The tragedy of Anthony Fauci – and his critics.

Many politicians and “pundits” are missing the point on Dr. Fauci and the pandemic response.

Yes, Dr. Fauci is arrogant and did a terrible job communicating during the pandemic. However, his critics are using his deficiencies to spread their own misinformation. Criticizing a liar doesn’t make your own lies OK.

Did the 6 foot rule make any sense? No, it did not. However, that doesn’t mean it was perfectly safe to go into a crowded bar during the height of the pandemic when no one had been vaccinated and hospitals were overrun with sick and dying people. The virus was spreading as an aerosol. Being in any enclosed space with a lot of people greatly increased your risk of infection. The 6 foot rule was a stupid attempt to pretend that crowded buildings were safe if only you followed it when clearly they were not.

Did asking small children to wear loose paper masks make any sense? No, it did not. However, that’s not because a properly fitted N95 doesn’t work, it is because it was unrealistic to expect small children to wear a N95 properly. Although children were less at risk than others, some children did die of Covid. Many teachers also died. Should we forget them?

Was it accurate to suggest that the Covid vaccine would stop transmission of the virus and that that the vaccination would last indefinitely. No, it was not. However, vaccination did slow transmission and did protect, to varying extents during the pandemic, the vaccinated from serious illness. Repeated vaccination at intervals of about 4 months greatly reduced the risk of death and Long Covid. And why do none of the pandemic revisionists mention Long Covid and the brain damage and other health risks it causes?

With a few notable exceptions, Members of Congress are missing the most important point about NIH funding of EcoHealth and the transfer of grant funds to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Dr. Fauci did not plan to create a pandemic. He’s not in league with the Chinese government. The funding of EcoHealth was intended to gain cooperation of Chinese scientists to identify new strains of virus that might pose a threat to the United States in exchange for instruction on how to manipulate viruses in the lab. However, given the nature of the Chinese government, this plan was dangerously stupid, and did not receive proper review.

Dr. Fauci and many other scientists know little about international politics or the ideology of the Chinese government. Dr. Fauci’s hope that the Chinese government would cooperate to warn the world about new viruses was naive. The Chinese government is aggressively seeking to create biological weapons with which to “clear the world” of non-Chinese. Xi Jinping is a genocidal maniac and so are many members of the Chinese government. Their racism includes a belief in a separate, and superior, evolution of the Chinese people, something they are rarely called on. Our intelligence agencies should know about this and should be warning anyone who has dealing with the Chinese government about this belief system. Frankly, the American people should know about this as well.

The NIH did arrange for money to go to the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which intelligence agencies knew, or should have known, was engaged in biological weapons research. More importantly, NIH through its grants, facilitated the transfer of knowledge on how to engineer viruses to make them more dangerous from US scientists to Chinese scientists. This transfer of gain-of-function knowledge, without any review of potential danger by NIH or US intelligence agencies, is the most important fact for Congress to focus on. Until the US Congress, intelligence agencies and the Defense Department take biological weapons seriously, and I can assure you, they do not, presently, we will be at grave risk from attack after attack. We also have to stop pussyfooting around about the nature of the Chinese Communist Party and government. They are evil. They look at the Nazis as a cautionary tale. Not because the Nazis did evil things, but because the Nazis didn’t go far enough. Our government needs to start saying this, out loud.

Anthony Fauci is 83 years old. 20 years ago he was an able administrator. 40 years ago, he was an outstanding scientist. Now, however, he is a bitter old man with an inflated ego, a pathetic need for attention and a failing brain. His agency was poorly run before and during the pandemic. Funding EcoHealth alliance and teaching Chinese scientists the techniques they needed to make biological weapons was a huge mistake, but not an intentional one, on Dr. Fauci’s part. What was intentional was the cover up. Dr. Fauci’s reputation cannot be saved by any politician, no matter how well meaning. However, all the “personality stuff” about Dr. Fauci is not really important. Please, Congress, focus. The Chinese government means us ill. They are working on biological weapons. SARS-CoV-2 was likely an in-progress project that escaped through sloppiness. It is not the only project they are working on.

Focus. Focus. Focus.

References

THE STRATEGIC CONSEQUENCES OF CHINESE RACISM: A Strategic Asymmetry for the United States. Mr. Andrew Marshall Director OSD Office of Net Assessment. January 7, 2013.

