Coronavirus Pandemic: Apocalypse Now! Or exaggerated scare story?

[Persej]

And the CFR for corona is known to be bloated because we know that most countries count 'probable cases' or untested cases as corona deaths, never mind heart attacks and cancers.

Yes, I forgot about that. That thing will certainly inflate the CFR number so that it cannot be compared with flu in any way.

They added some more countries in the last update but haven't made any comment about that: Coronavirus tracked: the latest figures as countries fight to contain the pandemic | Free to read

But this one is hilarious:

Low Covid-19 death toll raises hopes Africa may be spared worst

Since the first African coronavirus case was confirmed on February 14 when a Chinese national was diagnosed in Egypt, the virus has spread to virtually all corners of the continent.

Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder whose charitable foundation is focused on the pandemic, has warned that, if left unchecked in a region of crowded slums and flimsy health systems, the disease could claim a horrifying 10m African lives.

Yet, more than two months on, some are daring to whisper a more hopeful message. Maybe, just maybe, the continent could be spared the worst of the pandemic. “I don’t get it,” said Kennedy Odede, a grassroots organiser who said that of 400 people tested randomly in Nairobi’s huge Kibera slum last week, only three were positive. “For me, it was good news.”

Africa has more than 32,000 official cases of the virus that has infected more than 3m people around the world, and suffered fewer than 1,400 deaths. Given the limited testing capacity, the numbers may greatly underestimate the true burden, although Mr Odede, like others, said there was little evidence of unexplained outbreaks of the virus. At face value, the figures suggest that a continent of 1.2bn people had suffered fewer Covid-19 deaths than the US was recording each day. (...)

John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned it would be wrong to draw any firm conclusions. There was, he said, no hard evidence that any factors specific to Africa — whether a younger population, warm weather or even the prevalence of BCG vaccinations against tuberculosis — had any impact on the disease’s spread. (...)

In the case of coronavirus, he said, Africa’s youthful population may also help to explain the low death rate so far. The median age in Africa is 19.4 years, compared with 40 in Europe and 38 in the US. Prof Hunter said: “There have been so few cases of severe disease in people under 20 in the west that, when you have a population that is median age 19, the risk of high numbers of fatalities is substantially reduced.” (...)

However, Prof Lang said it was possible the virus was spreading “differently” in Africa, including with more asymptomatic cases. It was possible, too, that people with underlying conditions such as tuberculosis might respond differently to Covid-19, conceivably making patients more resistant, because of a previously triggered immune response, rather than more vulnerable as is usually surmised.

Low Covid-19 death toll raises hopes Africa may be spared worst | Free to read

Continent has limited confirmed virus fatalities but experts warn it is too early to draw conclusions

www.ft.com

 

[Agron]

Strange Corona behaviour by our "beloved" pope Francis

 

[Ketone Cop]

For the Sabian symbols, which I studied years ago, I use them little or not at all.
There are also the "monomers".
I think you have to be very "neutral" to interpret symbols correctly, so that our subconscious doesn't influence us in one direction or another...
For the moment I am content to study as correctly as possible the planets that often give us implacable answers, knowing that there is a whole series of characteristics depending on the planet, the contact it has with another planet, in which sign, with which aspect, etc., etc., etc., etc.
And we can see that the cycles are repeated and evolve.
The problem being: does the human evolve at the same rate????
If not, we will have to repeat the same lesson.
I have just read an article by Charles Ridoux, a French astrologer.
On his site, there is a translation of his texts in English.
If you are interested:
French : BAM 2020-5 - Dans le désert du Confinement.pdf
English : BMA 2020-5 - In the Confinement Desert.pdf

Thanks, Channa. As I was going through the information I found on the symbols, I became acutely aware that though I understand some astrology, I am not really "practiced" in the field; and for one to properly use the symbols, that knowledge must already be mastered. So before I can even write about them, I'd have to have a lot of practice applying that knowledge; then in order to have other people understand what I'm doing, they would have to have a basic understanding of astrology themselves.

