JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
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Statistics
Just saw a photo out of the Eurozone.
People lined up outside a cinema.
1.5m apart.
Masks on.
Vaxx passports being checked by masked attendant.
…and the film ?
The Matrix 4 !!
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Must be Covid delta strain nostalgia social distancing. Omicron infections involve much higher concentrations of virus in exhaled air, suggesting an omicron social distance closer to 8 metre. So no cinema queue necessary.
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Given the fact that it can travel 20m in aerosolised form, all distancing is pointless like everything else, but the masses are asleep to it all.
That will all change in 2022. Guaranteed.
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‘Prikspijt’ or ‘Vaccination Regret’ Is Voted 2021 Word Of The Year In The Netherlands
From December 7 to December 20, 2021, Dutch can vote for the fifteen nominated words for the Word of the Year 2021. The fifteen nominated words were: booster shot, delta variant, breakthrough infection, influencer, sensitivity reader, cave syndrome, intimacy vacuum, meme share, pandemic, prick polarization, sorry, QR society, vaccination booster, wappie sound, and housing protest.
The word ‘prikspijt’ acquired 40,278 votes (82.2%) of the 49,000 votes cast on the Van Dale website. It is followed by housing protest (3.7%) and then wappie sound (3.6%).
Definition of ‘prikspijt’ : ‘a person regrets having been vaccinated against a particular contagious disease’.
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Pfizer vaccine exposed again https://balance10.blogspot.com/2021/12/pfizer-vaccine-exposed-again.html
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https://balance10.blogspot.com/2021/12/mcbeans-coverage-of-1918-spanish-flu.html
McBean’s coverage of the 1918 “Spanish Flu”
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That Dutch word of the year appears to have been heard from the head of the WHO, according to a report in Deutsche Welle World News:-
He should have added that the great majority of hospitalisations and deaths are among the unvaccinated in the same wealthy industrialised nations, most particularly amongst those with the highest vaccination rates.
Tedros also appears unaware of the irony of his subsequent comment that:-
30
Spain and Greece have just reintroduced outdoor masks (except on beaches and mountains) for reasons that elude me. So assuming cinemas are still open punters they should be 8M apart AND masked in queues that will stretch miles.
In the English Civil war The Cromwellians attacking Donnington castle in Berkshire were reckoned to stretch for 6 miles due to the thousands of pike men with VERY long pikes!
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Well over a month now in many countries, Omicron continues to have mild clinical presentation worldwide. It is the way out of all this nonsense IF the authorities recognise it.
Omicron? Bring it on.
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Going mad in NSW!
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NSW will show the rest of Australia that Omicron is not to be feared but welcomed. By the New Year, it will be indisputable
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Keep hoping! As another construction firm in Queensland goes into liquidation.
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Omicron scare working as intended it seems…..
00
“NSW will show the rest of Australia that Omicron is not to be feared but welcomed. By the New Year, it will be indisputable’
Looks as if NSW far from showing the rest of Australia that Omicron is not to be feared will be the laughing stock for the rest of Australia.
Obviously Premier Perrottet disagrees markedly with your eulogy by bringing mandatory masks, social distancing and mandatory QR which far from being over by Jan 1 2022 will be in force for a further 26 days after New Year’s day. Still he did manage a whole week before backflipping. What a lemon he looks.
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They may try but it is widespread enough that it is sure to be futile – even more futile than Victoria trying and failing to contain the Delta variant.
The case numbers will continue to rise without noticeable increases in hospitalisations/ICU admissions and cases will start to peak and fall off as the true herd immunity takes hold. It’s already happened in South Africa and there are indications that the UK is rolling over the peak as well.
Cheer up
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NSW has reported 5715 new Covid-19 cases and one new death on Thursday.
There are now 347 people in hospital with the virus, with 45 of those in intensive care.
Cases have increased by almost 2000 since Wednesday, when 3763 infections were reported.
There were 302 people in hospital on Wednesday, with 40 of those in ICU.
There were 160,471 tests conducted in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday.
Of the over 16 population, 93.5 are double-dose vaccinated while 94.9 have had at least one shot.
Pressure is mounting on Premier Dominic Perrottet to stop the spread of the virus.
A massive surge in cases fuelled by the Omicron variant has sent people scrambling ahead of Christmas in the hopes of testing negative before celebrating with family.
Long queues at testing clinics and sold out rapid antigen tests have caused grief in the lead up to the holidays, with many urging the NSW Government to bring back mandatory masks.
Mr Perrottet is refusing to bring back mask mandates
But he said bringing back venue check-ins would help contact tracers and allow people to know whether they had visited an exposure site.
Millions of rapid testing kits will also be made available at pharmacies, GP clinics, other sites and delivered directly to homes for free.
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Victoria has recorded 2005 new cases of Covid to 8pm and 10 deaths.
Dictator Dan of Victoriastan definitely leading Australia in Covid Death Stakes
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Yes, he is intent on bottling up Omicron so that the Delta variant persists as long as possible in Victoria.
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Well yes, how elese do you have an excuse for neverending restrictions on freedoms – Vic is now China-lite.
Speaking of our asian neighbours ( hint – the reason appears to be legal use of Ivermectin in Japan…but…shhh…dont wake up the so-called “scientists”…). The fact that no one will admit to it is quite bad. But lets call it out…..
https://tfiglobalnews.com/2021/11/08/japan-crushes-big-pharma-with-a-small-yet-effective-move/
“Japan has said a loud and clear no to big pharma companies’ vaccination campaigns, with a small yet remarkable move. Japan is going to dump repeated vaccination doses for a better and more durable cure- Ivermectin. It is an orally administered, anti-parasitic drug, which has emerged as a viable treatment option for COVID-19 infections.
“Ivermectin was discarded unceremoniously till now, but Japan has demonstrated that the drug can be used as a more effective cure and a permanent substitute for the Coronavirus vaccines produced by big pharmaceutical companies.
https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/while-omicron-explodes-around-the-world-covid-cases-in-japan-plummet-and-no-one-knows-why-20211223-p59jp7.html
“While Omicron explodes around the world, COVID cases in Japan plummet and no one knows why”
“Tokyo: As the Omicron variant surges around the world, Japan’s overall coronavirus cases and deaths have been plummeting. And no one seems to know exactly why.
“Call it the hunt for a potential “X factor,” such as genetics, that may explain the trend and inform how Japan could deal with the next wave. While the new highly transmissible Omicron variant has appeared in the country and experts suspect there is already some community spread, the overall transmission rate of the virus and coronavirus-related deaths in Japan have remained low.
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Also reported in https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/12/22/japan-covid-omicron-falling-cases
I am hoping that this is a gradual narrative shift in the media toward Ivermectin (and D3 and others)
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You almost certainly not find that which you persistently dont look for and refuse to see.
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The telling phrase is “with the virus”. If there were any significant number of hospitalisations with the Omicron variant, you can be sure that it would be blasted out all over the MSM. Delta is being rapidly displaced in NSW but there are still cases of it and almost all hospitalisations will be from this older variant.
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Analitik
telling phrase / definition is ‘no effective dose’ in the NSW weekly report.
The definition is:
Page 7 & 8 could easily have been split into Un-vaccinated, vaccinated within the last 21 days and not eligible for vaccination.
I wonder what is killing people with ‘Covid Symptoms’ after June 16 2021 when there had not been any deaths in those under 50 prior to then?
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The “no effective dose” cases provide survivorship bias to boost the apparent “efficacy” rates for the “fully vaccinated”.
From a letter by Dr Clare Craig, UK Diagnostic Pathologist
https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n783/rr
A great example of survivorship bias and the source for the letter above
https://boriquagato.substack.com/p/why-vaccinated-covid-deathshospitalizations
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Lasting several weeks, vaccination is like an ordeal its subjects have to pass through, to get to the “safer ground”.
The PTB want to distract us from noticing the victims of the “ordeal” … so you only look at the lower mortality rate of the survivors — the “fully vaccinated” — and think what a great job the vaccines are doing.
The UK’s ONS uses the term “more than 21 days after second dose” — in their eyes, to get “Fully Vaccinated” takes six weeks, at a minimum.
Six weeks is plenty of time for vaccine-victims to be culled from the herd having suffered negative effects of the vaccine; and consequently the herd is left with its more resilient members — the “survivors”. It’s their resultant lower mortality rate which compares favorably to an UNvaccinated group.
Some of the lower mortality rate might be due to vaccine-induced immunity, but some of it is also due to “survivorship bias”.
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If you think you are safe in the Bunker, having run there in peak physical condition, whatever you do, do not jump on the exercise bike!
That is the advice of this surfers cardiologist and there certainly has been a rash of ‘Vaccidents’ of late with bicycle crashes, collapsing sports stars, wrong bias on your lawn ball ( that last one would be serious as you have to shout the bar!)
So if you get a ‘Jab’ for Christmas, take it easy. I suggest basting your turkey with the ham skin as James Morrow aka ‘Prick with a Fork’ recommended rather than the vigorous basting normally required to stop the meat presenting as dry. I used to enjoy his blog when he and Missus Prick sampled various restaurants and food with the ‘little pricks’ in tow. I particularly liked his recommendation for the Egg Nogg served in the Bush White House.
I recommend a new game I have received. It is called ‘Trollo’ and is loosely based on ‘Cluedo’. You have to use the clues on the blog to work out:
Who the troll is representing, ie: Big Tech, Soros, Big Pharma, Weather Underground etc,
Which device they are using Ipad, Blackberry, Iphone , Samsung, etc
And which is their favourite weapon Adhominem, Straw Man, Guilt by Association, etc
So let us play. Who is your favourite troll working for and which device do you feel they are using to carry out their chosen assault on your post?
I think your troll works in Greg Hunt’s office uses a Microsoft Surface Pro and her favourite weapon is ‘Appeal to Authority’
Your turn!
Merry Christmas Analitik.
PS: The retired Pathologist down the road is still worried about Graphene Oxide in injections. He is convinced that if the heart is working hard the fragments of these sheets being one atom thick are like knives in you blood stream.
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I and my eyes are old.