The Han Chinese ‘Master Race’. Charles Burton. The Dorchester Review. October 20, 2023.

Chinese Persecution of the Uyghurs. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

China committed genocide against Uyghurs, independent tribunal rules. December 9, 2021. Joel Gunter, BBC.

State Department cables: Wuhan Institute of Virology conducted classified research. Emily Kopp. June 14, 2023. US Right to Know.

Long-Term Effects of SARS-CoV-2 in the Brain: Clinical Consequences and Molecular Mechanisms. Granholm, A-C. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2023.

Gestalt #199

H5N1 in water

H5N1 has been found in wastewater, at very high levels, in multiple cities. In at least some cases, this is probably not from farms. It could be coming from food processing centers that receive milk as input and produce various dairy products. That in itself is concerning, although we hope that pasteurization will make the dairy products produced with contaminated milk safe to consume. However, there are other concerns. We don’t know for sure where H5N1 in city wastewater is coming from. At this time, we cannot exclude the possibility that it is coming from infected humans.

Large positive spikes in human wastewater need to be followed through to the source to verify a major spillover event has not gone undetected in the human population as was seen multiple times with COVID-19 where wastewater results were often sentinels for viral circulation in advance of clinical outbreaks.
Moderators JH/TG ProMED. May 18, 2024

There has been at least one proposal to test wastewater from hospitals, but the CDC has prevented this from going forward. Why? Is a major announcement coming, but one under the control of the CDC with assurances that H5N1 infection is “mild”?

If H5N1 is in wastewater, it is also possible that it is in ground water. Cows and other animals poop and pee on the ground. Various milk products may be dumped on the ground. Fluids on the ground will flow down and join rainwater that percolates into ground water. City water is chlorinated, which should kill H5N1. However, the methods used to clean well water vary. People with wells should be warned that their well water should treated sufficiently to kill viruses.

The Phony Civilization

What we call our modern civilization is based on false premises. Almost everything we are told about its basis is false. Most “jobs” have no intrinsic importance. If people stopped doing them, nothing bad would happen. Indeed, fewer resources would be wasted on useless activity. Many of the jobs that are the most important are poorly or inadequately paid: security – law enforcement officers and military personnel; food production – real farmers (not Big Ag), farm workers and meat packers; health care – most health care workers receive far less than they deserve (even doctors are not as well-paid as people think due to the many years of education they undergo before they start receiving a significant income); transportation – truck drivers, railroad workers, flight attendants and even pilots; education – teachers get little, administrators get a lot; and others.

The jobs that are included under the term “essential workers” are the people who are the basis for our civilization. Most everyone else, all the people who work in giant office buildings, are doing nothing of importance. They spend their days doing useless box checking, not knowing that their “jobs” are make-work activities jointly planned by the government and company CEOs. They aren’t really paying taxes because their jobs only exist because the small number of people doing real work are being taxed to pay the entire salaries of the workers with fake jobs.

How can such a system continue to function such that a small number of real (essential) workers support a vast number of fake jobs? I don’t think it can. That is why we have an ever expanding national debt. Many companies would immediately go bankrupt without government subsidies, including, by the way, Big Ag. How then does this end? What is the endgame for all the “nonessential workers”. Are these deemed “nonessential people”?

The road to safety and freedom ends in self-sufficient farms

At the end of the day, you will only be safe if you have your own land, grow your own food, purify your own water and can protect what you have. Good health in these circumstances is essential. Children are your best back up plan for safety should you fall ill. You will have to know a tremendous amount to live self-sufficiently. Education in this world means both book learning and practical skills. This is not only the path to safety, it is the path to freedom. Otherwise you are dependent on individuals and groups who regard you as “nonessential”. Don’t assume these people will put a priority on keeping you alive. Here is a simple question to determine whether or not you are free. Can you afford to say No!, no matter who orders you do something that endangers your life?