That means I'd have to write a comprehensive primer on astrology and assume people would want to read it before I could even introduce the symbols to them. Though I think I'm capable of doing it, I think anka and hlat are right and that I should focus more on writing about what I really know, in addition to doing further work on myself as I have started to do in "The Swamp". Plus, doing that exercise on the 2012 Olympics it became obvious to me that it is pretty easy to use hindsight to write a narrative using symbols for something that has already occurred - and it's completely yet another thing to use them to predict the future. So, I will leave that to the C's! If I do anything more on this subject in the near future it will be just to give links to Laura Walker's work for those who are interested if I feel it worthwhile to share.

A big part of learning is being able to realize and admit what I don't know, becoming aware of my limits, especially when other things are more pressing.

And Ina and Debra: thank you for finding that link to Karla Turner's book, and for posting that section I mentioned. Re-reading that sparked a major brainstorm for me, as I now have five open Notepad documents with half-finished posts waiting for completion. I have to review Pierre's book, "The Human-Cosmic Connection" before I can continue on that front.

I have to be careful though and not get too bogged down in the circles of my own mind, as I tend to do. And I think I may know one reason for that: my natal planet Uranus sits on the Sabian Symbol degree of "A Merry Go-Round"! And to illustrate how such things can manifest in reality, I found this about the "Keystone Cops", my Avatar name:
____________________________________________________________________________________
The name has since been used to criticize any group for its mistakes, particularly if the mistakes happened after a great deal of energy and activity, or for a lack of coordination among the members. For example, in criticizing the Department of Homeland Security's response to Hurricane Katrina, Senator Joseph Lieberman claimed that emergency workers under DHS chief Michael Chertoff "ran around like Keystone Kops, uncertain about what they were supposed to do or uncertain how to do it."
______________________________________________________________________________________

I could not have chosen a more applicable avatar name! But it also stands there to remind me of my own personal nature, and to guard against it becoming reality.

On the home front - this happened in Sacramento, CA yesterday:

https://www.kcra.com/article/demonstrators-protest-stay-at-home-order-at-capitol/32346364

____________________________________________________________________________________________
"Dozens of people were arrested Friday afternoon during a demonstration at the State Capitol to protest the state’s stay-at-home order amid the COVID-19 outbreak."
................
“I have a concern with it (COVID-19). I don’t want to push it off as if it’s nothing,” said demonstrator Lisa Michael, who traveled from Fresno. “I think it’s been overblown, according to the numbers and the data that I’m seeing coming out of Italy and out of America.”
..............
"All I ask for is this -- and this is take care of yourself. Wear a face covering, do justice to physical distancing. You don’t want to contract this disease,” Newsom said. “This disease doesn’t know if you’re a protester, Democrat, Republican, support the election of one candidate or the ouster of another. It just knows one thing -- and that is its host. And it has a remarkable ability: people with asymptomatic conditions to transfer to someone else.”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

People even here, in a Democratic "Sanctuary City", are awakening. But still too slowly for my taste. I went to go shopping at my favorite store the other day only to see employees stationed outside the entrances wearing masks and telling people they couldn't enter the store without wearing one. So I turned around and went to another store. I fear, though, that soon it will be made mandatory for everyone. So, I am prepared: I have a proper shield now, one perhaps necessary for a Padawan Learner who wishes one day become a Jedi Knight:



May the FARCE be with THEM!!

 

[Ellipse]

Strange Corona behaviour by our "beloved" pope Francis

What a profound feat in live he have

 

[theos]

Like most hospitals in the US our patient census where I work has been quite low. Fewer people in general are going to hospital ERs and therefore, fewer people are being sent to our psych ER from the hospitals. And let me tell you, it's been quite a relief to have fewer patients cause before all this went down it was like a madhouse up in here. Today we were so slow I joked with my co-workers that we should choreograph a dance routine and put it on Tik-Tok like all those heroes who are making great sacrifices to keep us all safe from this nothing-burger of a virus. (I can't decide which I like better: Our essential health care workers bravely and defiantly standing in silent protest against demonstrators protesting the government putting them on house arrest so they can't work or feed their families or the health care workers who gather outside the hospitals and soak up the accolades of the cheering crowds. I swear, if anyone dared come near me making thank you noises with pots and spoons I'd snatch said pot from their hands and seriously consider flattening their curve with it.)

