#coronavirus questions and answers

[pangur-and-grim]

I'm looking into getting a purebred cat for the first time because I've developed allergies, and it's such a different world from my niche corner of dog breeding, I'm so lost How common is it for cat breeders to focus on temperament over conformation? I've shown a dog and been to many shows, and am working on a breed in development. I'm uncomfortable with a fixation on "correct" appearance versus a heavy focus on what an animal's quality of life is and what they're like to live with If I'm paying more for a kitten than I charge for a puppy I want to know the breeder has done a lot of handling and enrichment, grooming conditioning (for relevant breeds), and pair their cats for temperament strengths and weaknesses, not just conformation. What should I look for on a breeder site/what should I ask without sounding rude? I also have seen a couple breeders advertise a health guarantee including FIP for one year, and I'm wondering how that's possible. Can you really guarantee against it? I'm so sorry you and your gremlin are going through this, it sounds like a rollercoaster!

it's difficult to answer your first question! cat breeding seems more…..casual in terminology than dog breeding, if that makes sense? 

with temperament, there’s a stereotype for each breed (Bengals = active, Siamese = yowly, Ragdolls = angelic beings, etc). breeders often have a page on their site explaining their idea of what the breed is (the ideal appearance, personality, and so on), and then a section with their breeding cats, with blurbs for each one. and they usually also have social media, where you can see how these cats slot into their lives.

if you’re from the states, be VERY WARY of breeders who cage their cats! that’s more of a cultural norm there, and personally, I prefer breeders who treat their animals like family members and live alongside them.

here are two examples of breeders who go above and beyond: Praticalcats and Trillium Devon Rex. their sites give away how obsessive they are about their animals - all the articles on Praticalcats, and all the genetic testing on Trillium - and I would feel comfortable recommending them to anyone who asked.

as for over-emphasis on a “correct” appearance – for each breed, there will be a certain look that’s a red flag. Devon Rexes that are too brachy, Maine Coons that are too large, Siamese that are too spindly, etc. if you do enough research on your breed of choice, you’ll start recognizing it. the cat will look more ‘special’, and more ‘like it’s breed’, but it’s an exaggeration at the cost of other qualities.

for specific questions like what handling they do, whether they’re conditioned to tolerate grooming, and how the cats get paired with buyers, most of the time you have to contact a breeder to ask that. there should be a mini job interview before any money changes hand, where the breeder grills you, and you get to return the favour. if a breeder skips this, I’d consider that a major red flag. and don’t worry about sounding rude, a good breeder will be delighted that you care so much about all of this!

and now, the guarantee against FIP – what are they guaranteeing, exactly? it might be a guarantee that they’ll replace the kitten if they develop FIP (the contract with my breeder had a similar clause). but if they’re guaranteeing that any kitten from them won’t develop FIP, then that’s nonsense. basically all young cats get exposed to the feline coronavirus that causes FIP, and whether they develop it or not is just a lottery gamble. I'd be suspicious of any breeder who claims that their kittens are exempt from this.

anyway, I think I've answered everything. hopefully that was helpful, and not just me rambling!

[sparkleofpizza]

The Alchemy

Lando Norris x fem!reader

Two idiots.

THE 2020 SEASON

WINTER BREAK London, England, 2020 

Formula 1 might be on a break, but university isn’t. I’ve been studying non stop and working all my free time to get extra credit so I’d be able to graduate early, right at the end of spring so I’d have the rest of the year more chilled out. 

But being a 21 year old college student, living alone at an apartment at a college campus meant trouble, obviously, and that’s how after long hours of studying at the library, instead of being in my bed catching up on some sleep, I was at a frat house party. 

The music was blaring and I was nursing my third drink of night, but in all honesty completely tired now that the alcohol had relaxed me. 

I was sitting on the couch, watching my friends dance around me. I grab my phone to get some pictures of them when I notice a new notification. 

Lando: what are u up to on a Friday night as a college student? 

Lando and I have been texting non stop since the end of the 2019 season, our friendship solidified. We even hung out a couple of times in between Christmas and new years. And now he has been bugging me that I’ve been working and studying too much. 

Me: I’m at a frat house party 

He instantly replied back. 

Lando: YOURE WHERE DOING WHAT 

Me: I’m at a frat house party 

I smirk to myself as I texted back the same question then before. 

Lando: no way, you’re messing with me 

I open the camera of my phone, scratching my arm out as I smile hazily before snapping a picture and sending it to him. 

Lando: OMG ARE U DRUNK???? 

Me: yessss 

I expected him to make fun of me, but his answer caught me a bit of guard. 

Lando: are u alone? 

Lando: who’s with u? 

