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Political Ramifications of Covid-19 Pandemic


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53 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

Yep, I’m in the same boat.

But 2 metres away.

Which is another point actually, what with our rampant brexit mentality, I wonder how many average middle aged people that think we can beat a pandemic with a pint and a bog roll, how many know what 2 metres looks like.

In my group of friends, close family and extended family there seems to be a link between those that voted Brexit and those that think this is all over the top nonsense and that its just the flu. 

 

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2 minutes ago, DCJonah said:

In my group of friends, close family and extended family there seems to be a link between those that voted Brexit and those that think this is all over the top nonsense and that its just the flu. 

It would make sense. 

A Government whose members have spent four years telling everyone to ignore experience and expertise and just believe a bit harder and it'll be fine, can't really complain when their followers don't suddenly listen to some boring guy in a suit just because he is the Chief Medical Officer. Probably paid by Brussels anyway. Fat pension, paid for by the WHO. That's what I read on Facebook anyway.

Who cares what that nerd is saying when that Tim Wetherspoon bloke says that it'll be alright and we should just have another beer?

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Last night Julian Assange called me. Here is what we talked about

Last night, immediately after our first DiEM25 TV event, my phone rang. It was Julian. From prison. It was not that first time that he honoured me deeply by using the few phone calls prison allows him to make to call me. Like every other such occasion, when I unexpectedly recognise his voice a torrent of emotions comes flooding in. Guilt, primarily, at the thought that, the moment the line is disconnected, he will remain there – in the exceedingly dark place to which he has been confined because of a decision he made long ago to help the rest of us grasp what the powers-that-be have been doing on our behalf without our knowledge or consent.

Julian wanted to talk about the effects of Covid-19 on the world we live in and, of course, on his case. He remarked that Jeremy Corbyn’s election manifesto, that the establishment had lambasted for being too radical, now seems unreasonable moderate. We laughed at the audacity of those who were telling the people of Britain that it was irresponsible to spend a few tens billions on providing proper funding to the NHS and social care for all, on turning broadband into a public utility, and on taking the railways into public ownership to make them work properly – the very same people who, now that big business and capitalism more generally, are in serious trouble seem to have discovered the money tree, announcing trillions to be pumped into the economy. Julian did not know (how could he, when the prison authorities deny him access to newspapers, the internet, even to BBC Radio 4?) that Boris Johnson had, earlier yesterday, announced the temporary nationalisation of the railways – seeing that privateers can never provide a decent service in the midst of a national emergency.

After a few minutes during which we allowed ourselves to bask in the neoliberals’ Waterloo, in the hands of some RNA that the system could simply not cope with without abandoning all its certainties, we discussed what this means for the future. Julian said, quite correctly, that this new phase of the crisis is, at the very least, making it clear to us that anything goes – that everything is now possible. To which I added that anything ranges from the best to the worst possible developments. Whether the epidemic helps deliver the good or the most evil society will depend, of course, on us – on whether progressives manage to band together. For if we do not, just like in 2008 we did not, the bankers, the spivs, the oligarchs and the neofascists will prove, again, that they are the ones who know how not to let a good crisis go to waste.

 

Yanis Varoufakis

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16 hours ago, LondonLax said:

Trump’s approval ratings are up apparently. Americans eh?

He’s telling people it will be fine and America has already found a beautiful cure. People without health insurance need that to be true so they wish it to be true, so they believe it.

Unfortunately, that’s the very thought process that’s more likely to cause them to get it.

You’d like to think there’s only so long he can keep plugging the ‘send five dollars, touch the screen, you’re healed!’ schtick before people begin to grudgingly think he might not be right.

Trouble is, it’s a two horse race and the other team haven’t selected a jockey yet. There’s still a theoretical chance the other jockey could be Bernie Sanders. Last thing America needs now is some old commie joker offering welfare and healthcare for all.

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Read a tweet earlier that was along the lines of we spend billions on Trident just in case but we don't spend millions on ventilators and PPE just in case. It goes even further than that though as we have been running our NHS for years now at pretty much max capacity with zero slack in the system for what if.

I hope if any good can come from all this it will be that we have a bit of a reset and start to value our NHS more, see social care as crucial and also linked to having a good NHS and just overall see our public services , and rewarding those now seen as key workers who we have under appreciated, in fact not appreciated at all, as all being really important issues when we next get a chance to place our X.

