Nelson Lowhim's Blog, page 46

Over at Patreon. The world out to Troll me.

Over at Patreon, more shorts coming out. Soon the end to When Gods Fail IV will also be there. So check em out if interested. Also watch out, a rocket might hit you. 🚀 Given that we've just found out about possible fungus on Mars, this can only mean that the fungus has taken control of our space and is using our rockets against us. 
Like I said, many times before, the lab leak theory is credible. But one of many theories, as is. Still, it speaks to a reflexiveness of the left (or centrist liberals) that they look at what the right is screaming (and admittedly it is like a batshit crazy person screaming about everything and getting one things right. Not that it's the highest probability and it is just as likely as to have come from another place into China. 
And I get that some people want to stifle their own speech given the dum-dumbs on the right, but naw, you need an open and flowing conversation, not one that assumed someone crazy with power will take something out of hand (because they'll figure out how to do it anyways). I mean look at how they're claiming the vaccine is complete crap? I mean part o fee thinks, well let them not get it and suffer the consequences. But remember we're rounding the corner with 600k dead. The dumb goes hard in the paint. 
On that note, there have been plenty of genocides in the world that our MSM likes not focusing on. Currently the genocide (cultural more than anything, from the evidence I've seen or read, add evidence here if needed, but this covers it, it is a crime against humanity)[1] in China is the focus. The one in Ethiopia gets much less news. (the one in South Sudan even less, even if close to 1/2 a Mpeople died). 
Back here, with our war at home, well how are our body cam strapped cops doing, you may ask? Well, not well, bob, not well. Prosecutors making shit up and never getting punished for it (remember read this book, judges already claim that they know cops lie under oath or to get warrants and they still give em or don't care), torture, especially if you're the dark kind, and you may know of the LAPD bs where they sprinkled crack on everyone they shot, well they had gangs themselves (and when, post 92 riots there were actual détentes between the gangs, the political powers did nothing to help or solidify that), 13 year old boy made to confess under great violence with the cops getting qualified immunity, another straight murder,  and harassing the families of people they murdered. Seriously, reading gulag archipelago wasn't this bad, tbf. Oh and this, where no knock warrants becomes a vice. 
Also, Biden, wtf is up with your boomer take on weed? 
But with that being said, some shorts coming down the pipeline. Enjoy!

[1] I sense that this is another method of stifling speech, that the anti-"cancel culture" warriors won't say a peep about. It's that there is a need to shoot down anyone trying to break the mold that our elites (especially the warmongers) are trying to shove down our throats. The china 🇨🇳 hour of hate is mainly about making sure people don't look at our elites when blaming someone for our problems. Guess what? The US got plenty rich as China did, but don't look at where that 💰 went. Look over there! And even people who know this, are against this inequality of our nation (or the great robbery), well they too play into this. I must say that 
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Fecebook

fyi, I updated the Book lists page (above). Check it out. Will keep making sure it looks decent in the coming days. How's you?
Steve Jobs with some humor about Facebook and their real status in his eyes. Fecebook sounds about right, tell you the truth. I remember a moment when Oliver Stone was talking about twitter and the people who are "twittering away on it". he was correcting. They tweet, but naw, I think he had it right to begin with. 
In further news, it would appear that the GOP purge (with Cheney being the biggest victim) all in the name of Trump. Mofo owns that party and will never let his vice grip off it. Too much money to be made, my friends. And now I'm starting to think that not only has every great tradition started with a conman, but with a kind of grift. 
More stories over at Patreon, btw. Short ones, and kinda cute since I'm making them up on the go for my son. Peace. 
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In Polin.

So about the Polin collage I mentioned a few posts ago...

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Covid and More Moral Failures

Well the moral (or also that of the imagination?) failures in India (more or less pure capitalism with a growing private hospital industry) are getting clearer by the day. [1] But here in the US, now that Trump is gone, we still have people refusing the vaccine. Plenty of them. And for the repubs that are refusing it, they have a good point that Trump brought the vaccine but they still don't trust it. Fair point. And I do think/wonder how much of it is people in places that were burned by the opiate pandemic, learned not to trust Big Pharma (specific companies, but people probably see it as all medicine) then see this vaccine as a product of the "same" system. 
It's not, of course, but most people don't dig that deep. So how much can you blame them. Still, the main thing is that the much of their reaction reminds me of how Defoe (plague in the 17th century) said he thought Europe fared better than Islamic countries that had more fatalism. Assuming that's true, it would appear that's the case nowadays for many parts of the US:

That view is bolstered by a religious, near-joyous fatalism. People say that if they haven’t caught Covid a year into the pandemic, they will take their chances. True, they might get Covid and die. But either way, a win-win: longer life on Earth or, for the faithful, eternal life in Heaven.