Preparing for the next Pandemic

Prepare for the withholding of information and outright lies

It is hard to prepare for something that you know nothing about. How many Americans know that there is a highly lethal version of monkeypox (mpox) spreading human to human in Africa? Almost no one. We are a few travelers a way from a disaster with this virus. Closer to home, how many people know how lethal H5N1 is to people? Almost no one. This is not because they have not heard of H5N1, it’s because they are being deliberately lied to by officials and, especially, the media. First, a quick recap of the facts. H5N1 originated in China where officials there lied about its origins (sound familiar?). It then spread around the world (presumably by wild birds). It has adapted to spread to mammals efficiently and further, to spread mammal to mammal. Most importantly, the case fatality rate is about 60%.

Lies about this virus come in several forms. Media reports have, deliberately, in my opinion, attempted to hide the threat posed by H5N1 by calling it other things like HPAI. An Ag industry group, The American Association of Bovine Practioners (AABP) wants to rename H5N1 to “Bovine Influenza A Virus (BIAV).” There is absolutely no scientific basis for this. This is strictly an attempt to confuse the public so that they don’t know that a virus that has killed 60% of the reported patients is spreading within dairy cows. Media stories continue lie about H5N1, as recently as yesterday. The Texarkana Gazette ran a story entitled “Bird flu strain poses no real threat to humans, officials say“. If you read the story, you will see that no official says this at all. However, they do link to a CDC informational flyer that lists symptoms of H5N1 infection but fails to mention the incredibly high mortality rate. So, we have government officials withholding information and reporters using these lacunae to assert absence of harm. What’s the real situation? The best reporting lately has come from Canada, perhaps because they have yet to report cases in cattle:

Michael Worobey, a researcher from B.C. who’s now head of the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona, said these cattle infections may have been “flying under our radar for months,” providing ongoing opportunities for this virus to acquire adaptations that could lead to a flu pandemic.

“I think, in many ways, this is the biggest news story in the world right now.”

Why dangerous bird flu is spreading faster and farther than first thought in U.S. cattle. Lauren Pelley, Amina Zafar, CBC, Apr 27, 2024

Prepare for limited and very expensive meat

If large numbers of people start getting infected with H5N1 as a result of working with cows or consuming unpasteurized milk, as seems likely, you will see pressure to eliminate H5N1 in cows. This will almost certainly require a decrease in their numbers for a period of time. So, dairy products and possibly beef prices will rise. People will shift their meat consumption to chicken and pork raising these prices as well. Chicken costs are already rising because they are also succumbing to H5N1. This leaves pork. Pigs are not currently being tested for H5N1. What will we find when they are? Don’t forget, although government officials want to control the narrative, it is easy for independent researchers to test pork products and pigs themselves for H5N1. All you need is a thermal cycler, the right primers and some PCR supplies.

Food insecurity is rising, especially in the elderly. Older baby boomers had pensions that they receive as well as social security. Most of the current wave of retirees did not receive pensions. They also saved little, if anything for retirement. Hence, many will be totally reliant on Social Security. Benefits have not be rising fast enough to account for inflation, especially in food. In addition to preparing for ourselves, we should prepare to help those in need deed by donating to food banks and checking on elderly relatives, friends and neighbors to make sure that they are getting enough to eat. This is yet another reason to have your own farm. You can feed yourself and help feed others as well.

Prepare for limited supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Currently, there are no shortages of N95s or other PPE that I am aware of. If H5N1 starts spreading efficiently in humans, expect that to change. Hospitals will be the first to want to increase use of N95s and other PPE. The general public, goaded by small-brained politicians and media “personalities”, will largely reject masks – until someone they know dies, which will likely happen a lot sooner than with SARS-CoV-2. Then N95s will get very expensive and finally become unavailable to most. You know the drill. Preppers don’t “hoard” PPE or buy it on the black market when it is in short supply. They don’t need to. They bought their supplies when they were plentiful.

Prepare for diversion of H5N1 vaccines to the elite

There are only enough H5N1 vaccines on hand for a minority of Americans. Don’t expect them to be distributed based on any kind of fair system. I still remember the swine flu epidemic and the diversion of vaccine that occurred then. Although it did not kill at a much higher rate then ordinary flu, it did preferentially kill children rather than older people. Yet, scarce vaccine was secretly diverted away from children and quietly given to members of the elite such as Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley executives. I remember reading a story about this at the same time that I read about a Texas girl who died because she could not get vaccine. I still remember the picture of her smiling in her colorful pajamas taken before she became ill. If Wall Street executives had consciences, they and other elites who jumped the line and got vaccine instead of this girl would be as haunted by her memory as I am. But since they don’t…

I will publicize this story over and over again.