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I am waiting to see what happens, but I am also open to the idea that this is a gambit used to gain leverage, and that this ordeal is a veil for the purpose of creating a facade, so that we as a world populace, transition into living a certain way, agreeable to certain measures, people and laws. I don't believe many will see beyond the hysteria of the virus, or the measures taken by governments to handle the situation. Few will even consider the possibilities beyond what they are expected to, and as a consequence the general consensus will be that which is agreeable to what is presented and made apparent from the people in positions of power. What was considered true will transition into what is considered true and therefore on to what will be true when future generations look back on history for understanding. When the British used biological warfare at Plymouth against the native Americans the consequences were genocidal, to this day the recorded documentation of the deliberate use of smallpox to infect the native Americans is swept under the rug, despite it coming from the journal of a British man who was complicit. I find it interesting to note, that prions and pathogens were being made in laboratories back in 2004. I don't particularly enjoy airing my honest thoughts on this subject, because I like people, I like to be liked by others the same, and I don't think the content in this post is very likeable, unfortunately it's a narrative which I think deserves exploration and deep consideration. Forty years before 9/11 there was official documents proposing the hijacking of planes and committing terrorist attacks on US citizens in order to gain support for war against Castro, the proposals were denied (this is credible, fact check it for yourself, or ask me, but I don't want to derail the thread), it's apparently farfetched and beyond comprehensible to wonder if the events that happened in 2001 were consequence of US officials implementing tactics, that they had a history of cultivating! The US is founded on Latin phrases such as, "He has approved our undertakings" "New World Order" "Out of many, one". That would suggest a God given right to their actions, and a movement towards globalisation. When I look at her history I see 93% of it spent at war, and preparing for and enacting some form of warfare. If the US in hardest hit by this virus, or if it results in some conflict for the US, whether they come off as beneficiaries or not, I will be more suspicious than I currently am. The powers that be would certainly use first world populations as sacrificial lamb if it meant austerity is maintained and the general population remain as chess pieces, not chess players. The US is responsible for MK-ULTRA and COINTELPRO. That's established and proven, yet it's unthinkable to question how reliable the government and the people who control it are with distributing true and accurate information at the times where it's most relevant for people to have it.

We've already agreed to the PATRIOT ACT in the US, the Terrorist Act in the UK, and the Anti-Terrorism Laws in Australia. Under Section 44 in the UK's laws it mandates permission for police to stop and search without any suspicion, we thought that only criminals and undesirables would be adversely affected by giving such power to those who we deemed as worthy of it, I wonder, and I hope, that during these times of uncertainty and unrest that the people responsible and under duty to uphold the laws that protect the people, do just that, justly and fairly. As with Section 44 in the UK, Australia has made law that undermines everything that democracy represents, as an Australian federal judge has said, "These laws are striking at the most fundamental freedoms in our democracy in a most draconian way." Australia saw significant restrictions on the right of any citizen to express certain opinions, including; criticism, or "urging disaffection", of the sovereign, the constitution, the government, the law, or 'different groups'. Exemptions may exist where the target of criticism is agreed to be 'in error'. Exemptions appear to exist where the claim is that a feature of a group of people is in some way offensive to the mainstream of society. Onus of proof is on the defendant, the presumption is not of innocence. Think about that. Well, at least I should before I continue spouting my thoughts..

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1 hour ago, chrisp65 said:

zam1.jpg

Excuse me if I'm off the mark, but, if this is in relation to my post..

Spectacularly intelligent as you are, I think you're smarter than a three-word picture story jibe.

Because being as intelligent as you are, you would be aware that you at times offer insight others can't.

That last line is not to say that my earlier post is in any way more than just something I consider

FWIW I don't necessarily believe Boris, Morrison and Trump are conspiring together and fully aware of some covert operation.

"Just because you go platinum doesn't mean it was luck, it just means that a million people are stupid as f*%k"

Edit: This is how I'm feeling @chrisp65 thanks to your post. I'll try not to stew on it to the point where I blame you for the Malaysian Airlines Flight going missing!

fb-the-truly-intelligent-person-smart-as

 

Edited by A'Villan
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Anyone who worries about conspiracy theories should read up on “Occam's Razor”.  Putting it very succinctly, the simplistic explanation is normally correct.  It’s a wonderful problem solving and thinking tool. 

We use “Occam’s Razor” at work and it’s always introduced by someone saying “Is that a zebra?” That’s because of a living example:  If you hear hooves coming rapidly towards you from behind it’s extremely unlikely to be a zebra. So why would anyone assume it’s a zebra without having rock solid proof that it is?  The simplest solution is that it’s a horse, you should expect it to be a horse and you should do whatever is the right thing to do with a horse.  

Nb  If you live in Africa on a zebra farm please ignore this dangerous advice. 

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Interesting what's going on in Poland. Norway contributes with 165 million euros (per annum) I think directly to Poland from the EEA. And I don't know the spesifics here. I know large amounts of it is given to support moving on from coal to more environmental friendly actions in the energy sector. But there's previously been some friction here due to their behaviour towards homosexuals and other minorities.