Me: my friends are around here somewhere 

There a few minutes of silence from his since and I wonder if our conversation is over. He probably fell asleep. 

My phone buzzes again. 

Lando: how are u going home? 

Me: I’ll walk back to my apartment, why? 

He’s typing and typing and typing. I bite my lip anxiously, wondering what he’s going to say. Is he going to ask me to let him pick me up? Like in those romance books where the guy picks up the girl from a party when she’s drunk? 

Lando: ok 

My face falls momentarily. 

Lando: I’m not in London  

Lando: be careful and text me when you get home safe 

I smile, so he was considering picking me up. 

Melbourne, Australia, 2020 

The world was insane, and I was going insane with it. I was higenyzing my hand every time I touched something. I was in an alert state of the coronavirus. 

“They should have canceled the race.” I say, taking a seat with Lando, Carlos and Caco at the McLaren hospitality. “They are saying there are employees who got infected.”

I squeeze hand sanitizer on my hand, rubbing it. 

“You’re talking about as if it’s some kind of zombie apocalypse.” Lando chuckles, draping his arm casually over the back of my chair “Relax, they wouldn’t keep up the race if it wasn’t safe.” 

Carlos nods “Lando is right.” 

I scoff with a tense smile “Oh, but they would. FIA doesn’t care about it, they care about the money. They always have and always will.” 

The boys are silent for a moment before Caco nods his head. 

“Hamilton and Vettel said something similar during the press conference.” He says “And they’ve been around the same amount of time you have.” 

My phone rings and it’s Sophie calling. I quickly brings it to my ear, listening to what she has to say. My frown only deepens when she says two McLaren employees tested positive for covid and that there are more people around the paddock with symptoms as well. 

I hang up the phone. 

“The teams principals are gathering together to get FIA to cancel the race.” I tell them, watching as both drivers’ faces fall in disappointment “Two McLaren employees tested positive and there are other people around the paddock who are feeling ill as well.”

We gather our things and start to make our way to the McLaren garage, probably the news will get there first if the race is canceled. 

I hang back on the group and Lando slows his steps to walk beside me. 

“Can’t believe we just got back and we’re already going to leave and be without racing.” He groans, a whine voice a bit high pitched.

“It’s better for it to be canceled and you getting the chance to race again when it’s safer, then getting sick and ending up in the hospital.” 

He sighs, shoulders slumping slightly. 

“You’re right. I was just excited to give my all at this new season.” 

I smile “I know, and you will soon.” 

He smiles back at me, nudging me with his shoulder. 

“So, are you gonna be able to graduate this spring?” 

“I am! I mean, I’ve been doing everything possible for it to happen and I think it will.” 

Lando smiles and for a brief moment his fingers brush against mine in a sweet gesture. 

“That’s great. I’ll make sure to be there cheering for you at your graduation.” 

And my heart flutters at his words. 

PANDEMIC  London, England, 2020 

“Did I do it right? Are you listening to me?” I ask into the microphone I bought. 

Lando’s face show up on the screen of my computer, grinning widely. 

“Hiiii! Yes, you did. Now turn on your camera so I can see your face.” 

“How do I do it?” I ask, completely lost as I had never used the app discord before. “Oh, never mind, found it.” 

“Look at you!” Lando beamed “Are those bunny ears on your hoodie?” I chuckle as I put on the hoodie over my head so he can see the bunny ears “You look adorable! Doesn’t she look adorable, chat?” 

I tilt my head to the side, confused.

“Chat? What chat? It’s just the two of us here.” 

Lando laughed “I’m streaming, muppet.” 

“You’re what?!” I screech “Lando! Why didn’t you tell me we’d be live? I’m in my pijamas!” 

He laughs again “You still look adorable and the chat agrees with me.”

I huff, flustered at his words and at the fact that I’m live for god knows how many people while I’m wearing my bunny pajamas. If people didn’t take me serious before, they never will now. 

“Now, here’s what we’re going to do.” He claps his hand, a mischievous smile on his face “You’re going to play LOL with me.” 

“LOL? But I only know how to play the sims.” 

“Yes, you’re going to play LOL. I think it’s the easiest for now.” 

As I download the game and start to follow the tutorial, all while sharing my screen with Lando and him judging me at how I can manage to keep dying on the tutorial, I wonder how in the holy hell he managed to convince me to play online with him. 

Finally, after an eternity, I finish the tutorial and I start to play with him. Lando keeps instructing me because I don’t even know what buttons to press on my keyboard and he keeps screaming that I’m not running fast enough. 

“Oh my God!” I scream “I died! I died!” 

Lando laughs delighted. 

