The Weekly Watch

COVID Conundrums

This new corona virus, known for only a few months, has thrown the world into disarray. Here in the States, we have been particularly inept... with massive disparity between states and class in both the economic and health response to this challenge. Ever the optimist, I wonder if this doesn't present us with opportunity amidst the tragedy of death and disease. If we can create unlimited amounts of currency to prop up the market, failed fracking industry, and banks bad loans, we can pay for M4A, free college, a debt jubilee, mass green transit, and almost anything else we can dream. The excuse of "we don't have the money" is gone. Additionally, I'm feeling more hopeful about the falling disease progression and simple ways to control it by wearing masks and distancing. There's clever new study on the effectiveness of masks.

masked.jpg

There are still fundamental questions with experts arguing both sides of the equation.
Is Covid-19 a deadly disease that only a small fraction of our populations have so far been exposed to? Or is it a much milder pandemic that a large percentage of people have already encountered and is already on its way out?
https://unherd.com/2020/05/oxford-doubles-down-sunetra-gupta-interview/
for other views visit: https://unherd.com/interviews/

The current debate...
Re-open or stay at home?

I heard one commentator say, it is like shark infested waters and the lifeguard says you can go swimming again.

I like engineer Ivor Cummins, the fat emperor. This week he spoke with professor Michael Levitt of Stanford medical school, who is currently in Israel. He was awarded the 2013 Nobel prize in chemistry for modeling complex chemical reactions and progressions.
https://thefatemperor.com/ep78-stanford-professor-and-nobel-prize-winner...
I found this a thought provoking conversation...(text and video at the link)

Ivor:...“distancing we’ll slow it somewhat”, “lockdowns added to distancing” may be very questionable in value. What would your feelings be versus “free spread”, which happened in Europe to be quite honest, which stayed fully open till March, no one did anything at all to restrain it. And it’s a “High R value” virus, so it was obviously all over the place. So at that point when you distance, you can slow it somewhat maybe. And then the lock downs, which caused enormous collateral damage, possibly adding very little extra. So what’s your thoughts on that now?

Professor Levitt (00:07:03):
I would, I would agree with that. In general. I, instead of saying distancing versus lockdown, I sort of tried to say “smart distancing”. I mean lockdown is a form of distancing, but it’s a very extreme form. I’ve called it “medieval distancing”. And you know, I think there’s no doubt if you, if you had a country and you started out before there was any Coronavirus, and you were locking people down, you know, not letting people ever talk to other people. Well the the country would not get even a single case of coronavirus. So in that sense, you know, if nobody meets anybody and you don’t catch it over the internet, you’re fine. Except that – are you really fine? And you know, I think there’s an issue here about epidemiologists – who certainly used to maintain that there should be no shutdowns, there should be no stopping of global transportation. Things should be allowed to sort of reach the equilibrium in whatever way. Now the key thing here is, is controlling overloading of hospitals ICU’s and things like that and that I think requires a careful control. But I remember very early on saying that one should fiscally monitor very carefully. And one thing I did discover from the work in China is that just looking at number of cases per day, divided by yesterday’s, is a very, very good indication of how the virus is growing. So you could almost imagine that if you were a benevolent leader, you would decide that you want to try to cause as little damage, but also realize from the numbers that this virus is not going to kill much more than flu is going to kill. It’s a small number for flu, which is a bad disease. But it’s a disease which we have to put up with because flu mutates and people still don’t even take vaccines.
Professor Levitt (00:08:46):
So you could almost argue that flu is like the threshold of acceptable risk at least in terms of experience. Countries never have locked down at least since last hundred years for flu and there’s been a lot of flu around. So I think that’s a smart thing to do would be – as I said it sounds rather cruel – but basically adjust social distancing in a very dynamic way to keep the ICU full, but never overflowing. Don’t lock down locally. I think local lockdown like schools and locally makes no sense – but you might, for example, let’s say an Island which would be a analogy. Let’s just imagine that Dublin is really full on, but there’s nothing yet going on in Cork town – so you may want to not let people travel freely between Dublin and Cork and so you might want to restrict interruption travel or for example, if there are trains, take the people’s temperatures, make them wear masks and things like this.

locked.jpg

Professor Levitt (00:32:24):
I think the numbers in Europe are dropping very quickly. And where are you going to find this? That, I mean in a very strange way, lockdown does save lives. It doesn’t save the lives of the Corona virus people. You know, you can save people via not having traffic accidents, not having work accidents, not having sports injuries. And one thing that amazed me, Israel is a small country, but their excess burden of death is negative 500. And this is actually shown in the financial times. They only emphasized those that were over. So basically if we want to shut down economies and save lives, we can – but that kind of shouldn’t be what we’re optimizing.