The kids and grand kids set my phone up for me, and tell me that everything is on the phone. But I can’t recall ever negotiating the QR and passport rigmarole successfully, except when they accompanied me. I can’t see the small print.
They may be potentially useful, but mandating them will just make more people cranky and reduce respect for authority.
And if they ever do find it necesary to make it mandatory, do not chop and change the system.
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Never used the QR Code – just say record my details by pen
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And use cash whenever possible.
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Keep the shop receipts in date order on a clip & toss out the old ones after 2 weeks. They have a date stamp on them so you know where you were on which day at what time. I wave my non-internet mobile phone at the QR code thingy, but there’s no way I want the Govt to notice me.
It worked for me until they stopped telling us where the places of concern are, now it seems we can have 20 local people getting Covid and they have never gone anywhere. Anyway, not a problem with omicron running loose, the sooner we all get it the better.
For cash, the story of the Aussie bloke caught in the Philippines tornado is an eye-opener. No electricity so no mobile phones, no banking, no ATMs, no food and no water.. A stash of folding notes in the mattress is a life-saver in those times.
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We maintain an amount of SHTF cash, just in case. Collect small denomination notes as they turn up.
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The fool hath said in his heart there is no God.
G.K. Chesterton — ‘When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.’
Humanist by abolishing Christian God did not abolished god, they just substituted Christian God with another kind of god.
Man has taken the place of God.
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his King Canute moment perhaps?
10
And with the massive 45 alleged Covid cases in ICU in NSW, there are only about 2500 ICU beds available (including “surge” beds) to handle them, and up to 2000 ADF ICU-ready beds stored away. That’s about 1% of NSW and ADF ICU beds being occupied by people with Covid, but we do not know if the Covid positives are in ICU because of Covid or because they fell off ladders and tested Covid positive upon admission with cracked backs..
The masks will do nothing to stop the spread. QR check-ins will do nothing to stop the spread either, but merely exhaust anyone bothering to do contact tracing. FFS.
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Covid is taking off in Australia. Most likely it is Omicron
https://covidlive.com.au/states-and-territories
Vaccination status is probably irrelevant now.
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“Vaccination status is probably irrelevant now”
Medically irrelevant, but politically vital.
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Most likely ?.. is that a guess or what data are you referencing ?
To date in December , Au has confirmed 34,000+ New cases.
.. but only reported 500 Omicron cases in that total.
..And this latest surge in cases began before Omicron was confirmed here, or the restriction were relaxed.
Some other factors at play that everyone is missing.
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Chad, either it’s Omicron or else OAS and ADE are kicking in hard as the vaccine “efficacy” wears off.
When did you see the cases begin to surge? I didn’t see the numbers spiking until after the Omicron variant made it to our shores (which was pretty much the start of this month)
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Also, the Omicron outbreak has peaked in South Africa without mass deaths nor hospitalizations. Herd immunity is being established there through its infectiousness without the side effects of vaccines and almost certainly with long term immunity.
https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/yet-again-team-apocalypse-is-wrong
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https://xkcd.com/2557/
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Irrelevant!
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Irrelevant! Indeed
So are the comments praising Premier Perrottet who has backflipped beautifully. He should get a gold medal for brevity
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Yes, the backflip will look very foolish as the Omicron variant blasts through restrictions and vaccinations. Perrottet lost his nerve and it will cost him in the polls.
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Reported in the Daily Mail and the ABC: Qld Chief Health Officer – we’re all gonna get it. (I know, that’s what we said!):
Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said the virus would soon reach its endemic phase.
“The spread of this virus, which has now been this particular strain, Omicron, is extremely contagious,” Dr Gerrard said. “Not only is the spread of this virus inevitable, it is necessary. In order for us to go from the pandemic phase to an endemic phase, the virus has to be widespread.
“We all have to have immunity, you will all have to develop immunity and there’s two ways you can do that: by being vaccinated or getting infected.”
He said the mask and social distancing measures in place were not designed to rid the state of the virus.
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Anyone know why they are there? Power trip maybe.
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“you will all have to develop immunity and there’s two ways you can do that: by being vaccinated ”
Such blatant lies.
At absolute best it will let you live with a severe illness rather than dying, providing you catch covid within the window of effectiveness before the vaccination becomes useless.
The balance of risks from the side-effects has yet to be seen. A school in New York district has appointed a heart specialist doctor and all sports teams etc have to be up-to-date on courses for sudden cardiac arrest, so someone is taking it seriously.
“One such effort has to do with new regulations regarding Sudden Cardiac Arrest. All districts are now required to ensure that nurses and coaches can address the treatment and monitoring of students who exhibit signs and symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest. In addition, districts are required to make sure that all staff are aware of the warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest and what to do if a person experiences sudden cardiac arrest. Please see the attached information on Sudden Cardiac Arrest.”
https://healthimpactnews.com/2021/school-district-in-new-york-sends-out-email-warning-parents-of-sudden-cardiac-arrest-in-students-grades-k-12/
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Sadly they have spent the last two years panicing everyone about cases, cases, cases. The Health Depts and the MSM have been sowing Omicron fear. Now they wonder why people panic about cases going up.
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The title says it all
https://gatesofvienna.net/2021/12/austria-is-recruiting-for-the-corona-stasi/
Austria will be paying people to collect fines from the unvaccinated. A bit of a worrying story.
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“Austrian law allows firearm possession on shall-issue basis with certain classes of shotguns and rifles available without permit. With approximately 30 civilian firearms per 100 people, Austria is the 14th most armed country in the world.”….
“Category C includes repeating, revolving and break-action rifles, break-action shotguns and projectile firing electroshock weapons….Any non-prohibited Austrian citizen over 18 can buy firearms from categories C without permit after three-day background check. They need to be registered six weeks after acquisition. Law requires owner to provide good reason during registration. Good reasons according to law are: self-defense at home, hunting, sport shooting and collection.[3] There is no limit on number of category C weapons that one can possess. The three-day background check is not needed when buying from private or when the buyer has a firearms license or hunting license.”
We shall await further developments.
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” Good reasons according to law are: self-defense at home, ”
WoW!! That will get your license removed immediately in NZ or Oz!! You don’t dare mention those words at all!
I expect all un-vaxxed in Austria will be declared prohibited persons, something I can see happening down under too. We will be aligned with terrorists and far-right extremists, and definitely not allowed weapons.
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Thanks for the briefing but its not entirely clear what you are trying to say. The presence of firearms in itself doesnt say much. Doesnt seem to sway Swiss politics much.
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It looks hopeful that omicron will be milder than first thought
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10328541/Omicron-Covid-MILDER-says-Professor-Lockdown-real-world-study-severity.html
Cases in th UK breach 100,000 for the first time but it had been forecast they would be around 1 million By this time. Hospitalisatioms and deaths are on a slight decline. Wales and Scotland have locked down, putting pressure on Boris who, correctly, is still waiting for evidence that the new variant is as devastating as had been claimed
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Milder than first thought by panicky governments and health departments.
Anyone who paid attention to South Africa knew it was the variant we have been waiting for since the start of this month.
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You forgot to mention the epidemiologists and their modelling firms who pretend to be providing essential health advice in a crisis they have driven.
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Sorry, you are correct – the “institutes” providing the modelling for government decisions are just as complicit in drawing out this “emergency”
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I don’t see it that way, there are valid (and very obvious) reasons to look before leaping with new pandemic virus variants.
You’re being to blasé about this, assuming too much, which is at least as problematic, imo.
If you are right, there’s no problem with waiting to see if you are, right?
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The “institutes” weren’t providing anything like the advice to resist panic and employ the protocols that have been established already.
Their advice was basically …….there’s a bogey man under the bed …… don’t turn on the light, instead hide under the covers and hope it goes away….
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Over a month in several countries with no strange deviations from mild clinical presentations is good enough to see that the Omicron variant is not a general health risk worth lockdowns, quarantines, masking (not that this ever did anything), social distancing, travel restrictions and worst of all experimental vaccinations, particularly for kids.
The are of plenty problems with waiting to see if I’m right
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“The are of plenty problems with waiting to see if I’m right”
Looks as if Premier Perrottet disagrees with you. But as you say there’s a month, well a bit more, to go thanks to his backflip to test your predictions
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It’s too late. Omicron has escaped out into the general population in NSW and trying to contain it is futile – even more futile than Victoria trying and failing to contain the Delta variant.
The case numbers will continue to rise without noticable increases in hospitalisations/ICU admissions and cases will start to peak and fall off as the true herd immunity takes hold. It’s already happened in South Africa and there are indications that the UK is rolling over the peak as well.
Cheer up
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Ian’s biggest worry should be risk of electrocution via his keyboard. He appears to have some sort of obsession with the NSW premier, leading to excessive salivation whilst typing.
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You also have to equate how far elections are away in each jurisdiction and how important it is to be seen to be “doing something” or gather virtue signalling points.
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In Germany and certainely elsewhere they turn the wheel, knowing, that vaxxes doesn’t work against Omicron, or only with minimal success, but cry out, let you vaxx, get the booster, the booster they know nothing about it’s efficiency in general and in special against Omicron. What’s coming up isn’t a 5th wave but a wall. The fearspreading increases to unknown hights.
Omicron isn’t less less deadly, in GB one person diesd with Ommicron is told.
No, no /sarc tag, that’s reality here.
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In the past 7 days, ten (10) NZers have died on the roads – holiday carnage, the silly season has begun – while not one soul has perished from Omnicon* though MIQ is supposedly chocka with ‘O-positive’ arrivals and returnees.
Omni, all; con, conjob.
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Two studies show fall in hospitalisation with Omicron
New data from Scotland and South Africa suggest people infected with the Omicron variant of coronavirus are at markedly lower risk of hospitalisation than those who contracted earlier versions of the virus, promising signs that vaccines remain effective at warding off severe illness with the fast-spreading strain.
The findings begin to fill in unknowns around the severity of the disease caused by Omicron, a major variable critical to health authorities around the world as they gauge how to react to the new variant, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Scientists are still unsure how the positive findings around hospitalisations will stack up against another major variable: Omicron’s much increased transmissibility. Both variables are likely to change depending on local conditions, such as the proportion of the population that has been vaccinated against Covid-19.
