Nelson Lowhim's Blog, page 29

Dumbocrats

So now it appears that our dems in the west coast and the fed gov seem to be bending over to either the centrists or the right wing crazies and lift mask mandates as well as vaxx requirements. The dumb is infecting the entire ruling class.



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Get them Mags.

This is a place that I've been published at, but it's a real good magazine that you should show your support to. Brilliant and they're down to only a few ones left, so get them while you can!
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Marlon James' Book is Out!

On the 15th, which should be soon, it's coming out. Moon Witch Spider King . First was impressive (took it's time settling into my brain) and this one can only get better. Also hoping to get this book soon enough. 
meanwhile the world keeps dancing the edge of dumb. Freedom truckers trying to block entire bridges between countries with only a handful of protestors [1]. Great. 
Meanwhile, ID docs though much needed during a pandemic are still given pay cuts. Other docs are threatened. Some stupid out there that really does seem associated to the pandemic (virus in the head? Who knows), who knows, of course. It seems that in the US it's the worst.
In Seattle we have blue pills everywhere. But not what you're thinking, but rather fentanyl. Also some bad kinds of meth. Guess we're looking at things getting worse for some time. 
Then, since we're not he downslope of Omicron cases, it seems to me that people are relaxing a bit too much already. Here are some insights:


Be safe out there. 


[1] Yeah, the MSM has a right wing tilt. Look at BLM marches with 15M+ protestors. Here we have, what, 10k protestors tops? And the media covers it like it's huge, when they're just punching above their weight because the cops like the right. 
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Karibu! No War with Russia

So a spike of traffic, and of course, I get my usual little bit of spam comments. Not sure if it's anything but web bots, though I have to ask, isn't it a waste?
So back on the topic of Ukraine and Russia and Putin and the drumbeat of war here in the US. So here's some anti war stuff you'll never see. I already shared previous information on how Putin views this, though few recognize the legit threat that any Russian leader would see in Ukraine going over to a hostile band of rogues (NATO) [1]. And we won't let them in, but we won't say that they won't go in either. So we're kinda goading Ukraine on without the actual assurances we need. Just like in Georgia (we goaded that leader into attacking some Russia-majority part and that led to Russia coming in and stamping them and cutting off that piece of country):


So it appears that Russia will never give up Crimea. That's understandable, IMO, and should be worked into a peace deal that we have coming up [2] and need for a nation with nukes. Donbass is another issue. Here we see the Russia map claiming that Ukraine is trying to take back Donbass (which is framed as trying to kill innocent Russia-aligned people there. Not sure I entirely buy it, but if Ukraine, at our behest, is increasing attacks [3], then of course our media isn't telling the full story  are they?
Then there's the matter of Russia conducting military exercises on their own soil. Note we do this all the time on their borders, and other hostile nation's borders, yet we don't hear that in our MSM. More manufacturing consent. Note again, one has to take into account the issue of Ukrainian attacks on Donbass. 
Then, there's the matter that most people on both sides don't want a war. But it is oligarchs on each side. Note on our side, we're way more powerful and have missiles on their border, which we would not put up with on our borders, and we reply on their borders, which we wouldn't put up with either, and we mainly think that Russia is "weak" so our state and DOD want to push them around and have them "take their spinach" in terms of their pecking order in the world. 
Note between us and Putin, we lie more about what we will do in terms of aggression. [4] There are some pointing to how with the newest natural gas pipe to Germany (we don't want) that we're pushing this so that EU relies on our natural gas and also, if we get Ukraine we can help stop any encroachment from China (it's Silk Road, helping countries like Ukraine). [5]
Finally we have nukes involved and so does Russia and this is the main reason people like me say "don't be dumb". 
[1] And again, note, we're not going to let Ukraine into NATO. Already some people willing to veto that, but for some reason we don't want to give Putin the assurance that they won't go in there. 
[2] Note, though I think that the Ukraine coup was also part of an ongoing civil war between Russian parts and more cosmopolitan parts that look to the EU, I do think it was pushed by the US, or at least they moved quickly to use it to their advantage. Also note something that's not mentioned much in our media that even if there is a Jewish leader in Ukraine, there are Nazi elements to their anti-Russian factions. That's who the liberals there joined up with and are in an uneasy alliance with. 
[3] Yes, it's a part of their country, but one does have to take into account facts of the ground, including that civil war aspect of things. Note that Donbass is way different than Crimea. Crimea can easily to shown to be Russian, while Donbass is trickier. 
[4] Something that's going around is that there is an essay (legit) by Putin basically calling Ukrainians brothers while also calling into question the existence as a nation. Yeah, not good. But we also openly call for regime change in Russia. A whole different ball game there, our elites being worse .
[5] Macron talking to Putin and Germany being "weak" (laughable that we're calling them weak and pushing them to be more warish) could be the EU moving away from the US. We'll see. They are our quislings and will bend the knee when we ask... usually. 
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Is Covid Endemic?

