Jekyll2021-09-15T16:05:41+00:00https://www.thetoadstone.org/feed.xmlThe ToadstoneSweet are the uses of adversity;\n
which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,\n
wears yet a precious jewel in his head.
The ToadstoneA Brief Guide to Alternative News Media2020-11-15T00:00:00+00:002020-11-15T00:00:00+00:00https://www.thetoadstone.org/posts/a-brief-guide-to-alternative-media<p>For years I’ve been telling friends and family (and anyone else who will listen) to stop following mainstream media (MSM). While I genuinely mean <em>all</em> kinds of media, the one I emphasize the most is the news. I make this suggestion for two reasons: (1) the news tends to report shocking, tragic and depressing stories more than uplifting and life-affirming ones — an improper balance in a healthy info-diet; and (2) it’s riddled with lies and propaganda that unconsciously shape the way we think.</p>
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<p>This post is not going to be a deconstruction of how lobbying, corporate sponsorship, meddling intelligence agencies and powerful individuals have virtually destroyed journalism. Instead I’m going to propose an alternative. On the occasion that I get someone’s attention on this subject I’m inevitably asked the question: “well how do <em>you</em> get your news?” When this happens, I have a loose collection of links that I share. I’ve now finally decided to put together a more formal list.</p>
<p>It’s taken me many years to be able to dissect a news article and know whether I’m being mislead or lied to. I still get caught from time to time, but I think I’ve developed a strong eye for manipulation. This ability has been honed due to the tireless work of those in what I will call for simplicity the “alternative media.”</p>
<p>Below is a list of individuals and organizations I have come to consult on a regular basis. Most of these source are independently funded (often through subscriber donations) but are different from more traditional “independent” media. A publication like <a href="https://theintercept.com/"><em>The Intercept</em></a> is independent, but they are funded by billionaire eBay founder, <a href="https://yasha.substack.com/p/meet-the-billionaire-glenn-greenwald">Pierre Omidyar</a>. This is not the same kind of independence as those I’ve listed below who are in some cases closer to citizen journalists.</p>
<p>An important disclaimer: This list is not a wholesale endorsement of everything they do or say, but these are people that I trust and believe are committed to finding truth even if they get things wrong from time to time. At the very least, these are people who think for themselves and are doing the work that the MSM refuses to do.</p>
<p>Bear in mind that you will inevitably find slanderous remarks about some of these people on the internet. Many of them have dealt with character attacks, censorship, de-platforming, denial of service attacks and other attempts to suppress their work. This fact alone does not validate the truth of their reporting, of course, but it does raise questions.</p>
<p>Finally, this list is far from exhaustive, but there are enough resources here to get a sense of what the “alt-media” community looks like. I cannot claim any of the sources listed will give you the truth, but I can attest that they are committed to <em>finding</em> the truth at any cost. The same cannot be said for CNN or Fox News. Trust your gut and see what resonates.</p>
<hr />
<h3 id="the-corbett-report">The Corbett Report</h3>
<p>Corbett has been in the game for a long time. He’s known as the “hardest working man in alternative media” and when you look at his output over the last 15 years, it’s hard to find anyone that challenges that position. His commitment to “open source” news is particularly important. He sticks to the facts and cites every single source he refers to on his website a long with transcripts for all his videos.</p>
<p>In addition to his regularly programmed news segments, he’s also put together a number of <a href="https://www.corbettreport.com/corbett-report-documentaries/">longer form documentaries</a> that cover a number of key topics and events like 9/11, the banking system, oil and big pharma.</p>
<p>He also co-hosts “New World Next Week” with James Evan Pilato of <a href="https://mediamonarchy.com/">Media Monarchy</a> (who I also recommend), but haven’t included on this list as he runs more of a mixed media radio show.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.corbettreport.com/">Website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7TvL4GlQyMBLlUsTrN_C4Q">Youtube</a></li>
<li><a href="https://lbry.tv/@corbettreport:0">LBRY</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bitchute.com/channel/GwPziiQZrVT3/">Bitchute</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="the-last-american-vagabond">The Last American Vagabond</h3>
<p>Ryan Christian records “The Daily Wrap” 4-5 times a weeks where he covers the biggest stories in the news. Each episode is roughly 2 hours long and includes a wealth of links and articles. He’s done an excellent job during the Covid-era and like Corbett, he’s also a great place to start if you’d like to keep up with the big picture.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.thelastamericanvagabond.com/">Website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/TLAVagabond">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdLXk-XLylNh0QxgXAceHmg">Youtube</a> (back up channel after de-platform)</li>
<li><a href="https://lbry.tv/@TLAVagabond:5">LBRY</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bitchute.com/channel/24yVcta8zEjY/">Bitchute</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="the-conscious-resistance">The Conscious Resistance</h3>
<p>Derrick Broze has starting writing for <em>The Last American Vagabond</em>, but he is best known for leading his own organization, <em>The Conscious Resistance Network</em>. He’s a great journalist, activist, and speaker based out of Houston, Texas.</p>
<p>He and his his team have also founded the <a href="https://freedomcells.org/">Freedom Cells</a> project, a network of “peer to peer groups organizing themselves in a decentralized manner with the collective goal of asserting the sovereignty of group members through peaceful resistance and the creation of alternative institutions.”</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://theconsciousresistance.com/">Website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/DBrozeLiveFree">Twitter</a></li>
<li><a href="#"><del>Youtube</del></a> (de-platformed)</li>
<li><a href="https://lbry.tv/@theconsciousresistance:7">LBRY</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bitchute.com/channel/v4jgxgSNfpCX/">Bitchute</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="whitney-webb-unlimited-hangout">Whitney Webb — <em>Unlimited Hangout</em></h3>
<p>Formerly a journalist for Mint Press News (see below), she now writes for <em>The Last American Vagabond</em> and at her own website <em>Unlimited Hangout</em> where she also hosts other writers. She’s a fearless journalist who garnered some attention for her coverage of the Jeffrey Epstein case. In general, she tends to focus her attention on intelligent agencies, Silicon Valley, geopolitics and other facets of the military-industrial complex.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://unlimitedhangout.com">Website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/_whitneywebb">Twitter</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="mint-press-news">Mint Press News</h3>
<p>A staple of independent journalism, MPN has been home to many journalists wishing to cover stories that don’t get proper coverage in the mainstream. There are many contributors, but regulars Alan Macleod, Raul Diego and Max Blumenthal are bylines worth following. Not as fringe as some of the others I’ve listed here.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.mintpressnews.com/">Website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/AlanRMacLeod">@AlanRMacLeod</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/hijodelcuervo">@hijodelcuervo</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/MaxBlumenthal">@MaxBlumenthal</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="ice-age-farmer">Ice Age Farmer</h3>
<p>Christian focuses primarily on the agriculture industry, farming practices and food sovereignty. He advocates for growing your own food and opting out of the Big Ag system both for health reasons and greater independence from the corporate food system. Christian also focuses on the concept of the “grand solar minimum” sun cycle as well as the greenwashing and hypocracy inherent in the climate change agenda.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.iceagefarmer.com/">Website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI-Am0t4qQaP_Do9FwMWw3Q">Youtube</a></li>
<li><a href="https://lbry.tv/@IceAgeFarmer:5">LBRY</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bitchute.com/channel/jIzcTzKPOws2/">Bitchute</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="jason-goodman--crowdsource-the-truth">Jason Goodman — <em>Crowdsource The Truth</em></h3>
<p>I don’t agree with Jason’s politics (he’s more right leaning than I like), but he’s a good speaker who continues to release interviews with interesting people. For an open mind, his show is a great source for thought-provoking material.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Cl9QaRtuW9CNjP7pP4BBQ">Youtube</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bitchute.com/channel/m3l8rAMF26gt/">Bitchute</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="ben-swann-truth-in-media">Ben Swann — <em>Truth in Media</em></h3>
<p>Swann was fired from his job at CBS after running a segment that investigated the “Pizza-gate” story in 2017. Rather than walk back his take on the piece, he struck out on his own and launched <a href="https://truthinmedia.com/">Truth in Media</a> and more recently, <a href="https://ise.media/">ISE Media</a>. He’s a slick presenter who does his homework and isn’t afraid to tackle controversial stories.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://truthinmedia.com/">Truth in Media</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1h3bqESVdqkwm123Ce4ZmA">Youtube</a></li>
<li><a href="https://ise.media/">ISE Media</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="truthstream-media">Truthstream Media</h3>
<p>Aaron and Melissa Dykes produce documentary films and videos about a variety of topics but their best work focused on mind control, social engineering and transhumanism. Their four hour documentary <a href="https://www.themindsofmen.net/">The Minds of Men</a> is an in-depth history of cybernetics, mental programming and how we got to where we are today.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://truthstreammedia.com/">Website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/TRUTHstreammedia/">Youtube</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/truthstreamnews">Twitter</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="catherine-austin-fitts-the-solari-report">Catherine Austin Fitts — <em>The Solari Report</em></h3>
<p>Fitts is known for her deep knowledge of dark money and how the global financial system really works. She publishes the Solari Report, a quarterly magazine that looks at financial system from a perspective that acknowledges the corruption in Washington and the global banking system.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://home.solari.com/">Website</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8Vq8rpqluEF07NSt9ipCkQ">Youtube</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="joseph-p-farrell--giza-death-star">Joseph P. Farrell — <em>Giza Death Star</em></h3>