“This is a qualified good news story,” said Jim McMenamin, incident director for Covid-19 at Public Health Scotland, and one of the authors of the Scottish study, at a briefing. “It’s important we don’t get ahead of ourselves. A smaller proportion of a much greater number of cases can still mean a substantial number of people that might experience severe Covid infections that could lead to hospitalisation.”
The University of Edinburgh study, drawing on the health records of 5.4 million people in Scotland, found the risk of hospitalisation with Covid-19 was two-thirds lower with Omicron than with Delta. The new variant became dominant in Scotland last week.
A separate study published online by researchers at South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases similarly found people infected with Omicron were 70% to 80% less likely to need hospital treatment than people infected with earlier variants, including Delta.
“In South Africa, this is the epidemiology. Omicron is behaving in a way that is less severe,” Professor Cheryl Cohen, who heads the institute’s center for respiratory diseases and meningitis, told reporters on a conference call. The risk of severe complications in those who were admitted to hospital, such as needing oxygen or intensive care, was also reduced with Omicron compared with other variants, the researchers in South Africa said.
These new studies, which haven’t yet been peer-reviewed, shed light on the severity of illness Omicron causes.
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The data continues to support the assertion that Omicron is significantly less dangerous than the covid Delta variation.
It is sad that the Pfizer vaccine test data indicates that the vaccine is significantly more dangerous than the public believe.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/covid-testing-rules-spark-christmas-travel-chaos-australia-cases-hit-records-2021-12-23/
Despite the spike in cases, hospitalisations remain far lower than during the Delta wave, with about 800 people in hospital out of nearly 44,000 active cases.
But only 37 of those are Omicron cases, the health department said in an emailed response. Only one case is in intensive care and no deaths have been reported from the Omicron variant.
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“It looks hopeful that omicron will be milder than first thought’
Has the survivability for a normal healthy person risen beyond the 99.7% for the original virus all the way to 99.9%
If it’s “less deadly” than the original then that must be the case.
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It was 99.7% for all persons across all age groups across all levels of health for those who got tested.
The survivability of being infected with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 would be in excess of 99.9%
80
According to the latest EU YAP fest high energy prices are here to stay and are feeding inflation in the EU and around the globe.
Of course before this DELIBERATELY caused so called ENERGY CRISIS good old capitalism ( SUPPLY and DEMAND) would’ve rushed to fill the higher energy demand and prices would’ve dropped, until the next hiccup in the system.
But the clueless idiots in the EU and the USA NOW want a command economy where their govts run everything.
What could possibly GO WRONG??? OH and if ENERGY prices do cost 387 billion $ MORE in 2022 there’ll be marching in the streets in a very BIG way across the EU and USA or YELLOW VESTS everywhere.
And just in time for the lead up to the mid term elections for the donkey DEMs.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/12/22/eu-facing-new-energy-crisis-next-year/
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Hobbling the finance to coal mining and shipping infrastructure is the way ahead. EU is imposing their crazy agenda on Australian banks. There will need to be a drastic situation in Europe before the implausibility of weather dependent power generation is sheeted home to the EU fanatics.
There could be an opportunity for a coal bank that funds coal mining and transport. Or just leave China and India doing what they are already doing. They will eventually control the show because no other country will have the resources to make stuff.
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Which would be racial and national prejudice … by said EU fanatics.
And then again, prejudice against Australia.
So much for their ethics and high-handed ways.
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Can someone (Rick ?) explain the relationship (if any) between the Wholesale electricity price,..which constantly varies and frequently drops into negative ….and the retail price that our domestic supplies are based on .
Who sets/ calculates the retail “value”of the energy ( ignoring the supply/ service /connection , etc charges that the retailers add) ..as passed on to us customers. ?
00
Retailers are directly billed for about 50% of the FCAS charges, which continue to increase as more intermittent generation gets added to the grid. Retailers also have to pay for the LGCs and STCs that they surrender in proportion to the electricity sold in accordance with the current RET requirement – without checking, about 20% of sales would need to be matched with LGC or STC running around $35/MWh. .
The latest AEMO report shows how prices are moving in the wholesale area but remember that FCAS costs are charged downstream of the wholesale price:
https://aemo.com.au/-/media/files/major-publications/qed/2021/q3-report.pdf?la=en&hash=F7831B51290237F9033B5D22E52EF4C1
Page 30 has the FCAS component. Some of these costs are levied on the intermittent generators and that is a factor they account for in rebidding and economic curtailment. South Australia also has a significant cost of directions but not certain how that gets split up or if the retailers carry the lot.
I was not aware that some VRE curtailment caused by system issues get compensation. No doubt retailers pick up the tab for that.
Not sure how AEMO’s fee is levied but it is rising much faster than general inflation – still a small component. Controlling the NEM is no longer trivial. Every day is like a storm day as the grid gets ever closer to instability.
Transmission and distribution charges are typically more than the wholesale price but I cannot find a recent break-up of the retail components. South Australians will be picking up the tab for the synchronous condensers now. Supposedly offset by a reduction in directions to gas plants – for sure! Then there is all the lines going in so intermittency can be shipped in big volumes across the country. Consumers will be paying for all this new transmission hardware.
And of course retailers are in the business to make a profit. plus there is now the Retailer Reliability Obligation in place. Do not know if that has flowed through to bills yet.
Right now, it is not easy for generators to make money. It should not be long before another coal plant falls over financially. That will give other generators a reprieve for a while but will hit consumers.
As always, I am interested to know if anyone has actually managed a reduction in their electricity price? With all the savings that have been mooted over the last 3 years, we should be getting paid to consume electricity.
50
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
310
Vaccine for ALL coronaviruses a possibility.
This news, announced yesterday, looks important – but no mention that I can see in today’s ‘The Australian’.
“US Army Creates Single Vaccine Against All COVID & SARS Variants, Researchers Say
Within weeks, Walter Reed researchers expect to announce that human trials show success against Omicron—and even future strains.”
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2021/12/us-army-creates-single-vaccine-effective-against-all-covid-sars-variants/360089/
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I read that yesterday and chuckled at
The vaccine’s human trials took longer than expected, he said, because the lab needed to test the vaccine on subjects who had neither been vaccinated nor previously infected with COVID.
Increasing vaccination rates and the rapid spread of the Delta and Omicron variants made that difficult.
“With Omicron, there’s no way really to escape this virus. You’re not going to be able to avoid it. So I think pretty soon either the whole world will be vaccinated or have been infected,” Modjarrad said.
The next step is seeing how the new pan-coronavirus vaccine interacts with people who were previously vaccinated or previously sick. Walter Reed is working with a yet-to-be-named industry partner for that wider rollout.
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So, the US Army, which currently believes that the greatest threat to world peace comes from “climate change”, has developed a new “vaccine”.
No thanks.
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Coming soon from the U.S. Army: A COVID super-vaccine?
Unlike existing vaccines, Walter Reed’s SpFN uses a soccer ball-shaped protein with 24 faces for its vaccine, which allows scientists to attach the spikes of multiple coronavirus strains on different faces of the protein.
The mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were designed to target the spike protein of the original Wuhan virus, a narrow rapid solution to an urgent problem. The catch was that it meant our immune systems might struggle to recognize the spike on a heavily mutated strain like Omicron. Researchers at Walter Reed played the long game, focusing instead on a vaccine that would train the immune system to recognize many different types of spikes. Last week they published their early findings: “Immunogenicity and challenge studies in mice, hamsters, and nonhuman primates following vaccination with SpFN+ALFQ showed robust antibody responses to spike protein and protection against challenge with SARS-related Coronavirus 2, Isolate USA-WA1/2020 and B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 virus variants.”
SpFN isn’t the only technique being used to try to produce a universal COVID vaccine, though. Instead of including an array of different spikes in their vaccine to generate immunity, other researchers are trying to teach the immune system to recognize more of the virus besides the spike protein. That way, if a new variant comes along with a drastically mutated spike, the vaccinated might still detect it and fend it off.
Oxford-based biotech start-up Baseimmune has developed an algorithm-based system capable of creating antigens containing all the parts of the pathogen. The technology could help researchers to develop the next generation of universal vaccines that protect against future variants that could evolve in several major diseases…
Baseimmune’s vaccine design algorithm draws on genomic, epidemiological, immunological, clinical and evolutionary data to create blueprints for antigens capable of responding to a particular pathogen in its current form as well as likely variants that may arise in the future.
Back in January 2020, the Baseimmune team fed the small amount of existing data about SARS-CoV-2 into their algorithm, which correctly predicted major variants such as Alpha and Delta that would not emerge for another year.
30
This is why back in 2020 when vaccines were first mooted, the wise people said that a proper vaccine solution for COVID would take years. This is based on all previous vaccine development, particularly the sterilising vaccines. Some of those took decades. The vaccines we have been supplied with so far are “good” but not excellent. Some would also say their safety profile is “good” but not excellent.
09
success against future strains? wow they are good aint they?
20
Not only great news, but so ironic. An American Army military virus lab invents a vaccine to combat a military virus invented in a French built virus lab operated by the Chinese Military and funded in part by Americans. The talk is of space being the new war zone. Given the blatant and denied use of this virus to undermine the world, costing at least 5 million lives, the war is already being waged with mass civilian casualties.
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In response to comment #7 by Wirebird. Lost my place following the link.
40
And likely initially spread via the Military World Games
40
That was the plan. Blame the US military.
30
Matthew Benns: Why James Bond should not drive an electric car
The world is racing to the wrong conclusions with electric vehicles and our government is going along for the ride
Yes, the Bond producers are answering their critics and moving with the times so it seems only natural the fourth Aston Martin is the new Valhalla, a mid-engined hybrid concept car.
The Valhalla only makes a cameo appearance. It has a V8 petrol engine and an electric powertrain, which might explain its short appearance in the movie because in electric vehicle only mode it has a range of, wait for it, 15 kilometres.