2500 deaths a day, mostly unvaxxed, but people are apparently tired of dealing with it, with the virus that isn't tired of dealing with us. Note that another variant of omicron might be on its way. Here are some medical thoughts on the matter. In the thread there are a bunch of different takes on this end of mask mandates. I will probably wear mine forever, mainly cause I like it (except in the summer). That the right wingers and other nuts are winning at making it equivalent to being "scared" or living in fear, is a whole different bit of crazy. I guess I'll just have to expect to be confronted by those who are crazy. 
Okay, this is pretty funny. 😷 


Then there's this little bit of crazy, though I haven't read enough on the man or what he had done recently. That thread is conspiratorial (and all of the wrong kinds, IMO), but apparently he was a Nobel Prize winner for his work into HIV (which is true) but was an anti-Covid vaxxer towards the end of his life. This is all true, but the thread is about how he was possibly killed as he was about to bring charges on Fauci/Gates (note that when people ask for evidence very little is given, and usually from odd websites). Also that he thinks that the covid vax gives people HIV. That the unvaxxed are the brave ones of humanity. 
Huh, but no one provides links [1]. Again, he was a good scientist. Here's the Times on him:

For all the glory that Dr. Montagnier earned in helping to discover the virus, today known as H.I.V., in later years he distanced himself from colleagues by dabbling in maverick experiments that challenged the basic tenets of science. Most recently he was an outspoken opponent of coronavirus vaccines.

And the Times has his Covid statements as:

"Last May, he added fuel to the spread of false information about Covid-19 vaccines by claiming, in a French video, that vaccine programs were an “unacceptable mistake” because, he said, vaccines could cause viral variants."

Which only makes me wonder what he means. That Covid gets more out of hand because of the vaxx? anyhow, it does seem like he got the Nobel for being a technician with easy access to a sample rather than anything else. Not to be too glib. But I would still want to hear more. 
But what should be talked about more is that viruses and Covid as well, are what cause some Type 1 Diabetes. Okay, that's just nuts. 

I assume since it's kids, they weren't vaxxed, but a good breakdown of that would be helpful. 
And finally, speaking of actual conspiracies: the CIA is bulk collecting our info. Wtf?


But instead, people get all worked up over the idea of getting boosted. Online plenty said, I got 2 and thought it was enough. Now they're saying 3? How dare they? And that's it. I can't believe that they hadn't heard that boosters would be likely, that the science was changing and with variants will continue to do so. 
Stay safe out there. 

[1] I will note that the "culling" of misinformation on the internet by google and social media giants, isn't always a good thing as when some things disappear, people get more suspicious, not less. True misinformation may travel less, but that's only "on paper" ie, on the internet. You allow for another kind of misinformation to grow. Now which one trumps which, I'm not sure we know. Removal of shit doesn't make sense, leave it, but with how it's wrong or something. 
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Liberal World Full of Crocodile Tears Again

With the olympics in China happening, a whole bunch of libs (centrist types, not leftists, though I'm sure there are some of those) are crying crocodile tears over the human rights abuses by that nation. Something like all athletes there should be ashamed of themselves. Right. And the west itself gets off with a free pass as usual. Reminds me of people online being righteous about Qatar. Mostly Europeans, as they kick off boats filled with refugees to watch them drown. 20k or so dead so far, nevermind the concentration camps they have paid for to keep them at bay. 
Ofc, the disclaimer of "I don't care for what Qatar or China does" needs to be said, because like the Russia-Ukraine moment we're having, if you say anything against the status quo, you end up being called a "Putin apologist" and same with this moment vis a vis China or Qatar. 
But that our courtier class in the media so easily and willingly chants as the state dept would have them chant, goes to show their thinking (there was a moment when the reporter challenged the White House and was essentially called "working for the other side" such moments are rare, unfortunately). It's quite sad. The same goes for all these people online who seem to chant and be viscerally disturbed by State dept talking points. 
So it goes, you say, but man is it getting old. Or am I getting old? Yelling at the newspaper in my dying days sorta thing. You? 
Anyhow, this isn't to say there aren't problems with their oligarchs and our oligarchs. Both are pretty dismal. Just that, when a report comes out with 377,000 dead in Yemen. More migrants drowning at the bottom of the sea (in the Med, our own southern border pretty much horrendous as we speak, though we funneled them into the desert to kill them off as well), and no one talking about that (though they were more likely to talk about it when Trump was in power, well his specific sins), well I assume they are useful idiots or shills. You?
The thing I'm trying to say is that we don't need to accept the crimes of these states without looking at the bigger picture of not raising tensions when nukes are involved, to say nothing of working towards something better in terms of climate change etc (the latter is especially important with China). 