Professor Levitt (00:34:35):
...So I have been surprised – many, many of my scientific colleagues, are all hysterically pro-lockdown. But I’m just saying that I felt that there was this feeling that people are basically thinking about this like Flu, but like the 1918 Flu – or they thought they were going to be 5 million deaths or 20 million deaths with something like this. They felt that lockdown was essential. Now what I felt hypocritical about this attitude was that most of these academics are actually receiving salaries. They’re not working. They don’t have a store. They’re not a cleaner, not driving a bus. They aren’t impacted by economic issues. And I think they also feel that, they know themselves: “I know how to lock myself down” – scientists love nothing more than staying at home work. But what about all the other people who are out there having fun and going to football games and going to the beach? And I think that’s a, you know, this is a very hypocritical attitude. I feel that the whole problem here in this whole issue was to think about one aspect, trying to stop the virus instead of trying to save everybody in the, in the best possible way. And you know, if someone had said, okay, let’s just kill all the people about 65 we’ll get rid of any further deaths. That would be horrendous. But it was almost like they were optimizing the wrong thing. The optimum thing, you should be optimizing in an engineering sense is what is the best thing for my country?
Ivor (00:36:17):
Yeah. And this, this is what’s killing me the past two months because my whole career I’ve always had to optimize both sides of the ledger. You know, customer quality versus cost of production, dah, dah, dah. And I know this is human life, but it makes it even more important. A friend of mine, Dr. Paul Saladino in an interview the other day, he said, there’s (and this is UK figures) – there’s five times fewer cancer diagnoses made in the last six weeks. So a lot of people are going to suffer. There’s heart attacks in Canada have gone up from people who didn’t go to the hospital, and the hospitals are half empty – and I could go on and on. Yeah, you’re going to save a few car crashes. BUT there’s going to be a whole load of collateral death and suffering, you know, psychological problems, excessive drinking, all across society. This huge negative side to the ledger. And his point was that’s all “invisible blood”, because no politician or academic will ever be linked to that. It’s invisible. It doesn’t matter. And it can be blamed on a small piece of RNA. But right now, front and center, if I’m seen to apparently save lives, not necessarily, but apparently – my ratings as a politician are shooting up

death rate per 100000.png

Sweden took a more relaxed approach to the COVID crisis. The BBC interviewer was playing "get you', but the clip was pretty good...
Much of the world responded to the Covid-19 pandemic with a lockdown strategy… now the focus is on finding a sustainable post lockdown strategy that doesn’t prompt a second wave of infection. Could Sweden be the model? HARDtalk’s Stephen Sackur speaks to Sweden’s chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, the architect of a controversial no lockdown strategy that continues to stir interest across the world. Has it worked?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Biqq34aUJcQ (24 min)
Here's a shorter and less aggressive interview with Trevor Noah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypwoyVl5Dxk (10 min)

How do we get back toward normal? Chris explains how they're doing it in China (since February) and compares it to the US approach. (15 min)

I am convinced that we are not going to get rid of SARS-COV-2, so it is going to become an endemic virus — which means it is going to live in our population, and we have to start living with it and find measures so that people are not dying of it but at the same time we can achieve normality. - Prof Hendrik Streeck

https://unherd.com/thepost/german-virologist-finds-covid-fatality-rate-o...

panic or calm.jpg

Panic leads to poor decisions. Are we focusing on a tree and missing the forest?
Number of deaths for leading causes of death in the US (2017):
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_09-508.pdf
Heart disease: 647,457
Cancer: 599,108
Accidents (unintentional injuries): 169,936
Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 160,201
Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 146,383
Alzheimer’s disease: 121,404
Diabetes: 83,564
Influenza and Pneumonia: 55,672
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis: 50,633
Intentional self-harm (suicide): 47,173

As of Friday, May 22, there were 90,156 deaths from COVID in the US.

You'll have to click the link to really see the excess deaths (in blue) on this graph.
excess death.png
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm

"We have limited data on 2020 deaths by cause, and no final official numbers yet for 2019, but we do know by looking at the final death totals in 2018 for the two leading causes of death in the U.S., Heart Disease and Cancer, there is no way that at this point COVID-19 comes anywhere close to those totals," Jeff Lancashire, a spokesperson for the National Center for Health Statistics, said in the email.

He noted that between January and April in 2018, more than 234,000 people in the United States died of heart disease and nearly 199,000 died of cancer.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/10/health/coronavirus-not-leading-cause-of-d...

Who should be concerned about COVID? Primarily the elderly and those with pre-existing conditions. The pink line is age 65, and the purple below it is 55.

About one-third of all coronavirus deaths in the US are residents or workers in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to an interactive database compiled by The New York Times. The figure is startling, given that only 10% of coronavirus cases occur in such facilities, and less than 0.5% of Americans live in them.

https://www.businessinsider.com/one-third-of-us-coronavirus-deaths-nursi...

death by age_0.png

Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

The study did not report any deaths in children younger than 10, who represented less than 1% of the patients.