Using the Valhalla in electric mode rather than the old DB5 in the opening car chase would have resulted in Bond having to stop halfway through to confront the henchmen from Spectre
“Now look here Blofeld, can you tell your thugs to wait for half an hour while I charge my car?” It’s a long movie so an intermission for Bond to charge his electric Aston might have been welcomed by those with weaker bladders.
This of course is the problem with electric cars, not just in high speed spy movies, but also in enormous Australia where people need to travel big distances. The they take a yawn inducing time to charge.
Nevertheless Prime Minister Scott Morrison has thrown his government’s weight behind the electric vehicle industry. A move that has been welcomed unthinkingly by many.
There are problems with electric vehicles and the blind rush to adopt them may not be the best solution. By a long shot.
Firstly they use lithium batteries, a lot of them. Lithium is dirty to mine and, according to one researcher, making them in a Chinese factory run on coal-fired electricity can produce up to a quarter of the emissions a petrol car will produce in its entire lifetime.
Tiny batteries in petrol powered cars can be largely recycled whereas lithium batteries get dumped in landfill and leach toxins into the soil.
Then of course there is charging them. Plugging them into a charging station means you get electricity from the grid which is still coal powered – effectively making your clean electric vehicle a steam engine.
A survey of 1000 auto executives four years ago found that most of them believed hydrogen technology would outperform electric vehicles. Tesla boss Elon Musk dismissed that at the time, but then he would, wouldn’t he.
The concern is that the world is jumping too quickly to the wrong conclusion and taking our Prime Minister with it. Back in the old days there was competing technology for video recorders – VHS won but Beta was a better product.
Hydrogen vehicles are cleaner than electric vehicles and have a greater range but are 10 years behind the electric vehicle market.
A couple of years ago I was driven to an interview in Atlanta, Georgia, by a cheery man wearing a Hawaiian shirt in a V8 Ford Mustang who was happy to give his verdict on electric vehicles.
“Boy, if I wanted to accelerate fast in a metal box powered by an electric motor I would get in a lift,” he said.
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It’s like vaccines – the product with the greatest profit margin ( and protection ) will win out. That’s why the off patent early anti virals have been ostracised. So, if the car companies make more money from EV it will win over Hydrogen. Cynics will say the only reason the high end car makers sell EV’s is because that then allows them to sell high performance V8’s. If I hear a V8 burble on the main streets of Melbourne these days i’ts usually a BMW, Audi or Merc.
90
Audi say they will be all electric by 2026. I find that very hard to believe. Maybe more virtue signalling executives. However you can sell cars for twice the price if they are battery, so why not?
Not many electric cars at Bathurst though. Utterly useless in Australia’s premier road race.
70
And I was amused with Harley Davidson’s new $A50,000 electric motor bike. 228km range claimed, with the proviso that at even freeway speeds the range is 100km/62.1 miles. So if you do not drive far or fast, it will last long enough to get home. Maybe. And only 12.5 hours to recharge at home.
90
Imo, the anti-lithium battery argument is weak and next to useless within such anti-EV articles.
Everything is using lithium batteries now. Our entire civilization is based on lithium batteries being constantly supplied, constantly charged, and constantly cleanly disposed of and eventually fully recycled, where possible.
So this type of objection is not a winning part of an argument against electric vehicles. Personally I think hybrids represent a much better argument against EVs and results in 20 to 25% reductions in hydrocarbon consumption. Which despite the CO2 BS, is still a good thing.
Personally I don’t think there is any chance in hell of Australia jumping from ICE engines, to EVs, without at least another 20 to 30 years of hybrids in between, so what a politicians says about it, before an election, is pure nonsense.
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You need to understand that both “Hydrogen “ and “Hybrid” cars are also “EVs”.
In as much as they both utilise electric drive motors, inverters, and BATTERIES.!
But in addition, they also contain extra equipment ..( hydrogen tanks, Fuel cell, control systems in the case of the H2Car…..and an ICE motor and drive train, in the case of the Hybrid)
Those all add cost and complexity over a pure BEV. ..though with some offset for cost and weight depending on battery size.
I agree that for Australia , the best compromise is a PHEV. ( Plug In Hybrid EV) with a battery range of 50-100km.
For City commuting , the normal small 200+ km range EV (Leaf, Golf, Kona, etc) is likely ideal.
But , none of these options will become mainstream until cost parity with ICEs is realised.
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I don’t disagree, and am of course well aware that Hybrids contain batteries and electric engines plus an ice engine generator, driven them a lot. But scale will reduce price drastically when ICE is not the dominant propulsion of Australian cars.
The main problem I see is if you drive through anything over knee deep water the whole thing shorts-out and is thousands of dollars in the direction of kaput.
Agree a rechargeable hybrid is the best compromise of our context, and Hybrid alone for long-distance.
Not sure which will be cheaper and more viable for the grid though, I’m guessing Hybrid alone wins.
21
yeah …
20
we have only scratched the surface with hybrids
they are very complex and very expensive to repair. The claimed full savings can evaporate in short order with a single repair. Simple things like braking systems become a complex nest of interacting pumps and electronics.
If you are in leasing world and hand them back every 3 or 4 years then not your problem, otherwise best of luck
41
That will be a learning the hard way process, as it always is, it will also be a very slow process, no matter what Politicians glibly mandate. You’re also forgetting that our overseers do not give a damn about your maintainence costs, just a theoretical hand-waving reduction in carbon poison, no matter how fruitless or delusional, in practice.
20
forgetting? you are kidding right? they never have and never will, its not a real topic.
20
Vaclav Smil:
there were some 250 million SUVs on the road in 2020. That’s several times more than enough to wipe out any decarbonization gains that came from the 10-million-odd electric cars. In recent years, SUVs have been the second highest cause of rising carbon-dioxide emissions, behind elec- tricity generation and ahead of heavy industry, trucking, and aviation. If this trend continues, the additional SUVs on the road by 2040 could offset the carbon savings from more than 100 million electric vehicles.
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All this talk is of ’emissions’ as if they pile up. CO2 is trivial and human output is estimated at 4% of natural output. So why should human CO2 pile up when natural CO2 is in equilibrium? That has never been explained.
I guess the implied argument is that existing CO2 is in equilibrium and anything new is going to pile up. Why?
You wonder whether the people who push this silly idea are scientists at all? That is not equilibrium works. Any increase is rapidly reduced to the equilibrium position.
The point of the talk about emissions is to avoid any talk about CO2 itself and the graph of CO2 vs time shows absolutely no input from humans. In fact the only variation you can see is the annual flux as the seasons change, showing that whatever humans do is of no consequence compared with the natural variations.
So they talk about ’emissions’ and ‘carbon neutrality’ which are really fake ideas given that the planet ignores us entirely.
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And no one points out another aspect of CO2. NASA and the CSIRO agree that the 50% increase in CO2 in 150 years has increased green cover of the planet substantially. In fact it is looking directly proportional to CO2! But they have avoided going the next step.
Basically plants need only three things. Sunlight, CO2 and H2O. The greening indicates that there is a shortage of CO2 and this limits plant growth as does sunshine and water. So not only is increased CO2 a very good thing in a world of 7 billion people (1 billion when this started) there is a startling corollary.
The massive increase in green things has not reduced CO2 at all. So what’s the point in growing more trees? In carbon neutrality?
The ‘biosphere’ obviously has no part in setting CO2 levels. Rather CO2 utterly controls the amount of green cover and conversely the amount of green cover does not control CO2. Whatever process controls CO2 levels, the biosphere is not part of the process. Now consider that biosphere CO2 ouput is 25x bigger than all human output. Why would anyone propose that we humans control CO2 levels?
This also confirms that the CO2 levels are produced by the principles of physical chemistry like Henry’s Law. Basically 98% of all highly soluble CO2 is in the vast oceans and a slight warming of the oceans means aerial CO2 increases. And the whole of the hungry biosphere has no impact at all on CO2 levels.
So I would love to know who came up with the idea of carbon neutrality? It’s nonsense.
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Let’s do this quantitatively.
From the CSIRO “based on satellite observations, CSIRO, in collaboration with the Australian National University (ANU), found that this CO2 fertilisation correlated with an 11 per cent increase in foliage cover from 1982-2010 across parts of the arid areas studied in Australia, North America, the Middle East and Africa, according to CSIRO research scientist, Dr Randall Donohue.”
And what was the increase in CO2 in that time? 340 to 390ppm or 50ppm in 340, 15%.
So to blind Freddy, the Greening of the planet as measured by satellite is very close to the increase in CO2. This is no coincidence. Thus world vegetation cover is directly proportional to CO2. According to the IPCC and every fan of man made CO2, this should not be happening. Not only does CO2 not go down with massively increased vegetation, it goes up! The biosphere does not control CO2, CO2 controls the biosphere. The entire CO2 story is wrong. All those cute graphs showing inputs and outputs of CO2.
Rather CO2 is in perfect balance. But the biosphere is irrelevant. So are the tiny outputs from fossil fuel, concrete, steel making, cars, flying, agriculture.
The unjustified assumption that the overwhelming quantity of CO2 in the ocean (called the ‘deep’ ocean to make it seem out of reach) is not involved in setting CO2 in the air is completely wrong. Any ocean geologist or oil explorer will tell you that. CO2 rises from the bottom of the ocean.
If CO2 was controlled by the biosphere, increased vegetation would reduce world CO2. The exact reverse is true. Satellite surveys show the assumptions of the pushers of imbalance, of biosphere affected CO2 and then of tiny man made CO2 build up are completely wrong. And in 1980 the temperature of the planet as measured by satellites was exactly the same as this year, 2021. It’s all made up nonsense. ‘The Science’ has been proven utterly wrong. Again.
30
The residence time of the most powerful “greenhouse gas (solid and liquid)” in the atmosphere averages a week. 522,000,000,000,000 tonnes of it gets turned over every year. Roughly 50,000,000,000,000 tonnes of it gets transported from oceans to land every year to transfer heat from oceans to land.
