The Weekly Watch

COVID-19 Questions?

Many mysteries remain about the nature and origin of the virus and the best ways to combat it. Somehow things that are known are not widely said, the benefit of Vitamin D, selenium, zinc, and the promise of hydroxychloroquine among them...all pretty inexpensive preventatives. There's the effect (benefit or harm) of diet. Another inexpensive treatment, intravenous Vitamin C is rarely mentioned. Blood thinners are also being used as blood clots are problematic. Doctors have developed a COVID protocol which is updated regularly. It is as though the pandemic is being managed to maximize profit for big pharma. Everyone is in a race for an effective vaccine. Additionally, COVID certainly has provided cover for a massive transfer of US treasuries to the elite.

COVID.png

Critical Care COVID-19 Management Protocol(updated 5-4-2020)

Prophylaxis (prevention):
While there is very limited data (and none specific for COVID-19), the following “cocktail” may have a role in the prevention/mitigation of COVID-19 disease.
■ Vitamin C 500 mg BID and Quercetin 250-500 mg BID
■ Zinc 75-100 mg/day
■ Melatonin (slow release): Begin with 0.3mg and increase as tolerated to 2 mg at night
■ Vitamin D3 1000-4000 u/day

Mildly Symptomatic patients (at home):
■ Vitamin C 500mg BID and Quercetin 250-500 mg BID
■ Zinc 75-100 mg/day
■ Melatonin 6-12 mg at night (the optimal dose is unknown)
■ Vitamin D3 1000-4000 u/day
■ Optional:Hydroxychloroquine 400mg BID day 1 followed by 200mg BID for 4 days
■ Optional: ASA 81/325mg/day
■ Optional: In highly symptomatic patients, monitoring with home pulse oximetry is recommended
More at: https://www.evms.edu/covid-19/medical_information_resources/#covidcare

I've been watching Chris at Peak Prosperity this week and getting some interesting information. I've tried to clump the big ideas together and cue them to the appropriate spot. I've also included some information from John Campbell as well. Let's start with the question of virus engineering. Did people create this bug or is it naturally evolved?

Genetic manipulation?

One of the more acutely-asked questions since the covid-19 pandemic broke out has been: Is the virus man-made?

Debate on the matter has been wild and furious. After much investigation, Chris is now chiming in on the heels of an explosive Newsweek report.

Newsweek reveals that as recently as last year, the US funded scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in 'gain of function' research on bat coronaviruses.

The source of that funding? The National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease, headed by.....(drumroll please)....Dr Anthony Fauci, lead medical expert for America's Covid-19 task force.

Now, this doesn't mean the virus was lab-engineered as a bio-weapon. But it does suggest a naturally-occuring bat virus could have been artificially accelerated along certain vectors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6y8dlhoMpo&t=5m05s

Natural or man-made/manipulated?

The debate rages on, though evidence is starting to mount on the side of at least *some* manipulation.

In Tuesday's video, Chris talked about the polybasic furin cleavage site PRRA which looks suspiciously like an 'insert' in covid-19's genetic coding.

In today's video, he focuses on the RaTG13 sequence, which raises even more questions. It suggests that either the sequence itself is not natural OR that the larger covid-19 virus isn't.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJzGqVyAtlg&t=23m11s (15 min)

Is the Virus Mutating?
Jimmy thinks so: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OEA22KdPk4 (4 min)
But Chris presents the idea with better evidence...

Well, it seems we are closer to solving the mystery of why some regions of the world exhibit higher covid-19 mortality infection rates than others.

New research is revealing that covid-19 mutated early on in the pandemic to create a more transmissive strain: the G clade, which may also be associated with a higher viral load.

The G clade was dominant in Italy, which suggests that's why the virus hit that country so much harder than many others.

In the US, New York appears to have suffered from a high percentage of G clade cases. That's likely why the infection rate has been much higher there than in other states.

In addition to the news about the new strain, we're also now seeing evidence that the impact of covid-19 can linger for much longer than previously appreciated. There are reports of patients still struggling with symptoms 50 or more days after onset.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFCMZZKFE4w&t=9m07s (20 min)


Hydroxchloroquine (HCQ)

Amy on DN repeatedly says there is no evidence HCQ is effective. She need to listen to Chris. Her TDS has clouded her rational thought.

There sure has been a lot of recent press about how ineffective hydroxychloroquine is proving to be. That's a real letdown given how promising it was thought to be.

But are the headlines true?

To answer that, Chris pulls up the original VA study all of the recent headlines are referencing. Well, it turns out, it's based on quite poor "science"

For example, it wasn't randomized; by its own admission, hydroxychloroquine was given to sicker patients, closer to death, when we know HCQ works best when given early on. And zinc, a key component to its efficacy, wasn't administered. Nor was azithromycin in a number of cases.

Right now, the "HCQ shows no benefit" claim appears more an intentional narrative than a science-backed finding. In fact, there is growing empirical evidence, notably in France and Costa Rica, that it can work amazingly well when applied under the right conditions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLSYRqcg0wo&t=4m23s (35 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJzGqVyAtlg&t=12m30s (about 10 min)

EDIT to add:
John Campbell disagrees. He put up a piece today suggesting HCQ does not work. He failed to look at timing however. As Chris describes, when given early with zinc it apprears quite helpful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XCP1WzOY6M (19 min)

Vitamin D
Might explain the higher percentage of COVID in the black community.
John Campbell has been promoting the use of Vitamin D for weeks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bga_qG30JyY (20 min)

Chris looks at another study showing benefits of Vit D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJzGqVyAtlg&t=38m47s (3 min)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-mHCn74E5o&t=18m

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3585561#.XqWfqZvYqW0...

Patterns of COVID-19 Mortality and Vitamin D: An Indonesian Study (26th April)

Retrospective cohort study which included two cohorts (active and expired) of
780 cases with laboratory-confirmed infection of SARS-CoV-2 in Indonesia

Age, sex, co-morbidity, Vitamin D status, and disease outcome (mortality) were recorded

Serum 25(OH) D levels
1. Normal, greater than 30 ng/ml
2. Insufficient, 21-29 ng/ml
3. Deficient, less than 20 ng/ml. This

Results
Death risk factors, male, increasing age, pre-existing condition, below normal Vitamin D serum level

When controlling for age, sex, and comorbidity, Vitamin D status is strongly associated with COVID-19 mortality outcome of cases.