<p>Known for his brand of “high octane speculation”, Farrell is an interesting character with unusual ideas. He has a doctorate in patristics and focuses his writing about alternative history and science. He blogs daily about various news items where he injects his unique perspective on world events.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://gizadeathstar.com">Website</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="the-vigilant-citizen">The Vigilant Citizen</h3>
<p>The VC has been running for over ten years. During that time, he has unpacked the esoteric symbolism embedded in pop culture from film and TV to music and fashion. Some of the material may appear to be fringe and speculative — it’s full-on <em>Illuminati</em> — but I’ve included it this list because he shows how pervasive certain messages seem to be in all forms of media.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://vigilantcitizen.com/">Website</a></li>
</ul>
<h3 id="special-mentions">Special Mentions</h3>
<p>Below are a list of other folks in the alt-media space that I check in with on a less regular basis. This is a mixed list of networks, bloggers, Youtubers and other personalities doing their thing in search of Truth.</p>
<p>I’m just going to list them without any caveats and trust that a discerning reader will recognize I don’t endorse everything they say. In fact, I disagree with many of them on a variety of issues, but I still find their opinions and arguments worthwhile.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.activistpost.com/">Activist Post</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.amazingpolly.net/">Amazing Polly</a></li>
<li><a href="https://richieallen.co.uk/">Richie Allen</a></li>
<li><a href="https://caitlinjohnstone.com/">Caitlin Johnstone</a></li>
<li><a href="https://pressfortruth.ca/">Dan Dicks — <em>Press for Truth</em></a></li>
<li><a href="https://davidicke.com/">David Icke</a></li>
<li><a href="https://nomorefakenews.com/">Jon Rappoport</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/TYTComedy">Jimmy Dore</a></li>
<li><a href="https://off-guardian.org/">Off-Guardian</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.projectveritas.com/">Project Veritas</a></li>
<li><a href="https://brandnewtube.com/@DrVernonColeman">Vernon Coleman — <em>An Old Man In A Chair</em></a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/VanessaBeeley">Vanessa Beeley</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/">Zero Hedge</a></li>
</ul>The ToadstoneFor years I’ve been telling friends and family (and anyone else who will listen) to stop following mainstream media (MSM). While I genuinely mean all kinds of media, the one I emphasize the most is the news. I make this suggestion for two reasons: (1) the news tends to report shocking, tragic and depressing stories more than uplifting and life-affirming ones — an improper balance in a healthy info-diet; and (2) it’s riddled with lies and propaganda that unconsciously shape the way we think.Coronavirus Chaos Theory2020-06-11T00:00:00+00:002020-06-11T00:00:00+00:00https://www.thetoadstone.org/posts/coronavirus-chaos-theory<p>It has been roughly three months since the initial stages of the coronavirus outbreak. A great deal has happened over this time, and with the George Floyd/Black Lives Matter protests now blanketing the news, it can be easy to forget how we got to where we are today. While it is abundantly clear to me at this stage that Covid-19 is a cover for a larger agenda, I understand that many will consider this to be a conspiracy theory. The suspicions I expressed in March, however, have since transformed into full-blown incredulity and my rejection of the official narrative has further crystallized. <!--more--> We all have our blind spots, but I do not believe my stance is informed by selfish goals or misunderstanding the “science.” Rather, having a spent a great deal of time looking at the forces at play from as many angles as possible, I genuinely don’t believe the official story holds any water.</p>
<p>Before our collective memory of the “old normal” is replaced by the “new normal”, I’d like to review some of these inconsistencies. My aim is to show that fear of the unknown has yet again been leveraged to confuse, subdue and distract the public while a select few have profited from the chaos while also seizing the opportunity to push through other social initiatives. This larger agenda — the details of which I will explore later — is aimed at radically and swiftly altering just about every aspect of society as we know it. This story may have begun with a supposed viral outbreak, but it will continue under any guise necessary until we, the people, realize what is happening and push back in whatever ways we can.</p>
<p>Before diving into the details, I’d like to recap a few developments since my <a href="/posts/lessons-from-911">initial blog post</a> from early April. At that time I suspected Covid-19 was a 9/11 type event. I speculated it was likely planned in advance, but even if it weren’t, it would be used to justify a series of widespread social and economic changes, not only in the United States, but across much of the world. At that time, this was mostly an informed hunch, but since publishing that post, and with a wealth of new information to consider, my view on the situation hasn’t changed all that much.</p>
<p>Today I still contend that this is an orchestrated event of some kind. I hesitate to use the word “hoax” as I don’t think it has the right connotation and dismisses many legitimate aspects of the recent events. A more apt description might be that of a “manufactured crisis”. Even though I was initially concerned over the release of some kind of engineered pathogen — either deliberate or accidental — my concern over “the virus” has waned considerably. This is because what I see transpiring is primarily a <em>psychological</em> operation, and less of an act of bio-terrorism.</p>
<p>This is despite the fact that I have since learned that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK285579/">viral “gain-of-function” research</a> is very real — even if not for bio-weaponry purposes — and that pathogens escaping from research facilities is <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/3/20/18260669/deadly-pathogens-escape-lab-smallpox-bird-flu">actually somewhat common</a>. Though the majority of these cases are quickly contained, somewhere in the world, some kind of toxic agent is accidentally released every few days. So whether the SARS-CoV-2 virus originated from a lab in Wuhan or not, this theory isn’t as farfetched as it may have sounded a couple of months ago. With initial infection dates being bumped back in many countries and reports of variant strains that predate the Chinese outbreak — <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.24.059576v2">as a study from France indicates</a> — it is very likely there are multiple strains with various origins all contributing to the Covid-19 crisis. Who’s to know? We may never know.</p>
<p>What has been most interesting over the past two months is how these theories have migrated from discussion amongst alternative media circles to the centre stage of American politics. Earlier in May, we saw a number of key players in the White House flip-flop over their views on the origin of the virus. Forbes has been maintaining a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackbrewster/2020/05/06/pompeo-backtracks-about-wuhan-lab-the-latest-in-the-controversial-coronavirus-origin-theory/#1e41d6f42f72">timeline of events</a> related to the US position on the matter, and viewed collectively, Mike Pompeo, Donald Trump, and Anthony Fauci seem to acting out a bad Marx Brothers sketch.</p>
<p>On April 30th, Trump claimed there was “evidence” that the coronavirus originated from a lab in Wuhan. A few days later, Pompeo confirmed what Trump said, but stated it was unlikely the virus had been genetically modified. Fauci then denied it could have originated in a laboratory, maintaining it had jumped from animal to human, either from a bat or another animal at a Chinese wet market. Pompeo later said (again) that there is “enormous evidence” the virus originated from a lab in Wuhan, but backtracked his comments immediately after. Finally — and tying in nicely with my previous allusions to Pearl Harbor and 9/11 — <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52568405">Trump had the following to say</a> on May 6th:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is worse than Pearl Harbor. This is worse than the World Trade Center. There’s never been an attack like this. And it should have never happened. It could have been stopped at the source. It could have been stopped in China. It should have been stopped right at the source, and it wasn’t.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So is Covid-19, in fact, the <em>new</em> “New Pearl Harbor”? I’m actually surprised it has taken this long for the US to point the finger at China. It’s been hinted at for a while, but is now official. I hear echos of George W. Bush announcing to the world that Iraq was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. We now know that was a complete fabrication used to justify the Iraq war, so similarly today, we cannot conclusively take anything Trump or Pompeo says at face value. There may very well be a covert war brewing between the two nations, but ultimately, I believe this episode of political theatre is one big distraction. I think the Chinese connection is important, but not in the scapegoating way it has been presented. I’ll circle back to this point later when we look at the goals of the pandemic agenda, but in the mean time, let’s return to the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak.</p>
<h2 id="looking-back">Looking Back</h2>
<p>It takes a great deal of mental effort to remember exactly how I felt during those first couple weeks in March. Back then, as the crisis spread around the world, the cause for concern was seemingly justified. I felt something was <em>off</em>, but statistical tickers showed plague-like infection numbers and scary death rates. With so many unknowns, the need to do <em>something</em> was apparent. I was then (and remain today) unconvinced that social distancing and wearing a face mask was scientifically sound, but at the very least, I understood the logic behind why borders were closed and stay-at-home orders were rolled out.</p>
<p>We can now see that one of the driving forces behind the lockdown measures in at least the UK, US and Canada was the work of Neil Ferguson of Imperial College — aka “Professor Lockdown.” His computer model predicted <em>millions</em> would die around the world and was cited as the justification for the extreme measures. Not only were Ferguson’s predictions proved wildly wrong, he was later <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-52553229">caught breaking his own lockdown recommendations</a> to visit a romantic partner. This was particularly problematic because he also diagnosed himself as having Covid-19 symptoms in March.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sigh. Developed a slight dry but persistent cough yesterday and self isolated even though I felt fine. Then developed high fever at 4am today. There is a lot of COVID-19 in Westminster.</p>— neil_ferguson (@neil_ferguson) <a href="https://twitter.com/neil_ferguson/status/1240171876695117824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>In early May, he stepped down from his role advising the UK government at the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), but the lockdown continued on anyway. Did he know his model was bogus or was he unable to admit his mistakes? Why weren’t the lockdown policies revisited after this scandal? Amidst all the chaos, answers to these questions still haven’t been provided. In fact, while this was going on, the official UK government website <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/high-consequence-infectious-diseases-hcid#status-of-covid-19">quietly announced</a> that it no longer considered Covid-19 a “high consequence infectious disease (HCID)” and that statement that hasn’t changed since March 19th.</p>