31
The only half life I can find in the IPCC is the one on which they base all their ‘greenhouse gas’ ratings. Officially the time for only half the CO2 to enter the water is 80 years. No evidence. Absolute unadulterated rubbish. It does not make any sense. Basically they are saying CO2 is insoluble, only half is absorbed in 80 years! And the moon is made of blue cheese, if NASA or Scientific American or Lancet says so. Try and tell the makers of bread, cheese, soda water, champagne, lemonade that CO2 is insoluble!
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It took 8 months for 80% of the CO2 produced by last years bush fires to be taken up by phytoplankton in the Pacific and Southern Oceans.
And …. you forgot beer.
60
Yes, I left off beer. I know I repeat myself but I cannot believe a world which drinks beer could possibly believe CO2 was insoluble. Or that warming beer makes it better and it gets fizzier the warmer it gets (Ocean acidification). No part of man made CO2 passes the pub test
and without man made CO2, why are world governments panicking as if we control the planet?
Our CO2 output is insignificant and half is gone back in the oceans every 7 years. So the 1958 figure of 2.3% man made CO2 is likely reasonably close today.
It is also nonsense to start to ‘sequester’ CO2 at incredible expense and throw away half the energy of fossil fuels because we are afraid of CO2.
50
I suspect that SUV statement relative to other user groups is a nonsense.
The term SUV has become pretty useless to describe a vehicle , pretty much anything is an SUV of some scale or type these days. Previously you could have a hatch, a station wagon , a people mover and now you have some flavour of SUV
20
Hostile weather in South America.
https://climateimpactcompany.com/south-america-week-2-4-outlook-2/
They also use the word ‘anomalous’ to explain the situation and I’m thinking jet stream behaviour.
30
Surely all but a few are realizing the we are reaching peak lunacy.
I predict when history looks back on this period, the numbers will be shown to have been greatly exaggerated, if not outright fabricated, for political manipulation and corporate grift.
The vaxxing of children will regarded as a crime against humanity.
A new term will emerge for ‘progressive’ tyrants.
As long as these neo tyrants fail and are unable to get their tech and media co-conspirators to alter history and erase their crimes.
This will be added to the chapters on witch burnings, Tulip mania, the Cultural Revolution … and Fauci will be
remembered alongside Cotton Mather.
I suspect crimes we don’t yet know the full extent of.
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One Tony Hellers recent videos seemed to support peak lunacy
It was a newsreader in Vermont USA talking about local hospital ERs getting “overwhelmed” (there it is again) following the release of rapid antigen tests. Asymptomatic people where presenting at ERs simply because they tested +ve. What they expected to be dine about there lack of symptoms remains unclear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcL3MZxxuFM
00
Lake George is full again.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/the-onceinageneration-sight-of-lake-george-brimming-with-water/535780
Its worth noting that Murray Cod was abundant in the lake from 1850s to 1890s, but the Federation drought put an end to that.
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I was the works engineer with the department of main roads based at goulburn in 1975,76 and part of 77 I was responsible for maintaing part of the Hume highway and all of the federal highway during this time
I recall lake george which ran alongside the highway was very full and in parts was within 50 metres of the highway
This was well before the freeway was constructed
The lake has numerous creeks running into it and therefore relies on evaporation to control the lake level.
When designing the freeway, a lot of investigation was carried out on setting the levels of the road as all the fill had to be imported (in roadworks, you try to get a balanced cut/fill)
After I left in 1977 the prevaing weather conditions were prevaing dry and lake became almost totally dry until last couple of years as the current wet weather cycle has nearly refilled it
I haven’t seen the current extent. The Collector end is the shallowest part of the lake and if this is full then it will indicate the current recovery from the drought
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Early explorers were told by the original inhabitants that the water wasn’t fit for drinking, too saline.
40
mmmm and Melbourne water storages are 90.1% full (with the help of the desal plant of course if you believe Melbourne Waters propaganda)
Artic ice is above the long term median, the GBR is as big as ever, we have just had a record grain harvest and Polar Bears and Adelie Penguins abound.
Merry Christmas Mr Flannery.
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TIME TRAVEL to 1530 and GENEVA.
“When the bubonic plague struck Geneva in 1530, everything was ready. They even opened a whole hospital for the plague victims. With doctors, paramedics and nurses. The traders contributed, the
magistrate gave grants every month. The patients always gave money, and if one of them died alone, all the goods went to the hospital.
But then a disaster happened: the plague was dying out, while the subsidies depended on the number of patients. There was no question of right and wrong for the Geneva hospital staff in 1530.
If the plague produces money, then the plague is good. And then the doctors got organized.
At first, they just poisoned patients to raise the mortality statistics, but they quickly realized that the statistics didn’t have to be just about mortality, but about mortality from plague. So they began to cut the boils from the bodies of the dead, dry them, grind them in a mortar and give them to other patients as medicine. Then they started dusting clothes, handkerchiefs and garters. But somehow the plague continued to abate. Apparently, the dried buboes didn’t work well. Doctors went into town and spread bubonic powder on door handles at night, selecting those homes where they could then profit. As an eyewitness wrote of these events, “this remained hidden for some time, but the devil is more concerned with increasing the number of sins than with hiding them.”
In short, one of the doctors became so impudent and lazy that he decided not to wander the city at night, but simply threw a bundle of dust into the crowd during the day. The stench rose to the sky and one of the girls, who by a lucky chance had recently come out of that hospital, discovered what that smell was.
The doctor was tied up and placed in the good hands of competent “craftsmen.” They tried to get as much information from him as possible. However, the execution lasted several days. The ingenious hippocrats were tied to poles on wagons and carried around the city. At each intersection the executioners used red-hot tongs to tear off pieces of meat. They were then taken to the public
square, beheaded and quartered, and the pieces were taken to all the districts of Geneva.
The only exception was the hospital director’s son, who did not take part in the trial but blurted out that he knew how to make potions and how to prepare the powder without fear of contamination.
He was simply beheaded “to prevent the spread of evil”.
– François Bonivard, Chronicles of Geneva, second volume, pages 395 – 402
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Nothing seems to have changed
Empower the medical profession and some will take advantage and lie, embellish or exaggerate to keep themselves in the headlines and keep the power and profit coming in.
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…Are we in an abusive relationship with our own government?
Considering the COVID Rules, Vaccine Mandates and Censorship of Opinion.
80
I’m impressed that Geneva had paramedics in 1530.
50
paramedic
noun [ C ]
UK /ˌpær.əˈmed.ɪk/ US /ˌper.əˈmed.ɪk/
a person who is trained to do medical work, especially in an emergency, but who is not a doctor or nurse
http://www.emergencymedicalparamedic.com/history-of-paramedics/
The concept of paramedics has been around since the early days of Roman conquest, in which the older and less physically capable warriors were used intermittently to remove wounded soldiers. The concept of stretcher barers in Ambulance Paramedic’s more basic form has been documented as early as the 16th century in England.
30
Wow! As Solomon said “… there is nothing new under the sun….”.
40
More admitted Pfizer CoVid vaccine adverse reactions released by FDA including 1223 deaths
https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/fda-releases-more-data-adverse-reactions-pfizer-vaccine
The actual released report
https://www.scribd.com/document/543857539
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Food deprivation in Sri Lanka because of government ineptitude, far too woke for no reason.
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/11/17/as-food-and-energy-prices-soar-sri-lankans-go-without
40
Israel now preparing to issue 4th dose to over 60s..
Eurozone vaxx passports to expire after 9 months..
Omicron cases in South Africa plummet (well that was quick! Could just be wave 1 though)..
On to more interesting things like evolution:
https://phys.org/news/2021-12-exquisitely-embryo-fossilized-dinosaur-egg.html?fbclid=IwAR2NX82fuBdzFm98dyIFjuyf9VQGQTqP4puH6zzKQjr-r1NW9yyhW-Lwbm0
On to AI:
Pity. I was sort of hoping for AI to take over 😈
https://singularityhub.com/2021/12/19/oxford-invited-an-ai-to-debate-its-own-ethics-what-it-said-was-startling/?fbclid=IwAR1cxX9HyU3O5jwFy_2Jm0Ww-FkigXyaIR_US-09OTq6dg8jJ787nnZ9Jj4
30
I had the dubious pleasure of contacting Australian Govt Services via phone recently, several times in fact, and a ‘learning-machine Ai’ with voice synthesis handles all incoming calls, and call routing, etc. I can tell you that humanity has nothing to fear from Ai taking over the planet, any time soon, as that thing is dumber and more useless than a bag of door-knobs.
And also more officious, time-wasting and inefficient than any human govt agent ever was.
90
Stated by someone who has never had the priveledge of dealing with Telstra. I once had a call to a Pillipines call centre that went across three shifts – about 10 hours. It took another decade to actually get the problem finally sorted as I gradually worked my way through the ranks. We made the mistake of accepting an offer for a lower cost service that turned out not to be a lower cost service. Every month for about 6 years I had to ring up and get them to remove an add-on charge for a service that we did not use. Every month it went up the line to a “manager” who promised to get it sorted but inevetibaly failed until I got onto someone in Adelaide that ran it to ground.
Citilink was also low on customer service in their early days. In one billing issue, I ended up sending a copy of an email they sent me to my bank that stated that the failure of a transfer must have been my banks fault as Citilink’s billing system was faultless. I ended up getting a written apology from Citilink , waiver of a so-called fine that they had no right to impose and $25 worth of use on Citilink. About three years later it turned out that thousands of people had paid the “fine” and Citilink had to reimburse them.
30
Commiserate, but I have actually dealt with a Telstra, a QLD State Manager in fact … she told me about Telstra’s wonderful sponsorship of sporting teams and other vital stuff … I just wanted my effing business phone working after they’d completely stuffed it up and I got no business calls to my phone at all.
40
The demise of previously intellectually capable countries is alarming
Israel seem to be vaccine deranged, Germany seem to be Climate deranged, the UK seems to have both afflictions and the great Universities in the US now seem to produce useless graduates.
In our own small way we also have failing Universities, the BOM and JCU. The future seem less than rosy
20
Inside the Omicron fear factory
Heather Mac Donald
In March 2020, a profile of the typical Covid victim emerged from Italy. The average decedent was eighty years old, with approximately three comorbidities such as heart disease, obesity or diabetes. The young had little to worry about; the survival rate for the vast majority of the population was well over 99 per cent.