When compared to cases with normal Vitamin D status, death was approximately 10.12 times more likely for Vitamin D deficient cases (OR=10.12; p less than 0.001).

Ivor Cummins also takes on the benefits of Vit D.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXw3XqwSZFo (17 min)
The influence of latitude
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwwTBF14Plc (16 min)

Diet can improve your resistance to COVID. Aseem describes a healthy diet and suggests that you can improve your health in just one month of healthy eating. (about 5 min)

For more on diet, here's Dr Mark Hyman and Dr. Malhotra (1 hour)

As we continue to learn more about COVID-19, we continue to see a pattern in those more at risk. People who aren’t metabolically healthy (think obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension) are much more likely to experience severe complications if they are to get the virus. And to put that in perspective, only 1 in 8 Americans are considered metabolically healthy. That means a lot of us are at risk during this already alarming time. We can start changing that today, though, and create a newfound health baseline while creating a greater level of resilience when it comes to chronic disease and future situations like this.

⁣⁣https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r__rOU2G_P8

Under Cover of COVID...
is the largest transfer of wealth to the elite in our lifetime.

Chris has focused on this as well as COVID...

THE GREATEST WEALTH TRANSFER IN HISTORY IS HAPPENING BEFORE OUR EYES AND WE'RE JUST WATCHING IT HAPPEN!!

All that the $trillions in rescue bailouts/stimulus are doing is making the wealthy elites and the large corporations whole on their bad bets, while simultaneously making them richer by deforming stock prices higher.

And what do the rest of us get? Lost jobs. A promise of a measly $1,200 check that few have yet to receive. Shattered prospects.

Those who have pillaged our system are filling their pockets before it collapses. Why the heck are we not fighting back at this more forcefully?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPDmElpj9wU&t=20m20s (about 20 min)

But Max and Stacy tell the story best using their central bank money guns...(1st 15 min)

Republican lawmakers and finance industry lobbyists are using the coronavirus pandemic to press regulators into rapidly waiving financial safeguards for community banks.
https://theintercept.com/2020/05/08/coronavirus-republicans-bank-deregul...

The ruling class has no policy to deal with the social catastrophe. On Friday, the Trump administration declared that the jobs that have been destroyed “will be back and they’ll be back soon.” He added that “we’re in no rush” to pass a bill that would provide some assistance. The administration’s top economic advisor, Larry Kudlow, said that talks over further “stimulus” measures are “in a lull right now.”
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/09/pers-m09.html

There's a new documentary out, Capital in the Twenty-First Century

Based on the international bestseller by rock-star economist Thomas Piketty (which sold over three million copies worldwide and landed Piketty on Time's list of most influential people), this captivating documentary is an eye-opening journey through wealth and power, a film that breaks the popular assumption that the accumulation of capital runs hand in hand with social progress, and shines a new light on today’s growing inequalities. Traveling through time, the film assembles accessible pop-culture references coupled with interviews of some of the world’s most influential experts delivering an insightful and empowering journey through the past and into our future.

https://www.kinolorber.com/film/view/id/3801
https://theintercept.com/2020/05/05/capital-21st-century-documentary-tho...

Grassroots advocacy groups representing millions of retirees and seniors across the United States are speaking out against and urging Congress to oppose President Donald Trump's threat to block desperately needed Covid-19 relief legislation if it does not slash the payroll tax, which funds Social Security and Medicare.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/05/outrageous-callous-and-crue...

Will this economic malfeasance lead to a war with China?
Here's an excellent explanation of how Dollars and Yuans are exchanged...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S1Rhvjq_vc&t=8min20s (4 min)
Mike also does a good job explaining bitcoin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S1Rhvjq_vc&t=13m27s (6 min)

The US simply loves war...even during a pandemic. International diplomats were stunned and frustrated Friday night after the U.S. again blocked a United Nations resolution to call for a global ceasefire during the coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/09/us-blocks-un-global-ceasefi...

Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed legislation passed by both houses of Congress to limit a president’s ability to wage war against Iran, as Trump wages a campaign of maximum pressure against the Islamic Republic.

“This was a very insulting resolution, introduced by Democrats as part of a strategy to win an election on November 3 by dividing the Republican Party,” Trump said in a statement released by the White House. “The few Republicans who voted for it played right into their hands.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-congress-idUSKBN22I36O

Even as COVID-19 threatens to claim the lives of millions, the threat of a new world war that could wipe out billions, far from being diminished by the global pandemic, has only escalated.

Imperialism has taken neither sick leave nor a holiday; it does not sleep. For all of the vapid talk about us all being in it together, the US ruling class views the pandemic as an instrument of war. It has relentlessly sought to weaponize the virus to achieve the same geo-strategic aims that it was pursuing before the coronavirus began claiming hundreds of thousands of lives and forcing the shutdown of entire economies.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/05/09/bvan-m09.html

More effort at overthrowing Maduro in Venezuela with private mecenaries.
The Grayzone speaks to Drew White – a close friend and business partner of Silvercorp mercenary firm founder and failed Venezuela coup leader Jordan Goudreau – about the botched invasion and potential involvement of the Trump administration. (video or text)
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/05/07/silvercorp-founder-grayzone-state-dep...

supplements.png

So it is a good news, bad news world. The good news is we are learning more about COVID and ways to prevent or mitigate its damage. The picture above shows Chris' supplements that he takes. We use an elderberry tincture (in alcohol) made by a local herbalist rather that a sugary syrup. Chris said he's adding Melatonin to his list too. We can limit the spread if EVERYONE would wear a mask when out and about. Young folks have few risks other than being vectors spreading the virus to older folks.

On the negative side. The US is propping up the world central banks and large global corporations by creating literally trillions of dollars. The US continues its aggression against countries that don't allow us to take their resources and oppress their people. In a rush to restart the economy, people are being pushed back to work. We all know this means more COVID in the US. We're number one!

As many of you have speculated over the last few weeks, this could be an opportunity to re-invent ourselves and society. Instead it is being used to enlarge the global corporate oligarchy and promote war to expand their grip over people and economies.

Well, have a nice Sunday, and keep a good thought. Be well!

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Comments

phillybluesfan's picture

A group of us are learning to be backpack hikers, with the goal of eventually trekking all of the Sheltowee Trace. But this damned virus has put that on hold.