<p>Though Ferguson’s model was wrong, even I will admit there was some logic to the mandates surrounding the stay-at-home orders as to how they related to hospital capacities. We were told these measures were necessary to “flatten the curve” and prevent hospitals from overflowing, even if this would have no effect on the number of infections overall. This made sense at the time, but by roughly mid-April, rumours that hospitals were at half capacity and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/4/8/21213995/coronavirus-us-layoffs-furloughs-hospitals">furloughing their staff</a> became a reality in many cities. On a personal level, my mother’s hours at a hospital in Southern California were reduced to 3 days per week and even then, she was barely filling the time. There were a handful of hotspots, of course — e.g. New York City — but in general, the warning that the medical system would be completely flooded didn’t even come close to fruition. What can explain this? Were we <em>that good</em> at washing our hands and social distancing?</p>
<p>The mandate to wear face masks is another area that has created mass confusion. Even the WHO — apparently one of the few organizations we’re “allowed” to trust — did not recommend wearing a mask <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/30/world/coronavirus-who-masks-recommendation-trnd/index.html">in March</a> and still <a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/when-and-how-to-use-masks">doesn’t recommend</a> wearing one today unless you are sick or caring for someone sick. If you are to wear one, it is only considered effective if it firmly covers your nose and mouth and when used in combination with frequent sanitizing. The CDC, on the other hand, tells us <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html">cloth coverings are useful</a> to prevent the spread of “respiratory droplets” that can supposedly travel around 6 feet. The WHO has a similar distance recommendation (though they don’t suggest face coverings) but theirs is only 3 feet. So which is it?</p>
<p>These two organizations can’t seem to agree on anything. On May 20th, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/planning-scenarios.html">CDC released a report</a> that included a revised best estimate of the Covid-19 fatality rate amongst those with symptoms of 0.4% and an overall rate of 0.26%, roughly that of a strong flu. This is a far cry from the scary <a href="https://time.com/5798168/coronavirus-mortality-rate/">3.4% death rate</a> the WHO was reporting in March, yet very few media outlets have picked up this story. Even today the <a href="https://covid19.who.int/">WHO’s dashboard</a> (and similarly the <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html">Johns Hopkins dashboard</a>) simply show case numbers and death numbers on a world map. Finding reliable case-fatality estimates from these sources is virtually impossible. What are people supposed to make of these figures? I understand the difficulty with modelling these things, but something is very wrong when one organization estimates flu-like numbers while another estimates plague-like numbers.</p>
<p>More recently, there appeared to be some good news from the WHO when on June 8th, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead of the Covid-19 response team, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/09/health/coronavirus-asymptomatic-world-health-organization.html">publicly announced</a> that the likelihood of transmission of the virus by anyone without symptoms was “very rare”. A day later, however, this statement was backtracked and called a “misunderstanding.” Unless someone from the WHO publicly announces they have no idea what they’re doing, it’s going to take a great deal of work for them to regain my trust.</p>
<hr />
<p>Testing is another area that has been problematic, especially because there isn’t just one type of test being administered. I’ve already mentioned how the primary method — the <a href="https://www.emedicinehealth.com/pcr_polymerase_chain_reaction_test/article_em.htm">PCR test</a> — can identify patterns in a piece of genetic material, but does not, by itself, indicate whether a significant amount is found. It is essentially an amplification tool for DNA and RNA samples that can easily generate false positives when testing for the presence of a virus. It’s a fascinating technology, but it is important to recognize it is not perfect when it comes to Covid-19 (or any coronavirus). Alternatively, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/05/01/847368012/how-reliable-are-covid-19-tests-depends-which-one-you-mean">antibody tests</a> have also been used, but are considered less reliable than PCR as they only indicate whether you may have previously been exposed to a virus, not whether you currently have one in your system. Finally, antigen tests are even less reliable but can provide quick results (minutes, not days) though they require further testing to be considered more conclusive. Despite the widespread call to increase testing from many governments — with some regions even suggesting <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/05/07/851610771/u-s-coronavirus-testing-still-falls-short-hows-your-state-doing">testing quotas</a> as prerequisites for fully reopening business and other services — it seems little attention is being paid to how effective these tests actually are.</p>
<p>An interesting story that has been mostly dismissed, or in some cases slandered, by media in the West is that of Tanzanian President, John Magufuli. In early May, he <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=207HuOxltvI">publicly announced</a> that his country had imported testing kits from abroad and decided to “test the testers” by supplying deliberately fraudulent samples to the national lab. Their creative collection included things like motor oil and a variety of animals and local fruit. To their surprise, positive results for Covid-19 were found in samples from a goat, pawpaw, jackfruit, and a local bird called a kware. Magafuli concluded that “there is a dirty game played in these tests” and who can blame him for saying so? This alone doesn’t necessarily prove anything, of course, but it certainly raises questions. <em>Is there</em> a dirty game being played here?</p>
<p>At this point, I am not only sceptical of the testing procedures, but also of the reported death numbers and fatality rates. Contributing to my distrust are the numerous reports that imply death totals have been padded in a number of locations. In a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5f_6ltv7oI">Project Veritas report</a> from late April, several funeral directors in New York recalled people being reported as dying from Covid-19 that weren’t actually tested for the virus at all. In several American states, results from viral tests and antibodies tests have <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/05/cdc-and-states-are-misreporting-covid-19-test-data-pennsylvania-georgia-texas/611935/">been accidentally conflated</a>, bungling any sort of meaningful value they may have had. Consider these cases alongside the CDC’s <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvss/vsrg/vsrg03-508.pdf">generous death reporting guidelines</a> that deem it acceptable to report Covid–19 on a death certificate for someone who has not been tested if it is “suspected or likely”.</p>
<p>There are so many inconsistencies to report and I’ve only touched on a few. For more examples, I recommend <a href="https://swprs.org/a-swiss-doctor-on-covid-19/">Swiss Propaganda Watch</a> for their massive and regularly updated list of data point and other stories. Even if you don’t believe there is a “grand conspiracy” at work here, I hope, at the very least, you have expressed suspicion over the incredibly inconsistent levels of quality within the scientific and medical communities. In 2005, a professor at Stanford University named John Ioaniddis actually published a now widely cited paper on the subject titled <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1182327/">Why Most Published Research Findings Are False</a>. From his statistical analyses, he produced a series of corollaries, three of which I think are particularly relevant today:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>#4: The greater the flexibility in designs, definitions, outcomes, and analytical modes in a scientific field, the less likely the research findings are to be true.</p>
<p>#5: The greater the financial and other interests and prejudices in a scientific field, the less likely the research findings are to be true.</p>
<p>#6: The hotter a scientific field (with more scientific teams involved), the less likely the research findings are to be true.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In other words, research studies with moving goal posts tied to financial incentives involving a large number of scientific teams is less likely to be true than those produced under other circumstances. Covid-19 checks these boxes.</p>
<h2 id="alternative-perspectives">Alternative Perspectives</h2>
<p>Given how much Covid-19 policymaking is supposedly “based on the science”, I find these shortcomings deeply concerning. Many people today hear the word “science” and equate it with some kind of absolute truth that cannot be questioned. Frequently ignored is that science, by its very nature, is constantly evolving and relies on theories, assumptions and frequent challenges. As I see it, much of what we call science today is merely <em>scientism</em>, a pseudo-religion rife with dogma, politics and a self-serving agenda; Covid-19 has exposed this illusion more than anything in recent history. What drives this point home, more than anything, has been the silencing and discrediting of those that dare challenge the gatekeepers and high priests of the “scientific” narrative.</p>
<p>This post would balloon to an unmanageable length if I tried to summarize all of the alternative perspectives on the pandemic, so instead I will provide a round up of a few voices that I have found valuable over the past few months. I encourage anyone curious to review these resources on their own time. These individuals may not all agree on the details of Covid-19, but just about every one of them, in their own way, believes there is <em>something else</em> at play.</p>
<p>In late March, Off-Guardian published <a href="https://off-guardian.org/2020/03/24/12-experts-questioning-the-coronavirus-panic">12 Experts Questioning the Coronavirus Panic</a>. This list included some names like Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi and Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg that I referenced in my post from early April. Even Dr. Michael Osterholm — of whom I was initially critical for dismissing the bio-weapon possibility — is included in this list, stating that a lockdown was not a viable solution. Off-Guardian followed this list up with <a href="https://off-guardian.org/2020/03/28/10-more-experts-criticising-the-coronavirus-panic/">10 more experts</a>, then <a href="https://off-guardian.org/2020/04/17/8-more-experts-questioning-the-coronavirus-panic/">another 8 experts</a> in April, all questioning the narrative. These earlier links may be “old” by news cycle standards but the individuals listed here haven’t changed their tune. Many have continued to voice their opinions and speak out against the status quo.</p>