That portrait never significantly changed. The early assessments of Covid out of Italy have remained valid through today. And so it will prove with the Omicron variant.
The data out of South Africa, after five weeks of Omicron spread, suggest that Omicron should be a cause for celebration, not fear. Its symptoms are mild to non-existent in the majority of the infected, especially the vaccinated; hospitalisation rates are over nine times lower than for previous Covid strains; deaths are negligible. That assessment will only be confirmed as the US and other western countries gather their own data on Omicron.
Yet the public health establishment and the media are working overtime to gin up Omicron hysteria. The official response to the Omicron variant provides a case study in the deliberate manufacture of fear. The following strategies are key:
1. CREATE A GROUP NORM OF FEAR
2. BUTTRESS GROUP FEAR WITH EXPERT OPINION
3. MANUFACTURE EPISTEMOLOGICAL UNCERTAINTY AND INSIST ON THAT UNCERTAINTY AS LONG AS POSSIBLE
4. BURY BOTH GOOD NEWS AND DISSENTERS FROM THE BAD NEWS
5. OMIT RELEVANT CONTEXT
6. FLOG THE CASE COUNT
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‘No spike in ICU cases’ amid Omicron outbreak
Pressed on skyrocketing cases, Mr Hunt stressed that the numbers of cases in ICU had not spiked.
“Ventilation a week ago was 54 patients with Covid around Australia. As of yesterday, there were still 54 patients on ventilation with Civid,” he said.
“Despite the increase in case numbers, there had been zero increase in ventilated patients numbers.”
100
A good proportion of the people queueing for hours to get a Covid test is so they can travel. Testing numbers have almost tripled from early December. This is one factor in increasing case numbers.
Probably too early to tell how hospitalisations will go but in NSW more than 75% of those entering hospital are unvaccinated and they are now from a tiny proportion of the adult population. So hospitalisations will not ramp up in proportion with case numbers.
Fatality rate for omicron in South Africa is no more severe than flu.
Australia is not far behind UAE vaccination rate now and their daily deaths are regularly zero,
https://91-divoc.com/pages/covid-visualization/?chart=countries&highlight=United%20Arab%20Emirates&show=highlight-only&y=both&scale=linear&data=deaths-daily-7&data-source=owid&xaxis=right#countries
35
covidlive.com.au shows a percentage a little below 40% of covid hospitalisations as fully vaccinated up to about a week ago but does not show figures since then.
10
Australia and other countries are hiding the Omicron covid vs vaccine population data because the covid vaccines are absolutely unequivocally are more dangerous than Omicron which causes cold or flu like symptoms. Hiding deaths and allowing more deaths to happen is criminal negligence causing death or as it appears to be deliberate/planned for ‘political’ purposes, murder.
1. Omicron will defeat/defeats the vaccines and Delta and other covid variations, because Omicron replicates 70 times faster in the bronchial tubes.
2. Omicron, unlike the covid Delta variation, is not causing serious symptoms because it has 30 mutations on the covid spike. Point 1 and 2 are sort of a miracle which needs to told to the people.
3. The mRNA vaccines are forcing the body to produce the dangerous original covid spike that does not have 30 mutations. This deadly covid spike cause strokes due to inflammation and severe autoimmune diseases both of which can cause death and permanent life changing damage to the body.
This is a review of the data from the original Pfizer covid vaccine test from the Pfizer published paper.
https://rumble.com/vqx3kb-the-pfizer-inoculations-do-more-harm-than-good.html?mref=6zof&mrefc=2
https://rumble.com/user/CanadianCovidCareAlliance
10
Is vaccination a mistake for English teenagers?
Look at the death rates of 15-19 year olds:
(from ONS data, Table 9, link posted on Tuesday Open thread)
Mortality Rate:
Unvaccinated: COVID . . . . . = 1.1 (per 100k person-years)
. . . . . . . other-causes. . = 8.9
Fully Vaxxed: COVID . . . . . = 0.8
. . . . . . . other-causes. . = 32.1
( NB. All my rates are no. of deaths divided by population in person-years, times 100,000 )
(1) Why is the mortality rate of Fully-vaxxed 15-19 year olds, from other causes (that is everything that’s not COVID), higher by a factor of 3.6 ?
Is it due to negative effects of the vaccines?
(2) Will pro-vaxxers tell us it’s because all the unhealthy ones got vaccinated first, so don’t worry, this is normal?
And can they show us actual data that supports their explanation?
(3) Does such a low COVID death rate justify a 3.6 times higher risk of dying from OTHER CAUSES ?
Even the 20-29 year olds see no advantage from vaccination, although it’s less clear-cut than what we see with the teenagers.
130
Two interviews with Dr Robert Malone. First interview just a few minutes on vaxxing children, or not. You need to scroll down for the second interview, much longer 1hr 46min. Really relaxed interview style. Worth a look.
30
OOPS!!! Here’s the link. https://globalcovidsummit.org/news/live-stream-event-physicians-alerting-parents?fbclid=IwAR3goabJSpqLxBeepGwEV-FOT6aYW1mPvLxez4I7YNDrw01ZT8gYQQrhHP4
00
There has been a big change in arctic ice thickness on the DMI site. I have two screen shots, one form 3 Dec and one today 23 Dec, and the ice has decreased dramatically as has the averages. Has there been a new calibration or something ? Ice volume was sitting above the median 20 days ago, and now its way below. Very strange.
30
Fairly close to average according to Sunshine, nothing anomalous.
https://sunshinehours.net
20
Not possible. It is the winter solstice at the North Pole, six months of darkness. Mid winter. Temperatures far below zero. And ice is melting rapidly? No. Ice is forming rapidly.
70
This might have something to do with it
“The DMI “Improved Model” ”
https://realclimatescience.com/2021/12/the-dmi-improved-model/
30
yes that would be it. Tony has even used the two screen shots I have to demonstrate the change with the new data. Goodness me. Ive been watching the DMI since 2016 and I was shocked when I checked it out yesterday, what on earth has happened here? You cant rely on anything. We are in a propaganda war. It is all there is.
00
Fiddling the data ?
10
looks like it.
00
I do believe special xmas greetings should go out to the pollies,govt experts and TGA for all they’ve done for us so here it is.
https://assets3.thrillist.com/v1/image/2801128/size/tmg-article_default_mobile.jpg
40
A new term
“Jabbatoir.”
And its origin
“Adopted with thanks from a commentor on Conservative Woman.”
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2021/12/22/a-naive-lil-totalitarian-thug-on-display/#comments
50
Angus Taylor is in election mode.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10337943/Energy-minister-says-climate-change-focus-China.html
20
If China did not have access to Australia’s coal and iron ore, all its industry would be far less competitive and much smaller than it is now. China has achieved manufacturing dominance through the availability of low cost, high quality raw materials from Australia.
The easy way to stop China’s dominance is to cut off its most valuable supply chain. EU financiers are already working on that; recently reprimanding the NAB for financing coal loader upgrades in Newcastle. The EU fanatics wanted Australia to shut down coal exports as part of the net zero package but that would be political suicide for any shade of Australian government.
In the near future, I believe China will be in a position to take what it cannot get on reasonable commercial terms.
We can only hope that Europe freezes sooner rather than later to end the madness. It appears Texas’s big chill was instrumental in Biden’s burden failing. Maybe something similar across Europe in 2022 will be persuasive.
30
The reason Japan came into WW2 is because the US cut off oil supplies, so lets not repeat mistakes.
Words have greater power, Taylor is calling out the hypocrisy and Beijing loses face. China has no intention of starting a hot war, they own half the world’s shipping fleet and have far too much invested overseas to venture in that direction.
On the weather front its fairly mild in Europe at the moment, but the general patter is that the cold will hit later in the season.
41
Good comment. And not just oil supplies. Chromium. Everything. In their view they had no choice but to attack America.
50
So warring with Korea and China was no reason not to be friends. Nor is Chinese genocide any reason China and US can’t be besties.
Let’s not make the same mistake again, indeed.
50
On moral grounds the US did the right thing, but Japan was merely imitating Western Imperialism.
Beijing is not interested in going to war, so we should also think of ways to avoid it. China is our biggest trading partner.
00
That’s not correct about Japan. They were already in “war mode”, having invaded China and Manchuria. That’s the reason why the USA cut off their supplies. With their strong militant government, Japan would have continued down the warlike path, regardless of what the USA did.
30
Yes and the South East Asian co-prosperity sphere was intended to replace European imperialism with their own brand.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/pearl-harbor
By comparison, Beijing wants to take over the world commercially.
10
” EU financiers are already working on that; recently reprimanding the NAB for financing coal loader upgrades in Newcastle. ”
As if anyone cares what they think.. China would loan us money for that upgrade, it would be in their best interests to do so. Eu? Who??
There’s no reason not to trade with China, trade is the one thing that keeps Govts vaguely honest. They need to buy resources and sell products to survive, just like us, and if we don’t sell them coal they will just buy from the next supplier.
As for genocide in China, I figure that over-hyped trash wouldn’t come anywhere near the number of people killed by our “greatest friend and ally” since WW2, the country that has been in more wars than any other, all in the name of spreading peace and democracy.
Enemies only last until the war finishes, then the bankers, the industrialists and the politicians add up how much money they’ve made and start looking for the next one. The people never declare war on another people..
Its time Australia forged an independent foreign policy on the world stage.
50
Totally agree, we should quit the American Alliance before Joe embroils us in another war of adventurism.
00
No reason?? seriously? what do they have to do? actually carpet bomb the place?
00
Chris Martenson at Peak Prosperity revisits Omciron stats to reaffirm that it is mild and no great threat to health. He rigorously follows the data from as many primary sources as possible which is why his presentations and interviews are always worth watching.
https://www.peakprosperity.com/omicron-is-the-beginning-of-the-end/
90
What about the hundred and fifty-one million doses in the government covid vault, are you suggesting we don’t work our way through them?