[video:https://youtu.be/KBhTP3l83W4]

I asked a friend (eyes/nose/throat MD with Mayo Clinic ties) when he would feel safe sharing a car ride.

I think his answer applies to returning to athletic clubs or indoor dining ---"One month after taking a safe and effective vaccine for SARS COV-2 ,earliest date late Spring or early summer 2021 but most likely not until 2022."

Be well

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Few are guilty, but all are responsible.”
― Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Prophets

Lookout's picture

@phillybluesfan

Sounds like fun. In my youth I hiked the AT in GA and some of NC. Have not backpacked in the last few decades. Used to love it. Still hike...almost everyday for a couple of miles. Though that's a good bit different than packing a load.

It may be 2022 before we have a new normal. There are clinical human trials ongoing.

To speed up the process, some researchers are planning to give volunteers experimental vaccines and then infect them with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

“You’re weighing risks and benefit to the individual versus benefit to society as a whole,” said David Magnus, director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics at Stanford University.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/05/05/coronavirus-vaccin...

Have a good jitsi gathering!

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13 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@phillybluesfan

That a safe effective SARS-2 vaccine will arrive at about the same time we can declare victory in the Wars on Drugs and Terror. That is to say, never.

But anyone who wants to hunker down in their closet for the next couple years waiting, knock yourself out.

BTW - your doctor acquaintance must be assuming that he hasn't or won't have had the disease and recovered before 2021 as multiple millions have or will have done.

If you've had it and recovered, what would be the issue with sharing a car ride?

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lotlizard's picture

@phillybluesfan  
as a response to global warming / climate chaos, eh?

Will city planners be scrapping the idea of having reserved HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lanes on highways now?

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Lookout's picture

@lotlizard

about mass transit. We're not planning on flying anywhere either.

Hope all is well on your side of the pond.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Raggedy Ann's picture

Give it time - the weight of their actions will cause them to fall. The Covid is doing it's work to bring about our new world.

As many of you have speculated over the last few weeks, this could be an opportunity to re-invent ourselves and society. Instead it is being used to enlarge the global corporate oligarchy and promote war to expand their grip over people and economies.

Thank you for all the information you provide. People need to be discerning in what they believe. Presenting many viewpoints is essential in this time so that people can decide what is truth for them.

Again - the universe is at work here. Nothing man does can change what is happening. We are in the birth canal of a new world. I know what I say is hard for many to comprehend, but it is our reality. Sit back and watch it unfold.

Have a marvelous day, everyone! Pleasantry

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Lookout's picture

@Raggedy Ann

I can be patient. No choice but to see how it unfolds. If we do come out of this with a more compassionate and loving world, I will be delighted. Sure seems the empire is in collapse.

I design and plan our many farm projects, and would like to see folks begin to design and plan for a new system. We are indeed living in interesting times. Glad we have this community in which to share them.

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13 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Not Henry Kissinger's picture

late last year before we all even heard about it.

I was coming back from a family wedding in Australia and transferred though Fiji, where I sat in the densely packed terminal close the gate where planeload after planeload of travelers to and from China filed past.

Back at home six days later the symptoms started. Some vomiting early but mostly a low-grade fever and a heavy migraine-like headache that didn't quit for about three days. Also had a bad cough but no runny nose. I remember saying how weird it all was because whenever I get sick it almost always starts in my sinuses, yet I never had any nasal symptoms whatsoever throughout the whole term.

Laid me on my back for a solid two weeks, and even after I became ambulatory again I just wasn't right for another month. Patients talk about the 'malaise' and I definitely had that - run down and fuzzy and frustrated that whatever you do you just can't seem to shake it.

That whole experience went on for a little less two months (50 days?), but then just as I began to finally feel better the illness came back - this time in my throat, and I completely lost my voice for nearly a week (which has never happened to me before) accompanied by strong but milder headaches and yet more malaise lasted for at least another couple of weeks.

Finally, after a little more than three months I began to feel something like my old self, and the symptoms haven't returned.

Here's the kicker: I flew through Fiji the beginning of NOVEMBER - make of that what you will.

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17 users have voted.

The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

Lookout's picture

@Not Henry Kissinger

He wonders why person 0 (the first victim) hasn't been sought.

Sure will be nice when they get an antibody test so you can know for sure if it was COVID. They say it is a prick your finger at home test that should be easy to mail.

Glad to hear your symptoms appear to be over.

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11 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Not Henry Kissinger's picture

@Lookout @Lookout

But that malaise is very frustrating as well.

He wonders why person 0 (the first victim) hasn't been sought.

Gotta admit I've been reluctant to say anything because I didn't want a bunch of over zealous epidemiologists deciding they want to use me as their play toy.

So don't tell anybody. Wink

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10 users have voted.

The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

Lookout's picture

@Not Henry Kissinger

They know it was around in Nov.

The report, in the South China Morning Post, said Chinese authorities had identified at least 266 people who contracted the virus last year and who came under medical surveillance, and the earliest case was 17 November – weeks before authorities announced the emergence of the new virus.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/13/first-covid-19-case-happen...

China is claiming the US brought COVID during the military games in Oct.
https://ahtribune.com/world/covid-19/3994-us-did-bring-covid-19-to-wuhan...
https://www.ibtimes.sg/us-military-brought-coronavirus-china-top-officia...

He said, she said...and we'll never probably know.
https://www.nationalreview.com/the-morning-jolt/what-went-down-at-the-wo...

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

gulfgal98's picture

@Not Henry Kissinger It was the worst case of flu that I have ever experienced. I was down for three weeks with it. I ran a temperature of at least 101.5 for four days with the most excruciating headache ever which took forever to go away even after my temperature dropped. Like you, most of my normal ailments concentrate in my sinuses, but this one was different. I had a dry cough, but it was not deep in my chest (thank goodness) and I also experienced nausea and diarrhea during the second week which was quite unusual for me.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

@gulfgal98
They diagnosed norovirus, but I wonder.

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3 users have voted.

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

the pandemic is being managed to maximize profit for big pharma." You hit it on the head. That's the one thing that is constant these days. Every disruption is managed for maximum profit. In Katrina there was no profit, at least until they dispersed the poors and remade the city into what they wanted.

