Reader’s Links for March 15, 2022

Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

26 Replies to “Reader’s Links for March 15, 2022”

  1. I bristle at this article. I don’t like language like “value chains” or any other expressions that sound like smug bureaucratic jargon intended to exclude people who don’t know their context. Also I don’t like its omniscient tone. This may be my unarticulated beef with people like Catherine Austin Fitts and Martin Armstrong. Maybe they have all the answers or maybe they don’t, but part of their schtick is to sound like they do. The ability to talk can take a person as far as the ability to know (in our plasticized age). And why is the writer anonymous? Are they famous? Important? Why no credentials? Is this more firehose? Why the secrecy? Am I wasting my time reading it? –Common questions for the firehosed.

    Yet, it gave me enough to keep reading despite the fact I didn’t like what I read. Forever picking up pieces of the jigsaw puzzle dumped on the floor, I try doggedly to put the picture together. Maybe this week I find three blue pieces of sky that fit. Sky is always tough. Then by Friday the man in black enters to flip over my table again so I must restart the puzzle. But at least I held on to my three pieces of sky. Next time I’ll build back better.

    Yesterday I walked in on my Israeli friend while he was watching Fox war coverage. We immediately took up our opposing positions on the subject. However the more we talked the more he was supporting the idea that Ukraine should declare its neutrality–which is my very argument.

    I said everything but the word “globalist” to convey my perspective. I knew that if I started down the Klaus Schwab path my friend would wave me away saying, “…Forget all the conspiracy theory bullshit!”

    So it goes, looking for blue sky on cloudy days:

    https://winteroak.org.uk/2022/03/09/the-great-reset-phase-2-war/

    • When explaining it to people, I add the three Russian-populated regions that Russia needs as buffer zones. People understand it.

      Zelensky now accepts to declare neutrality. The leftover problem is the buffer zones that would reduce the size of Ukraine’s territory.

  2. “…And remember, gold is money. Everything else is credit.”

    This excellent pundit explains how the recent tsunami in the nickel market will be replicated in the gold market:

    • Embedded!
      ~ty~
      I do need more incentive to interface with YT than a url. Title, teaser description, length, PG-rating.
      Video has to be curated for my delicate sensibilities…

  3. Maybe this Computing Forever was already posted. Not sure about Uncle Vlad being a WEF puppet. The argument is that his function in creating the war is to facilitate the impoverishment, and subsequent reliance of people on government, in order to get to the “…You’ll have nothing…” part, and you will be happy because the alternative is death. Quite the redefining of “happy”, no?

    https://www.bitchute.com/video/teVlu7T3QYuV/

    • I like her a lot.
      Sharp as a tack, nails it in swift swing.

      Vloggers don’t have editors, and few have the self-discipline to hold it under 6 minutes.

  4. Yesterday a friend asked why pm’s were being pounded. I forgot to give the first and most obvious answer, which was to check to see if the USD was strengthening (inversed relationship). While the USD “flight to safety” refrain is possible and probable, the two do occasionally rise together when this flight is more acute, since both represent safe havens. This morning the trend continues, but the current volatility can see things turn on a dime.

    As an aside, a WEF world reserve digital currency aspiration does lend oxygen to the notion that private pm ownership will become hugely counter-narrative. Sitting outside a rising monetary paradigm dependent on your capture assures it.

  5. This could probably follow johnnyu’s comment for computing forever video.

    https://peckford42.wordpress.com/

    Ties a lot together.

    “Vaccine passports were initially touted by public-private partnerships as an entry point for Digital IDs. Now that such a logic has run its course, how might the present geopolitical tensions contribute to scaling what is the key node in a new digital ecosystem?

    Ukraine has traditionally been called Europe’s breadbasket and alongside Russia, both nations are major global suppliers of staple grains. Therefore, the war has all the makings of a black swan for commodities and inflation.

    With an economy teetering on the brink of collapse due to a global supply crunch, I believe the resulting economic tremors will trigger wartime emergencies across the world and the public will be told to brace themselves for rationing.

    Once this takes place, the multilateral adoption of Digital IDs which interface with Central Bank Digital Currencies can be touted as the solution to efficiently manage and distribute household rations under an unprecedented state of emergency and exception.

    The Bank of England has already floated the prospect of programmable cash which can only be spent on essentials or goods which an employer or government deem sensible.

    Once the issuer is granted control over how it is spent by the recipient, it will become nigh impossible to function adequately without a Digital ID, which will be required to receive food parcels and obtain a basic means of subsistence. Think UBI (Universal Basic Income).