Before yesterday, wearing masks at our facility was voluntary now it's mandated. What changed between yesterday and the day before escapes me but you can't argue with logic, can ya? The masks are annoying as heck but I'll play along with this part of the farce. I even went so far as to whip out my sewing machine and make a bunch of them. And, yes, I've sold some too. There's a demand and a need so give the people what they want, right? (Besides, mama's got some toilet paper to hoard!) Anyone who really knows me knows that I consider the masks to be for decorative purposes only.

That being said, these are such interesting times. Talk about a show! Most of the time I'm able to find something to laugh about regarding this whole thing. Sure, I've had some periods of wanting to take my ball and go home but they've been brief. That may happen in the future but for now I'm still curious. Since knowledge protects, it's hard to be upset for long. Big thanks to all you forumites and the Chateau Crew. If not for all the stuff I've learned since joining up with you lovely people I'd probably be somewhere weeping and moaning and gnashing my teeth. Not to mention shaking in my boots and peeing my pants.

Have we ever experienced something so fascinating to watch, yet so very insulting to any iota of intelligence we might have, so grossly annoying and such an affront on our civil liberties all at the same time? It's like having the most busy-body, dumb-ass, interfering idiot you've ever met in your life step in an attempt to dictate your every move. Didn't "Jesus" rail against the oppressive Pharisaic laws? Those bastards are trying to put us all under the law again. We are all officially living in the House of 'Tards.

P.S.: We're all in this together!

 

[hlat]

And then the entire government sits in parliament with masks when the camera is on. But none of them has a mask with them or a mask on their faces during the sessions.

And at the same time, they ordered the interior minister at the hand of the police officers to spy on and punish the citizens. A mother is fined 500 € because her children accidentally play with other children in the park. There, a woman is punished for having coffee on the park bench and accidentally not being three feet away. The most important task today is to punish innocent citizens.

Another iteration of do as I say, not as I do.

He finally found the paperwork I have to fill out with a doctors input to waive the requirement of the mask.

Good on you and your manager! If your doctor is any good, the mask will be waived forever.

But I spotted them before they saw me, so I put the mask on and that was it.

I'm not putting a mask on unless the police tell me to or I'm refused service at a store.

On another note, I'm thinking about writing a long post on facebook, drawing on everything I got to call out the BS I'm seeing. But somehow I can't bring myself to do it. I dread the inevitable fistfight in the replies, people from my life past and present freaking out, and even repercussions for my business.

Probably good that you didn't post it, from the view of external consideration and potential retaliation.

 

[Persej]

Another possible factor that could explain why some countries have big numbers:

Nations look into why coronavirus hits ethnic minorities so hard

When Norway’s public health experts began looking into the backgrounds of those infected by coronavirus, they made a startling discovery: people born in Somalia have infection rates more than 10 times above the national average.

The Scandinavian country has just over 7,500 Covid-19 cases, equivalent to 140 per 100,000 inhabitants, according to data released on Tuesday. But 453 of those cases have been among the relatively small community living in Norway who were born in Somalia, a rate of 1,586 per 100,000.

“You would hear of an uncle who had been hospitalised and that this family has been infected,” said Ayan Bashir Sheikh-Mohamed, a doctor of Somali origin living in Oslo who was among the first to alert the authorities to the worryingly high death rate. “It felt like there was a lot of people.”

Norway is far from the only country where people from black and minority ethnic (Bame) groups have been disproportionately affected. People from a Bame background make up about 13 per cent of the UK population but account for a third of virus patients admitted to hospital critical care units. Black Americans represent around 14 per cent of the US population but 30 per cent of those who have contracted the virus.

Inquiries into why racial minorities are so heavily over-represented among those suffering from Covid-19 are under way, although few expect simple answers. Health experts and academics are now searching for clues among the multiple medical, socio-economic, behavioural, cultural, environmental and biological factors that could be driving the association between Covid-19 and ethnicity.

“When we started to raise the alarm about four weeks ago some people thought it was scaremongering,” said Kamlesh Khunti, professor of primary care diabetes and vascular medicine at Leicester University in the UK. “Now we see that more than 70 per cent of healthcare professionals who have died in the UK have been from Bame backgrounds.”