<p>The independent studio <a href="https://www.journeyman.tv/">Journeyman Pictures</a> has been publishing an interesting interview series called <a href="https://www.bitchute.com/channel/XHnmz5ip7Lla/">Perspectives on the Pandemic</a>. I have linked to their series on Bitchute because half of their videos were removed from YouTube for violating their <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52388586">new content guidelines</a> that warrant removal of “anything that goes against World Health Organization recommendations”. Given my earlier comments about the WHO, you can probably surmise how I feel about this.</p>
<p>Included in the series is a follow up interview with the two Bakersfield doctors whose <a href="https://www.bitchute.com/video/NkiM9fo1Ba0h/">original Covid-19 briefing</a> was also removed from YouTube for suggesting the pandemic wasn’t as deadly as had been portrayed. I shared their original video on social media before it was taken down because I felt their statistical approach to estimating the death rate was more accurate than the simple <em>cases-divided-by-deaths</em> formula frequently shown on various online dashboards. They were also one of the early voices to point out the negative effects of self-isolation and question whether the “cure” (lockdowns) was worse than the disease. Aside from socio-economic impacts, they also pointed out how decreased interactions with other people has a negative effect on a healthy immune system, thus explaining why it is standard practice to quarantine the sick or-at risk, and not the healthy.</p>
<p>Also in the series is a discussion with John Ioannidis from the metascience study mentioned above that I found particularly balanced and informative. Early on, he argued that there was <a href="https://www.statnews.com/2020/03/17/a-fiasco-in-the-making-as-the-coronavirus-pandemic-takes-hold-we-are-making-decisions-without-reliable-data/">not enough data</a> to justify the lockdowns and he did not support the closing of schools either. He was later involved in an <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/health/coronavirus-antibodies-california.html">antibody study in Santa Clara county</a> that indicated the virus was likely less deadly than originally believed. Though he and the other researchers acknowledged their process was not ideal, the findings are still useful and I believe closer to reality than other reports. His second interview from late April is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwPqmLoZA4s&t=2866s">viewable here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.andrewkaufmanmd.com/">Dr. Andrew Kaufman</a> is another interesting voice who has not only been critical of the statistics and lockdown measures, but has even questioned the root of contagion theory itself. In addition to pointing out the flaws in the PCR tests, he has argued that there are scientific problems surrounding whether the SARS-CoV-2 virus has actually been isolated as is claimed. Instead Kaufman believes that Covid-19 symptoms are not caused by a virus, but by spikes in exosomes, naturally occurring byproducts of our cells. I don’t have enough medical knowledge to fully grasp the implications of his ideas, but I’ve found his perspectives interesting at the very least. You can catch an interview with him on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsjSuqCj3Bo">The Last American Vagabond</a> or at <a href="https://londonreal.tv/unmasking-the-lies-around-covid-19-facts-vs-fiction-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic/">London Real TV</a>.</p>
<p>For a different take on the pandemic and with a particular focus on the role of vaccines, research patents, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the short documentary <a href="https://www.bitchute.com/video/sHrpUplJPTUE/">“Plandemic”</a> is worth a watch. It is yet another video censored from YouTube and features the testimony of Dr. Judy Mikovits. She argues that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was genetically manipulated and therefore cannot be considered “naturally occurring”. Mikovits also believes seasonal flu vaccinations have increased the likelihood of contracting Covid-19. She cites a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X19313647?via%3Dihub#b0045">study from 2019</a> that found a possible link between the treatments and coronavirus related illness, a phenomenon called “virus interference”. In addition to highlighting the problems with various medical policies — many of which I’ve mentioned above — Mikovits also touches on the larger forces of corruption within the pharmaceutical industry and how deep state actors stand to gain from the crisis. After facing criticism for her comments in the <em>Plandemic</em> documentary, she responded with an interview on <a href="https://londonreal.tv/responding-to-criticism-surrounding-my-viral-documentary-the-plandemic-dr-judy-mikovits/">London Real</a> that is rather enlightening.</p>
<p>Finally, while on the topic of corruption in Big Pharma, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his organization, <a href="https://childrenshealthdefense.org/">Children’s Health Defense</a>, have put together an incredibly detailed catalogue of major events since 1998, titled <a href="https://childrenshealthdefense.org/news/a-timeline-pandemic-and-erosion-of-freedoms-have-been-decades-in-the-making/">A Timeline—Pandemic and Erosion of Freedoms Have Been Decades in the Making
</a>. RFK Jr. is one of the major voices in the safe vaccine movement and the timeline he and his team have put together is almost a rabbit hole in itself. The events listed paint a complex and sinister picture involving key organizations (e.g. WHO, NIH, NIAID, Imperial College, Moderna, Microsoft, Wuhan Institute of Virology) and key people (e.g. Bill Gates, Anthony Fauci, Neil Ferguson, Shi Zheng-Li, Deborah Birx) in the medical world. This stuff is incredibly hard to follow, but the timeline is one of the best resources I have found so far that attempts to assemble the pieces.</p>
<p>Whether you pursue these alternative thinkers or not, the message I hope to leave you with is that there is a growing community of medical professionals who disagree with the recommendations and policies set forth by governments and established health organizations like the WHO and the CDC.</p>
<h2 id="lock-step">Lock Step</h2>
<p>The bigger question here is why does any of this even matter? Perhaps all the craziness we have experienced over the past three months has simply exposed the structural problems of a globalized world and the fragility of the scientific process. If this were true, however, I’d argue the solutions implemented to fight this supposedly killer virus would look very different. Instead, the vast majority of “new normal” policies seem to have benefited large corporations and data hungry government agencies while the lower and middle classes have been sucker punched by the suspension of the economy. If this pandemic is truly as naturally occurring as we are told, then we as a people have our work cut out for us to quell the outrageous level of income disparity in our society. If Covid-19 is what I have called a “manufactured crisis”, however, then what we are grappling with is a crime against humanity.</p>
<p>While the news today might show you scenes of individuals looting Nikes and other wares, a much more heinous looting of the American financial system has quietly occurred since the signing of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CARES_Act">CARES Act</a> in late March. This economic relief fund distributed trillions of dollars to large corporations in various industries, primarily those considered “too big to fail”. Chris Hedges, in his recent article,<a href="https://scheerpost.com/2020/06/02/the-treason-of-the-ruling-class/">“The Treason of the Ruling Class”</a>, describes the outcomes as follows:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The act allowed the largest corporations to gobble up money that was supposed to go to keep small businesses solvent to pay workers. It gave 80 percent of tax breaks under the stimulus package to millionaires and allowed the wealthiest to get stimulus checks that average $1.7 million. The CARES Act also authorized $454 billion for the Treasury Department’s Exchange Stabilization Fund, a massive slush fund doled out by Trump cronies to corporations that, when leveraged 10 to 1, can be used to create a staggering $4.5 trillion in assets. The act authorized the Fed to give $1.5 trillion in loans to Wall Street, which no one expects will ever be paid back. American billionaires have gotten $434 billion richer since the pandemic. Jeff Bezos, the richest man in the world, whose corporation Amazon paid no federal taxes last year, alone added $34.6 billion to his personal wealth since the pandemic started.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Even those involved in the race for a “cure” are raising some flags. Last month, Moderna, one of the biotechnology companies tapped to produce a Covid-19 vaccine <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/22/investing/moderna-coronavirus-vaccine-stock-sales/index.html">made an announcement</a> about positive results from their early trials, generating a 30% spike in their stock price that resulted in a market value of $29 billion. Not bad for a 10 year old company that has yet to actually sell anything. This story raised eyebrows, however, because the day after the announcement, the company’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Medical Officer dumped their stocks — profiting $19.8M and $8.2M respectively — before the stock then dropped back down by 15% over the following two days. Does this instil anyone with confidence about the life saving work they’re supposedly doing over there?</p>
<hr />
<p>Disaster capitalism is far from new, but Covid-19 may end up being the most egregious in history. Time will tell. Even so, profiteering is not my primary concern over recent events. I am much more troubled by how the pandemic has been used to change the way society functions at its most basic level. It seems as though practically everything — medicine, finance, education, hospitality, travel, communication — is now on the table for reform or “reimagining”.</p>
<p>For a glimpse at where I think things are headed, I recommend Naomi’s Klein’s article <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/05/08/andrew-cuomo-eric-schmidt-coronavirus-tech-shock-doctrine/">Screen New Deal: Under Cover of Mass Death, Andrew Cuomo Calls in The Billionaires to Build a High-Tech Dystopia</a>. The article describes how New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, has tapped Bill Gates and former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt to “reimagine” the state’s “post-Covid reality.” Klein paints a terrifying vision of a siloed, digital-everything, Matrix-type future for New York state which I see as a blueprint for every other major metropolitan area. Here’s Klein:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This is a future in which, for the privileged, almost everything is home delivered, either virtually via streaming and cloud technology, or physically via driverless vehicle or drone, then screen “shared” on a mediated platform… It’s a future in which our every move, our every word, our every relationship is trackable, traceable, and data-mineable by unprecedented collaborations between government and tech giants.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The article also includes this particularly chilling quote from Anuja Sonalker, CEO of a self-parking company:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There has been a distinct warming up to human-less, contactless technology… Humans are biohazards, machines are not.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ever since March, it seems we have been catapulted towards a technologically driven world that doesn’t seem to consider the impact on the human beings that are supposed to live in such a place. Even though I work in the software industry and have long advocated for flexible remote-friendly work schedules, this proposed future sounds utterly dystopian. I won’t want to live in a world entirely mediated by machines. As I see it, technology is only useful if it solves real problems for real people. Much of what’s being described in Klein’s article is a high-tech future that benefits a very specific kind of person, and I guarantee you and I are not part of that special group.</p>