    If food inflation continues on an upward trajectory with no signs of abating, governments may institute price controls in the form of rationing and ration entries could be logged on blockchain ledgers on the Digital ID to track our carbon footprint and consumptive habits during a national emergency.”

  6. global news – British Columbia’s capital braces for anti-vaccine, anti-mandate protest convoy

    […] another convoy pushing back against public health restrictions and vaccine mandates is expected to occupy Victoria.

    British Columbia is already dropping mask mandates, with plans to lift most other COVID restrictions on April 8.

    But organizers of the planned gathering at the B.C. Legislature tell Global News they will be in it for the long haul.

    • Has B.C. disappeared Chris Jones?
      Cut him off line?
      He said it would happen. Too many HCQ searches, too assertive about ivermectin.

      He’s resourceful, though. If he’s learned Lubyanka morse code, he’ll get word to us.

  7. Pfizer-BioNTech to seek U.S. authorization for second COVID booster shot: report

    March 15 (Reuters) – Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) and its German partner BioNTech SE (22UAy.DE) will seek emergency use authorization for a second booster shot of their COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 65 and older, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

    https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/pfizer-biontech-seek-us-authorization-second-covid-booster-shot-report-2022-03-15/

    ==========================

    WaPo – Pfizer and BioNTech to seek authorization of second coronavirus booster shot for people 65 and older

    Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech, will seek emergency authorization for a second booster shot of their coronavirus vaccine for people 65 and older, an effort to bolster waning immunity that occurs several months after the first booster, according to three people familiar with the situation.

    The submission to the Food and Drug Administration, anticipated as soon as Tuesday, is expected to include “real world data” collected in Israel, one of the few countries that has authorized a second booster for older people, said the individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue. The decision from the FDA could come relatively quickly, especially if officials conclude the data is straightforward and does not have to be reviewed by a panel of outside vaccine experts.

    In a separate move aimed at answering longer term questions about booster strategies, the FDA plans to convene its outside advisers in early April to consider whether there should be an October or November campaign to encourage some or all adults to get additional boosters and whether the shots should be the same as the current vaccine or retooled to counter new variants, according to a federal official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss administration plans.

    The official said: “Would it make sense to have some kind of a booster campaign for all or a segment of the population in the fall to prevent a wave of infections” as the weather gets cold again?

    Increasingly, some officials have signaled they believe adults of all ages might need a second booster because of the lack of durability of the two-shot mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.

    Albert Bourla, chief executive officer of Pfizer, has said in recent days he believes a second booster will be needed for everyone. At a Washington Post Live event last week, Bourla said a fourth shot would be needed because immunity wanes.

    “We are working right now very intensively. … I think our data suggests that they [a fourth dose] are protecting — they are improving dramatically the protection, the fourth dose compared to the third for omicron after some time, after, let’s say, three to six months,” Bourla said.

    He told CBS’s “Face the Nation” in an interview that aired Sunday that a fourth dose would be “necessary.” He said the protection provided by the first booster is “actually quite good for hospitalizations and deaths. It’s not that good against infections.” Pfizer and BioNTech are working on a vaccine that will work against all variants and provide protection for at least a year.

    Pfizer spokeswoman Jerica Pitts declined to confirm the possible emergency authorization filing and said the company was “continuing to collect and assess all available data and we’re in continuous, open dialogue with regulators and health authorities to help inform a COVID-19 vaccine strategy as the virus evolves.”

    The FDA declined to comment.

    In a recent interview, Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said U.S. data so far shows protection against severe illness remains robust four to five months after a booster — falling somewhat from 91 percent effective in preventing severe illness to 78 percent effective.

    “The proof in the pudding is how long protection following a third boost lasts — five, six, seven, eight months out,” Fauci said. “If it goes down, then you make your decision about whether you’re going to boost based on the clinical data.”

    It is not clear what the Israeli data Pfizer will submit for its application seeking a second booster for people 65 and older shows, but inside the Biden administration, officials are looking for clarity on two fronts. They want to see the extent to which immunity wanes after the first booster shot and the efficacy of a second booster shot. Some preliminary data on the effects of a fourth dose have been made available from Israel, where a fourth dose has been used in people 60 and older, health-care workers and immunocompromised people. Some of that data has been mixed.