Patients ages 10 to 19 had the same death rate as patients in their 30s, but patients in their 50s had a death rate that was three times higher than the death rate for patients in their 40s.

The death rate was dramatically higher among patients in their 70s and 80s, likely because many of those people have preexisting health issues.

Coronavirus patients with heart disease, for instance, had an about 10% death rate, according to the study, while those with diabetes had around a 7% death rate.

About three-quarters of the Chinese patients had no preexisting health problems. The death rate for that group was just under 1%.
https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-death-age-older-people-highe...

total deaths.png

So why does the US with about 5% of the world's population have 25% of the COVID deaths? I hypothesize it is because most of us are NOT metabolically healthy.
https://www.unc.edu/posts/2018/11/28/only-12-percent-of-american-adults-...

For the study, researchers examined National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 8,721 people in the U.S. between 2009 and 2016 to determine how many adults are at low versus high risk for chronic disease. Data revealed that only 12.2 percent of American adults are metabolically healthy, which means that only 27.3 million adults are meeting recommended targets for cardiovascular risk factors management, according to researchers.

Aseem Malhotra wrote a recent article, "The Elephant in the Room". He discusses it here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzwuNsopJxs&t=1m30s (28 min)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/07/opinion/link-between-coronavirus-...
All it takes is a change of diet to correct our metabolic health. I have written often about this. Mark Hyman's line is the most powerful medicine you can take is at the end of your fork.

Speaking of food, Joe Rogan show featured Joel Salatin, an American farmer, lecturer, and author whose books include Folks, This Ain’t Normal, You Can Farm and Salad Bar Beef. His latest book, co-authored with Dr. Sina McCullough, Beyond Labels: A Doctor and a Farmer Conquer Food Confusion One Bite at a Time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-7O3fOXXKo (2 hours)
Excellent conversation about transitioning to a sensible sustainable agricultural system designed to provide local communities with healthy food.

What is new with COVID?

infection.jpg

There's some good news. There appears to be no re-infection.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uATMbGK__Tg (20 min from John Campbell)

An excellent explanation of why reinfection was difficult to determine, and why people might test positive after recovery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01Rftnxbi6w (12 min)

Another bit of good news. The CDC suggests we rarely get the virus from touching things. Transmission is primarily person to person.

So the bottom line is the progression is slowing in the US. Sadly Latin America and Africa seem to be the latest centers of the pandemic. The question is will we see a second wave in the US as we reopen? If we all wear masks and distance, I think we can keep this under control. Unfortunately that is not the case in my community.

Economic issues
This is more depressing to me than the pandemic because it is purposeful, by design, to further enrich the wealthy.

wealth_0.png

Wealth of the Super-Rich has increased by $434 billion since the pandemic | Report by IPS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKt0mVouELg (25 min)
https://inequality.org/billionaire-bonanza-2020-updates/

I've been enjoying Jimmy's discussions with Dylan about economics.
Fed Chairman Urges Congress To Bail Out PEOPLE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doNxe8M-xWo (25 min)
How Germany Is SAVING JOBS During Crisis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RW0LyxFQy18 (18 min)
“Triple Whammy” Of Good News Causes DOW Jones Surge!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk9tlQnBWTw (12 min)

The Evils Of Money Printing (Coronavirus Response) Chris Martenson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mXPwNQc3lc&t=6m30s (25 min)

More from Max and Stacy on printing money...let the good times roll
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64Q9eCGsLNg (1st 15 min)

Richard Wolff looks at the economic fallout to come from the Coronavirus Crisis, and what we can do to fight for the most vulnerable in our communities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZuh7-A7mZA (29 min)

I think this is an interesting concept. Seems similar to Alaska citizens sharing in their states oil revenue 6 min

This is the weekend for the Florida Folk Festival where I've gathered with fellow musicians for the last three decades. That of course isn't happening this year. COVID has changed the world in fundamental ways. I think, like after 9/11, it will never be the same. From my view the US reacted badly, and continues to make poor decisions. Why don't we hear about prevention and building immunity instead of promises of a vaccine? Perhaps because improving our diet, vitamin D, zinc, and selenium supplements are not really profitable. The failure of our political system has become obvious as they scrambled to enrich the elite while ignoring the needs of the working class. As we reopen will we demand change? The time is ripe for a general strike but our ship seems to have no rudder. Here's hoping you are all steering toward a healthy, productive future amid the pandemic!

I featured Luke singing this a few weeks back, but he's got lyrics and back up in this version. I too look forward to the day when we aren't six feet apart!