<p>If some of the proposals for New York sound futuristic, I’d remind you of William Gibson’s oft-quoted truism, “The future is already here — it’s just not evenly distributed.” For a taste of the future, we can look at China today, where the “new normal” is already a reality. If you aren’t already familiar with China’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkw15LkZ_Kw">Social Credit System</a>, now would be a good time to learn about it as I believe rest of the world is heading in the same direction.</p>
<p>Whitney Webb’s article <a href="https://www.mintpressnews.com/national-security-state-using-coronavirus-push-artificial-intelligence-driven-mass-surveillance/266820/">Tech Tyranny: How the US National Security State Is Using Coronavirus to Fulfill an Orwellian Vision</a> does a deep dive into how the United States is in the midst of an “arms race” with China over 5G, AI, surveillance, and other Big Brother type technology. Webb examines a <a href="https://epic.org/foia/epic-v-ai-commission/EPIC-19-09-11-NSCAI-FOIA-20200331-3rd-Production-pt9.pdf">presentation received via FOIA request</a> from the Nation Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) whose chairman is Eric Schmidt. Politicians like Donald Trump may claim China is the “enemy”, but in reality, it appears that many factions of the military-industrial-intelligence complex see the country as more of trial run for the West.</p>
<p>It may seem like these initiatives have sprung up over night, but this is far from the truth. Journalist Harry Vox was discussing this exact future as early as 2014. In a rather <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N6ne3dFmP8">prophetic and entertaining interview</a> from that year, he summaries a 2010 document from the Rockefeller Foundation entitled <a href="https://archive.org/details/pdfy-tNG7MjZUicS-wiJb/page/n5/mode/2up">Scenarios for the Future of Technology and International Development</a>. This “Lock Step” scenario describes a hypothetical pandemic stemming from a novel influenza strain originating from “wild geese”. The outcomes include a number of now prescient trends including internet censorship, fMRI health scanning tools in buildings, “biometric IDs” and “tele-presence technologies”. In particular, China’s authoritarian response to the outbreak is praised:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The United States’s initial policy of “strongly discouraging” citizens from flying proved deadly in its leniency, accelerating the spread of the virus not just within the U.S. but across borders. However, a few countries did fare better—China in particular. The Chinese government’s quick imposition and enforcement of mandatory quarantine for all citizens, as well as its instant and near-hermetic sealing off of all borders, saved millions of lives, stopping the spread of the virus far earlier than in other countries and enabling a swifter post-pandemic recovery.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Sound familiar? The rest of the document describes a variety of forces — from technology to philanthropy — and how they would lead us to a “world of tighter top-down government control and more authoritarian leadership”. Was this a prediction or a game plan?</p>
<hr />
<p>It’s hard to know what to make of the months ahead, especially as the ominous warning of a “second wave” has been planted in our minds. Will this come in the form of a spike in infections (either real or manufactured), or will it be something else entirely? In mid-May, Rick Bright, the alleged whistleblower whose warnings of PPE shortages were apparently ignored, <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/coronavirus-us-vaccine-dr-rick-bright-trump-dark-winter-a9515711.html">warned the world</a> at a government hearing that “2020 could be the darkest winter in modern history”. Dark winter? Was he referencing the <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/04/01/coronavirus-pandemic-war-games-simulation-dark-winter/">Dark Winter</a> pandemic war game exercise from 2001 by any chance? The one that ended with “sporadic rioting” and the deployment of the National Guard?</p>
<p>Just like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_government_operations_and_exercises_on_September_11,_2001">Operation Northern Vigilance</a>, a hijacking simulation underway on Sept. 11, 2001, or <a href="https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/event201/about">Event 201</a>, the coronavirus pandemic simulation in late 2019, the growing links between simulations and real events is becoming a concerning trend. You would think that with all these training exercises and strategic think tank documents, we would be better prepared for all these earth-shattering crises. That would only be true, of course, if we assume these exercises are designed to <em>prevent</em> such things.</p>
<p>Three months ago, I urged citizens to “remain vigilant and watchful of opportunism and the abuse of power if we have any hope of returning to our normal way of life.” Today, the writing is on the wall. We are being led into a dystopian future that will only benefit the 1% and the matrix control grid it wields to keep us off track. Any sort of halt to our freedoms — be it for health reasons or civil unrest — will consolidate government power and benefit the unelected technocracy that wish to exert even more control over our lives. My only hope at this stage is that more people will open their eyes to see the war that is going on and not pour too much of their energy into individual battles. We have a long road ahead of us.</p>The ToadstoneIt has been roughly three months since the initial stages of the coronavirus outbreak. A great deal has happened over this time, and with the George Floyd/Black Lives Matter protests now blanketing the news, it can be easy to forget how we got to where we are today. While it is abundantly clear to me at this stage that Covid-19 is a cover for a larger agenda, I understand that many will consider this to be a conspiracy theory. The suspicions I expressed in March, however, have since transformed into full-blown incredulity and my rejection of the official narrative has further crystallized.Lessons from 9/11 and Rejecting the ‘New Normal’2020-04-03T00:00:00+00:002020-04-03T00:00:00+00:00https://www.thetoadstone.org/posts/lessons-from-911<p>The world changed three weeks ago and it’s becoming more and more evident that it’s going to be difficult to return to the way of life we once knew. Fear and disbelief have spread like wildfire as one by one, nations around the world lock down their borders and isolate their citizens to fight the COVID-19 virus. Like everyone else, I’m still processing what is happening and trying to make sense of this devastating global event. You’re probably sick of even thinking about “the virus” at this point, but I hope you’ll consider some of the less discussed corollary issues that I outline in this essay.<!--more--> While this is completely my own opinion, there are references to over 40 supporting articles should anyone wish to explore further. For legibility, some are linked in-text, while others are referenced via the footnotes at the bottom of the page.</p>
<p>Some will find the ideas I examine here controversial, maybe even offensive. I am aware that people have and will continue to die for reasons related to COVID-19, and I do not wish to be insensitive or unkind towards those who have been affected. My aim is not to prove any kind of grand theory, but rather to provide a historical context for what I believe is happening. I am deeply concerned about what is transpiring at this time, and I’m not only referring to the health risks of coronavirus. As hard as it may be, it is essential that we remain vigilant and watchful of opportunism and the abuse of power if we have any hope of returning to our normal way of life.</p>
<h2 id="propaganda-watch">Propaganda Watch</h2>
<p>When the virus first broke out in Wuhan, China in late 2019 — the official story for now — it took until late January before news articles and blog posts about the outbreak started to pop up in my RSS reader. I followed the story from a distance, but didn’t expect the global pandemonium that would follow six weeks later. The real turning point, however, came on March 11th (3/11), when the World Health Organization officially upgraded COVID-19 from an epidemic to a full blown pandemic. As of this writing, that was only three weeks ago, but given how much has transpired since then, the pre-COVID era already feels like a distant memory.</p>
<p>In early February, before waves of cases started appearing outside China, it was hard to get a grasp on the true nature of the outbreak. China isn’t the most transparent nation and it appeared that officials might be downplaying the threat of the virus, or even suppressing the release (either accidental or deliberate) of a dangerous bio-weapon. By the time cases started racking up in Europe, the rest of the world took notice and started asking questions. How does this new virus compare to Swine flu or Ebola? Is it more or less contagious? Is it more deadly? What’s the baseline?</p>
<p>Finding answers to these questions hasn’t be easy. In a sane world, we would turn to our news networks for the latest on the story. Over the past few decades, however, media ownership in the West has been reduced to a handful of major players and is far from trustworthy. <sup id="fnref:1"><a href="#fn:1" class="footnote">1</a></sup> Through sensationalism, fear-mongering and misrepresentation, the news today isn’t much better than Hollywood in terms of providing reliable information. Truly getting to the bottom of a story today requires an enormous amount of work. Not only must we consult multiple sources (both mainstream and alternative) and do our own research, but we also have to maneuver our way through misinformation, disinformation, censorship, and good old fashioned propaganda.</p>
<p>Sometimes these pitfalls are easy to spot. Actor Sean Penn recently appeared on CNN, for example, and when asked about US military involvement in the coronavirus crisis, he made the following statement: “There is no greater humanitarian force on the planet than the United States military”. <sup id="fnref:2"><a href="#fn:2" class="footnote">2</a></sup> <em>Really</em>, Sean? Actors are excellent agents of indoctrination because of their familiarity and powerful brand image — we like the characters they play on the big screen, so a part of us <em>wants</em> to believe them, even if they spout nonsense.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"There is no greater humanitarian force on the planet than the United States military... it's really time to give the military the full breadth and control of this operation."<br /><br />- Actor and activist Sean Penn on battling coronavirus< a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CNNTownHall?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CNNTownHall</a><a href="https://t.co/tVVAtXQVh5">https://t.co/tVVAtXQVh5</a> <a href="https://t.co/hnAfQq5UmK">pic.twitter.com/hnAfQq5UmK</a></p>— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) <a href="https://twitter.com/AC360/status/1240826557154963456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>Many of us are immune to this kind of content, but sometimes propaganda is more subtle. Perhaps since this all started, you’ve revisited the 2011 film, <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contagion_(2011_film)">Contagion</a></em>, directed by Steven Soderbergh and loaded with A-list movie stars. Thanks to input from the WHO and the CDC — major players in both the fictional MEV-1 outbreak and the real life COVID-19 — the film has a chilling sense of realism, and almost feels like a documentary. From “social distancing” and lockdowns, to supermarket shortages and travel bans, so far, the real life coronavirus is following the film’s blueprint quite closely. In the movie, the MEV-1 outbreak ultimately leads to a global shutdown lasting months, followed by martial law and the roll out of FEMA camps while scientists rush to find a cure. When a vaccine is finally produced, it becomes mandatory in order to re-enter society and is enforced by a system of barcoded bracelets (more on this later).</p>