Wall Street bankers at front of queue for scarce swine flu vaccine
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/nov/06/wall-street-bankers-swine-flue

Amid shortage, big NYC firms get swine vaccine
https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna33655838

Gestalt #197

H5N1 virus has been found at very high levels in milk. Is it safe? We don’t know.

There is no data on whether or not pasteurization inactivates the virus. There is no indication that there will be any such studies.

Three and a half weeks after first announcing the startling news that cows from a milking herd in Texas had tested positive for H5N1, the government agencies involved in the investigations have not yet revealed what research shows about whether pasteurization of milk kills this specific virus.

Helen Branswell, STAT News, April 18, 2024

H5N1 is spreading cow to cow and cow to poultry. Pigs are at risk.

Virus has been found in nasal swabs from cows, so it could be spreading to the respiratory systems of cows. Pigs, which are mixing vessel that are known to produce human adapted strains of flu virus, are not being tested for H5N1.

Pigs are a linchpin in flu surveillance, many experts noted, as they are susceptible to both bird and human flu. They might act as “mixing bowls,” enabling H5N1 to acquire the ability to spread efficiently among people.

The U.S.D.A. is not testing pigs or asking farmers to do so, Dr. Sifford said.

Apoorva Mandavilli, Emily Anthes NY Times, April 19, 2024

We may be closer to nuclear war than is realized

Iran has everything it needs to make nuclear weapons within a few months.

https://www.nbcnews.com/video/iaea-chief-says-iran-could-produce-nuclear-weapon-within-months-209316933854
NBC News, April 19, 2024

Gestalt #196

Nuclear War – A review

I read the book “Nuclear War” by Annie Jacobsen in one day. This fictional scenario was better written than most thrillers. Plot spoilers ahead. The book does not have a happy ending. The great strength of the book is its meticulous description of the procedures that would govern our response should the United States come under nuclear attack. These are quite frightening as they appear to be antiquated and not suitable for the 21st Century. The author suggests, and I agree, that even if a nuclear war begins “small”, it will likely expand to large scale launch of many nuclear weapons. There are just too many potential failure points and too little time to make decisions to stop at a limited war. Where I disagree with the author is her assumption of a nuclear winter that lasts five years. Maybe this will happen, but I don’t think this is the consensus. The truth is, we really don’t know what will happen. Certainly, some level of cooling will occur for at least a few months, which, in itself, will be devastating to countries that must import food to survive. However, the dire prediction that she makes is not well-supported by the available evidence. There are lots of activists pushing the same scenario. I get that she wants people to be scared enough to try avoid nuclear war. But frankly, there isn’t much her readers can do about stopping it from happening. Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un are the men who will decide whether or not to start a nuclear war, not us. They are not smart or especially rational men. They are all megalomaniacs who live in echo chambers surrounded by eunuchs who tell them exactly what they want to hear. We can’t control what they do. However, we can decide to survive what they do. The truth is that deaths due to famine from nuclear winter will be unequal. Countries dependent on external inputs will do the worst. Countries that are well-prepared and self-sufficient in food production will do the best.

Where is Cesar Chavez when you need him?

For those who don’t know, Cesar Chavez was a labor activist who advocated on behalf of Mexican farm workers. He sought better working conditions for people who had been exploited by agribusinesses. Right now, farm workers in the dairy industry are being exposed to H5N1 without adequate protection. Farm equipment is thought to be aerosolizing contaminated milk. This is thought to be how the one documented human case occurred. How many undocumented cases have there been? We don’t know because no one is bothering to check on the farm workers many of whom are themselves, undocumented. Do the “liberals” in the media care? Don’t make me laugh. They could not care less. Evidence: how many stories do you see of uber wealthy elites like Anderson Cooper going down to the farms and exposing the lousy working conditions for workers. Do the “liberals” in Congress or the White House care? Please, stop. I need to breathe. Evidence: the White House controlled-CDC has done absolutely nothing to help get PPE or H5N1 tests to the farm workers. “Liberals” don’t really care about the poor or working class.

Where is Ronald Reagan when you need him?