“There’s a time appointed for every person to die,” said Reuben Smucker, a Mennonite pastor in Greeneville who works as a garage-door installer. “We should take care of our bodies physically, emotionally and spiritually, but if it’s my time to go and it’s by Covid, well then, it’s my time to go.”

[1] Also why does it seem that the right wing populists have, for the most part, failed. I'd say it's mainly the ones that rode to power on the back of social media (Bibi, in Israel, for example, and for whatever you think of that old bastard, well they've done well there) that seem to be useless. Maybe social media has made them think in terms of a bubble of their followers? Might be something to look into, tbf. Note: this is the same in Mexico where a left winger rose to power in a similar fashion. 
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HRW

Apartheid States and Our Coming Neo Feudalism. HRW calling Israel an Apartheid state. Not sure this matters in this day and age. In the Middle East, there are many worse issues at hand, even by and our other allies in the region. And, for the most part, given the fissures Trump created (not all of his own making, not a single president has been good on this, tbf) there will be many more issues with the Palestinians only being further sidelined (that they have been officially ignored but the Gulf  and KSA powers and with few other places to look for help, does not look good. 
Which brings me to another issue: most of the great powers are, through foreign or domestic policy, are running similar stayed policies on their borders, to say nothing of creating "open air prisons". From the Sahel on. With CC, I don't see this getting better and only see those with power taking advantage of this. A new age is going to be upon us and apartheid, or Neo-feudalism, is still the way we're slow or fast marching towards.  
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The Failure of Capitalism

I can't get peanuts with skin (and sans fucking salt, you pigs). Surely a sign of late stage capitalism. Discuss. 
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How's the crazy right doing?

Not good, bob, not good at all. They're passing laws absolving only right wingers of running over peaceful protestors. Because I'm certain if a bunch of right wing loons, no matter how threatening, are run over, that person will get the book thrown at them. Just more slow marching towards Neo-feudalism, with two sets of laws for two different populations, nothing else to see here. 
And, yeah, sure, there was always two kinds of laws (see drug laws see just about everything), but this does feel slightly different, doesn't it? I mean, one would think that peaceful protestors, after one was killed (btw, the cops in that case had immediately taken the white supremacist's side and claimed he must have feared for his life... guess they didn't want the klan meetings to get too uncomfortable) by a car would be getting some kind of protection, but seeing the all lives splatter crap on social media, I could sense that the right was going this way (also, that they, were already doing it since 2009 is something not talked about enough, IMO[1]), and they will continue to do so. [2]
Again, with craziness and evil this bold, how does one write fiction? 

[1] Pedestrian deaths went up in 2009, and mainly minorities were dying.. gee I wonder why... For more on that, read here. Or the specific post is here. 
[2] Again, about the 2 sets of laws, there was at least an attempt to make it equal before or make it about general welfare, but like stand your ground laws, we're seeing a more implicit we're doing this to kill you vibe. 

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Dreams Can't Be Buy

Like many other Englishisms, All your base are belong to us, where were you when X is kill, is good, no?, and many more [1] Dreams can't be buy is now iconic and the leading slogan against a Euro Super League for Clubs. Good times, my friends. 

[1] Indeed, the likes of Trump and his world salads always seemed to piss off liberals, while I was saying, yeah, sure he contradicted himself within the same sentence, but a general feeling was still conveyed and many people got it. To apply logic to language seems like the epitome of hubris, but many haven't learned their lessons even today. When QAnon talks about WWG1WGA, libs go on and mock it, but guess what, the general feeling is conveyed. And if I can go even further, all traditions start with illogic that speaks to a tribal chant or to the heart of an ape and go from there. Later generations can and will add layers of thought and what not to that illogic, but to think language has to be just this annoys me (and yeah, to use the conservative talking point, elites seem to think this a lot). And, yeah I understand that languages do have some rules otherwise we wouldn't be able to understand anything, but this is something else. 

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Gates and Billionaire worship. Puritans and the need to Scold. Short Story too.