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Someone Trying to Steal My Stuff.

Mainly my audiobooks. All of them taken down. Someone claiming copyright infringement. Some sort of troll? Hate? Who knows. If you have any information on the person who did this, please email me. 
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Immigrants Like Me

As an immigrant, I'm pretty attuned to the myriad of ways that people seem to what to either scream or murmur about how there are too many of us (via policy etc). One way is to claim that the numbers are too high (highest levels ever sort of thing). But this post shows how the percentage of people born outside the US and refugees within has usually been higher in the first half of our nation's history rather than recently (note halfway through the box is 1935). 

Also note that the states one thinks of as more close minded to "other" people, is usually a state without too many people from either other states or immigrants as it were (backing the theory that exposure reduces people's hatred, rather than the other way, which is what many people in our MSM try to say). Not a hard and fast rule, of course, but worth noting. 
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Lithium Mines

Given all the talk about electric cars, I'm kinda pissed electric busses, or bikes aren't talked about more. I think both would be better for cities, given their size vs space taken. Cars are killing plenty of people here in Seattle and around the country, yet little is done. To that end, even if all cars were switched to EV (no easy task) there is the matter of lithium mining doing so much destruction. 

To that end check out this photo essay on the lithium mines that bring us our cars and phones and what have you. Note how much cars need per battery vs just your phone. All this matters and means we can't just do a switch to EV cars and expect everything to be good. We need less energy consumption. Period. 
That being said, read a little on neoliberalism and think we should try to define the word better. 
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Covid

Good thread on covid myths and actual studies on them. Also I think that I need to read more about masks. Apparently not as useful as thought.

We all know how much disagreement there has been about COVID and its vaccines in the last two years. While citizens continue to argue, scientists have already put many claims to rest. Yes, I know, it’s as long as this pandemic has been but worth a skim. I have left the links intact for transparency. Have a great day. 

Edit: If you feel I’ve missed something, feel free to share and I would gladly update the list!Edit 2: I see some correction requests(appreciated), and a few skeptics. Working, so will do ASAP. In the meantime, please try to use evidence to rebuke or support any claims on this thread. This is my personal list so I don’t mind making it more accurate.

Claim: COVID vaccines can not prevent you from becoming infected. [ Origin: Facebook post by The Lion’s Roar. https://archive.ph/nEkcw ]

— This claim was never supported with evidence.

Findings: Recent MMWR using HEROES-RECOVER data (n=4136 over 35 weeks, adjusted for environment and mask use) suggests mRNA vaccines may be up to 90% effective in preventing symptomatic and asymptomatic infections in those with no history of infection. 

— https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/pdfs/mm7034e4-H.pdf

•Claim: COVID Vaccination causes infertility in childbearing women. [Origin: retired German scientist petitioned for the halt of vaccine trials based on a similarity between the SARS-CoV2 spike protein and syncytin-1. https://2020news.de/en/dr-wodarg-and-dr-yeadon-request-a-stop-of-all-corona-vaccination-studies-and-call-for-co-signing-the-petition/ ]

— This claim was never supported with evidence.

•Findings: Proven false by recent studies, and ongoing trials support this long-term thus far. 

— https://academic.oup.com/aje/advance-article/doi/10.1093/aje/kwac011/6511811 — https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04754594?term=NCT04754594&draw=2&rank=1

•Claim: Certain blood types are more/less susceptible to COVID.

— https://www.hematology.org/newsroom/press-releases/2020/possible-link-between-blood-type-and-covid-19

•Findings: Proven mostly false with better studies. There remains a possible relationship between severity and anti-ABO antibodies. 

— https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.799519/full

•Claim: Masks don’t work/help at all to protect against COVID. 

— This claim was not initially supported with evidence. 

•Findings: Many conflicting studies of varying quality. Most studies this far have show great benefit. Although, a large study done in Bangladesh reveals little protective effect. I will be back ASAP to fix this one. 

— https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7883189/ — https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abi9069

•Claim: Catching COVID provides immunity and negates the need for a vaccine. 