Today, millions paid to producers to make masks, who have no experience in producing masks, and have so far produced none. Media outrage? Nope, they spend more time on cute vids pulled from social media.

I promised to not comment on the C19 anymore....(I guess I lied)... but if the virus was edited, I think China would have had more data on the disease. On the other hand if the reports of Chinas rapid stockpiling are true, maybe they knew what was coming.

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Lookout's picture

@Snode

here at c99 and in the WW.

The evil of capitalism is the sole focus on profit over people, planet, cultures, everything.

They use every opportunity and COVID is huge!

Screen New Deal
Under Cover of Mass Death, Andrew Cuomo Calls in the Billionaires to Build a High-Tech Dystopia

It has taken some time to gel, but something resembling a coherent Pandemic Shock Doctrine is beginning to emerge. Call it the “Screen New Deal.” Far more high-tech than anything we have seen during previous disasters, the future that is being rushed into being as the bodies still pile up treats our past weeks of physical isolation not as a painful necessity to save lives, but as a living laboratory for a permanent — and highly profitable — no-touch future.

https://theintercept.com/2020/05/08/andrew-cuomo-eric-schmidt-coronaviru...

You can't make this shit up.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

CB's picture

@Snode @Snode
The country has 1.4 billion people and at least 1 billion people were required by law to wear a mask when they went out in public.

They started buying the PPE in late January until the end of February as well as increasing domestic production exponentially. It was no secret they were preparing for a dangerous epidemic in the country. It was not kept secret.

I personally followed the COVID-19 news coming out from China almost from the beginning (Jan 7) just by watching English language Chinese YouTube videos available to anyone who cared to look. I watched them building the two special hospitals designed especially for treating contagious patients (wards had negate pressure to prevent infection) from the dirt up with live feeds for 10 days. I watched as almost 20 huge military planes flew into the Wuhan airport at the very moment these hospitals were completed bringing tons of materiel and thousands of military medical personnel. I watched these very same medical personnel welcome patients brought by ambulance and roll them into the hospital for treatment.

Australian media is arguably the very worst source in reporting on China during this period. EVERYTHING China does is written up with a negative bias. When Wuhan went into lockdown they raged it was the worst abuse of human rights violations in the world. Then they wrote that China completely failed to contain the virus. They scoured Chinese media to find the odd person upset and screaming in the street. Pictures of people who died from a stoke were used to prove how rampant the disease was raging. Constant barrage of negative spin, repeated over and over. It's even worse on the Tubes.

Beware the spin given to "defective face masks from China". There are different grades in face masks. The N95 rated masks are not the same as the KN95. Due to shortages of the N95 masks (which are more difficult and expensive to make) the CDC said the KN95 could be used. Three weeks later they changed their mind and rejected them as defective. Many US manufacturers were also found to be supplying defective masks but this is not widely reported.

China has strict new rules for the export of face masks. They must be certified for their use and the orders must be confirmed with the bill of lading. Too many foreign purchasers were ordering the wrong product because the price was cheaper. As soon as this was done, the Chinese government was accused of stopping masks from being shipped. The same thing with test kits from China.

The US wants free and open trade from China but when the country stops faulty product from being shipped they scream government interference. This is a well planned propaganda game by the Five Eyes controlled media. We saw it working in high gear after 9-11 to gin up conflict with Iraq. It's China's turn now but they won't take it laying down.

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19 users have voted.

with Sina Bavari spin-off deals with potential vaccine makers and increasing indications that we may be dealing with a manipulated RNA strand I may never feel safe with any vaccine from companies with any ties to NIH or USAID researchers.

I passed through SFO in mid January and had an ill advised visit from daughter and well traveled hubby in early March. I’m actually hoping I’ve had a very mild case and am looking forward to reliable antibody testing to set me free. Otherwise it’s going to be a very long haul sporting masks, gloves and rigorous social distancing.

I figure I have a few more good years ahead of me if I can avoid the COVID.

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16 users have voted.

Capitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all."
- John Maynard Keynes

Lookout's picture

@ovals49

Like most of us here, I'm in the target age range. So it is easy as you go. We continue with a one trip out per week. I did drop some extra tomato plants at one friend's place, but we stayed 6+ ft away. Also took some surplus lettuce to another friend where we stayed apart. Otherwise it has been a grocery, bank, recycling run once a week (with gloves and mask), and staying home the rest of the time.

Whatta world, but we make the best of things as we can.

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15 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

magiamma's picture

Great covid roundup. I am beginning to think that there us more to this than meets the eye.

This just out...
Criminal Negligence': Trump Officials Ignored Company's Offer to Make 7 Million N95 Masks Per Month in Early Days of Pandemic

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/10/criminal-negligence-trump-o...

Bowen offered to use four dormant production lines to produce as many as seven million N95 masks per month, but was told by Laura Wolf, director of the Division of Critical Infrastructure Protection at HHS, "I don't believe we as a government are anywhere near answering those questions for you yet."

"We are the last major domestic mask company," replied Bowen, who at the time was fulfilling orders for masks from all over the world. "My phones are ringing now, so I don't 'need' government business. I'm just letting you know that I can help you preserve our infrastructure if things ever get really bad."

In Bright's whistleblower complaint, he described how he tried to direct Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Robert Kadlec's attention to Bowen's offer in late January. Bowen wrote to Bright in late January following his communications with Wolf that "U.S. mask supply is at imminent risk," adding a blunt warning, "Rick, I think we’re in deep shit."

Cloudy here for a few days now. Still out in the garden from morning to evening. It has become my sanctuary.

Thanks for the update. Take good care and have a good one.

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24 users have voted.

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook

Lookout's picture

@magiamma

with the dance of birds, butterfly, and bees. Our early greens are so beautiful this year that it is just fun to hang out in the garden. I've been really pleased with my tree and berry bush plantings too. Having fun with the espalier apple trees and overhead muscadine arbor. Only had one failure...a hazelnut that never leafed out.

Plants behave so much better than people. They add O2 and take in CO2. Speaking of which, did you see the record CO2 levels this week? 418 ppm.

It is (always) the right time to appreciate what remains of the ecosystem.

Thanks for the visit and have a good one!

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16 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

ggersh's picture

@magiamma @magiamma if this is fact, it ain't good

Slide 10-11 doesn't paint a pretty picture, a case for criminal negligence possibly

https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/6926-mayhhsbriefing/af7319f4a55f...