<p>Perhaps you recall Alan Krumwiede, the “conspiracy theorist” character played by Jude Law. In the film, he questions the vaccine, peddles a phony cure and is later arrested for “security fraud, conspiracy, and most likely manslaughter.” This may seem innocent enough, just part of the story, but we must consider the implications of such a portrayal. By depicting Krumwiede as a slimy opportunist, it subconsciously cautions us from listening to anyone that isn’t deemed a “trusted source” like the WHO and CDC. This kind of propaganda is everywhere and it doesn’t come with a warning label. Clandestine organizations like the CIA know how effectively this works and has exerted its <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/07/operation-tinseltown-how-the-cia-manipulates-hollywood/491138/">influence through Hollywood for decades</a>. It should be no surprise that the cast of the film were recently called up to produce a video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1IxmIw0lk0">Control the Contagion: Spreading Facts, Not Fear</a>, reminding us to “social distance” and wash our hands like our “life depends on it”.</p>
<p>The main problem here is that “trusted sources” like the WHO aren’t the squeaky clean organizations they’re presented to be. To begin with, of their $4.5 billion budget, the two largest donors are the US government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). <sup id="fnref:3"><a href="#fn:3" class="footnote">3</a></sup> The latter of the two makes “voluntary contributions” which means they can dictate what the funding goes towards. The BMGF is the largest private foundation of its kind in the world, managing assets worth $46.8 billion. They are a powerful organization and incredibly bullish on vaccine research, an already contentious issue that will only be amplified as the COVID-19 crisis progresses. Leave vaccine-science aside for the moment and consider only the potential conflict of interest.</p>
<p>Equally concerning is the background of the WHO’s current director, Tedros Adhanom. Not only does he have a checkered past including leadership in a terrorist organization , but in 2017, he was scrutinized for suppressing three Cholera outbreaks in Ethiopia and Sudan. <sup id="fnref:4"><a href="#fn:4" class="footnote">4</a></sup><sup id="fnref:5"><a href="#fn:5" class="footnote">5</a></sup> More recently, Adhanom praised China for their ‘transparency’ during the Wuhan outbreak, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. <sup id="fnref:6"><a href="#fn:6" class="footnote">6</a></sup> These are only a couple items in a <a href="https://www.roughestimate.org/roughestimate/the-crimes-of-tedros-adhanom">long list</a> of highly questionable associations over the course of his career. Dr. Anthony Fauci — a dubious character getting a lot of face time at the moment — recently called Adhanom an “outstanding person”, prompting anyone paying attention to question recommendations coming out of the White House as well. <sup id="fnref:7"><a href="#fn:7" class="footnote">7</a></sup></p>
<h2 id="just-the-facts-please">Just the Facts, Please</h2>
<p>On a more individual level, there have been a variety of epidemiologists, microbiologists and other experts sharing opinions and perspectives on what is transpiring. Some have been warning people that the worst is yet to come while others have been sceptical about how the virus is being evaluated.</p>
<p>On March 10, an American epidemiologist named Michael Osterholm appeared on the popular Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) podcast. Right off the bat, he warned people about the severity of the outbreak and that we should expect at least 3 to 6 months before it is under control. In Osterholm’s words, “We’re handling this like it’s a corona blizzard. This is a coronavirus winter.” The interview is very interesting, but I was concerned by a few things. First, Osterholm’s dismissal of the bio-attack theory amounted to little more than “trust me, it’s not” despite the fact that humans have been tinkering with dangerous infectious agents for decades and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/05/when-viruses-escape-the-lab/371202/">continue to do so</a>. From experimental vaccines linked to the <a href="http://themillenniumreport.com/2018/11/spanish-flu-of-1918-was-really-a-bioterror-attack-on-humanity/">1918 “Spanish flu”</a> and <a href="https://priceonomics.com/how-the-us-government-tested-biological-warfare-on/">bacteria sprayed over San Francisco in 1950</a> to speculation that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/10/world/nobel-peace-laureate-seeks-to-explain-remarks-about-aids.html">HIV was created in a lab</a>, bio-warfare is very real and far from new, but no one wants to discuss it.</p>
<p>Also concerning is how, later in the interview, Rogan unsubtly portrays people who are distrustful of vaccines as “wackos”. <sup id="fnref:8"><a href="#fn:8" class="footnote">8</a></sup> This is then followed by Osterholm’s buoyant promotion of the sycophantic Peter Hotez, an aggressive vaccine pusher with dubious ties to Big Pharma. <sup id="fnref:9"><a href="#fn:9" class="footnote">9</a></sup> Something to bear in mind is that JRE is one of the most popular podcasts in the world — this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3URhJx0NSw">YouTube video</a> alone has 13M views as of this writing. We have to consider why Osterholm, of all the epidemiologists in the United States, was the one to appear on the podcast.</p>
<p>On the other end of the spectrum, there are people like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_AyuhbnPOI">Dr. Wolfgang Wodarg</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBB9bA-gXL4">Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi</a> who have expressed concerns over the testing methods and general evaluation of the virus. Both men remind us that coronaviruses are anything but new; this family of viruses has lived alongside animals and humans for decades, contributing to deaths every day that are rarely (if ever) recorded as “corona deaths”. When it comes to COVID-19, both suggest that inconsistent medical record keeping could be inflating the death rate and overall threat level.</p>
<p>My very limited understanding of the RT-PCR testing kits is that they evaluate the <em>presence</em> of a viral strain, but not necessarily the <em>quantity</em> of the strain. It’s possible that some countries are counting deaths for anyone with COVID-19 in their system even if that is not what they ultimately die of. There is a critical difference between dying <em>of</em> a coronavirus and dying <em>with</em> a coronavirus. To tackle issues like these, this article, <a href="https://swprs.org/a-swiss-doctor-on-covid-19/">Facts About Covid-19</a>, first published on March 14 and updated daily since, has kept track of the growing number of inconsistencies in the statistical reporting all over the world. It’s worth a read.</p>
<p>An MIT biology researcher named Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai has also criticized the fear mongering and the senseless preventative measures. <sup id="fnref:10"><a href="#fn:10" class="footnote">10</a></sup> Like Wodarg and Bhakdi, Ayyadurai has attempted to dispel some of the misleading information regarding how viruses affect the body. In a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QboWRpBjK8E">recently published presentation</a>, he explains, “viruses do not harm or kill us. It is the overreaction of a weakened and dysfunctional immune system to the virus that results in our own body attacking its own cells, tissues and organs.” “Dysfunctions”, he says, “are caused by underling pre-existing conditions”, information that correlates with the reports of the elderly and those with other health issues being most at risk. This is a simple, but important distinction that I don’t believe is being clarified enough by the media.</p>
<p>In a letter Ayyadurai recently <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/453690713/Dr-Shiva-Ayyadurai-s-letter-to-President-Donald-Trump">wrote to President Trump</a>, he outlines a plan of action that focuses on <em>boosting the immune system</em> instead of forcing people inside and turning everyone into paranoid, hand-washing germaphobes. He recommends a four tier triage system with quarantines only for those who test positive for COVID-19. His treatment plan focuses on varying amounts of vitamins A, C, D and iodine, depending on the severity of the case.</p>
<p>Is it possible the world has reacted unnecessarily due to skewed numbers and media sensationalism? Perhaps there are multiple strains, some worse than others? Maybe we could take a more conservative stance on quarantines and focus on testing while the rest of us get some sun and eat more leafy greens? Would that be so controversial?</p>
<p>Of course, there are many theories and opinions floating around at this time, many of which are sensational in their own right. In alternative circles, there are those calling the entire thing a “hoax”, while others, fully aware of how the media propaganda machine works, are expressing great concern over what could be a premeditated bio-attack with potentially dire consequences. Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum, the lack of agreement about what’s going on combined with the tsunami of reporting on the subject is a recipe for disaster. A lot could be blamed on human folly, but I’ve felt since the beginning that something doesn’t add up.</p>
<p>My hot take as of April 2, 2020? The virus is very real and very contagious, but not necessarily as life threatening as it’s being portrayed (especially if you’re healthy). I’m not confident that the testing is consistent, but I also believe it’s possible there are multiple strains, some worse than others. I’m sceptical that the virus is of natural origins and I remain very open to the possibility that it was deliberately exposed to the general public in different locations around the world. Bio-warfare is real and despite what anyone says, such a theory has not been “debunked” — we simply don’t have all the facts yet. The primary goal of such an action would not necessarily be to harm as many people as possible, but instead act as a cover for other social, political or economic goals. It is already serving as an excellent catalyst for rapid societal shifts that could have been planned well in advance of the outbreak. As farfetched as that sounds, stranger and more sinister things have happened before.</p>
<h2 id="311-the-new-911">3/11: The New 9/11</h2>
<p>While the coronavirus outbreak story began sometime in late 2019, it was March 11 (3/11), when it was ruled a full blown pandemic. That date will likely be remembered as the beginning of the first true global shutdown in history. When the wave of panic first hit Southern California — where I’m writing this blog post from — I started to experience an odd sense of deja vu that still hasn’t gone away. Something about all of this has a tactile familiarity to another pivotal event in the not so distant past: The September 11 attacks. I was too young to fully appreciate the implications of the event at the time, but I knew it was a big deal. As I’m sure many people do, I can still vividly remember the video footage of the planes being shown <em>over</em> and <em>over</em> and <em>over</em> again on the news. What I didn’t understand until years later was how pivotal that day would be in shaping the future of not only the United States, but the entire world. We now have the pre-9/11 era and the post-9/11 era.</p>