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RantingRooster's picture

because I can't afford healthcare services, I don't think I would be as fearful as I am. Personally I like the social distancing. I hate it when people stand so close in line, I can feel their breath on my neck. I like to fart when they get to close, one of those silent but deadly ones! Crazy

I've already had the unfortunate experience of getting sick because someone chose to go to work while they were sick. Since I couldn't pay the 47 thousand dollar bill, I've been in financial purgatory ever since. And since I can't afford healthcare, my health has declined dramatically. It's a catch 22 I have no control over.

If we had Medicare for all, I would be ok with opening up the economy but since it's a potential death sentence for me, and I can't afford anything, well, I'm not real excited.

This:

The failure of our political system has become obvious as they scrambled to enrich the elite while ignoring the needs of the working class.

Unfortunately, the “average” American hasn't a clue. They are just pissed they can't be served at a sit down restaurant, get a hair cut or their nails done.

Of course if we looking at death stats, we should keep in mind our “healthcare system” KILLS over 400 thousand annually from preventable medical errors, but the CDC won't publish that statistic.

So, I was scared to death of our own healthcare system BEFORE this pandemic. My wife is dead as a result of a doctor telling my wife “not to worry, it's normal”. Six months later she was diagnosed with Cancer. Gee and I thought early detection was a priority.

I have absolutely no faith what so ever in America or anything “American”. We're a nation that worship's death and cruelty. It's in our National DNA to want/desire to kill.

We can't have Medicare for all, because of the Doctors who profit form this systemic death machine we call a healthcare system. I mean I had to threaten a doctor with physical injury, if he didn't give my wife a mammogram. It's fucking absurd!

Have a good one, if you can! Drinks

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C99, my refuge from an insane world. #ForceTheVote

Lookout's picture

@RantingRooster

Not health care. Sorry about your misfortune! I have medicare, but I never go to a doctor. And like most, with COVID around, I don't want anywhere near a doctor's office. I even canceled my dental appt.

I know I sound like a broken record, but we need better quality food and diet. Even doctors are poorly educated about nutrition. They are trained to prescribe not prevent. Eating real food not processed junk would change the world's health. While I'm ranting about it, let's get rid of cokes and other sugar based drinks and food....we're killing ourselves faster than COVID.

And you are right...Hospital Errors are the Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S., and New Hospital Safety Scores Show Improvements Are Too Slow
https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/newsroom/display/hospitalerrors-thir...

We have to maintain our own health. Satalin was funny in the Rogan interview saying he improved his immune system by drinking out of the cattle watering trough periodically.

Take care of yourself and be well!

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14 users have voted.

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

@RantingRooster
It's the medical corporations and the insurance companies. many doctors have said they will never let their kids become doctors. ALL the engineers I know say they will never let their kids become engineers.
The only profession is America that is good is lawyer and executive.

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

Lookout's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

They are a major driver of our poor health 4 profit system. Treatment not prevention is the nature of our system.

US doctors are highly paid. The only doctors making more are from Luxembourg.
https://medicfootprints.org/10-highest-paying-countries-for-doctors/

Trees are growing well. Hope yours are too.

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

@Lookout
I recall an operation I had. I think it was the gall bladder removal. The total bill was over $10,000. The doctor got only $200. The anesthesiologist got $3,000 (billed separately, not part of the $10,000). The surgeon's fee was actually the cheapest part. And she was digging around inside me.

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1 user has voted.

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

Azazello's picture

I've got a couple of vids to add this week.
Here's another edition of the Keiser Report. I thought both halves were good.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtMvV0QLDEk width:500 height:300]
Taibbi and Halper had Jimmy Dore on Useful Idiots. The Dore interview starts at the 51 min. mark. Katie Halper's reaction cracked me up. I don't think she'd ever seen Jimmy go off before.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgjRxD-pheI width:500 height:300]

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11 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

Max and Stacy have been really funny lately. And Jimmy is a hoot as usual.

I always appreciate your contributions!

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

Azazello's picture

@Lookout
Glenn Greenwald interviews Vincent Bevins, author of The Jakarta Method.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhkxQRsmMQM&t=100s width:500 height:300]

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8 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
https://theintercept.com/2020/05/21/the-cias-murderous-practices-disinfo...

But it doesn't have a transcript.

Thanks. The mafia branch of our government is an important topic.

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

CB's picture

@Lookout

by clicking on the three dots next to SAVE -> [...]
then click 'Open transcript' and a box will open with transcript to the right of the video. You can copy from this transcript if you want to post a detail about what is being said on the video.

You will have to do a bit of editing to clean it up.