— https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.13.990226v1

•Findings: This one is a grey area. The original study did not translate well into subsequent laboratory and human studies initially. A review found that reinfection among the unvaccinated was 2.34 times more likely when compared with vaccinated individuals. However, a more recent review in a different population suggests that this may not be the case. This newer review found a significantly reduced risk of reinfection among unvaccinated when compared to those who were vaccinated with no history of infection. Controlling for differences in variant-specific epidemiology was not possible for either of these studies. 

— https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34383732/ — https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7104e1.htm

•Claim: The mRNA vaccines were developed too quickly, so we don’t know if they’re safe. 

— This claim was never supported with evidence. 

•Findings: Adverse reaction remains an extremely rare occurrence(11 per million or 0.0011% chance), even with >11 million subjects monitored. The CDC explains how mRNA technology already decades in the making helped to get the vaccine to production quickly. 

— https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa2035389 — https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/distributing/steps-ensure-safety.html

•Claim: mRNA vaccines will alter your DNA. [Origin(REMOVED): Emerald Robinson on Twitter: “@EmeraldRobinson: 99.97% survival rate. I'll take the chances on my immune system over an experimental DNA altering fast-tracked vaccine” https://mobile.twitter.com/emeraldrobinson/status/1331210415712460802 ]

— This claim was never supported with evidence. 

•Findings: Proven false. mRNA does not have the ability to enter the nucleus of any cell to interact with or influence DNA. 

— https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8008785/

•Claim: Covid vaccines contain aborted fetal tissue. [Origin(REMOVED): https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=410961569924049&ref=watch_permalink ]

— This claim was never supported with evidence.

•Findings: As far back as the 1950’s, fetal cells (yes, harvested from an electively aborted fetuses—that’s not a myth nor did I imply it was) were cultured and then underwent several genetic manipulations to allow scientists to replicate viruses(https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/human-cell-strains-vaccine-development ). The original tissues from these fetuses are long gone. Further, these same fetal cell lines (HEK-293) were used in the development of the following US drugs: Tylenol, Motrin, Aspirin, Alleve, Sudafed, Benadryl, Claritin, Delsym, Mucinex, Tums, Maalox, Colace, Senokot, Pepto-Bismol, Preparation-H & Neosynephrine, Lidocaine, Synthroid, Norvasc, Lipitor, Metoprolol, Prilosec, Losartan, Valsartan, Enbrel, Z-Pak, Hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir, Ivermectin, Farxiga, Jardiance, Invokana, Metformin, Lisinopril, and more. 

— https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/clinical-considerations/covid-19-vaccines-us.html#Appendix-C

•Claim: Spike proteins can damage organs and are toxic to the body. [Origin: Dr. Robert Malone on TikTok: “a viral gene will be injected into your children's cells. This gene forces your child’s body to make toxic spike proteins. These proteins often cause permanent damage in children’s critical organs.” https://archive.is/CbiVs ]

— This claim was never supported with evidence.

•Findings: Evidence offered suggests the spike proteins are expressed on the surface of cells that manufacture them. They are not free-circulating within the body. Edit: More recent data from a smaller study (n=13) using more advanced assays show trace amount of spike protein in plasma, but that clearance was associated with IgG and IgA production. 

— https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/assessment-report/comirnaty-epar-public-assessment-report_en.pdf — https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid/ciab465/6279075

•Claim: COVID vaccination causes spike protein shedding. [Origin: Blog post from Vaccine Safety Info https://archive.md/IDFUs ]

— (REMOVED) https://www.americasfrontlinedoctors.org/action-alerts/identifying-post-vaccination-complications-their-causes-an-analysis-of-covid-19-patient-data

•Findings: These claims were unsubstantiated, formally challenged by the USDOH, CDC, FDA, NIH, and NIAID, and subsequently removed. 

— https://assets-global.website-files.com/5fe278eca0211c320de2c6ef/60c2c0ef2f009a01af1e18be_Doc%2010%20Original%20AFLDs%20Complaint.pdf

Claim: COVID mRNA vaccines dramatically increase inflammation in the heart endothelium. [ Origin: Dr. Vernon Coleman used a since-corrected abstract to suggest the vaccines are deadly. https://brandnewtube.com/watch/finally-medical-proof-the-covid-jab-is-quot-murder-quot_TWpj5FDYSrjRIsT.html?fbclid=IwAR1IoAp6_ICV9QBAwuFMVsb8JVFZa4zpaC4X6Rj9QhxWpAkvM6tKk4SFyGI ]

— https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/circ.144.suppl_1.10712 — Corrected to: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001053

Findings: While scientists have yet to conclude the potential mechanism, recent data suggests this event to be extremely rare, and generally transient without lasting complications. 

— https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.056583

Note that Covid has killed many, to include a few like this guy in WA who hated on Inslee for whatever reason. 

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