60
Britain’s Dr John Campbell does his usual clear exposition of Covid daily data, here up to and including yesterday (Dec 22nd).
There is a special piece commenting on moves by Australian Prime Minister (endorsed).
Recommended viewing, Youtube, 25 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVl5OkHcvf4
Geoff S
30
“That’s what the data says.”
Maybe that’s what the data say (data is plural by the way) but it doesn’t seem that Premier Perrottet agrees
42
Yes, Premier Perrottet is failing to see the data, probably from the pathetic excuse for advice he is receiving from the health departments along with alarmist pressure from the MSM.
It’s too late and he will look all the more foolish for not holding his nerve and going with the data.
51
Data is often treated as a plural noun in writing related to science, mathematics, finance, and computing.
Elsewhere, most English speakers treat it as a singular collective noun.
This convention is well established and widely followed in both edited and unedited writing.
Keep in mind, though, that some pedantic, egotistical, totalitarian people consider the singular data incorrect.
This view is based on a misunderstanding of how English develops.
40
ps, we have seen that egotistical misunderstanding/unawareness of the English language several times before.
30
Well said, Clarence.
To me, ‘data’ is a noun similar to ‘crowd’.
Saying “the crowd is restless” or “the crowd was cheering” comes as naturally as saying “this data sucks” instead of “these data suck” … and I’ve worked around people who use data all the time, so I’ll stick with the commonly accepted usage.
I’ve only noticed these prissy reminders that ‘data’ is a plural, starting to appear this year … probably from people who never worked with data, but somehow remember that ‘datum’ is the singular form that nobody cares about.
30
The usage; “these data”, seems to be a very recent thing, almost exactly coinciding with CV19.
When I see it there comes to mind the image of someone scratching down a blackboard with their fingernails.
Everything changed from March 2020.
30
US commentator Mark Dice has just delivered a video on society’s focus on a woke, debased culture and the legacy media. It’s one of his best pieces.
https://youtu.be/yYS2A8N6xoU
20
The best news I’ve heard from Dr Chris Martenson.
He makes the case that omicron will be the final chapter of the pandemic and that it will all be over Very soon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Su878hS_wg
50
And that terrifies the totalitarians among us.
No more excuses for censorship, control and dictatorial laws.
That’s why they’re trying to make out that the O-moronic strain is the most dangerous ever.
60
I’m actually feeling mildly elated and, for someone taking the nic “Hanrahan” that really is something different.
“We’ll all be ‘rooned”
Said Hanrahan
“Before the year is out”.
50
WA Premier strikes again. A single infected backpacker means Perth and Peel regions lockdown.
WA Premier Mark McGowan has announced the state recorded 1 new COVID case overnight.
A new mandatory mask mandate will come into effect at 6 PM local time tonight, across Perth & Peel, until December 28.
Large events will be cancelled & nightclubs will also close.
At least he was unvaccinated so probably has a stronger innate immune system and is quite capable of shrugging off the infection.
50
No fan of McGowan but at least I have an excuse to avoid relatives and be by myself over Christmas which I love. Silver lining for me, but obviously many will have their plans ruined.
20
If the mRNA vaccines are working why:(A) do the fully vaxxed buy rapid antigen tests?
(B) do the fully vaxxed need a PCR test to cross the border?
(C) and how did Omicron get into Australia?
(D) do we need boosters every 5-6 months?
(E) are most still poop-scared of what the future holds?
(F) have our politicians become nasty nannies of our health?
100
BBC is now reporting that booster protection starts to wane after 10 weeks!
20
The Awful Truth
December 23, 2021 at 3:08 am
Once upon a time in Romania, one Elena Petrescu, having recently hit puberty, decided that bending over for men was a more fun and dependable way of getting what she thought she wanted than anything resembling schoolwork. Lenuta dropped out of junior high school to become a prostitute, after failing nearly every subject.
Lenuta would never have become head of a top Romanian scientific institute had she not seduced Nicolae Ceausescu.
Today, over 30 years after her execution, the name of Elena Ceausescu remains on a host of scientific papers published in supposedly reputable journals. Her supposed co-authors readily admit she made no meaningful contribution to their work.
The publishers of these journals consistently refuse to retract the papers or remove Elena’s name from the author lists, or even to bother explaining their refusal.
They can’t very well admit that most of Our Greatest Scientists got where they are today by sucking the right dicks (literally or figuratively), and haven’t contributed anything to most of the papers they published but their names.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/22/a-moral-issue-to-correct-the-long-tail-of-elena-ceausescus-fraudulent-scientific-work“
40
Young work colleagues who have recently graduated in engineering tell me several overseas students with rich parents, clearly have little knowledge and no interest in engineering. They buy their degree and officially are participants on Masters or PhD projects but contribute virtually nothing. They simply want a tertiary qualification from a western university both as a status symbol and as an entry ticket to a job in senior management in their home country.
It makes me wonder how many ‘experts’ are in this category.
60
as long as they go into management thats fine
its a worry when they start building office towers, bridges and power grids.
10
Solid government statistics (/s)
“Joe Biden Says 200 Million Americans Vaccinated, Amid U.S. Population of 350 Million
December 22, 2021 | Sundance | 105 Comments”
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2021/12/22/joe-biden-says-200-million-americans-vaccinated-amid-u-s-population-of-350-million/#more-223260
Check the numbers
30
Well I’ve got the dreaded bug. Here’s my input based on a study of 1 (I’m in the UK by the way).
If it’s Omnicron (nobody’s telling me) then it’s been like a bit of a bad cold, or maybe very mild flu, with symptoms for about 3 days. I had a booster shot just about a month before I caught it, so either it’s mild due to the booster, or the booster made it easier to catch, or the booster prevented me from passing it on very easily, who knows? Of the half a dozen people I was in contact with for the 24 hours prior to confirmation, all remain negative. One of them I was in, ahem, intimate contact with and she (other pronouns are available, I don’t judge) remains negative. Just to skew the graph, she takes daily vitamin D as a matter of course so make of that what you will.
I took a lateral flow test at 8pm Thursday as I thought I had a slight cold and there are a few going around (it’s winter up here dontcha know). That was negative. I took a PCR test at 10:00 Friday to make doubly sure and carried on with my day. To my surprise my positive PCR result arrived Saturday morning, so it’s off to quarantine I go.
Taking the opportunity to find out if I’m doing the lateral flow test properly, I took one Saturday night and it confirmed positive immediately.
I’m on day 6 of my quarantine and have no discernible symptoms. I took another lateral flow last night and it took about an hour before the positive pink line showed, and then it looked very faint (not sure of that means anything but makes me feel good). I’ll try again tonight and see how that one comes out.
I don’t take any supplements or vitamins normally, but in the spirit of locking the stable door after the horse has bolted, I’m taking Vitamin D and Zinc tablets twice a day during quarantine. I don’t know if it helps, but it doesn’t appear to be hurting me either.
If I’m still positive by Saturday, if somebody could somebody drop a Christmas Pud at the door I’d be most grateful.
Merry Christmas all 🙂
110
Merry Christmas Dog,
Thanks for the personal report.
Stay locked down and someday we will we conquer the common cold … and poverty, racism, mean words, lust (looking at you pal),
back pain, unwanted facial hair, vermin, the destruction of ceramics while cooking, and climate change.
Freedom of thought and personal body autonomy are small prices to pay for liberation.
Christmas is going to have to go, though.
Georgemas is acceptable.
🙂
10
“You’ve got to hand it to China. It’s out to exploit everything!”
https://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2021/12/youve-got-to-hand-it-to-china-its-out.html
20
And the model to which Oz health services are striving”
“The Stupidities Of Kaiser – Covid & “Weapons”
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2021/12/22/the-stupidities-of-kaiser-covid-weapons/
An interesting solution to the “weapons question”
20
Novavax to be available soon in Australia (according to Government but they lie).
https://amp.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/how-new-vaccine-could-be-available-to-aussies-in-january-2022/news-story/4be617f579cb8e2d7eb41cdaa49f399f
By HELENA BURKE
12:11PM DECEMBER 22, 2021
A new brand of the Covid-19 vaccine is expected to hit Aussie shores within a month as the nation continues to combat the Omicron variant.
Health Minister Greg Hunt on Wednesday said the Novavax vaccine would hopefully be available in January 2022.
“Novak‘s has been is going through the Therapeutic Goods Administration, our medical regulator,” Mr Hunt told 4BC.
“They’re getting the data and I’m hopeful that, subject to that data stacking up, that this will be available in January.”
Australia has already ordered 51 million doses of the new protein-based vaccine.
The Health Minister’s prediction comes less than a day after the European Medicines Agency announced Novavax was approved for use in EU residents over the age of 18.
Novavax has proven to be highly effective against Covid-19 with the vaccine manufacturer stating that clinical trials have shown it is 90 per cent effective against symptomatic infection and 100 per cent against moderate and severe disease.
However, there is limited data on the effectiveness of the new vaccine against Omicron at this stage.
SEE LINK FOR REST
30
This is a review of the data from Pfizer’s ‘gold standard’ vaccine ‘study’. The original Pfizer published study shows the Pfizer vaccine to be significantly more dangerous than the public were told.
The US FDA allowed Pfizer to game the study using multiple means which is explained in the video.
Probably the most serious, planned study deficiency (to enable side effects to be hidden) was not using standard modern biological science. Pfizer did not check for standard biomarker changes in the study. Even though blood samples were taken before and after the vaccinations. Why? Why did the FDA allow Pfizer to hide dangerous side effects and did not require Pfizer to use modern biological scientific analysis? Tracking Biomarker changes would have quantified the danger.
The Pfizer Inoculations Do More Harm Than Good
https://rumble.com/vqx3kb-the-pfizer-inoculations-do-more-harm-than-good.html?mref=6zof&mrefc=2
https://rumble.com/user/CanadianCovidCareAlliance
It is not surprising that many of the Left wing ‘news’ programs are sponsored by Pfizer. In your face control of the media is accepted in the US because the Democratic party requires media control to get elected and to hide the corruption/country killing policies which do not work.
https://rumble.com/voz64j-brought-to-you-by-pfizer.html
40
Arctic sea ice, on 22nd December 2021, was of greater extent on the same day of the year than all years back to and including 2005.