05:22
were all kinds of assumptions that I had
05:25
ingested about US history and US
05:28
politics from not paying very close
05:30
attention from just reading the New York
05:32
Times or reading The New Yorker each
05:33
week or the New York Times in the
05:34
morning and just uncritically ingested
05:37
what I was being told and and not having
05:40
the time or the energy or the the
05:43
impetus to really critically examine it
05:45
and there were all kinds of things I
05:46
ended up believing about u.s. history
05:49
recent and distant that were simply
05:51
untrue that I didn't really fully come
05:53
to appreciate until I sat down and made
05:55
the effort to dig deep and erase all the
05:58
assumptions that I had and start from
05:59
scratch and try and construct what I
06:02
really understood history to be

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Lookout's picture

@CB

I try that next time!

I finally learned how to cue a clip by adding &t=#m#s where m means min and s sec to the URL.

Still don't know how to end a clip early though. Didn't know there was a transcript feature. Thanks!

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

CB's picture

@Lookout
Go to where you want to start then pause.
Click on SHARE. Activate "Start at xx:xx"
Then click COPY.
You can then paste the link into Insert Video.

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CB's picture

@Azazello
Maybe he is trying to redeem himself????

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Lookout's picture

@CB

...and got Lula out of prison. So he may have issues as Wendy suggests, but we all are a mixed bag aren't we. There are no totally trustworthy sites. We must be critical thinkers.

https://theintercept.com/2019/06/15/watch-glenn-greenwald-explains-the-p...

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9 users have voted.

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

Azazello's picture

@CB

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1 user has voted.

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

Lookout's picture

@Azazello

https://caucus99percent.com/content/one-more-time-do-not-trust-intercept

They criticize Glenn, perhaps correctly, for his lack of support for Assange and other factors.

... as I said we are all a mixed bag.

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

Azazello's picture

@Lookout
I didn't see him mentioned, or does it mean that anything published by The Intercept is questionable and not to be trusted ?

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2 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

...and find Glenn credible....others not so much. Just sayin'.

Does he make mistakes? Do I? Sure we do. We're human.

Edit to add: you have to wade into the comment thread to see the criticism.

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8 users have voted.

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

CB's picture

@Azazello @Azazello
The main reasons are the questionable financing of The Intercept (Pierre Omidyar), the burying of the Snowden Papers despite the publishing of them being the reason for Greenwald becoming the lead editor at this new web site plus three whistle-blowers had their covers blown when they sent materials to The Intercept. There's also several other factors that make it a site that only gets moderate trust from me. Matt Taibbi leaving is one of them.

The information on this report is not something new. Many of us old geezers here most likely knew about this stuff decades ago. I could probably come up with a half dozen reports from 2005 and earlier.

Here's one:

The Mass Killings in Indonesia
November 5, 2005
by John Roosa - Joseph Nevins

The one difference with this report is Greenwald comes right out and definitively names the CIA as fully responsible. There have been comments on the internets recently that he was working for the CIA secretly. This report doesn't really prove he isn't because the facts revealed are not something new. I'm simply giving him credit for putting it in writing.

It was amusing when the both of them said they had no idea what was REALLY going on with the CIA until now.

Here's a documentary John Pilger did in 2001.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUvtE_AcsYw]

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Lookout's picture

@CB
https://caucus99percent.com/content/weekly-watch-80
We think that Bernie betrayal is a big deal, but what about Henry Wallace (wonder where that c99 user went?). The real Wallace was sidelined much like Bernie was in both 2016 and 2020. Naive Truman is manipulated into creating the CIA and here we are. It is a FBI, CIA MI5-6, you know the five eyes, cod lock on the system.

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9 users have voted.

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

working in a nursing home
not old, but obese
dead now

patchwork
uncaring except
for profits

don't let lack of PPE
prevent your attempts
to help others

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9 users have voted.
Lookout's picture

@QMS

US motto these days....can't do

We are an incompetent nation. We have this image of ourselves as innovative, creative, capable, but we can't even manage a mask shortage, Ends up the ventilators are not helpful. Blowing air in lungs filled with blood clots isn't a good strategy.

BTW I'm using U rips advice of a kerchief with a paper towel and tissue paper clipped to the inside. His study suggested it is 90% as effective as an expensive n95.

Sorry about your neighbor. I don't intend to trivialize any death. However, he supports my hypothesis of metabolic health influencing our susceptibility.

Hope all is well in your world, sunny and hot here first day that has felt like summer.

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10 users have voted.

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

https://meet.jit.si/Caucus99percentShowUp
Password = BERNed out {notice the space}

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CB's picture

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Lookout's picture

@CB

but you've nailed the local approach here. No, it's even better at least they are distancing.

Take care!

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10 users have voted.

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

Lookout's picture

from a market trader.
11 min
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHTUQTCyBmo]

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7 users have voted.

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

CB's picture

a lockdown wasn't necessary - that the wearing of masks, basic hygiene (hand washing, disinfection) while practicing social distancing would have worked to contain the spread of COVID-19.