Now Poland is holding back export of antibac that's partically produced by Norwegian owned factories, saying it's a national security measure. If countries recieving funds from the EEA as part of a trade deal can just stop deliveries and sieze them when it suits them, it's not an ideal situation is it. Arguably it's also a pure breach of the EEA trade laws. Can't see them losing the funding, but it's a weird situation. 

Edited by KenjiOgiwara
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Everyone is panicking including governments. Bad decisions are being made because of that panic. Self interest is far too prominent in decision making. 

Poland keeping anti bac that is needed elsewhere is no different to toilet paper hoarders in the UK. 
 

 

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On 24/03/2020 at 20:37, LondonLax said:

Trump’s approval ratings are up apparently. Americans eh?

I've been watching the stock of American Outdoors Company with interest. It seems to go up massively when the market is negative and bad news is around due to the virus. But with financial aid packages from the Senate, positivity around the virus etc. it goes down. From what I know this is formerly known as the Smith and Wesson company and make the majority of their revenue on guns and gun accessories. 

I have no idea why it's behaving like that, but seems like they expect Americans to horde weapons in bad times.  

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8 hours ago, A'Villan said:

Edit: This is how I'm feeling @chrisp65 thanks to your post. I'll try not to stew on it to the point where I blame you for the Malaysian Airlines Flight going missing!

C’mon, you know the drill, someone posts a heavy block of text that is almost too dense to read and includes references to 9/11 and the illuminati. Next person is honour bound to do a version of tldr or reference smoking too much weed.

Some things don’t require in depth analysis. Such as a picture of Zammo.

I know many politicians and bad people around the world are trying to take my freedom and privilege. You know what, many of those privileges don’t stand up to much scrutiny. But I’m fairly confident none of them are doing it via 3 ply toilet paper outages.

 

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27 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

C’mon, you know the drill, someone posts a heavy block of text that is almost too dense to read and includes references to 9/11 and the illuminati. Next person is honour bound to do a version of tldr or reference smoking too much weed.

Some things don’t require in depth analysis. Such as a picture of Zammo.

I know many politicians and bad people around the world are trying to take my freedom and privilege. You know what, many of those privileges don’t stand up to much scrutiny. But I’m fairly confident none of them are doing it via 3 ply toilet paper outages.

 

Yeah, I understand. Thanks for promptly posting some humour. I guess I'm sensitive to the discussion for a few reasons though.

Pathogens have been man made in labs for some time now, and throughout the last decade extensive reporting has been done on how a 'pandemic' outbreak could occur, and has even been suggested will occur, as a consequence. Indulge me a few moments of your time, or don't, but let's imagine that it was realised at a given point in time that man-made pathogens from a laboratory had been released and consequently would spread throughout the world and it's lifeforms en masse, with no known way of predicting the scale or degree to which it will effect those who contract it. Let's just say no one like poo on their hands, and remember there are many politicians and bad people trying to take your freedom and privilege, do you expect someone trying to lead you astray to own up to a mess that has unknown potential and risk? Whether they are using the catastrophe deliberately in accordance with an agenda, or it was a case of tempting fate by playing with fire, wondering how and when it will burn, do you believe that in those times, you would get an honest account of things?

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I don’t believe we ever get ‘honesty’, I think we sometimes get much closer to the truth 20 years later after a limited public enquiry that’s delayed until its less impactful on the establishment.

But this is really for the conspiracy thread. As mentioned upstream, Occam’s Razor and all that.

Every chance someone can wittingly or unwittingly unleash something, that’s always been the case. It happens, look at DuPont and what they’ve done to the world’s water. Bhopal in India. 

Do I believe military hawks and businessmen politicians are bad for us, hell yes. Do I believe this pandemic is the start of the matrix? No.

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I guess it's also worth noting that the military industry, the pharmaceutical industry and the banking industry are the usual suspects to profit from a situation where very few will prosper in any sense of the word. If the world does go into martial law for a time being, it's a whole different ball-game, so Zammo best sober up. The military can and will only strengthen it's position should that happen, in a time filled with uncertainty, you can be assured of that. You understand that the pharmaceutical and banking industries are also already making profits at world conquest proportions, add in a sudden need for lab testing and a vaccine, or the need for government borrowing of billions from the federal reserve, and it's evident why things may be a bit more serious than 3-ply toilet paper outages.

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I understand that almost all the land and all the wealth is controlled by a tiny number of people.

I understand that in the grand scheme of things, they have 9 biscuits, I have half a biscuit and the rest of the world shares half a biscuit between them.

I understand we are in a lucky position where we could vote for something different.

I understand that as soon as there is a chance we have a military coup I’ll be front and centre of the resistance along with Coldplay and Julian Assange.

But my bet is on something much less dramatic. Much less JFK 9/11 Roswell Woodstock.

 

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