    One study, published on a preprint server before peer review, tracked infections and hospitalizations in Israel in the second half of January, after a fourth dose began to be offered. In people 60 and older who received a fourth shot, rates of infection were lower after the fourth dose. The rates of severe illness were substantially lower in people who received a fourth shot.

    “Giving the fourth dose to individuals who were at risk to develop severe disease has been instrumental in limiting the burden on hospitals in Israel during the fast and wide-spreading Omicron surge,” the researchers concluded.

    But a separate preprint study from Israel that tested a fourth shot in health-care workers found a mixed picture. A fourth shot of the PfizerBioNTech or Moderna shot increased virus-fighting antibodies but was not very effective at preventing mild or asymptomatic infections. That suggests that as a longer-term strategy — and for people who are not at high risk of severe disease — a fourth shot may not be the ideal way to increase immunity. Breakthrough infections were common, and people had large amounts of virus in their noses, suggesting they could infect others.

    Pfizer and BioNTech are also formally testing a fourth shot in a clinical trial that began in January. In one group of 600 fully vaccinated and boosted people, they are comparing a version of their vaccine fine-tuned to fight the omicron variant to a fourth shot of the regular vaccine.

    The American public — and even experts — have been sharply divided on coronavirus vaccines and boosters, with the United States falling far short of vaccination rates seen in many other countries. Pfizer’s announcement that a third shot would be needed last summer helped sow some of that confusion. The company got pushback from government officials, who had not yet been persuaded one was needed, although they later called for them.

    Now, with some studies showing that vaccine effectiveness has ebbed to some extent in the face of the highly contagious omicron variant, some older people have been clamoring for a second booster — or getting one even before it is officially authorized.

    But other individuals, of all ages, appear to have little interest in the shots, especially as the omicron threat fades and infections and hospitalizations plunge.

    Officials in the Biden administration and the public health community are keeping a close eye on a rise in covid-19 cases in Europe and the proliferation of the omicron variant BA.2. Some experts are worried there could be an increase in cases in the United States following the relaxation of mask requirements as BA.2, which is more transmissible than the original version of omicron, becomes dominant.

    A study published last month in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report suggested boosters of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines lost some effectiveness after four months but still offered strong protection against severe illness and hospitalization. The study said the vaccine appeared to be more effective against the earlier delta variant than the omicron variant.

    In January, Israel began offering a fourth dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to people 60 and older and medical workers. In France, second boosters are available for everyone 80 and older, and people who are immunocompromised or have a long-term illness. Chile and Germany also are recommending fourth shots for high-risk groups.

    In the United States, four shots of the vaccine are already authorized for people who have moderately or severely compromised immune systems, which hinder an effective response to the vaccine.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/03/15/pfizer-second-booster-shot/

    • These pallywood productions were all pre-packaged. They’ve learned a lot from the PA: First and foremost, co-opting corporate media. And enlisting the Bernard-Henri Levi contingent.

      Though Z brays in praise of the IDF, his tactics mirror those of Hamas. Boxing people up in cities to use as human shields, shooting those trying to flee.

      “Humanitarian corridors”, sure…

  8. Nancy Faeser, Federal Minister of the Interior and Home Affairs, speaks at a press conference to present the Action Plan on Right-Wing Extremism in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. Germany’s top security officials announced a ten-point plan Tuesday to combat far-right extremism in the country that includes disarming some 1,500 suspected extremists and tightening background checks for those wanting to acquire guns. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the far right poses the biggest extremist threat to democracy in Germany and said authorities would seek to tackle the issue through prevention and tough measures. (Christophe Gateau/dpa via AP)
    Nancy Faeser, Federal Minister of the Interior and Home Affairs, speaks at a press conference to present the Action Plan on Right-Wing Extremism in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, March 15, 2022. Germany’s top security officials announced a ten-point plan Tuesday to combat far-right extremism in the country that includes disarming some 1,500 suspected extremists and tightening background checks for those wanting to acquire guns. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the far right poses the biggest extremist threat to democracy in Germany and said authorities would seek to tackle the issue through prevention and tough measures. (Christophe Gateau/dpa via AP)

    BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s top security officials announced a 10-point plan Tuesday to combat far-right extremism in the country that includes disarming about 1,500 suspected extremists and tightening background checks for those wanting to acquire guns.

    Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the far right poses the biggest extremist threat to democracy in Germany and said authorities would seek to tackle the issue through prevention and tough measures.