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9 users have voted.

I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish

"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"

Heard from Margaret Kimberley

Lookout's picture

@ggersh

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Guidelines-for-Ope...

Just die people and get off SS, medicare, and other social programs.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

CB's picture

it needs war. Washington has so fucked up the response to COVID-19 that it has tanked the economy and no amount of bailouts to the corporations are going to stop it from bottoming out.

Meanwhile, China is on the road to recovery, having survived comparatively unscathed. It has sufficient domestic demand and large infrastructure projects, both at home and within the BRI, that it will come out of these dark days in reasonably good financial shape considering the situation.

Helena Cobban - On The “Recovery” Of Nations From Covid-19
...
In March, the San Francisco Fed produced a report (PDF here) assessing the longterm economic impact of 15 large pandemic events since the Black Death of 1347-52. It found that the depressing effect these pandemics had on the economies that suffered them lasted for 40 years afterwards–the blue/lilac curve here. (For what it’s worth, wars left a generally positive economic effect from about Y+5 onwards– the pink/red curve.)
...


On April 14, Gita Gopinath, the super-smart Director of the IMF’s Research Department, issued a sobering edition of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook series predicting that global GDP would shrink in 2020 to 3% below what it was in 2019. This was a dramatic revision to the WEO she released just in January, in which she forecast that world GDP would increase by 6.3% in 2020.

But the contraction Gopinath forecast in April was not evenly spread. In this chart in her blog post, she shows us– in the left half of the image– that she expected the United States’ GDP to shrink by 5.9% in 2020, while China’s would grow by 1.2%. (The precise numbers for these forecasts are here.)
...
The public-health and economic data I’ve been looking at in my last blog post and this one all strongly indicate that the balance of economic power between Washington and Beijing has started shifting very rapidly. And given the United States’ inability/unwillingness to take the public-health steps necessary to stop or even halt the spread of Covid-19, this balance will be shifting in China’s favor even more rapidly over the coming year.

All of us on this planet are moving into a post-coronavirus world, which will be one in which the strength of a country’s public-health infrastructure will necessarily constitute, and be seen as, a major component of a nation’s power. Countries that do not have a strong public-health infrastructure will not only see their power in world affairs declining speedily, they will also increasingly find themselves being excluded from normal intercourse (personal visits, trade, etc) by the countries that do.

There will almost certainly be a big decoupling– but it will not look anything like the one that the anti-China ideologues in Washington have been pushing for. The prospects for most Americans look very grim.

What will Washington's response to this be? I suggest it will a very strong push to gin up conflict with China in order to put the country on a war footing. Conflicts unite the populace by giving them a "greater enemy". They will put away their political and personal differences and join together if the threat is sufficient. COVID-19 is a very good threat to be leveraged for this purpose. It will also be very usefull during an election cycle.

We can already see signs of this occurring. (my comment on C99 yesterday)

Preparing for new cold war with China

Meanwhile, China has upped their game in counteracting anti-China propaganda now being hyped within the US, UK and Australian media. This propaganda push is a sure sign for the conflict to come.


China's Foreign Ministry: 24 lies coming out of U.S. over COVID-19

Updated 18:02, 10-May-2020

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs published an article on COVID-19 in Chinese on Saturday, rebutting false claims from the U.S. on ties between COVID-19 and China.

In the article, China rebutted 24 untrue claims from the U.S., including calling the novel coronavirus "the Chinese virus" or "Wuhan virus" and claims that the Wuhan Institute of Virology created the virus.

The ministry said it will continue to rebut the false claims, as well as any new ones that come up.

Below are the 24 false claims and truths listed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
...

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CB's picture

together in a backgrounder of the current COVID-19 pandemic. It's either a lot of coincidences or some very scary shiite is afoot.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDar_CtOzWM&list=PLNO2HNEzarA8F-0DtKkcsG...

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Lookout's picture

@CB

If we step back and look...
China sends aid, we add sanctions and send mercenaries
China builds, we destroy with bombs and drones
China creates alliances and uses diplomacy, we promote war and ally with the worst actors on the planet (Israel and Saudi).

Not to say they don't have issues, but our problems are exponential in comparison.

I'll look forward to listening to Whitney. She also writes for the Last American Vagabond
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ClYrAtDNAGy5J0N-AwBNw/videos

Thanks again.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@CB to Ms. Webb's video asap.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Azazello's picture

RIP Little Richard.

An interesting piece from Caitlin Johnstone: Internet Censorship, Ego Death, And Other Notes From The Edge Of The Narrative Matrix
I thought this was good, from The Duran:
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZelUyVB6WQ width:500 height:300]
Here's a link to the documentary they talk about in the above vid: The Weight of Chains
The film is two hours long but well worth watching. It's a good reminder, a short course on the destruction of Yugoslavia, the New World Order, the Washington Consensus, the perversion of NATO and the birth of "humanitarian intervention".
Happy Mutha's Day

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

Lookout's picture

@Azazello

Just talked with my 88YO mom.

RIP Little Richard!

Thanks for the links. Caitlin has been doing good work. The Duran and documentary sound interesting.

The region that was Yugoslavia is also really interesting. Quite the botanical zone of origin.

Have a good one!

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11 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

mimi's picture

@Lookout
Yugoslavia, I sense so.
In Yugoslavia, the Consequences of Not Reporting the Truth -
Journalists’ Failure to Report Honestly Empowers Tyrants

It is one of the hallmarks of our trade that stories we report can assist, in the short term, those we would least like to empower.

That can be so, sadly.

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mimi's picture

@Azazello
this Mutha, can't believe what Biden said back in the days. If one just could understand the things being said by politicians when they happen and not just years later. Will watch "The Weight of Chains" later. I am more or less reading the whole day on C99p. It's my drug.

Do you have a 'papa's day' in the US? If yes, we have one here and most people can't stand it, but if you have one over there, don't drink too much beer to celebrate it. Smile

Cheers to lookout for another excellent Weekly Watch.

C99p is a great site.

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Lookout's picture

@mimi

cheers!.jpg

Loved German Bier. Hope to visit again if travel ever becomes "normal".

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

CB's picture

@Azazello
bringing up some of these facts. I got absolutely mauled with little to no support.

