issued credit should flow to rebuild crumbling infrastructure , and build new schools , hospitals , power plants , and transportation grids .
We must make the distinction between productive physical investment and worthless paper trading .
But for decades it has been treated as inflationary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the media and government that credit can simply be created and spent on needs .
This scare tactic has always been a lie .
It now stands exposed .
The money could have been created at any time , they just chose not to .
We must make the bankers understand that from now they won ’ t have that choice to make .
If anything good can come of this crisis , it is the oligarchy showing their hand in a desperate flop sweat .
Of course they will try to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We must not let them .
We can not go back to the neoliberal economic order which brought this austerity and inability to confront this current crisis .
We must learn from studying how China was able to mount a more aggressive and expensive approach than the U.S. or the EU , despite their population being larger and their economy being smaller .
The key is understanding how they funded their “ people ’ s war ” against the virus .
That governments can issue credit for the needs of its citizens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ traction in progressive circles for years now .
MMT , or modern monetary theory , is becoming the de facto economic policy platform of progressives , and will certainly be pushed even more as a result of this crisis .
But joining them now will be everyone else , who have seen that money is a fiction , and can be created at any time and for any reason .
It is time for all of us to stand up and make sure it is created for our reason .
Coming out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we are all in this together , and start to build a multipolar global alliance for peace and development , and throw out any politician or banker who stands in the way .
When the next outbreak occurs , we need to have the best international relations possible , and building those relations between nations must begin now .
There is much we can learn from one another , and no shortage of productive investments we could be making , from rebuilding existing infrastructure , to crash programs for nuclear fusion and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a hospital in 10 days .
We should be building phase 1 of an industrial base on the Moon with them to build and launch future missions from .
The work we have to do , like the future we have in front of us , is limitless , if we stop believing the bankers myth of scarcity .
Carey List is an engineer who loves history , and lives in Ontario , Canada .
He can be reached at [ email protected ]