Similar patterns showing disproportionate numbers of Bame virus victims have emerged in the US and other European countries with large minority populations, although Prof Khunti said none had as strong evidence as the UK about overall ethnic patterns of Covid-19. France, another country with a large Bame proportion, prohibits the gathering of statistics based on ethnicity.

“We in the UK are in a position to alert the world to what is happening,” said Prof Khunti.

In the US, data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is incomplete. But it shows that white people accounted for 51 per cent of Covid-19 cases whose race was specified, compared with 74 per cent of the US population.

Nations look into why coronavirus hits ethnic minorities so hard | Free to read

Studies focus on Bame groups who are over-represented in Covid-19 cases

www.ft.com

UK government urged to investigate coronavirus deaths of BAME doctors

The head of the British Medical Association has called on the government to urgently investigate if and why black, Asian and minority ethnic people are more vulnerable to Covid-19, after the first 10 doctors in the UK named as having died from the virus were all BAME.

Those doctors have ancestry in regions including Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Even allowing for the overrepresentation of BAME staff in the NHS – they comprise 44% of medical staff compared with 14% of the population of England and Wales – the fact that they were all from ethnic minorities was “extremely disturbing and worrying”, the BMA chair said.

“At face value, it seems hard to see how this can be random – to have the first 10 doctors of all being of BAME background,” Dr Chaand Nagpaul said. “Not only that, we also know that in terms of the BAME population, they make up about a third of those in intensive care. There’s a disproportionate percentage of BAME people getting ill.

“We have heard the virus does not discriminate between individuals but there’s no doubt there appears to be a manifest disproportionate severity of infection in BAME people and doctors. This has to be addressed – the government must act now.”

As well as the 10 doctors, three out of six nurses named as having died have also been BAME as was a hospital pharmacist and at least one healthcare assistant. The overall death figures in the UK have not been broken down by ethnicity but early research published this week showed that 35% of almost 2,000 patients in intensive care units were non-white.

UK government urged to investigate coronavirus deaths of BAME doctors

Exclusive: Doctors’ organisation concerned at ‘disproportionate severity of infection’

www.theguardian.com

From comments:

One theory is that darker skinned people are more likely to be deficient in vitamin D which is needed for many reasons, including the correct functioning of the immune system. It's converted into active form by sunlight on the skin. This is impeded by having dark skin, particularly in a northern climate. There is a good chance that vitamin D supplements help, and this is what needs to be communicated. Vitamin D supplements are cheap and generally available.

 

[Gwenllian]

My mother who is 88 years old is such a case having been confined for 6 weeks. Now since last weekend, she along with the rest of the people in the nursing home has been allowed 2 visits per week of max 30 minutes by one person at a time.

My mother is now allowed to have visitors as well for 30 minutes a visit in a special cabin. A Dutch news outlet reported that only 1 or 2 people should visit the elderly, which means that the person in question has to choose which visitor, because they can't receive various visitors spread over several weeks, they have to be the same people. How cruel is that? I haven't spoken to my mother about this yet, and I don't want to put her on the spot, but I am certainly not going to force her to make a choice between her friends and her kids. I don't know how strict they will be, I have to find out, but this is so inhuman, it reminds me of the film Sophie's choice.

I have also read that some of the elderly are suffering from malnutrition, because they are eating less now that they have been confined and without people checking up on them to see whether they are eating, Maybe some will stop eating altogether, and prefer to go to 5D instead. Who could blame them?

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court made euthanasia for people with advanced dementia easier last week. They have a backlog of I don't know how many court cases, but this case couldn't wait, obviously.

Apologies if the above has been mentioned already.

 

[psychegram]

What a hero. This guy traced out a giant F U with his airplane's flight path, ending with an arrow pointing directly at Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer's mansion. It's explicitly a response to the utter contempt she showed for the state's voters and legislature yesterday, going ahead and extending the stay at home order despite the senate refusing to extend her emergency powers.

I hope we see lots more of this kind of creative protest in the coming time. Nothing is more toxic to tyranny than mockery.