President Reagan, regardless of what you think of his policies on other issues, was a strong foe of the Soviet Union and the threat it represented to the free world. He must be turning in his grave to see Members of Congress who call themselves “conservatives” kissing up to Vladimir Putin, a man who seeks to re-establish the Soviet Union that Reagan helped dismantle. Win one for the Gipper? Not these clowns. They’re Red alright. Commie Red. Make careful note of who votes against helping Ukraine prevent the rebirth of the Soviet Union and you will know who the Communist Sympathizers are. Or worse. People who have betrayed the US – for what?

Gestalt # 194 – Monkeypox Alert

There is a new strain of clade I monkeypox (mpox), the more lethal variety, which is unlikely to be distinguished from clade II with the existing CDC-approved assay. Clade I mpox is now present in two countries, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the adjacent Republic of the Congo. It is spreading via heterosexual contact from prostitutes to their male customers and from these male customers to their families. This means at least two things: 1. Clade I mpox, which has a case fatality rate of about 4 – 8%, is spreading more readily and is crossing borders. 2. Anyone using the CDC primers will not be able to determine whether someone is infected with Clade I or Clade II. Thus, most doctors, who have not been alerted to this change by the CDC, will assume that anyone who has been infected with monkeypox has the less lethal Clade II strain. Hence, it is likely that when, not if, Clade I starts to spread in the US, we will have no warning.

The key paper describing the new Clade I variant is:
“Ongoing mpox outbreak in Kamituga, South Kivu province, associated with monkeypox virus of a novel Clade I sub-lineage, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2024”
Masirka et al. Eurosurveillance March 14, 2024
https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.11.2400106

I will include some excerpts of this paper with my interpretations:

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the numbers of people with suspected infection with monkeypox virus (MPXV), the virus that causes mpox, have increased since the start of 2023. A total of 12,569 suspected mpox cases have been reported up to 12 November, the highest number of annual cases ever recorded [1]. The case fatality rate has been estimated at 4.6% [1]; moreover, new cases have occurred in geographical areas of the country where the disease was previously not observed, such as Kinshasa and South Kivu province [1,2]. Despite this concerning situation, there is only limited genomic information available on the circulating viruses, which suggests that they belong to Clade I.

-snip-

At the time of writing, no near-complete sequences of MPXV circulating in DRC from the 2023 outbreak were available on (public) online databases.

Clade I monkeypox, with a case fatality rate of 4.6%, is spreading more efficiently in humans in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Public sequence information on this strain of virus is insufficient.

The six sequences from the current study grouped with published Clade I sequences, but in a distinct sub-lineage from all other Clade I sequences, suggesting that the ongoing outbreak in South Kivu results from a separate introduction ( Figure 1 and Supplementary Figure 1 and 2 ). The six sequences have several single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) differences between them, which suggests ongoing circulation of this outbreak strain for some time already.

This is a previously undocumented strain of Clade I sequence. It has been circulating undetected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for some time.

While the generic primers and probe still seem to be functional with only one mutation in the reverse primer, the specific Clade I virus real-time PCR target, recommended by the US CDC, is absent in the genomes of the novel MPXV strains ( Figure 2 and Supplementary Figure 3). The observed deletion is 1,114 nt in size and results in the complete deletion of the OPG032 gene. The coverage of this region ranged between 76× and 941× sequence reads depending on the sample. Due to the deletion, the rapid US CDC method to identify Clade I in newly diagnosed mpox cases is most likely not reliable for detection of the novel sub-lineage identified in the current study.

The newly reported Clade I variant has a deletion of over 1,000 base pairs which includes a gene which had previously been thought to be deleted only in Clade II mpox. Generic primers, which are used to determine whether a patient has been infected with mpox should work on the new strain. However, CDC primers designed to distinguish between Clade I and II will not function properly.

In DRC, where human infection with MPXV was first ever recognised in 1970, sporadic mpox outbreaks have been reported since, with increasing frequency over time [17]. The particular rise in the number of suspected MPXV cases recorded in the country in 2023, and their occurrence in unusual geographic areas [2] suggests a possible change in the characteristics of the virus and the epidemiology of the disease.

The changes in the sequence of Clade I mpox may have resulted in an increased ability to spread human-to-human.