But the question remains. What percentage of the population would have adhered to these basic remedies w/o the impetus given by the lockdown? Unlike China, Korea, Singapore and other Asian countries, most other countries had allowed the infection to become widespread well before the lockdowns were put in place.

I believe the main reason the pandemic was handled so well in Asia was their citizens had prior knowledge and understanding of the dangers if such a virus was allowed to run rampant.

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Lookout's picture

@CB

The lockdown happened too late to be really effective. Masks and distancing are the ticket as we go forward, but we lack education and are too self absorbed to behave reasonably....at least around here.

I'm feeling we have over reacted. The disease is nasty for those that become symptomatic. The question is how many folks have had this unknowingly. The antibody tests are not very reliable evidently so we really don't know. One randomized test in NY indicated about 12% of folks who were out and about at the grocery had antibodies.

Young folks without health issues should be able to get out and about...wearing masks and distancing around older folks. Even little kids are wearing masks in Asian schools.

Be well!

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

CB's picture

@Lookout
should have given ample warning. Most countries did not go for lockdown until March 14 - over TWO months later.

Reminds me of the videos of people standing on a beach watching a tsunami rolling in and not starting to run until the water was lapping on their feet. I blame the MSM and the politicizing of the pandemic as the main cause for this failure to warn the herd.

If we get a second wave in the US next winter it will end up being the same. Americans are a nation of individuals all pushing/pulling in different directions and they are damn proud of it.

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Lookout's picture

@CB

Our problem was in trying to maximize profit by developing our own test (which caused a two month delay in testing) instead of using the accepted test developed by Germany and the WHO.

That was just one of our countless errors. And what good cover to literally rob the public coffers funneling trillions to the top. We are such saps.

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

magiamma's picture

The john campbell video should go ‘viral’. Study say any mask, if 80% of the people wear them protects over 50% of the people.

Worst case is an inside, closed space with no ventilation and lots of people. e. g. meat factories, hair salons, transport systems, etc. Or places where there is a high viral load exposure for workers such as hospitals, grocery stores.

Long time exposure or environments where a lot of folks are infected leads to higher viral load leads to higher infections such as Brazil, etc.

Outside side with masks is best. Makes sense.

Not sure I believe what the CDC pushes at this point. Would want to verify.

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

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook

Lookout's picture

@magiamma

Yes. It is a no brainer, if we "only had a brain".

Hope the garden is going well. We harvested lots of spinach and lettuce today. Soon it will become bitter as the heat picks up....like today. Got shade cloth over it trying to stretch the season a bit.

Have a great week!

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

Unabashed Liberal's picture

was intentional. Which is to say, I think the PtB knew that we needed to wear masks, from the git-go. And, for some, that realization may only serve to further erode the public's trust in experts--especially, in Red States.

(IOW, the bipartisan political PtB, and all their wealthy donors--the One Percent--wanted to have a chance to stock up on masks, before the rubes were informed of their efficacy/necessity. Sad, eh?)

So, agree that,

That is my understanding as well
@CB
The lockdown happened too late to be really effective. Masks and distancing are the ticket as we go forward, but we lack education and are too self absorbed to behave reasonably....at least around here.

Lately, we're having a very difficult time obtaining Zinc, Vit C, and, Selenium (but, not Vit D3). If anyone knows of a good source for any of these supplements, please, point us in their direction.

QMS' recommendation about Airborne, was a sound one. Soon, our only source of Zinc and Selenium may be our daily dose of this supplement. Told Mr M earlier today, maybe have to start rationing our Zinc and Super C vitamins. Bad

Sorry about the folk festival in Florida--hopefully, things will be back to normal, next year.

Hey, thanks for another excellent COVID essay, LO!

Stay safe; be well.

Mollie

“I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me, they are the role model for being alive.”
~~Gilda Radner, Comedienne

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Lookout's picture

@Unabashed Liberal

one or two per day gives you plenty of selenium
https://nootriment.com/selenium-brazil-nuts/
We eat one a day.

We use a zinc supplement. We have not encountered a problem finding it...yet. Amazon has it if you do business with the monster.

We take a gram of C (ester formulation) per day too. Sourced from our local pharmacy.

Sorry about the folk festival in Florida--hopefully, things will be back to normal, next year.

We're talking about an early Nov. gathering if there's not a fall resurgence. Hate to break the sixty something year record festival. Longest continuous folk fest in the country.

Hope you're doing well. Thanks for the visit!

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7 users have voted.

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

Unabashed Liberal's picture

@Lookout

that Brazil nuts were a good source (selenium). Regarding Amazon, was going to place an order with them early this week--haven't checked them recently for vitamins. Can't get jack from our local pharmacies--including the big box ones.

Good luck with the November gathering. By then, maybe we'll know more about what we're dealing with, and, it'd be considerably safer for all of you.