R2P was/is held sacrosanct by the majority there. When faced with the many failures they simply go silent. But the moment it is dredged up to be used for another regime change op (Ukraine, Syria) they climbed right back on board in a flash completely oblivious to the past. It was a very effective DNC Pavlovian trigger point at TOS - like holding up a dead fish in front of trained seals.

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Azazello's picture

@CB
Another technique that was pioneered in Yugoslavia was the use of foreign jihadis shipped in by the Saudis to escalate violence.

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9 users have voted.

We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

Lookout's picture

@Azazello

the use of foreign jihadis shipped in by the Saudis to escalate violence.

Sad to say.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

CB's picture

@Azazello @Azazello
and with the financial assistance of the US government.

ClandesTime 113 – An Alternative History of Al Qaeda: The Destruction of Yugoslavia

The conventional explanation of how Yugoslavia ‘fell apart’ is that ethnic and religious tensions led to civil wars, necessitating the breakup of the country into a series of smaller states. The reality is that Yugoslavia was knowingly and willingly destroyed by NATO, with Al Qaeda playing a critical role in the wars in Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia. This week we examine these wars, the true motives behind them, how the conflicts progressed through the 1990s and into the 2000s, and how the CIA along with British and American Special Forces used Al Qaeda jihadis as a strategic proxy force. We also look at the presence of the mercenary firm MPRI, who operated in the Balkans throughout this period.

ClandesTime 113 - The Destruction of Yugoslavia from Tom Secker on Vimeo.

"Inasmuch as anyone even discusses the disintegration of Yugoslavia and the wars that accelerated that process, the conventional view is that a series of ethnic blood feuds between different factions resulted in the breakup of the country. While not entirely untrue, this simplification overlooks the fact that the wars in Yugoslavia were a manifestation of much deeper politics. In reality, the breakup of Yugoslavia was US and NATO policy, it was something they desired."

Why?

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The Liberal Moonbat's picture

...thoughts/insights on this? At face value, it sounds like a good thing: https://www.voanews.com/covid-19-pandemic/us-start-buying-3-billion-dair...

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!

Lookout's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat

and large scale production of GMO's and processed foods that are bad for us.

from last week:

Probably the most important measure that we propose is to move food production away from the fragile, corporate-controlled globalized food supply chain based on narrow considerations such as the reduction of unit cost to more sustainable smallholder-based localized systems.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/04/28/the-corporate-food-system-is-mak...
...and of course they are not targeting help to farmers providing local produce.

...when the USDA finally announced how it planned to allocate the $9.5 billion from the CARES Act, it appeared that no money would be reserved specifically for small farmers.

https://theintercept.com/2020/04/29/small-farms-coronavirus-aid/

Not to be debbie downer, just sayin'.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

CB's picture

@The Liberal Moonbat @The Liberal Moonbat
worth of farm produce in the first three months of this year despite the shut-down. They are scheduled to buy $20 billion of soybeans, pork, beef and poultry this year under the terms of Trump's new trade deal. If anything goes awry with US producers for the domestic market (increased prices, shortages), China will get blamed.

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smiley7's picture

thanks for all the news. Put it this way, this country was fucked before the virus, and now the criminal fascist deeds are exponentially exposed.

Going to be a long and painful slog for millions, i fear, as the refrain of when will they ever learn plays in the ear.

Personally, i do not relish not hugging people for two more years and as to vaccines; i've yet to receive the new shingle's shot, been waiting, in line since last summer.

Anyways, most is beyond my controll.

Do be safe on the mountain, the virus, like spring is creeping up our hill, an explosion in neighboring country from a meet processing plant and workers there live in our community and high tourist season begins soon.

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Lookout's picture

@smiley7

Reminds me of a wildfire spreading so chaotically. Stay safe. Continue to take care. This will pass and a new tomorrow will come.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

studentofearth's picture

understanding of the virus in general. Navigating our own health and economics is quite treacherous at this time. A few trustable signposts are valuable.

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Still yourself, deep water can absorb many disturbances with minimal reaction.
--When the opening appears release yourself.

Lookout's picture

@studentofearth

And still not totally understood. It has been an interesting progression with ripples across all aspects our lives. I can't help but be fascinated.

Hope all is well on the farm, and you've warmed enough to garden. Sweet potato slips are getting ready soon, but been way too cool to plant them.

All the best!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

It's SNOWING here! Was 26 last night!

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

vtcc73's picture

Remember hearing this? There's a lot of truth to it. As an example, not long after I began flying internationally I began having constant congestion, a sore throat that wouldn't go away, minor gastric problems, and repeated sinus infections. Our family GP finally sent me to an ENT. The first thing he does is allergy testing. That discovered a slight sensitivity to oak pollen. Middle TN is famous for allergies and oak pollen is in abundance. Still, nothing either doctor found explained what was going on. 70 - 100 hours a month in an airplane, sometimes 15+ hours at a whack, with 1-2% humidity, multiple time zone changes, up to 11 at a time, different and interrupted eating and sleep patterns, and unfamiliar environments all were candidates.

We met an internist and his wife who were big time gardeners and cat people like my wife at about the same time. His specialty was ID (Infectious Disease). He was now in a big internal medicine group. Susan and my wife were talking one day and somehow my health problems came up. Susan told her to tell me to go see Stephen. I did. While he was taking a very thorough history he heard about the allergy testing and chuckled. "Name the specialty and I can name the ailment/treatment they'll recommend." was close to what he said. He said that's what an ENT sees here so that's what he looks for. Hammer, nail. Stephen's treatment plan was along the same lines hammer - nail. Only instead of a general antibiotic he went after the suspected chronic sinus infection with two sledgehammer antibiotics. He told me he also suspected reflux but wanted to deal with the sinus problem first. It turned out he was right that is was a sinus infection that wouldn't go completely away and acid reflux. We began treating both with success. The sinus infections and reflux wouldn't go away completely until I moved to a new environment in Ecuador. Both as well as swollen tonsils and a swollen, damaged lymph node from a cat scratch infection disappeared along with 40#, eating better, and a clean environment. Imagine that.