From the mpox outbreak in Kamituga, South Kivu, six near-to-complete MPXV sequences derived from local patients hospitalised with mpox were obtained. Phylogenetic analyses of these sequences together with those available for other Clade I and II viruses, placed them in a new sub-lineage near the root of Clade I, which suggests that the outbreak in this region results from a new introduction, most likely from a zoonotic reservoir. Although sequences from a small 2023 Kinshasa outbreak are not publicly available, the placement of those sequences in a published phylogenetic tree [3] suggests that the Kamituga outbreak is not related to the outbreak in Kinshasa. Our findings therefore suggest that there are at least two independent outbreaks ongoing in DRC.

Remarkably, a large stretch of sequence in the genomes belonging to the novel MPXV sub-lineage was absent compared to other Clade I genomes, which would lead to failure of the Clade I-specific real-time PCR recommended by the US CDC [15]. A deletion in the same region is also observed in Clade II MPXV, and this was the basis for clade assignment using the CDC PCR. Therefore, if the viruses from the new lineage were to spread internationally, this molecular surveillance tool can no longer be used to rapidly identify these Clade I virus infections while the global Clade IIb outbreak is ongoing.

It is surprising that the same deletion previously reported in Clade II is now observed in Clade I. This was completely unexpected by the CDC. So much so that they actually used this deletion to distinguish between Clade I and Clade II which is why their primers will fail to make this distinction with the new strain.

Altogether, the findings of this study strongly suggest that whole genome sequencing of a larger subset of MPXV currently causing mpox cases in DRC, as well as public data sharing, are essential to understand the ongoing epidemic. Further studies, sequencing and analyses are ongoing, but in accordance with the above statement we believe that rapid public sharing of all available information is essential to help to better understand and contain the current mpox emergence.

PCR is an insufficient tool with which to examine the rapidly changing nature of the mpox epidemic.

——————–

Suggestion: I know CDC leadership will approach this issue at their normal glacial pace. But could someone wake the President and tell him that something serious is going on in Africa? Remind him what happened to the last President who botched a pandemic response, come election time.

Gestalt #191 – Nuke News

President Trump and Nukes

During an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham on Wednesday, Trump said he was worried about the safety of his supporters.

“I worry about their safety too,” he said during the town hall event, which reached more than 3.2 million viewers on average, according to Fox News. “These people, everybody in this room is in great danger right now. We have a nuclear weapon that if you hit New York, South Carolina is going to be gone too.”

Giulia Carbonaro, Newsweek, Feb 22, 2024

I have no idea what President Trump could be referring to. Guesses, anyone?

EMPs and Nukes

It’s difficult to imagine a scenario in which an EMP strike from Russia comes as a calculated response to something which unfolds on the battlefield because the implication of such a strike would be WWIII.

But in a moment of weakness or madness, it’s possible that Putin, if backed into a corner with power slipping away and opponents closing in, could in haste authorise such a strike.

David Averre, Daily Mail, 23 September 2023

This possibility has been suggested by S-2 FLU.

Nuclear bombardment from space

Fractional Orbital Bombardment System

A Fractional Orbital Bombardment System (FOBS) is a warhead delivery system that uses a low Earth orbit towards its target destination. Just before reaching the target, it deorbits through a retrograde engine burn.^[1]

The Soviet Union first developed FOBS as a nuclear-weapons delivery system in the 1960s. It was one of the first Soviet efforts to use space to deliver nuclear weapons. In August 2021, the People’s Republic of China tested a weapon that combined a FOBS with a hypersonic glide vehicle.^[1]

Wikipedia accessed February 23, 2024

Gestalt #185

Sweden

Sweden is a small country with advanced technology. Most people don’t pay much attention to it. They should, because Sweden has a history of taking care of itself while situated in a dangerous neighborhood. In WW II, Sweden avoided invasion by Nazi Germany by attaching explosives to every single piece of infrastructure and factory of value, drafting everyone who could possibly hold a gun and telling Hitler that if he invaded Sweden, he would “win”, but since the Swedes would fight to the last man Hitler would lose a huge number of his troops and they would gain nothing because Sweden would blow up everything of value before German troops got to it. Instead, the Swedes offered to remain neutral and trade with both the Allies and Nazi Germany. Hitler took the latter deal. As a result, Sweden was not bombed, did not lose a large portion of its population and was well-positioned to achieve a socialistic paradise in the 1950s. This history lesson is to provide context for a recent announcement by the Swedish Civil Defense Minister and Commander-in-Chief:

Bohlin expressed concern that the modernisation of the Swedish civil defence system was not happening fast enough and urged everyone, from managers and local councillors to private citizens, to take action.