Michigan pilot gives a literal ‘F U’ to governor over coronavirus lockdown

 

[psychegram]

Finally - I don't use marijuana. I question the industry, the 'taking-centric' use of that plant, and how, in may cases, it seems to have gone from a great medicinal herb worthy of respect to a highly-bred tranquilizer designed to keep the masses in a frequency prison of 'take-out food and bad sitcoms'.

Go with your gut. Weed is an insidious drug that gradually destroys people's souls. I've seen this happen to more people than I can count, how over time their eyes go dim, and they just kind of hollow out. It makes people stupid and lazy, and it's normalization and legalization is 100% intended to pacify and stupify the population.

Even if you got paid in the end, you'd be participating in an industry that is aimed at destroying people's minds. Either that would eat at you, or after a while it wouldn't, and you don't want either of those things.

 

[Andy]

Hi, first thanks for being here. This is what I posted in my fb. What basically is in my mind right now without pointing fingers for obvious reasons.I can post the links if are needed but I’m pretty sure everyone is aware of them.

One of the options for our economy to start moving forward again I think it is to have readily available home testing kits for the virus. Some people are expecting a vaccine and others like me aren’t so sure about it because of the lack of understanding of the virus. And to see if a vaccine works and doesn’t kill us it will take a while. Not good enough time for our economy to start working again.
Having a test that can predict in 5 minutes if you have the virus or not would make us free to work and have a normal life.
If trust could be a problem then we could also implement a witnessing program. As a matter of fact a new business which will hire people to be the witness of your test, it could be made through an app or life camera if necessary. Could be made to be confidential between the parties as well. Any different and efficient idea could be implemented and or modified.

Also there’s the probability according to scientific studies and from current scientific studies being made that some people don’t develop the replication of the virus because of a genetic factor. Therefore if that is proven then we can also get our dna tested and by being genetically immune to the virus, we don’t necessarily need a vaccine against it. Which in this case will give us the option to not get vaccinated.

On another note, there are other studies being made about the probability of a vaccine BCG that could potentially protect us against the virus. Not everyone has the vaccine already but studies are showing that people who has that vaccine like me for example , are in a way protected against the virus. Because in those countries like Uruguay the one that I’m coming from, they don’t have many cases. Like countries in Europe.
I will post the links referring to this on my comments.
By the way there’s research that can be made if you like, all over the internet.

Also I see the immunity test helpful as well. But the problem with this yet is that Scientists don’t know for how long we are immune against the virus after having the disease. And the reason why they don’t know is because they are seeing people being reinfected. Something that it isn’t very clear at the moment since unfortunately we have government’s having disclosure problems about their numbers.

Any way I think that our economy is shaking and the world economy is shaking.
We need to be serious about this and I understand that there’s a lot of people worried about their money making more and less, about their country and their government political parties and all the self serving ego bs. Excuse me! But what is coming after or during an economic breakdown, statistically it is extremely devastating and the numbers in mortality rate from different reasons will surpass the mortality rate from this virus if we keep this general lockdown.
Like for example our immune systems will rapidly decay if we keep being inside. Something that could potentially make us vulnerable to Any Disease.
We are in front of a big challenge that if and only if we are fortunate enough and this disease isn’t as lethal, it will bring us new alternatives and ideas to be prepared for and if in the future any virus or disease like this happen again.

We must as well go to the root of the problem and if this viruses and diseases are formed in labs and mutating in a way that becomes possible to attack humans, then common sense MUST be used. I don’t think it is necessary to explain this?

Any way I believe in the power of seeds in our subconscious mind but I also believe in the power of the conscious and objective mind.

Just don’t believe me, do your own research and form your own conclusions. That’s what I am doing and I might change some of my conclusions later with the collection of new data. It happens to scientists all the time. So I cannot pretend or believe that I am absolutely right. This is what I have in mind right at this moment.

I really would like to be part of a certain beliefs system but I can only handle my own system and that is what I expect for the rest of my life. Just like me are many and if we all collectively get together and form ideas to help humanity then Life will be possible again. But our common goal should be to protect the most vulnerable while making ourselves stronger so we are all able to Thrive!
Some of the info from where I’m having my conclusions from are in the links below on my comments. I think that one drop of water it isn’t enough to calm your thirst but let’s put many drops together and see what happens!
Much success for all

 

[D69]

It is getting better and better with these interviews on valuetainment ->

 

[shellycheval]

I'm interested to see how TSA likes us covering our faces in the airports.