Of course, doctors are going to look to treatments they know and understand. When they see something unique and unknown like COVID they may widen their search for solutions but they stay mostly within the lines of their specialties. I'm encouraged by the stories like this one and this one. They're looking beyond traditional treatments and talking between specialties to find something that offers some relief to their patients. That lack of a team approach to medicine seen in much of the developed world, first tried in the US at the Mayo Clinic according to Stephen, is one of his biggest complaints about the medical profession in the US. Medicine doesn't know nearly everything they need to know about the virus and will only slowly figure out how to effectively deal with it. They'll make mistakes, grifters will take advantage trying to make a bunch of bucks, and there will be successes that lead to solutions. All of it will take time and anyone bemoaning the lack of certainty and immediate answers is going to be bitching constantly and unhappy. That's the nature of a pandemic.

That brings me to us: those of us sitting around with way too much time on our hands and worrying about the future course of our lives. When I see sentences like this one in a well written and thorough post like this I wonder:

It is as though the pandemic is being managed to maximize profit for big pharma.

How in such times of stress, a deluge of mis/disinformation, and decades of being lied to for power and profit do people avoid becoming overwhelmed by their own prejudices, confirmation bias, and skepticism bordering on paranoia?

There's a lot of good things in this post. I agree with some and also see some info that has been discarded around the world as more harmful than beneficial, like HCQ, and some that has no or little basis for thinking it might be beneficial. There's little certainty in either direction besides our own biases and beliefs. None of it has much chance of being a miracle cure which I think most secretly hope will appear. Life is seldom that simple. The wise choice is to try something as long as it's not likely to be harmful. That's personally helpful because we feel like we're doing something even if it makes little difference. It's a placebo.

I guess what I'm saying that stepping back from the crush of information of unknown value that few of us have the expertise to evaluate might just be a good idea. Let the experts do what they do and save ourselves the rollercoaster ride. Not everything is a con, a conspiracy, or a power play on our freedumbs. Even though that's what it feels like has been happening for decades. It has. There are good people doing their best, let it be.

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"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."

smiley7's picture

@vtcc73

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Lookout's picture

@vtcc73

very interesting.

As to why I suggest management for profit, why didn't the US use the test developed by China and WHO? We lost two months of testing in order to contract out test development. And that's just one example.

Hope you're doing well in the deep South!

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2 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

vtcc73's picture

@Lookout @Lookout I understand the feeling. It's hard to not wonder at so many things that seem planned or the result of ill purpose. I think that most of them are us seeing patterns that don't really exist as a result of intent but as a natural result of the systems we have built. In the case of using meds seeming like Big Pharma farming the masses it is how medicine evolved in our country. What else are they going to do wave burning chickens over patients while singing the banana phone song? (Don't do a search for that song! You'll regret finding it.) Yes, Pharma profits from our strife. It's a windfall like the one that will befall them from developing a vaccine. I sure as hell don't want a vaccine cooked up in some former meth cooker's hideout by a couple of toothless methheads. This is the system we have but we seem to forget it and let our otherwise sane selves wander into a fantasy yearning for justice. That's stress and our righteous sense of justice overcoming critical thinking. It says nothing to right or wrong or how the world should or could be. It's the most likely reality absent proof of something intentionally derived from malice.

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"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."

gulfgal98's picture

Thank you for this wealth of information.

I hope everyone stays safe. I try to limit my public contact to the grocery store when needed and always wear a mask. I do not wear gloves but carry paper towels saturated with alcohol to wipe my hands and other things I have touched immediate upon leaving the store.

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Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Lookout's picture

@gulfgal98

Always nice to see you around the site!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

vtcc73's picture

This just popped up on my preferred expat daily. It's a surprise since it so late on Mother's Day. I offer it as a rare thoughtful approach to a answering tough question. Originally from The Atlantic.

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"Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now..."

Roy Blakeley's picture

but the notion that Fauci funded recent corona virus gain of function experiments is not accurate. First, Fauci doesn't fund any grants. They are funded through a competitive peer review process. Stating that Fauci funded grants reflects an active attempt to mislead or a serious lack of understanding. There was a joint grant between a lab at the University of North Carolina and the Virology Institute in Wuhan that carried out and published some gain of function experiments. (I think they were actually carried out in Chapel Hill.) These experiments were permissible under the NIH guidelines that were in effect at the time, and were directed toward figuring out how to respond to/deal with corona viruses. The NIH guidelines were subsequently changed to make it impermissible to carry out such experiments with NIH funding. There was a sort of grandfather clause in the revised guidelines, that permitted previously approved work to be finished. There would be little incentive to continue such work in an academic setting in that it would not be publishable. It could be carried out in a bioweapons facility, but viruses are damnably bad weapons. The only people that would benefit from releasing an engineered coronavirus would be someone who wanted to kill lots of people and wreck the world economy. China, the US and the capitalist oligarchs certainly want to continue to benefit from the world economy, not wreck it. With respect to the coincidence of the virus emerging proximal to the Wuhan virology institute, the institute was put in an area that where there is a likelihood of zoonotic diseases emerging naturally in order to facilitate their study. The viral sequence doesn't suggest anything other than a natural origin. Novel, lethal coronaviruses emerge about every 10 years. This one is nasty because it is quite infective and has a goldilocks death rate--high enough to kill a lot of people but no so high as to be self limiitng.

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@Roy Blakeley
just now - but was reading a while back some Defense Dept. testimony before Congress in 2015 or so on bio-warfare threats and it touched on

The only people that would benefit from releasing an engineered coronavirus would be someone who wanted to kill lots of people and wreck the world economy.

Reason I remember is because they gave another plausible scenario which had never occurred to me: the use of a bioweapon that was not necessarily designed just for mass death, but one in which the perpetrator held the only means of treating or preventing the disease. This could enable direct intimidation, but could be possibly even more effective if the outbreak was attributed to a natural occurrence or to another party.

This would have the effect of creating a dependence on the part of the targeted population and the perpetrator could be regarded as the benevolent savior...

Also, it's pretty well established that there have been attempts made at creating ethnically-targeted bioweapons. Given China's multi-decade interest in Africa and the nature of their build-up there: enclaves that are akin to military bases without overt weaponry, the near-exclusive use of Chinese
materials and labor for their projects, etc. - about the only thing wrong with Africa from the Chinese perspective (along the lines of what I used to semi-jokingly tell Australian friends) is that it is full of Africans. I can see China considering the utility of a targeted epidemic as a way of addressing this "problem".

Social media and MSM are working overtime to discredit those who claim that there is an agenda here to use fear to convince people that the only possible deliverance from this crisis (probably should have quotes on that) are the Big Pharma/Global Health cabal.