“My screen is black and white! Why is my screen black and white? Is my computer broken? LANDO!” 

That only makes him laugh harder, that infectious laugh of him as I keep yelling questions of what I should do next. 

My dad opens the door to my bedroom, peeking his head inside, looking concerned as he calls out my name. 

“Are you ok, sweetheart?” He asks, walking further into the room “I can hear you screaming from the living room.”

“Yeah, sorry dad. I’m playing online with Lando and I died.” 

My father chuckles, bending down slightly to look at my screen. He smiles at Lando while waving. 

“Hello, Lando. Have you been taking care of yourself while quarantining?” 

Lando smiles back as he nods “Yes, I have. Your daughter also texts me everyday reminding me what I can and can’t do. It’s like she thinks I will die because I’m living on my own.” 

My dad looks amused at me, but he knows I’m right and Lando would have probably set his house or fire by now if I haven’t been instructing him properly on certain things. 

My dad pats my head as he stands up straight again “I will leave you kids to it. Take care, Lando.” 

“Thank you, Jenson! You too!” Lando smiles. “Now, where were we?” 

Later that night, after four hours of online gaming with Lando, I lied in bed scrolling through my social medias. I couldn’t help to read the comments people were making about our live stream together. 

Jenson Button worried about Lando I CANT

OMG y/n checking up on Lando daily to make sure he survives 

So am I the only one who thinks there’s something there? 

She can’t suck on her dads fame anymore bc he’s retired so now she’s going after Norris 

I sigh, closing Twitter and putting my phone on the bedside table. People are mean. 

Spielberg, Austria, 2020 

July and we’re back at Formula 1. The season is being cut short, there won’t be fans attending, but we’re back at racing. 

I finished my finals a week ago, just in time to go back to traveling. My dad gave an hour-long lecture about safety and health before finally letting me board the plane. 

I haven’t seen Lando and Carlos yet, but I have met uncle Seb who is pissed off at Ferrari for firing him over the phone. I could tell for the way he was talking about meetings and stuff he has to do that he’s plotting something and I couldn’t help but smirk at whatever hell fire he will bring down on Mattia Binotto. 

I enter the McLaren garage and I smile underneath my mask as I see Lando talking to his engineer. He turns his head when he hears my footsteps. 

He basically bonces on his feet until he meets me halfway. 

“Hi!” He says loudly “It’s so good to finally see you in person again!” His eyes are wide “Can I hug you? I want to hug you. I know I probably shouldn’t, but I want to. I haven’t touched anyone in months and and…” 

I cut him off with a laugh as I wrap my arms around his middle, resting my head on his chest. Lando brings his arms around me, squeezing me onto his body. 

“Hi, Lando. I missed your energetic aura.” 

I feel his grin against my shoulder, even with half his face covered in a mask. 

“I missed you.” He says back. 

He detangles himself from he hug, but keep his hands on my shoulders. He analyzes my face. 

“You really do look good with bangs.” 

I chuckle, running my hands over the bangs I cut on my hair after a moment of reflection and desperation when I couldn’t leave the house. 

“Thank you. It was a moment of… insanity, but at least it looks good.” 

He laughs “Oh I know. You texted me like fifteen times saying you did something horrible and it was just bangs.” 

I shake my head “Hey, to be fair you called me at two in the morning to ask me how to kill a wasp and I had to wake up my dad to ask him.” 

Lando's eyes widened in mock sadness. 

“Hey, your dad loves me! I’m sure he was very very delighted to be woken up in the middle of the night to give out instructions on how to kill a wasp.” 

I snort out a laugh. 

Later that weekend, after the race was finished, I watched as Lando parked his car in p3. It was the first podium of his Formula 1 career. He had been screaming on the radio during the last five laps and I was grinning like an idiot behind my mask. 

He got out of the car, helmet still on as he ran to the team, letting them hug him and clap his back. The whole McLaren garage was in a frenzy of celebration. 

I’m waiting for him by the parc fermé, to guide him to the podium and then to the press conference room where they interview the winner, second and third place of the race. 

Lando takes off his helmet and balaclava and I see his whole face for the first time this year. He has a huge smile on his face as he runs to where I am. 

“My first podium!” He yells 

I smile “Congratulations, Lando. It was beautiful to watch.” 

He wraps his arms around me, jumping around and making me jump with him as I laugh. 

“My first podium! Oh fuck! I’m gonna get a trophy!” 

I giggle, letting him jump around with me “Yes, you are, Lando, you’re getting a trophy!” 

He then stop jumping and just gazed into my eyes, the smile never dropping out of his face. 

“Fuck, I’m so glad you’re the one here and not Sophie.” 