<p>I’m not going to try to convince anyone now that 9/11 was an orchestrated event (i.e. an “inside job”) because at this point — <em>19 years later</em> — you’ve probably made up your mind. Whether you believe the whole thing was planned, the planes were “allowed” to hit the towers, or a small group of extremists managed to penetrate the security of the most powerful country in the world, it doesn’t actually matter anymore. In the year 2020, hindsight tells the story. The attacks gave the United States the perfect opportunity to roll out an agenda known famously as the “War on Terror” which lead to two highly controversial wars abroad. Perhaps the most insidious agenda push, however, came “at home” in the form of the US Patriot act giving US intelligence agencies permission to spy on its citizens.</p>
<p>Now I’m far from the only person to have made the connection between COVID-19 and 9/11. Much of alternative media is looking at the September 11 attacks as a blueprint for what’s to come. Barbara Honegger’s recent piece <a href="https://ahtribune.com/world/covid-19/3991-coronavirus-new-pearl-harbor.html">“Here We Go Again: 9/11, Coronavirus and Another ‘New Pearl Harbor’”</a> goes back even further to 1941 to remind us of Pearl Harbor, an early example of a possible false flag in American history. The Japanese “surprise attack” on the Hawaiian naval base provided the US government the perfect reason it needed to enter WWII. There’s evidence to suggest that the US not only intercepted Japanese communications and allowed the bombings to occur, but that they even enacted geopolitical policies to provoke Japan into making an attack. <sup id="fnref:11"><a href="#fn:11" class="footnote">11</a></sup> Sound familiar?</p>
<p>Prior to the war, the US was still recovering from the Great Depression, but it emerged as a global superpower. Hollywood and the history books love to paint the American involvement in WWII as a story about “doing what was right”, but often neglect to mention what it stood to gain from entering the conflict. Frequently omitted are facts like how, for example, at the end of the war, the US <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip">recruited thousands of Nazi scientists</a> to work on government contracts in what would eventually become NASA.</p>
<p>For anyone familiar with the term “false flag”, this is nothing new. Six decades later, when the WTC towers went down, the memory of Pearl Harbor was evoked to bolster support for America going to war in the Middle East. We were lead to believe it was yet another “surprise attack” from terrorists who sought to take down American “freedom”. Honegger writes:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>After 9/11 Bush, Rice, etc. claimed that ‘no one could have imagined’ the disaster to come before Sept. 11. We now know, however, that Bush’s and Rice’s own executive branch was conducting counterterrorism ‘exercises’ on scenarios involving plane threats targeting both the WTC and the Pentagon. In fact, drills based on these very scenarios took place on the morning of 9/11, literally as the actual violent events were unfolding, i.e. How could it be that one could not know about something that one was already implemented in the hypothetical realm of military drills?</p>
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<p>How does this relate to COVID-19, or what Honegger calls the <em>New</em> ‘New Pearl Harbor’? Enter <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoLw-Q8X174">Event 201</a>, a simulation exercise in late 2019, organized by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the World Economic Forum and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The focus of the exercise: a coronavirus outbreak. Honegger again:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Now Trump is repeating the lie over and over again in every White House Coronavirus briefing that “No one could have known” what was coming.” He makes this declaration while it is a matter of well-documented public record that a U.S. Navy Admiral and top leaders from U.S. business and government conducted a Coronavirus crisis scenario involving hypothetical emergency responses in an exercise called Event 201. Under the direction of vaccine-czar Bill Gates, the 201 Event took place last October shortly before the claimed origin date for the virus in Wuhan China.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We are hearing echos of the same duplicity from 19 years ago. It took less than a day before President Bush was telling the world the WTC attacks were orchestrated by Osama Bin Laden, launching the War on Terror and creating an atmosphere of fear and suspicion that terrorists were lurking around every corner. Similarly, Trump and other leaders around the world have been equally as quick to “declare war” on the coronavirus, priming citizens for “warlike” conditions. How is such a response at all appropriate if COVID-19 is of natural origins? And by the same logic, if we <em>are</em> at war, why then is any suggestion that the virus was released as a <em>weapon</em> considered “conspiracy theory”?</p>
<p>It’s still too soon so know what’s really going on, but Honegger’s final suggestion is apt: “We need to keep our eyes, ears and especially minds wide open in the coming days and months leading up to the Nov. 3rd presidential election.” I think the scope of our attention must expand well beyond who becomes the next American president, but her call for people to stay vigilant and alert is right on the money.</p>
<h2 id="this-aint-normal">This Ain’t Normal</h2>
<p>Perhaps I’ve lost you already by bringing up topics like 9/11. Some will roll their eyes at another “conspiracy theory” that has been “debunked”, but I know there are also many rational, level-headed people out there who have seen through the deception and are aware of how corruption has systematically infected many of the largest institutions and organizations around the globe. I’ve made this connection because I’m genuinely concerned about how quickly people are accepting the “new normal”. This pandemic could very easily be used to erode human rights in the name of “health and safety”, and we’re already seeing this unfold.</p>
<p>“Social distancing is here to stay for much more than a few weeks”, an <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/615370/coronavirus-pandemic-social-distancing-18-months/">article from the MIT Technology Review</a> begins. “It will upend our way of life, in some ways forever”. This article was published only <em>days</em> after self-isolation and social distancing were rolled out in the US. The air of resigned inevitability is staggering. A quick search for “new normal” will return many more articles with essentially the same message.</p>
<p>On principle, I reject this defeatist attitude entirely. I will tolerate the limitations for now, but I will not accept these conditions as simply “the way things are now”. There is absolutely nothing normal about staying inside all day and keeping 6 feet away from other human beings on the odd occasion you do leave the house. <strong>This is not normal. Do not forget that.</strong></p>
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<p>Around the world, we’re already witnessing the use of strict sanctions and invasive technology to enforce the lockdown. Smartphone data is being used in the United States, Israel, and the UK to track the spread of the virus and see which regions are respecting social distancing rules. <sup id="fnref:12"><a href="#fn:12" class="footnote">12</a></sup> <sup id="fnref:13"><a href="#fn:13" class="footnote">13</a></sup> <sup id="fnref:14"><a href="#fn:14" class="footnote">14</a></sup> In some countries, drones equipped with loudspeakers have started flying around neighbourhoods to make sure people are following the rules. <sup id="fnref:15"><a href="#fn:15" class="footnote">15</a></sup> This surveillance method started in China, but has since spread to much of Europe as well. <sup id="fnref:16"><a href="#fn:16" class="footnote">16</a></sup><sup id="fnref:17"><a href="#fn:17" class="footnote">17</a></sup> In Singapore, citizens face fines up to S$10,000 or up to six months in jail for quarantine violations. <sup id="fnref:18"><a href="#fn:18" class="footnote">18</a></sup> Parts of Canada and the UK have set up “snitch lines” to enable people to report others who are violating self-isolation rules. <sup id="fnref:19"><a href="#fn:19" class="footnote">19</a></sup> <sup id="fnref:20"><a href="#fn:20" class="footnote">20</a></sup></p>
<p>The only reason we are tolerating this is because of the current health crisis. Under any other circumstances, this would be a totalitarian nightmare. This is literally <em>1984</em> on a global scale and it only took three weeks to roll out. When the virus finally stabilizes, are we confident these draconian rules won’t linger?</p>
<p>Should there be an abuse of power while we are under lockdown, the directive limiting the size of gatherings has effectively taken away freedom of assembly rights. As this <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/doj-suspend-constitutional-rights-coronavirus-970935/">recent Rolling Stone article reports</a>, the US Department of Justice has already asked Congress to draft legislation “allowing chief judges to indefinitely hold people without trial and suspend other constitutionally protected rights during the coronavirus and other emergencies”. Can you imagine the implications if these are ushered in?</p>
<p>Facebook has <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2020/03/17/facebook-deleting-coronavirus-posts-leading-to-charges-of-censorship/">already been caught</a> censoring posts related to coronavirus, all in the name of “fighting misinformation”. They later apologized and called the issue a “bug”, but the truth is platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have been cracking down on what users are allowed to discuss for a while now. Many YouTubers who publish videos about controversial topics have been “demonetized” and videos from “official” sources are promoted in their place. This trend is only going to continue for anyone with any kind of dissenting opinion about COVID-19.</p>
<p>I’m not even going to touch what’s going in on the stock market, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/03/24/821000049/pandemic-bonds">pandemic bonds</a>, <a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/political/there-wasteful-spending-coronavirus-stimulus-bill-spoiler-alert-bigly">oddities in the US stimulus package</a> or how a mysterious supplier discovered a stockpile of 39 million face masks and is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-39-million-n95-medical-masks-stockpile-us-hospitals-union-2020-3">selling them</a> to California and New York for <em>$5 a mask</em>. All we need to know is that pandemonium begets opportunism.</p>
<h2 id="vaccine-worries">Vaccine Worries</h2>
<p>I’ve mentioned vaccines a number of times in this essay, and not in a particularly good light. Before I end this post, I feel I should briefly clarify my stance. I would praise and accept vaccines if they were 100% safe and 100% effective, but they are neither of those things. I know they can be successful for treating certain diseases in certain cases, but I object to seasonal use (e.g. the flu vaccine) or pre-emptive use (e.g. vaccinating babies or children). I believe the body is incredibly effective at healing itself if you nourish it and avoid interfering with its natural processes.</p>