Question people should be asking themselves is why, if all that is so ludicrous and wrong that, instead of just refuting it they are attempting to ridicule, censor and silence anyone going off the official messaging?

Think its because the PTB have your best interests at heart?

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2 users have voted.

@Roy Blakeley

...the notion that Fauci funded recent corona virus gain of function experiments is not accurate.

The Newsweek article is meticulous in its wording stating, "But just last year, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, the organization led by Dr. Fauci, funded scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology and other institutions for work on gain-of-function research on bat coronaviruses."

The only people that would benefit from releasing an engineered coronavirus would be someone who wanted to kill lots of people and wreck the world economy.

Intentional release isn't the only possibility, accidents do happen.

With respect to the coincidence of the virus emerging proximal to the Wuhan virology institute, the institute was put in an area that where there is a likelihood of zoonotic diseases emerging naturally in order to facilitate their study.

That may be but in the case of a release, accidental or otherwise, siting it where they did could add cover to the laboratory.

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@coolepairc

with and supportive of gain of function research in the past - he was in favor of publishing the details of groundbreaking work in the area by Ron Fouchier at the Erasmus Institute and by Yoshiro Kawaoka (University of Wisconsin, University of Tokyo) back in 2012 although other scientists criticized the release and others contended the work should not have been done at all...

Early indications are that the release of Fouchier’s study will not end the controversy over its publication and the broader problem of dealing with dual-use research.

At yesterday’s press conference, Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the US National institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, defended publishing the full details. “I think the benefits that will come out of the Fouchier paper in stimulating thought and pursuing ways to understand better the transmissibility, adaptation, pathogenicity [of H5N1] in my mind far outweigh the risk of nefarious use of this information,” he said in response to questions.

“When you get something out in the general literature, you stimulate thought and input from people who at first glance you wouldn’t think would have an interest in it,” he added. He said publication can trigger involvement by people in a wide range of disciplines, which can pay benefits.

Some biosecurity experts, though, voiced misgivings today.

Eric S. Toner, MD, senior associate in the Center for Biosecurity at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, commented by e-mail, “I think that the publication does increase the probability that others will want to replicate the experiments and pursue this line of research further. The more labs that are doing this research, the more likely an accidental escape becomes.

“Clearly if all the lab workers were effectively vaccinated against the virus, the risk of accidental escape would decrease. The paper says the lab workers were offered H5N1 vaccination. It would be nice to know if it was required and that the workers had good antibody titers as well as that the specific H5N1 vaccine had demonstrated efficacy against the research strain.”

Toner also said the findings strongly support the concern that a naturally occurring H5N1 pandemic is possible. But he called the findings “only modestly useful” for flu surveillance.

“Many of the mutations they reported were previously known to be ones of concern,” he said. “For the other mutations that had not previously been suspected to be associated with mammalian transmission, the paper suggest that it may not be individual mutations that are important but rather various combinations of mutations that produce a similar result. Knowing the significance of all the possible combinations of a nearly infinite number of possible mutations is beyond our current capabilities.”

He added that the study underlines “the pressing need for a much more robust global surveillance effort, including much more sequencing and much more timely reporting of sequencing data. It also underscores the need to have a global action plan based on the surveillance. In other words, what do we do that we are not doing now if we find increasing evidence of worrisome mutations?”

An NSABB member who opposed publishing the full version of Fouchier’s paper maintained that position today and expressed concern about the bosafety risks if other labs around the world use the findings to launch similar studies.

Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, publisher of CIDRAP News, said he supports the type of research done by Fouchier and Kawaoka and thinks it should continue, but not in labs all over the world.

He said the Fouchier and Kawaoka studies mark the first time humans have ever broken the barrier between nontransmissibility and transmissibility of a pathogen in animals. The heart of the issue is transmissibility, not the virulence of the lab-derived viruses, he asserted.

What a ferret-transmissible H5N1 virus would do in humans is unknown, he commented. “But if it started to circulate, such as in swine, all bets are off. Once you break that transmissibility barrier, this virus is open for serious mischief.”

The details of Fouchier’s study “should’ve been disseminated on a need-to-know basis,” Osterholm said. “I think we punted on this, we didn’t exhaust every possibility for disseminating it.” He was referring to the conclusion of most officials and scientists involved that it was not possible to quickly devise a way to share the details only with a select group.

“We’re making it much easier for everyone to do this,” he said. “What if some vaccine manufacturing company in a developing country decides they want to work with this and it gets out?”

He commented that the release of a dangerous flu virus through a lab accident has already happened once, with the re-emergence of the H1N1 virus in 1977: “That was a clear case of a virus that leaked out of work that the Russians were doing.”

Osterholm also warned that the issues raised by the Fouchier paper won’t go away, saying research papers now in the pipeline will raise even greater concerns about possible misuse and biosafety.

“I think the federal government and the NSABB are very poorly position to deal with the future manuscripts that are already in the pipeline,” he said.

Another NSABB member, David A. Relman, MD, of Stanford University, expressed the view that the Fouchier study shouldn’t have been done in the first place, let alone published.

“Basically, I was and still am opposed to this particular work, because the risks outweighed the benefits, from the start, and still do,” he commented by e-mail. “I don’t believe that the benefits, even if they (eg, early detection in birds and animals) could be realized in the near term, are worth the significant risks. Accidental release is a major concern, as well as malignant disregard for public safety.

Fouchier's 2012 study here

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Lookout's picture

@Roy Blakeley

He's a PhD pathologist, and does a good job looking at scientific papers.

The viral sequence doesn't suggest anything other than a natural origin.

He provides some persuasive evidence on the engineering aspect.

Sorry there's not a transcript. I like to listen to him and John Campbell while busying around.

However as I've said before, the question of origin is moot. COVID is here. What is the best course of action? Is a more important point.

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2 users have voted.

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout I now watched a few of Chris' videos from the links above and yes, they're worth viewing. Thanks for this post Lookout, very informative and helpful. Smile

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Lookout's picture

@coolepairc

Come back next Sunday for another round.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Bob In Portland's picture

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The Liberal Moonbat's picture

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In the Land of the Blind, the One-Eyed Man is declared mentally ill for describing colors.

Yes Virginia, there is a Global Banking Conspiracy!