30
Must be an anomaly, Arctic sea ice is on the lean side.
https://sunshinehours.net
00
…. you mean “Antarctic”, right 😉
And your graph is for day 343.
NSIDC is currently at 22nd December, which is day 356.
20
Good catch.
10
This is up to date.
https://sites.uci.edu/zlabe/arctic-sea-ice-extentconcentration/
00
Ivermectin video
https://youtu.be/AgrdwQ83i0c
Via
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2021/11/26/w-o-o-d-24-november-2021/#comment-153153
20
“Safe and effective”
http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2021/12/23/safe-and-effective-29/
In comments
“Mass vaccination was supposed to stop the pandemic, not periodically kick it into overdrive. Where’s the accountability for all the public authorities who promised normality with full vaccination?”
And
“Let’s see, for a vaccine that was supposed to provide immunity, stop transmission and prevent hospitalization, so far we have two strikes out of three. Interesting to see where it all goes from here.
This ought to wipe the smirk off the faces of all the double-vaxxed people who crowed about their ability to go to Jets games and concerts. This should provide a clue as to where you picked up your infection.”
20
“FDA Announces Approval for Two COVID Therapeutic Oral Medications in Last 24 Hours
December 23, 2021 | Sundance | 36 Comments”
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2021/12/23/fda-announces-approval-for-two-covid-therapeutic-oral-medications-in-last-24-hours/
I guess there will be a few FOI’s before you get to read all about it
20
Noticed this on the net: is it true?
A plane has five passengers on board:
Donald Trump, the Pope, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Nancy Pelosi, and a ten year old school girl.
The plane is about to crash and there is only four parachutes.
Dr Fauci, said “I need one, I have to help develop a cure for the global health crisis that is COVID19!” He straps on a parachute and jumps. The pope said “I need one, I have to help spiritually guide people through the global health crisis that is COVID19!” He takes one and jumps. Pelosi said ‘‘I need one, I’m the smartest woman in the United States.” she takes one and jumps. President Trump pauses for a moment and then turns to the 10-year-old. After a deep sigh, he says tenderly, “You can have the last parachute. I’ve lived my life, yours is only starting”.
The child replies, “Don’t worry, there are two parachutes left. The smartest woman in the United States took my school backpack.”
120
IIRC a similar story didn’t seem to work on Whitlam
20
Another accurate video from Matt Ridley and just before the delusional Glasgow clown show.
About 7 minutes of your time, but in the last couple of months things have deteriorated even further in the UK and the EU and energy prices are much higher and much colder weather to endure for another 3 months.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK77bBNGWaI
40
Hi Jo – FYI
Some words on WordPress from The Pointman
https://thepointman.wordpress.com/2021/12/20/whats-happening-at-pointmans/
10
Thanks for the link another ian. I wondered what had happened to Pointman.
30
😈
50
That can’t be true can it – there being two hands for every brain?
In the spirit of the meeting vote –
“Those in favour say “Aye”, those against shake your head”
The “Ayes” have it – there being two to every head”
20
Xmas funny: does the human race have a future?
Yes he’s wearing a mask 😅
https://64.media.tumblr.com/ec4caea6e374a47808c08cf32b38e0d9/f1f3c2fdd8faab98-8c/s540x810/35ce35039673b07919bc2c479d4dde29ef2c20bc.jpg
40
Indo Pacific Warm Pool seems to be experiencing cool upwellings.
https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/ocean/surface/currents/overlay=sea_surface_temp_anomaly/orthographic=-216.83,-3.08,2111/loc=139.524,-3.968
20
Last minute xmas gifts for the “woke” or “lefty” courtesy of the Babylon Bee.
https://babylonbee.com/news/christmas-gift-ideas-for-your-liberal-child
So sad it’s more true than false.
30
From the horse’s mouth…
The boosters will not stop the p(l)andemic.
Hazzard speaks.
https://www.bitchute.com/video/qJckDPesr1ue/
He’s right – only natural immunity and non compliance with political agendas will do that.
21
Today is the 50th anniversary of Cyclone Althea wrecking Townsville.
The records will show a number of cyclones since but Yasi was the only one to do much damage. While it wasn’t good for Cardwell, it is a small town with mostly old structures. It was big and damaged a lot of banana farms though.
In spite of there being little cyclone damage anywhere in the north for 50 years my insurance went up 35% this year.
40
Ain’t Climate Change beaut!
The increased premium will cover the roaring inflation as a result of using electricity extracted from the weather.
Despite all the claims that households will pocket a hundred here, two hundred there and a few hundred elsewhere in electricity costs from all the wonderful initiatives, I am yet to see power price reductions.
Has anyone had a reduction in power price in 2021?
40
That can only be viewed as outright extortion.
10
Holy crap! The world’s most luxurious plane toilets revealed.
As more and more airlines shift away from a tier above first class for economic reasons, we cast an eye over some of the most high-end dunnies ever to take to the skies. Some are still with us but you’d better get in quick as the trends suggest they won’t be around for ever.
1/5
Emirates
The long-term forerunner here still takes the (soap) cake with a pair of fully functional shower suites that come equipped with heated floors, all the spa products you’d ever need, fluffy towels and bench seating for drying off. You book in your shower time upon boarding, marble basins. The one downside – you’re limited to five minutes per shower.
Treated myself to Business Class Emirates SYD-AKL for 70th Birthday and returned 1st Class 3A AKL-SYD and had Shower at 40,000 Ft – was at least 10 Mins
Close to equalling Concorde LHR-JFK followed by Helicopter from JFK to bottom of PANAM Building – Clearest Day I have ever seen in New York
30
You get 5 mins in the actual shower which is perfectly adequate; one’s time slot in the bathroom is 20mins, or more, iirc! The article was amusing, mentioning the dual neatly folded-in loo rolls and large mirror in Qatar..it’s actually the same in Emirates. Over the wash-basin is a landscape of the Dubai skyline. Part of the bench is an extra fold-down cover over the loo.
20
China has a plan to dominate/control the world. China state subsidized industries have strategically sold metals at a loss for years. Due to the Chinese ‘dumping’ the external(non-Chinese) companies have gone out of business. An example is magnesium production.
Taiwan produces 60% of the world semiconductors. China wants Taiwan now for a reason. China dominates metal production now for a reason. This looks like a preparation for war.
Our governments/military/intelligence have been corrupted and stupefied. Are countries are busy destroying our countries fighting climate change and covid. Europe in particular are leading the race to have the most expensive electricity in the world.
https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2021/12/24/china-limits-magnesium-production-causing-supply-chain-constraints/
China, the world’s top producer of magnesium, has severely limited production of the metal hardener — used across the aluminum industries — since September, throwing global supply chains into disarray and threatening to further disrupt worldwide trade through 2022.
“Europe is expected to run out of magnesium stocks by the end of November,” European Aluminum, a Brussels-based industry body, predicted on October 22.
“With an 87 percent production share, China has a near-total monopoly on global magnesium manufacturing,” European Aluminum acknowledged in a separate notice issued on September 27.
“In 2001, Europe was forced to close its remaining magnesium production as a consequence of dumped Chinese imports, and now depends for 95 percent on China’s supply,” the industry representative recalled.
40
William, the USAF and also USMC and USN have the material capacity to wholesale slaughter the PLAN fleet very quickly, and make it a fraction of its current size, within 1 week, and force them into ports just to have any chance of surviving. Taiwan and Japan have similar capacities, and so does South Korea. The USAF’s best expeditionary airforces are absolutely dominated by very low observable aircraft, with very low observable weapons, and the PLAAF is tech is mosty 20 years behind, despite a small number of J20s.
The PLA/CCP’s only option is to make an attack and hope for rapid success, and that the US and allies can’t or won’t respond quickly enough. Except Taiwan is anything but a sitting duck. They are very heavily armed, and very prepared and determined to never allow Beijing to take Taiwan. Plus the Philippines in November gave direct access to all US services, to 5 airbases spread out within that country, once more and they will operate F-35B that don;t need an airbase. Make no mistake, Chinese conventional forces will be absolutely smashed, desert storm style x10, if they make any attack on Taiwan. They may get away with bombarding Taiwan initially, but their country’s expeditionary forces and their war factories, infrastructure and economic capacity, will be destroyed and made incapable of making high tech conventional war again, for at least 20 years.
And the CCP will get crucified for it, that is for certain
40
so you think all the CCP hypersonic missile stuff is all fluff then?
10
The West is surprised by how quickly Beijing developed a hypersonic missile, it appears to be a first strike weapon.
No need to fear, a nuclear winter would be devastating for everyone, so the mutually assured deterrent is still good.
10
Biden is not capable of running for re-election. This is a video where Biden is taking calls with a reporter.
A caller ‘tricks’ sleepy Biden to get him to say, “Yes I agree. Let’s go Brandon.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrU1yrmNIqc
China has prepared for war and are now acting as if they plan to invade Taiwan. From China’s standpoint there is a risk/high probability that Biden/Democratic party will lose the next elections and that the US will have an opportunity to defend itself.
40
Beijing has no intention of invading Taiwan.
‘Chinese companies are increasingly dominant across the entire global maritime supply chain, controlling the world’s second-largest shipping fleet by gross tons and constructing over a third of the world’s vessels in 2019. They also produce 96 percent of the world’s shipping containers, more than 80 percent of the world’s ship-to-shore cranes, and own seven of the ten busiest ports in the world (including Hong Kong). Although still a nascent naval power, China has already become a dominant player in the commercial maritime space.’ (SCIS)
00
Director General Health Republic of South Africa
Revision to Contact Tracing, Quarantine and Isolation Protocols
23.12.2021
Dr SSS Buthelezi
Director-General: Health
Date: 23 December 2021
10
Pity this is a stale thread but:
James Webb Space Telescope is about to launch.
10
Jet stream meanders, causing blocking.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/synoptic/0
00
… and for those who are interested.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/what-is-a-heat-low-and-why-dont-they-bring-much-rain/535802
00