I wonder if there has been an increase in robberies and crime.

 

[Jones]

File this one under 'personal post' and 'need some advice' - or possibly; 'beware of Greeks bearing gifts'. I'm trying to navigate economically.

I lost my job farming, but have been collecting Canada's COVID benefit, putting some of the money towards growing medicinal herbs and preparing beds for planting food - for myself, my friends, and my neighbours here in the village where I live. I was prepared for a pretty frugal year.

Suddenly, yesterday, I was offered a job at a medical marijuana operation20 mins from where I live. I got a good feel from the employer. He seems like he has integrity and good values. He told me that their operation is organized on a cooperative basis, which I appreciate. A co-op is much more amenable to my values than a hierarchy. They are also interested in growing only outdoor plants - also a boon, because it would mean outside time farming, as opposed to being inside under fluorescent lights (blech), which the plants would also appreciate. He specifically said they are not into the 'forestry industry' model of growing marijuana - to just grow and cut. The impetus behind the project is to create high-paying, seasonal jobs for locals, and then the product will mostly go to local value-added producers. It's all-organic product, too. They are also in line with my aesthetics - no chain-link fencing, regular farm fencing and cedar posts. As a farmer on the co-op, I was told I would get 3% of the harvest sale, which is more money than I've ever made in my life, based on my calculations. So that could set me up for a long, long time, given my current frugality. It would only be 4-6 hrs per week, for 26 weeks.

The work is essentially what I know of farming - weed, spread manure, weed, prep beds, weed, plant, weed, harvest, weed.

So I'm listening to this guy and wondering what is up with reality. I'm slightly suspicious - I remember a close friend of mine saying, 'beware lucrative options.'

There are three catches.

The first is that I have committed time to growing in my village. Specifically, I have three friends to whom I've given my word. That actually means something to me - to not go back on my word. I'm pretty sure if I would not be able to keep up with my current (unpaid) obligations and also work at this marijuana farm. I'm not confident I could do both unless I start drinking about 2 litres of espresso a day, and say a fond farewell to my kidneys.

The second consideration is that the marijuana farm would only pay us out after the crop is sold. So I would have to live on a shoestring budget until the crop's sold. There is a proviso with that, however - a $25/hr rate is paid to each farm hand in case the crop doesn't sell, or in case we leave. So it would be a lot of effort put in with no money coming in until winter. And who knows - with an ice age perhaps upon us, maybe the whole crop freezes?

Finally - I don't use marijuana. I question the industry, the 'taking-centric' use of that plant, and how, in may cases, it seems to have gone from a great medicinal herb worthy of respect to a highly-bred tranquilizer designed to keep the masses in a frequency prison of 'take-out food and bad sitcoms'. What vibration would I be inviting into my life? Are there any C's sessions that touch on marijuana? Or C's sessions regarding what is called 'right livelihood'?

As I was thinking about all this, the Hopi material showed up - I recalled that they say that there are two deities of Masau (their primary Tutelary Spirit). One is the 'poor Masau', one is the 'wealthy Masau'. They teach that the wealthy Masau is an impostor who arrives to trick you and lead you into STS. So my thoughts were to decline - keep my word to my friends, stick to the Hopi teachings, listen to my intuition about mistrusting the marijuana industry (organic or not), and let my 'intentional suffering' be the joy of growing some herbs and corn in the village here.

I thought to post this to the network and see what y'all think. Thank you in advance. DCM bless you all.

Hi iamthatis, why don't you copy this post into a personal thread? That way this thread can be kept on topic and advice given to you is all in one place. You could use either the 'Swamp' or 'What's on your mind' forums.

 

[Beau]

I wonder if there has been an increase in robberies and crime.

In NYC violent crime has gone down, but there has been a rise in burglaries.

Violent crimes in NYC drop during coronavirus lockdown, but burglaries spike, with businesses hit hard

The city has seen a steady decline in violent crimes during the coronavirus crisis — but the lockdown has led to a spike in property crimes like commercial burglaries and car thefts, accordin…

www.nydailynews.com