Mollie

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Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

@Unabashed Liberal
There have been discussions about the difficulty of making sure kids wear masks in school to stop the flu. The value of wearing masks was well known here as well as in Asia.
Here is one paper from 2007.

In the event of an influenza pandemic,where effective vaccine and antiviral drugs may be lacking, disrupting environmental transmission of the influenza virus will be the only viable strategy to protect the public. We discuss 2 such modalities, respirators (face masks) and ultraviolet (UV) light. Largely overlooked, the potential utility of each is underappreciated. The effectiveness of disposable face masks may be increased by sealing the edges of the mask to the face. Reusable masks should be stockpiled, because the supply of disposable masks will likely prove inadequate. UV light, directed overhead, may be beneficial in hospitals and nursing homes.

(Am J Public Health. 2007;97:S32– S37. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2006. 096214

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Lookout's picture

@ScienceTeacher

Clever study, but lacked one additional treatment IMO. Masks on both cages.

All the best!

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4 users have voted.

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

@Lookout
I downloaded it Friday because I am keeping a file on the BS the PTB are telling us about wearing masks. There is some stupid pushback that the study is somehow not "scientific". The PTB are trying not to admit that the epidemic in the US is their fault. The people who came up with the hamster-mask study did a great job.

The PTB even misled innocent little hamsters at first although this study corrects it.
[video:https://youtu.be/D8hdjviABYo]

Thanks for posting your essay.

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Lookout's picture

@ScienceTeacher

a nice design. Glad to see you drop by!

such an interesting situation from a biological and sociological perspective. I must admit to being intrigued by it all. And at the same time sad and disappointed in the response. we'll see what we'll see.

Your essay today reminded me of reading Connie Willis "Doomsday Book" where they travel back in time to the plague and get stuck.

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4 users have voted.

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

@Lookout
We, the people, have some power over diet and homemade masks. The gun-toting "protesters" are the one who are knuckling under to authority by refusing to wear masks.

I'm glad you enjoyed my essay. Thanks.

I read that book Connie Willis a long time ago. What I remember most was that the young woman sent back in time nursed the people who were dying of the Plague. The book postulated a time paradox that prevented substantial change in the past so the people in the village where she stayed still died of the Plague. The difference was that the time traveler comforted them and gave them water and care. They did not die alone.

I had halfway forgotten that book, but the importance of care and as much dignity as possible is timeless.

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janis b's picture

@ScienceTeacher

The difference was that the time traveler comforted them and gave them water and care. They did not die alone ... I had halfway forgotten that book, but the importance of care and as much dignity as possible is timeless.

For me, the most difficult of lockdown rules to accept were the weeks that passed while people died uncomforted by the presence of a loved one.

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@ScienceTeacher breakdown occur?

That 2007 published public health directive couldn't be clearer. And yet there was 'saint' Fauci making a statement that masks for the general public are useless.

If a non-medical professional (with little formal science education) could figure out by March 1 that masks were a socially responsible means of slowing the virus, where were all the public health professionals? By the time China locked down Wuhan, January 23, and the whole country, January 25, there was a lot to go on. (South Korea got halfway there by 21 Jan. Airport temperature checks on flights from Wuhan by 19 Jan, isolation/quarantine for those testing positive, and face masks if sick. Halfway because they weren't prepared to consider imports from other than Wuhan and that people may be infectious before the appearance of symptoms. They continue to struggle with imported cases that are asymptomatic upon arrival; on average only catching about half the imported cases.)

Are we seeing an example of mass group-think? The medical community putting aside what their education, training, and experience told them and going along with famous public health officials like Fauci who has long been more of a political than medical animal? How could all of them have ignored that face coverings in such a situation is a good idea? It's not protective -- and hospitals, nursing home, state and federal epidemic managers should hide themselves in shame for not having stockpiled enough N-95 masks for health care workers -- but every little bit to slow down the transmission means fewer sick and dead people. Or were they like the politicians too busy laughing about the hurt in China that would MAGA to THINK?

I'm not going to cut them any slack about not having an available test either. For any one patient they were perfectly capable of eliminating influenza A & B and regular cold influenza, and order a lung imagining -- would possibly have been 99% accurate that it was COVID-19.

23 Jan first laboratory confirmed case in IL:

COVID-19 in a traveller who returned from Wuhan in mid-January, 2020. Subsequently, the first evidence of secondary transmission in the USA was reported on Jan 30, when the husband of the index patient, who had not travelled outside the USA, tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Public health authorities did an intensive epidemiological investigation of the two confirmed cases.

Excellent start -- but when did it begin to fall apart?

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Lookout's picture

@Marie

leading people to obesity and diabetes. Compare levels from the 80's till today. Pushing a high carb low fat diet has led to the real epidemic (hyperinsulinemia), the one driving most deaths for decades now. Sugar and unhealthy seed oils have led to a epidemic of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Not to trivialize COVID, but that's the point I'm trying to make with the idea we're missing the forest for the trees.

