Funny, Strange, ODD, and Disinformation!

Where France's Macron buys his suits is front page news on one of the many international news websites I peruse. 

Germany's Chancellor has done another about face, which has left the columnists spinning, trying to keep up.

Europe is cooperating on gas, which suggests some sort of united front, but really ends up with several countries in Europe not cooperating and even one stating they will veto. I got to look up "cooperating", in the dictionary. Hungary claims there are 10 countries using the Rubles for Energy scheme.

Previously, Germany got the blame for obstinance regarding sanctions, but any meaningful sanctions have seen the EU bloc in disarray. Conveniently, the Germans are now pushing back by laying blame on "other" members of the EU. No doubt they will eventually coalesce their blame shifting and lay all this at the feet of Americans. Some things never change. 

Pelosi has been to Ukraine and is seen posing with Zelensky. Is it one of those selfies Zelensky was so critical of?

India is on pace to have a record wheat crop. Oh wait, India is undergoing a massive heat wave which may dramatically limit the wheat crop. 

Musk buys twitter and Homeland Security announces, "Disinformation Governance Board". DGB... not to be confused with KGB, which was a completely different committee. What qualifies as disinformation, misinformation, etc.? Who decides when a lie is no longer a lie, or when the truth is no longer the truth?

Speaking of disinformation... CNN is boldly proclaiming "3 Signs that Prices Could Soon Come Down." Prices coming down would be a sign of "deflation". The rate of inflation might come down, but prices... not so much. But it is CNN, so excuse the confusion or is this what the KGB DGB will soon remedy? Not intentionally leaving out FOX, MSNBC, et al, but it is way too much.

I keep reading where China's economy may be stalling, but until China says it is... it isn't. I fully expect them to say they are meeting targets. <wink> <wink>

A lot of concern about U.S. farmers cutting back on fertilizer and the potential for much lower crop yields as a result. The big farmers bought their fertilizers and inputs and had it all delivered by December 31st. Granted the big farmers does not equate to all farmers, but the weather is still the biggest factor. That weather has not been very cooperative at the start of this planting season.

This nugget from a Deutsche Welle opinion piece, regarding North Korea...

Pyongyang claims the most advanced weapon in its armory can carry multiple warheads and has a range of more than 15,000 kilometers (9,300 miles), putting the entire continental US within striking distance.  

Note that the continental US is singled out. That distance puts all of Asia, Europe, Oceania, the North American Continent, most of Antarctica, most of Africa, and South America above the equator. It would not be difficult to understand the continental U.S. would be the main objective, but the wording seems to indicate only the U.S., while ignoring fallout, etc. 

Run out of things to ponder, so time to wrap this up. 

Parsing Some Covid Disinformation

 

I probably should avoid the internet, but it is fascinating to see the disinformation, uninformed opinions, etc. So here goes...

SWEDEN

Sweden is constantly being used as an example of what the U.S. should have done and the results prove it. Generally it is used as being against lockdowns and pops up when discussing vaccinations. 

Indeed, Sweden's stats are better than the U.S. with regard to deaths and infections, but are deplorable when compared to its neighbors, Finland, Denmark, and Norway.

Sweden does have one thing in common with its neighbors, as it is now "opening" up. So something was taking place for it to now being opened up. Then there is the matter of vaccinations, which has Sweden well in front of the U.S. but lagging behind its neighbors. 

Would the Sweden method have even worked in the U.S. Granted we probably couldn't pick a Swede out from a group of Americans, but that does not mean we are alike. Swedes have been brought up differently than we. We might agree on some things, but would disagree on many others. They are a different culture. 

Apparently in Sweden, the political forces stood by and allowed the science to determine actions. There was no news media constantly parsing the scientific guidance, seeking to exploit any discrepancies. There was generally wide acceptance of scientific recommendations for social distancing and masking. Sweden can generally be considered as non litigious and finally the uptake of vaccines indicate an acceptance of its reliability. 

Frankly, the limited reading I have done regarding Sweden does not indicate we would go along with many of its actions, as we are an entirely different culture. Attempting to use Sweden as an example of what was done right in regards to shutdowns, omits that big difference in culture.  It would be akin to saying we could follow the Japanese example and have much lower deaths and infections. A totally different culture.

Safety of vaccines is not proven...

Every drug has side effects. Sildenafil was being developed for angina, until one of the side effects overwhelmed its original intent. It was then repurposed as... Viagra. 

In this area, the debacle during polio vaccine development seems to give credence to the shyness of some vaccine sceptics. This was the Cutter mess, where about 250 people were given polio by accident and died, when the vaccine contained live virus, instead of dead virus.

This instance appears to take precedence over the thousands and tens thousand of lives saved by the vaccine, not to mention the many tens of thousands of lives saved from the lifelong crippling effects. 

The point should be that the polio vaccine mistake was a live virus versus a dead virus. Nowhere in the current covid vaccines is there a covid virus... dead or alive. 

Of course it would be false to state  the current slate of Covid vaccines are 100% safe. There have been, and will likely continue to be instances of death and severe illnesses attributable to the vaccination. Some nations have restricted the use of some vaccines from portions of their population. These are not 3rd world countries. So some skepticism is warranted. 

The issue at hand is how many deaths and illnesses are related to covid infection compared to the deaths an illnesses from side effects. 

A fear of side effects is reasonable and should be approached carefully. However, I suspect much of the so called "disinformation" is being spread just for political purposes. Winnowing out that aspect of the discussion will prove very hard.

INDIA...

We all know that India had a dramatic rise in covid and deaths associated. Even the Indian authorities estimated the death count was significantly under reported. That happens when the system is overwhelmed. 

But did you know that everything improved and did you know that India used Ivermectin and Hydroxychloroquine? One would be led to believe there was a cure in the Trumpian world that was not being accepted by the Anti-Trumpian world AND that India knew best.

EXCEPT, India has dropped those drugs from the treatment list, due to ineffectiveness. There was no noticeable benefit and in some cases did more harm. It puzzles me that someone would doubt the safety of one drug (covid drug) and embrace one that fits the above description. 

SUMMARY

No doubt these and other claims will continue to recirculate via the internet and will be used by the unscrupulous to brainwash the weaker amongst us. That cuts both ways and as the sides became further entrenched in their beliefs, it will likely continue until this "thing" is finally resolved.

Which is likely not to happen before 2023, as there literally billions of global citizens that have not even been given the opportunity to choose sides. 

Until then, we have the folks that are truly concerned about a vaccine's impact on them, who are trying to seek input on the matter. There are those that have well intentioned advice from both sides of the debate. Then there are those whose "advice" is solely based on developing and creating converts to their ideology. Which is more likely due to their political affiliation, rather than concern for the individual.

Welcome to the 21st Century U.S.A.