“Many have said it before me, but let me say it with the force of my office – there could be a war in Sweden.”, he said, adding that awareness needs to be translated into practical action.

He also drew parallels with Ukraine, which faced a full-scale Russian invasion with “total resilience”, according to him.

“Such an effort can only be made quickly enough if the vast majority of people are aware of the situation and understand what is at stake,” Bohlin said.

Commenting on Bohlin’s take on Swedish broadcaster SVT on Monday, Swedish Commander-in-Chief Micael Bydén said he agreed with what the minister said.

“On an individual level, you have to prepare yourself mentally,” Bydén said, adding, “This is a very serious situation, and the clarity yesterday was unmistakable. It is now about moving from words and understanding to action”.

Charles Szumski, January 8, 2024, Swedish minister, commander-in-chief warn of possible war in Sweden, Euractiv.

Many Swedish families have “Stugas”, cottages in the woods that they can go to in an emergency. For those who don’t, there are 7 million well-equipped bomb shelters waiting for them to go to. Sweden has a surprisingly sophisticated military given the size of the country. They make their own fighter aircraft, the Gripen, designed specifically to fight over Swedish territory. All of this is public knowledge. I suspect that preparations for war that are not public will be serious. Sweden will do what it must to survive.

Iran

The attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 by Hamas was suicidal from the standpoint of the Gazans. Obviously, they did not benefit. This could easily be foreseen. The attack was ordered by Iran who view Gazans as easily manipulated and entirely expendable. The Houthis of Yemen have launched suicidal attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The US and other western militaries have been responded by bombing the Houthis, as could easily be foreseen. The Houthis are backed by Iran. Once again, Iranian leaders have manipulated an unsophisticated people to be their catspaw. How many other chess pieces will Iranian leaders sacrifice to win? When will those who are being attacked by Iran’s pawns go for the King in Tehran? To me, this is just one of the theaters of WW III. The big show is yet to come in Asia.

Dementia Dystopia

Imagine a giant warehouse, except, instead of being filled with boxes and crates, it’s filled with thousands of older people on cots. There is an unpleasant smell that hits you as soon as you enter. The moans, groans and inarticulate mutterings of the people on the cots combine to make waves of sound suffused with suffering. As you approach closer, you see heavily tattooed workers roughly changing the diapers of the people on the cots. Crude robots, mostly carts with cameras on them, bump along crowded aisles carrying human waste to a back area. Not infrequently, a larger cart comes to pick up the body of someone recently expired. It goes to the same back area.

The United States is facing a debt crisis. The US debt is now 34 trillion dollars and rapidly climbing. How will this be paid? There is no plan. Both Social Security and Medicare will soon be insolvent. What happens then? There is no plan. Study after study has shown that being infected with SARS-CoV-2 causes damage to the brain. There is evidence that the risk for long covid goes up with each re-infection. This damage is relatively mild in young people, but it may be taking its toll. On almost every metric of cognitive and mental health, young people are struggling. We are told that this is because they had to learn remotely for a few months. Is this believable? Or is the alternative hypothesis, that SARS-CoV-2 is slowly causing an erosion of mental faculties of those it infects more believable?

Consider the following possibility: What if the brain shrinkage known to be caused by SARS-CoV-2 is responsible for the declining cognitive and mental health of people in the US? What if there is a massive wave of dementia in a few years as a result? What if Congress does not act and no funds are provided for the long term care of people with dementia?

References

Brain disorders: Impact of mild SARS-CoV-2 may shrink several parts of the brain. (2023) Kumar et al. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 149: 105150.

COVID-19 Associated with Long-Term Cognitive Dysfunction, Acceleration of Alzheimer’s Symptoms. (2021) Alzheimer Association.

Medicare Won’t Have Enough Money to Pay Full Benefits After 2031: Report. April 5, 2023. Adam Hardy.