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
By Carey List
When the current hysteria around COVID-19 settles down there’s going to be a lot of things under the microscope. Did the media report accurately or did they often encourage panic and fear of the unknown? Was shutting down the economy of the entire world justified given the seriousness of the outbreak? For now there are too many unknowns about COVID-19, how it spreads, and how many are infected, and so overreaction may be the wisest course right now, and perhaps even justified when we can look back on it better informed. But one thing that will definitely be under the microscope after this is over is how exactly we were able to instantly create money out of thin air to issue much needed relief to a collapsed economy. Regardless of whether we are currently reacting appropriately to this pandemic, the fiction of monetary scarcity that bankers and politicians have been feeding us for decades now stands exposed for all to see, and nothing will ever be the same.
Suddenly, governments around the world are able to create trillions (with a T) of dollars to devote to unemployment relief, healthcare needs, or bailing out banks on Wall Street. The latter we have been accustomed to for years. It is the former part about the money going to the needs of the people which is so new. “Trump seeks $500 billion in checks for the taxpayers” blares the New York Times. Suddenly the U.S has over two trillion dollars for the COVID-19 stimulus package. Did Wall Street lose big time? No problem, we’ll just have the Federal Reserve conjure up however many trillions are necessary to make it go away. And now that people can see that money is a fiction, and that it can be created at any time and for any reason, no one will accept the standard line that “it would be nice, but how are you going to pay for it?”
For years corrupt politicians have told us that we simply don’t have enough money to put into our hospitals, our schools, and all of our other productive infrastructure. When banks go broke making bad bets in their casino economy trading worthless paper, we can scrounge up trillions of dollars to help buy up those “toxic assets.” But actual physical assets that promote the general welfare of the population? Unheard of, until this disease started threatening these same elderly, corrupt politicians and bankers, and they started to realize we are all in this together, and that the well-being of my neighbor has a direct impact on my well-being.
Then all of a sudden money was no object. Rest assured, the trillions of dollars governments in the West are creating right now to battle the coronavirus could have been spent at any time in the last several decades when savage austerity in our healthcare systems was instead pushed relentlessly. Notice I said in the West and not also in China, because China has been successfully investing public credit productively for decades, both domestically and now around the world with their Belt and Road Initiative, building roads, ports, trains, schools and hospitals in virtually every country around the world that has been left destitute by years of impoverishment at the hands of IMF loans and conditionalities. No country understands the value of public credit for productive physical investment better than China. They were able to rapidly finance and build all kinds of incredible responses to the coronavirus because they have been doing it for infrastructure generally for more than 15 years.
We must never again allow them to swindle us with their pathetic lies. Money is a fiction! We can create it for whatever we want. We should create it for productive investment, and not bailing out bankers, but like any tool, money is neutral, and can be used for good or evil. What we need to focus on now is throwing out all the corrupt politicians who have been pushing austerity for years, electing new blood, and forcing them to issue credit in line with the needs of the country, and not the needs of the bankers and bond-traders.
Governments can create credit based upon the future value the investments will create in society, and the future tax revenue that the economic growth will bring. This used to be a truism among politicians and other leaders of society. Alexander Hamilton, the founder of America’s economic system, wrote extensively about the need for such “internal improvements” that increase the productive powers of labor and the need for proper credit mechanisms to finance them. “Good roads, canals, and navigable rivers, by diminishing the expense of carriage, put the remote parts of a country more nearly upon a level with those in the neighborhood of the town. They are, upon that account, the greatest of all improvements,” he wrote in his Report on Manufactures. He wrote extensively on promoting the productive powers of the nation through government investment, and saw it as fulfilling his constitutional obligation to promote the general welfare.
In 1792 Hamilton wrote to the National Gazette, “Persuaded as the secretary is, that the proper funding of the present debt, will render it a national blessing; yet he is so far from acceding to the position, in the latitude in which it is sometimes laid down, that “public debts are public benefits,” a position inviting to prodigality, and liable to a dangerous abuse,—that he ardently wishes to see it incorporated, as a fundamental maxim in the system of public credit of the United States, that the creation of debt should always be accompanied with the means of extinguishment. This he regards as the true secret for rendering public credit immortal.”
In other words, we can issue public credit, but it has to go towards productive investment that stimulates economic growth that will allow the government to pay back the debt. Endless debt accumulation was not seen as a good thing, it was seen as liable to be abused and inviting wasteful spending, say on buying up the worthless credit default swaps of some City of London tentacle to save them from bankruptcy. We must let the speculators go bankrupt, and publicly issued credit should flow to rebuild crumbling infrastructure, and build new schools, hospitals, power plants, and transportation grids. We must make the distinction between productive physical investment and worthless paper trading.
But for decades it has been treated as inflationary heresy by central bankers and their lapdogs in the media and government that credit can simply be created and spent on needs. This scare tactic has always been a lie. It now stands exposed. The money could have been created at any time, they just chose not to. We must make the bankers understand that from now they won’t have that choice to make. If anything good can come of this crisis, it is the oligarchy showing their hand in a desperate flop sweat. Of course they will try to exploit this crisis for their own benefit. We must not let them. We cannot go back to the neoliberal economic order which brought this austerity and inability to confront this current crisis. We must learn from studying how China was able to mount a more aggressive and expensive approach than the U.S. or the EU, despite their population being larger and their economy being smaller. The key is understanding how they funded their “people’s war” against the virus.
That governments can issue credit for the needs of its citizens has been a school of thought gaining traction in progressive circles for years now. MMT, or modern monetary theory, is becoming the de facto economic policy platform of progressives, and will certainly be pushed even more as a result of this crisis. But joining them now will be everyone else, who have seen that money is a fiction, and can be created at any time and for any reason. It is time for all of us to stand up and make sure it is created for our reason.
Coming out of this crisis we need to recognize that we are all in this together, and start to build a multipolar global alliance for peace and development, and throw out any politician or banker who stands in the way. When the next outbreak occurs, we need to have the best international relations possible, and building those relations between nations must begin now. There is much we can learn from one another, and no shortage of productive investments we could be making, from rebuilding existing infrastructure, to crash programs for nuclear fusion and a global Hyperloop rail network. China built a hospital in 10 days. We should be building phase 1 of an industrial base on the Moon with them to build and launch future missions from. The work we have to do, like the future we have in front of us, is limitless, if we stop believing the bankers myth of scarcity.
Carey List is an engineer who loves history, and lives in Ontario, Canada. He can be reached at careylist@protonmail.com
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theduran--2020-03-28--Projection: U.S. Coronavirus Deaths to = China’s Total Coronavirus Cases

Whereas China ’ s coronavirus cases plateaued at around 81,000 , America ’ s coronavirus deaths are now projected to @ @ @ @ @ The projected number of American coronavirus cases is around 460,000 during the peak , April @ @ @ @ @ .
Consequently , this projection calls for a U.S. coronavirus death-rate of 18 % , @ @ @ @ @ China ’ s actual death-rate from coronavifrus-19 infections , 4 % .
These projections are @ @ @ @ @ for Health Metrics and Evaluation and their methodology is here Basically , they see the @ @ @ @ @ far short of what China did .
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author , @ @ @ @ @ ’ re Not Even Close : The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records , 1910-2010 , @ @ @ @ @ VENTRILOQUISTS : The Event that Created Christianity

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
Eric Zuesse
Whereas China’s coronavirus cases plateaued at around 81,000, America’s coronavirus deaths are now projected to plateau at around 81,000. The projected number of American coronavirus cases is around 460,000 during the peak, April 12-16, and declining thereafter. Consequently, this projection calls for a U.S. coronavirus death-rate of 18%, which is far higher than China’s actual death-rate from coronavifrus-19 infections, 4%.
These projections are from the website
https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections
from
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
and their methodology is here
http://www.healthdata.org/research-article/forecasting-covid-19-impact-hospital-bed-days-icu-days-ventilator-days-and-deaths
Basically, they see the U.S. response as having fallen far short of what China did.
—————
Investigative historian Eric Zuesse is the author, most recently, of They’re Not Even Close: The Democratic vs. Republican Economic Records, 1910-2010, and of CHRIST’S VENTRILOQUISTS: The Event that Created Christianity
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