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5 users have voted.

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

@Lookout Too many Americans back then weren't getting enough calories/food. The typical American diet at that time for those with enough to eat wasn't all that good. Too much starch, meat, fat (much of it hydrogenated), and sugar and too few fresh vegetables. The USG food pyramids, whatever their faults over the years, were no match for the power of industrialized food production. Fast-food, HFCS, and snack food, and too few well-balanced meals is what has made Americans fat.

I noticed today in the grocery store that the canned vegetable and fruit section has gotten much smaller. That's good because the fresh and frozen vegetable sections remain well stocked. But most of the shelf and freezer spaces are filled with ready-made dinners, drinks, and sweets. Not good. Low in protein, vitamins/minerals, and roughage.

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Lookout's picture

@Marie

Americans back then weren't getting enough calories/food.

They just didn't understand that the calories in an oreo were not metabolized liked a calorie of salmon. Heard Lustig recently say, a calorie isn't a calorie, fats are not the same, and proteins are very different...or something to that effect. His deal is real food
https://robertlustig.com/real-food/

Have a nice evening.

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

@Lookout and has no nutritional value. (Low income people can't afford that piece of salmon even if they wanted it. And I'm not sure that the farm raised Atlantic salmon is all that nutritious -- it sure doesn't taste good.) Nothing wrong with a cookie (okay - Oreos are gross) or a sweet treat as a dessert, but I'm from the school the views dessert a couple of times a week as part of healthful eating.

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Lookout's picture

@Marie

I often make salmon patties. I'm a no sugar type. For sweet I'll eat fruit.

Each to their own. Diet is a personal thing, but understanding nutrition is rare among us. Would be nice to have better education.

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4 users have voted.

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

@Lookout
Peanut oil and olive oil are bad for you?

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

Lookout's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness

and makes an excellent healthy oil. Peanut oil is ok. Canola is the big evil.

Here's how we were misled. Corporations again. Surprise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwMoD3apAQ0&t=40s (8 min)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yn29mdxEw9w 5 min one view of good vs bad fat
All the best.

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

@Lookout
An Italian can't cook without Olive oil!

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

enhydra lutris's picture

be well and have a good one.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Lookout's picture

@enhydra lutris

I learned lots putting this together. Hope others find value too.

Thanks for coming by!

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

travelerxxx's picture

Always love reading the Weekly Watch because every time I do, I am better for it. Commenters deserve kudos, too.

Sorry about your folk festival. My musician friends here in the Houston area are really having a tough time, too. While I've played guitar since the early 70s, I still do lessons every other week. My guitar instructor finally got his first paid gig in months this past Saturday. At least I hope he was paid. He's probably desperate enough to do it for free. I've continued to pay him for lessons even though they've stopped. The way I look at it, that money was already spent. Some folks are doing online shows and we've been able to donate due to those.

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@travelerxxx a guitar angel, sir.
Just all kinds of good on your for that.

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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

travelerxxx's picture

@on the cusp

My wife and I made a deal. We each have something we don't really need that we spend money on. I do my guitar lessons every two weeks; she has a lady come help with cleaning the house at the same interval. (I should point out here that really it is me the lady helps, as my wife is quite mobility challenged due to needing a hip replacement.) Anyway, we decided that we would continue to pay both of them as if the services were still occuring. As I mentioned before, the money was already budgeted and it seemed as though we'd be profiting from the misery of others if we stopped the payments.

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@travelerxxx in Houston.
Please PM me for details.
They are absolutely THE BEST.
I paid my paralegal to stay home. And then to come in occasionally.
This is not her fault.

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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

travelerxxx's picture

@on the cusp

Thanks, otc. I'm going to check it out. My wife and her brother both came to H-town from New York state (not NYC, as they would have you know...). She came here to teach and her bro for law school. He's now doing personal injury stuff, so we'll be talking to him too.

I've made a note to PM you re that medical group. Right now, my wife is trying to get to a BMI that is acceptable to the sawbones types. A little ways to go still... I hope she makes it before she's in a wheelchair forever. It may get that close. I hope not.

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Lookout's picture

@travelerxxx

We have some young friends in Nashville who depend on gigs. They've been hurting. They are still doing some recording so keeping their heads above water.

Thanks for the visit and comment!

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

travelerxxx's picture

@Lookout

My instructor buddy is just barely keeping afloat, but is.

Yes, the online stuff has been a godsend for some. My instructor has a FB show set for Tuesday evening. I'll be there (on my wife's account, since I don't FB). He's done around ten of them since this all started and the well dried up. Usually it's just him and his old Martin. An hour goes by quickly and it's a good time.

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