<p>In the case of COVID-19, my primary concern with any future vaccines are the strings that may come attached to them. <a href="https://www.gavi.org/">GAVI</a> — known as “The Vaccine Alliance” and another recipient of over $1B from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation — is the driving force behind a “digital identity” initiative called <a href="https://id2020.org/">ID2020</a>. <sup id="fnref:21"><a href="#fn:21" class="footnote">21</a></sup> A 2018 article from their official blog titled <a href="https://medium.com/id2020/immunization-an-entry-point-for-digital-identity-ea37d9c3b77e">“Immunization: an entry point for digital identity”</a> outlines how they plan to use vaccinations as a way to provide “digital certificates” for infants and children. This “biometrically-linked digital ID” technology would be readable by scanning devices that provide that person’s medical history and grant (or deny) access to certain services accordingly. <sup id="fnref:22"><a href="#fn:22" class="footnote">22</a></sup> Remember the barcode bracelets in <em>Contagion</em>?</p>
<p>Vaccines as a medical treatment strategy is one thing. When they are linked to invasive RFID technology like the <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/an-invisible-quantum-dot-tattoo-is-being-suggested-to-id-vaccinated-kids">Quantum Dot ‘Tattoo’</a> — yet <em>another</em> project funded by BMGF — and it’s a different conversation entirely. The potential for human rights abuse could be devastating. In the wrong hands, this could be one major leap forward towards a dystopian society the likes of <em><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gattaca">Gattaca</a></em> where your DNA dictates your future. The technology isn’t far away, and there are powerful forces that (I believe) are actively trying to create such a reality. COVID-19 could serve as a major catalyst in furthering such an agenda.</p>
<h2 id="staying-sane">Staying Sane</h2>
<p>There is nothing pleasant about this crisis. If I had faith in the system, I would sit back and “ride it out” with everyone else, but alarm bells have been going off in my head for a while now. For whatever reason, I tend to gain clarity and focus in times of crisis and I feel compelled to look <em>closer</em> when others look away.</p>
<p>Amidst all the chaos, however, it’s wonderful to see how flexible and creative people have been over the past few weeks. Already I’ve participated in group video chats, remotely watched movies with friends, and this weekend I’ll be running a “virtual race “with over 1000 other runners around the world. If we have to stay inside, we better make the best of it. This kind of ingenuity is great for the time being, but let’s not pretend it makes up for everything else that has been cancelled or postponed indefinitely.</p>
<p>Be responsible and take the necessary safety precautions needed at this time, but don’t get too comfortable. We are in the middle of an <em>intermediary</em> step, but one that may not be temporary if we aren’t careful. Assuming the threat level of the virus is genuine, the preventative measures like closing borders, shutting down non-essential businesses, and asking people to self-isolate all makes sense to a certain degree. Over the long term, however, this diminished “way of life” will drain the human spirit and lead to other much more dire consequences. Humans are innately social creatures and no matter what you call it, “social distancing” and “self-isolating” run counter to our natural way of being. Solitary confinement is used in prisons as punishment and can lead to psychotic behaviour, suicidal thoughts, hallucinations, and paranoia. <sup id="fnref:23"><a href="#fn:23" class="footnote">23</a></sup> There is no difference between isolation and self-isolation except for who’s enforcing it.</p>
<p>So please: stop spreading the message that “this is the new normal”. By repeating it over and over again, you’re training your subconscious to think something <em>abnormal</em> is normal. War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance Is Strength. Are you following?</p>
<p>I know many people are afraid right now. Not only are some getting sick, but many have been laid off and are uncertain about the future. There is plenty to be concerned about, but remember, fear is optional. Panic is optional. The media machine is incredibly good at fear-mongering, but no external force can make you feel anything you don’t want to feel. If you’re going to follow this thing daily, ask yourself: am I reading the news to get useful information, or am I checking compulsively to get my daily dose of fear porn? There is a way to follow this coronavirus story without filling yourself with fear and anxiety. Don’t be an ostrich with your head in the sand; be a giraffe with your head above the crowd.</p>
<p>Like all things in life, this too shall pass. There is no better time than during a crisis to practice being kinder and more understanding. Even if we’re not “allowed” to be physically close to each other at this time, don’t let that divide us. Shaming, snitching and criticizing dissenting opinions will destroy society a lot faster than any virus will. Let’s lean into being the best version of ourselves during this time and keep our eyes, ears, minds, and our <em>hearts</em> open.</p>
<h3 id="footnotes">Footnotes</h3>
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<li id="fn:1">
<p><a href="https://www.visualcapitalist.com/changing-landscape-big-media/">Visual Capitalist. Changing Landscape Media</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
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<li id="fn:2">
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/AC360/status/1240826557154963456">Sean Penn CNN Interview</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
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<li id="fn:3">
<p><a href="https://andrewharmer.org/2018/06/07/whos-funding-who/">Who’s Funding WHO?</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
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<p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/who-chief-tedros-questionable-past-coronavirus">WHO chief’s questionable past comes into focus following coronavirus response</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
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<li id="fn:5">
<p><a href="https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/fully-complicit-terrible-suffering-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus-blamed-2017-cholera">‘Fully Complicit In the Terrible Suffering’: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Blamed For 2017 Cholera Outbreaks</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
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<li id="fn:6">
<p><a href="https://dailycaller.com/2020/03/22/who-director-general-tedros-adhanom-ghebreyesus-china-coronavirus-pandemic-cover-up/">Top WHO Official Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Won Election With China’s Help. Now He’s Running Interference For China On Coronaviru</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:7">
<p><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transcript-dr-anthony-fauci-on-face-the-nation-february-16-2020/">Transcript: Dr. Anthony Fauci on “Face the Nation,” February 16, 2020</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:8">
<p><a href="https://youtu.be/E3URhJx0NSw?t=3366">Joe Rogan Experience #1439 - Michael Osterholm (56:00)</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:9">
<p><a href="https://www.ageofautism.com/2019/12/robert-kennedy-applogizes-to-peter-hotez-hookworm-lyin-and-stinker.html">Robert Kennedy Applogizes to Peter Hotez Hookworm, Lyin’ and Stinker</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:10">
<p><a href="https://techstartups.com/2020/03/12/mit-biologist-says-fear-mongering-coronavirus-will-go-biggest-fraud-manipulate-economies/">MIT biologist says fear mongering on coronavirus will go down as biggest fraud to manipulate economies</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:11">
<p><a href="https://www.veteranstoday.com/2019/10/30/was-pearl-harbor-a-false-flag-operation/">Was Pearl Harbor a False Flag Operation?</span></a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:12">
<p><a href="https://archive.fo/hBiY8">Smartphone data reveal which Americans are social distancing (and not)</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:13">
<p><a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-cellphone-tracking-authorized-by-israel-to-be-used-for-enforcing-quarantine-orders-1.8681979">In Dead of Night, Israel Approves Harsher Coronavirus Tracking Methods Than Gov’t Stated</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:14">
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/27/watchdog-approves-use-uk-phone-data-if-helps-fight-coronavirus">Watchdog approves use of UK phone data to help fight coronavirus</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:15">
<p><a href="https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3064986/china-adapts-surveying-mapping-delivery-drones-task">China adapts surveying, mapping, delivery drones to enforce world’s biggest quarantine and contain coronavirus outbreak</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:16">
<p><a href="https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/french-cops-use-speaker-drones-to-enforce-coronavirus-lockdown/">French police the latest to use speaker drones to enforce coronavirus lockdown</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:17">
<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spanish-police-using-drones-to-ask-people-stay-at-home-2020-3">Spain’s police are flying drones with speakers around public places to warn citizens on coronavirus lockdown to get inside</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:18">
<p><a href="https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/covid-19-stay-home-notice-safe-distancing-jail-fine-12581510">Jail terms, fines for those who breach COVID-19 safe-distancing rules, stay-home notice</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:19">
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-information-lines-new-1.5507116">New COVID-19 information line allows people to report rule-breakers</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:20">
<p><a href="https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/uk-police-force-creates-tool-lets-people-snitch-others-not-social-distancing">UK Police Force Creates Tool That Lets People Snitch On Others For Not “Social Distancing”</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:21">
<p><a href="https://www.gavi.org/investing-gavi/funding/donor-profiles/bill-melinda-gates-foundation">GAVI - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:22">
<p><a href="https://medium.com/@id2020/request-for-information-a3bb28daf54f">ID 2020 - Request for Information</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
<li id="fn:23">
<p><a href="https://www.socialconnectedness.org/the-effects-of-social-isolation-on-prisoners/">The Effects of Isolation on Prisoners</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="reversefootnote">↩</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
</div>The ToadstoneThe world changed three weeks ago and it’s becoming more and more evident that it’s going to be difficult to return to the way of life we once knew. Fear and disbelief have spread like wildfire as one by one, nations around the world lock down their borders and isolate their citizens to fight the COVID-19 virus. Like everyone else, I’m still processing what is happening and trying to make sense of this devastating global event. You’re probably sick of even thinking about “the virus” at this point, but I hope you’ll consider some of the less discussed corollary issues that I outline in this essay.