I already mentioned my own experience with a Puritan scold outdoors, where no known covid super spreader events have happened (a full worthwhile thread on that here[1]), and getting yelled at for running sans mask. The idiocy continues here in Seattle with outdoor gyms still closed off (while indoor ones are open, and restaurants are near full go figure). 
It does get infuriating and I can kinda maybe just see why people are annoyed with the scolds who just want to scream and hold things over others (as well as some who seem to only want to follow what "those in charge" say without thinking)  rather than actually thinking things through. 
On the other hand these people are indeed kinda right given that so many people can't seem to to think properly and off script on their own. An odd moment indeed. 
And finally, with the Gates issue I mentioned before. In so many ways do these billionaires stand in for success and intelligence (still in the age of Trump, so that particular billionaire did not take away from any of their allure, in fact, that's why so many centrists worked hard to make him not a billionaire because they didn't want to take down the institution of being a billionaire) that few people want to see them as either straight evil or incompetent. I've already shown the pushback, but it will only keep going, I'm afraid. All they need is the right PR team and they'll look good. And most people will continue to fall for it. 
In many ways, this was the reason for my Emperor with No Clothes redux:
Once there was an Emperor, real cruel and real idiotic type. Well, you know how it goes. He went off to the parade, all naked and people cheer him along. Then a boy, eyes wide open, screams that he's naked. Immediately the crowd sets upon him and his parents. How dare they raise such an insolent brat. The parents, understanding that their lives were in danger, run off. 
The boy, of course, is completely confused. But the emperor was naked, he said, back home in their humble abode. 
We understand, they said to him, but sometimes, saying that out loud is rude. 
Of course, soon, most people were more or less naked, and the boy is slowly learning that this is okay. Some have even come to praising the Emperor for stripping them off their previously held beliefs. 
At this point, I'm not entirely sure what to do with the story. Do I have the boy slowly learn what power is, become a tailor himself, and make more naked clothing, cashing in on the trend? In many ways, this becomes the closer to truth tale. 
Do I have a moral ending where winter comes and all who mocked the boy freeze or get pneumonia? That would be fitting, but does that happen? More likely they will wear the warm clothes and say they are still naked, abusing the English language. 
Or do I have the boy slowly seed the truth about the Emperor, making allies with those who agree with him underground (and do those people have progressive views? Who would be against nakedness? Sexual repressed theologians? In that case, shouldn't I side with the Emperor? Or make a complex GoT story about that give and take between allies not worth while, or used for a moment before being discarded?) and slowly they build a movement to overthrow the Emperor. 
That overthrow for something close to sexual liberation is a bit much. Perhaps the Emperor goes on a binge of foolish projects, to include war, that the naked moment only catapulted him into? Then a rebellion would seem worthwhile, right?
You tell me, dear reader, doesn't this make better sense as a story? To write out all the possibilities? To even have comments about it? By readers, by the editor, showing this isn't just a story sitting in a vacuum but a live text that from the first word has a million different reasons and each sentence is a knife through the zeitgeist, changing it even for a second. 
This is where I stand with my writing and reading. I get annoyed with the normal trends. Especially with novels. Perhaps that's my own failure. 
[1] I know, I know, Twitter delenda est, but this is solid. 
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Bill Gates and His Philanthropy and the Internet as a Greek God.

I too read about the CDC and FDA pausing the J&J vaccine out of an abundance of caution. The likes of LGM and Nate Silver and a lot of the (what is it, centrist liberal set?) seemed to think this was crazy, and looking at the number of 1 blood clot in 7M that does seem crazy (vs what covid would do), but some parsing of the numbers (same with what the EU ended up doing) ended up showing that for younger people, and their lower risk of covid means that for younger people this makes sense. 
But that's not the point. These are ostensibly educated and not entirely dumb (or that's their schtick) people tweeted and talked with such certainty that this move was bad, had me enraged. Then I read more details and well, I was enraged that I was so easily enraged. 
Since I'm reading the Iliad (read if you haven't, of course) I can't help but feel like some hapless Greek stuck in an immortals' game where they pull humans and their desires and emotions back and forth. The internet is indeed a Greek God. 
Note, that this might be the only worthwhile take, public health officials should indeed treat this as an emergency and meet quicker than this, ffs. 
On the note of vaccines, we have Bill Gates and his philanthropy masking more evils that he does. This time, the conspiracies around his vaccine plans (and by conspiracies, I mean the crazy ones, and I don't know how exactly to parse those two because there are serious conspiracies and not serious conspiracies [1]) are actually real as he uses IP protection as a way to kill off more people. And yes, I think he should be a pariah for what he has done here. 
Note, how easily people come to his defense.[2] Note in that reply where capitalism and government are conflated and no lines or definitions are given, are just attempts to make it seem that Pharma would never do that when, at the WTO they did exactly that. 
Oh, and Gates and his foundation already commit a whole bunch of IP BS in terms of agriculture and making sure that not only the 3rd world, but the whole world, is not ready for climate change and starvation will be their future, just protect the god that is IP. 
This is my biggest issue with Winner Takes All , in that it points to one problem, but assumes good intentions in all this philanthropy that I just don't see and that real journalists around the world are working to uncover. 
Somewhere in here is a fable and a short story and possibly a novel I should be writing. I think I'll start with Gods Fail IV on Patreon, then go on from there. 
And, finally, Biden will withdraw from Afghanistan. Look at some of those comments, some of them really associate ISIS directly with the withdrawal of US troops. No evidence shows this and all the King's experts on Iraq can't put that egg together again. Again, there are issues to consider, but claiming our foreign policy has anything to do with women's rights (never mind women's rights here at home, as the GOP goes full Taliban themselves.. well more like ISIS) is a joke beyond all jokes. 
And finally, your moment of Zen, or humanity that makes one feel better but also connected to fellow apes. Here in r/relationshipadvice:

Needless to say this is a throwaway and I'm probably still in a bit of shock and haven't really processed everything completely yet but my wife came out to me a few hours ago as gay. My wife will most likely identify this post and who I am so I'm not too worried about that. We've been together since 2014 and married for the past 4 years and have a beautiful 18mo daughter. I'm heartbroken and not really sure how to process what's going on. My hands literally feel like they have 5 pound weights on them as I'm typing this. We agreed to not make any decisions until after we've talked to a professional but I really wanted to try to get some advice. We live on the west coast and both of our families live on the east coast. I have no relationship with anyone really other than her and my daughter and our shared friends here so I have no one to confide in. I really am worried about what will happen to my daughter and our relationship. Any advice is welcome, sorry for the rambling.

Edit 1:

I'll post an update soon but I'll be offline most of the day dealing with work and trying to contact professional services. I talked to my wife briefly this morning before getting my daughter ready for the day and have confirmed there are no romantic feelings for me. I want to say thank you all who had construction suggestions and willing to help me.

Edit 2:

I've reached out and have been assigned a volunteer at Straight Spouse Network who I've since sent an email describing my situation. I've also reached out to a past therapist to see if she has any availability. I'm hoping to have some sort of session hopefully in the next day if possible but I think I might need to call some sort of crisis support (not sure how much of this is because of not sleeping or whatever it is that I'm feeling).

Edit 3: 

I'll try to post edits as more information comes up and provide more clarity. I've talked to my wife this morning briefly and confirmed that she still loves and cares for me but in a romantic manner. I've acknowledged to her that I know she's had time to process this in advance before coming out to me but I need time as this is very raw and don't want to make any decisions until we've both together and individually talked to professionals. I don't blame my wife for this. I'm angry. I'm sad. I'm confused. I'm lost. But none of this is directed at her. I'm doing what I can right now to objectively seek help quickly.

This one too:

This isn't about mocking, but looking at our fellow humans and seeing the Greek Gods pulling us too and fro. Some of the advice, of course, is bad and usually in the "get revenge now" or is so puritanical as to be useless. Some, of course, is heartfelt and useful. Be safe all. 

[1] Oh, and don't think I haven't thought that the likes of Gates either astroturf these crazy conspiracies just so they can commit real conspiracies and label anyone who attacks those real conspiracies as conspiracy theorists. Thus getting away with conspiracy. Good times. 
[2] WMDick [score hidden] 4 hours ago* 

Ridiculous article. The one institution that has stepped up and proven it's worth during this entire thing is the for-profit biotech/pharma industry. While governments and their organizations (looking at you, CDC) were demonstrating their total impotence, companies like Moderna, BioNTech, Curative, etc. were making advances at record pace and (almost literally) saving the world. Those companies made a few piddly billion dollars while the US government alone printed about $6 TRILLION as penance for not acting with any sort of sane organization.

This pandemic is a story of capitalism working as well as imagined and Western governments failing as spectacularly as possible.

The talk about prices is absurd as well. The test costs $150. The vaccine costs $20. What in the world are people complaining about?

It is a stark reminder than any policy that obstructs or inhibits vaccine production risks being self-defeating for the rich countries defending exclusive rights and gobbling up the lion’s share of available vaccine supplies

Whoever wrote this does NOT understand how vaccines, especially mRNA vaccines, are manufactured. If you gave Moderna $1 trillion, they could not speed up. The techniques are new, the machinery is bespoke and sparse. There is a lag time here. And it has nothing to do with failures of capitalism but with the simple reality that this is the first time we've done this.

This easily anticipated market failure—together with the C-TAP’s failure to launch—led developing countries to open a new front against intellectual property barriers in the World Trade Organization

Yeah no. Moderna already declared that they will not defend patents relevant to this vaccine. IP is NOT the issue here. Other companies or organizations have not exploited this because they can't.

The number of people on planet earth with the practical knowledge of how to do this can be counted in the single digits. This is not a 'market failure'. This is a failure of government allowing it to get to this point.

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