    “We want to destroy far-right extremist networks,” Faeser told reporters in Berlin, saying this included targeting financial flows that benefit such groups, including merchandising businesses, music festivals and martial arts events.

    https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-europe-berlin-gun-politics-music-festivals-5d4e13c2ab476dc4b904381ee28608eb

  9. PEOPLE – Blood Clots Like Hailey Bieber’s Are Happening in ‘Younger and Younger People’

    A vascular neurologist explains how blood clots can form and the stroke-like symptoms to look out for

    Hailey Baldwin Bieber is recovering after developing a blood clot that moved to her brain, a health problem that is happening in “younger and younger people” says a vascular neurologist.

    Bieber, 25, shared on Saturday that she was eating breakfast with husband Justin Bieber on Thursday morning when she “started having stroke-like symptoms and was taken to the hospital.”

    There, doctors found that she had “suffered a very small blood clot” to her brain, which led to a “small lack of oxygen.” Bieber’s body was able to pass the blood clot on its own, she explained, and she “recovered completely within a few hours.”

    Blood clots like Bieber’s can form “for different reasons,” both environmental and genetic, Dr. Shazam Hussain, the director of the Cerebrovascular Center at Cleveland Clinic, tells PEOPLE.

    “It’s important to know your health and any potential risk factors you might have for strokes, like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, difficulty with sugars … When we have younger people having a stroke, we will look for things that would cause their blood to have a tendency to clot — it could be hereditary and run in their families.”

    With blood clots that move to the brain, they typically originate from a blocked blood vessel in a spot in the body like the neck, or directly from the heart, Hussain says.

    And once in the brain, “the organ that’s most sensitive to lack of blood flow,” the lack of oxygen will cause the brain function to shut down and cause stroke-like symptoms. Those symptoms can be spotted with the acronym BE FAST — B for balance, E for eyes and having vision trouble, F for face drooping, A for arm or limb weakness, S for speech difficulty and T for time, meaning it’s time to call 911.

    “A stroke is really a situation where every second counts,” Hussain says. “The brain is very, very sensitive to the lack of blood flow and you lose somewhere around 2 million brain cells a minute. So it’s really important to get that medical attention right away.”

    In Bieber’s case, she was able to pass the blood clot on her own, which is often possible with small clots. “If it’s a small clot, it can just dissipate and go away on its own and not leave any lasting issues or problems,” Hussain says.

    If that’s not the case, doctors typically administer a clot-busting drug to dissolve the clot if its within the first 4.5 hours after a stroke, or for larger clots they’ll perform a thrombectomy to go in and remove the clot through the blood vessels.

    With situations like Bieber’s, the incidents are typically called mini-strokes or a transient ischemic attack (TIA): “That means there was a blood clot, it dissolved up completely and the person is completely a hundred percent back to normal,” Hussain says. If an MRI shows any injury to the brain, however, “then it becomes a full stroke.”

    Situations like Bieber’s are something that everyone should watch out for, young and old, Hussain says.

    “We think of stroke as being something that happens in older ages, but we are seeing it in younger and younger people,” he says. “It relates, generally, to people having unhealthy lifestyles, maybe not eating as well or not getting in regular exercise, along with other factors like genetics. So it’s important that people don’t just think of it as something that happens to older people. If you’re younger and have those symptoms, you’ve got to get to the hospital.”

    Hussain also notes that while COVID-19 illness has been shown to cause blood clots, “fortunately most people don’t run into that issue.” Still, it’s again important to know the symptoms of strokes and get medical attention right away if anything like that happens.

    After having a stroke or TIA, people do need to be more cautious, Hussain says, “because their risk is higher than someone else walking down the street.”

    “It’s what we call a front-loaded risk. The highest risk period is in the first two days, then the first month, but fortunately once you get through that highest risk first period, your risk starts to come back down towards the general population.”

    For anyone concerned about their risk of stroke or blood clots, it’s key to get regular checkups with a physician, make sure you don’t have high blood pressure, stick to a healthy diet, get in exercise and keep cholesterol in control, Hussain says. He also recommends looking at the site strokeawareness.com — and quitting smoking, if anyone still is. “Smoking is the other major risk factor — there’s no good reason to smoke, so you want to quit.”

    https://people.com/health/blood-clots-like-hailey-biebers-are-happening-in-younger-and-younger-people/

  10. Calgary – Concerns with far-right imagery at weekend beltline protests

    Far-right conspiracy-laden imagery is seen every weekend at the beltline ‘freedom’ protests.

    As Taylor Braat reports, many wonder where the movement is headed, as most COVID-19 restrictions have been dropped.