My heart leaps on my chest. 

“I’m glad I’m here, too.” 

Silverstone, England, 2020 

It was the Silverstone Grand Prix weekend, there were going to be two weekends of races here. My dad had decided to come along since this is his home race and he wants to relive some of the memories. 

I walk inside the McLaren hospitality with my dad who is babbling about my graduation to one of the mechanics that have been working here since his driving days. 

I hear someone yell my name and I know that voice very well. I turn around and there is Lando, no mask on his face, grinning widely. 

“Hey.” I smile back, walking to where he’s sitting 

He stands up fast and lifts his hands up, holding a beautiful bouquet of pink flowers. 

I gasp in surprise. 

“I couldn’t go to your graduation because the attendance was limited, but I couldn’t let it pass by.” He hands me the flowers before enveloping me in a hug “Congratulations, love. I’m very proud of you.” 

For some reason his words and sweet gestures make tears gather in my eyes. It’s probably because I was expecting my graduation to be a big even, full of people who I love and cherish and that didn’t happen because of the pandemic. 

“Thank you, Lan. This means a lot to me.” 

He squeezes me before letting me go. He wipes some of the tears that leaked out to my eyes. 

“I know this is a special moment and you wanted it to be a big celebration. We’ll go out to celebrate once things get better, alright? My treat.” 

I smile, hugging the flowers to my chest. 

“You’re the best, Lan.” 

He winked at me. 

“Only the best for my best girl.” 

My dad stood to the side, watching the scene with a smile on his face. I didn’t know that now, but he took pictures of all of that happening. 

Krasnodar Krai, Russia, 2020 

Carlos broke the news to the team two weeks ago during our weekly zoom calls. Lando had shut himself out the moment his best friend on the grid said he’s leaving McLaren to go to Ferrari. 

He hasn’t been answering my texts or sending me TikToks. He even declined my calls and I was growing not only worried, but annoyed as well. 

I knock on his hotel door late at night. My flight had landed an hour ago, I got to the hotel, showered and now here I am knocking on his door. 

Lando opens the door, his curly hair disheveled and he’s only in sweatpants. 

“You’re not room service.” He says 

I glare at him. 

“You’ve been ignoring me.” I accuse him, hands on my waist. 

“I uh… I’ve been busy…” he stretches the back of his neck “a lot of work.” 

“We work together, I know you haven’t been busy.” I glare even harder now “Stop lying to me.” 

He stepped to the side and let me inside his room. I walk past him, going to the middle of the room as I stand there with my arms crossed. Lando sits on the bed and looks at me. 

“What’s going on with you?” I ask 

“There’s nothing wrong with me.” He answered too quickly. 

“Lando… you’ve been ignoring me ever since Carlos told us that he’s leaving for Ferrari.” 

He grows quiet and looks away from me. 

I sigh. “Lando, just because he’s switching teams it does not mean he won’t be your friend anymore. It will be a bit different because you won’t be together all the time like the past two years, but he’s not gonna forget about you.” 

He nods. “I know. Carlos already told me all that.” 

“Then why have you been ignoring me?” I ask confused. I thought he was isolating because he was sad that Carlos is leaving, but if he’s already on good terms with it, than what’s wrong. 

“Because I’m preparing myself from when you leave me as well.” Lando says, he doesn’t look at me, his eyes trained on the carpet floor. 

“Wha- What?” I ask completely dumbfounded “What do you mean when I leave you as well?” 

He runs a hand through his hair “You’re an intern at the communication department and- and you just graduated from uni. I know you will leave me at the end of the year as well. You’ll move on to much bigger and better things. I’m just… trying to soften the blow of being without you.” 

There’s a moment of silence as I process his words. He still won’t look at me and I’m too stunned to speak anything. He’s sad because he doesn’t want to be without me. 

Finally, I snap out of it. 

“Oh Lando.” I whisper softly, kneeling in front of him and peering up at him. “Lando, no.” 

He shakes his head “I know, ok? I’m not dumb…” 

I cup his face in my hands to get him to stop talking. He looks at me in surprise and I can see the broken look in his eyes. 

“I’m not going anywhere.” 

“Please, don’t lie to me.” He whispered brokenly “Just rip the bandaid already.” 

“I’m not lying.” I say, catching a stray tear from his eye with my thumb and wiping it away. “McLaren hired me to be their junior PR manager. You would have known that if you haven’t been declining my calls, you muppet.” 

He widens his eyes. 

“You’re not leaving?” 

I shake my head “No. You’re stuck with me.” 

Lando breaths out a laugh, resting his forehead against mine as he closes his eyes. 

“Oh, thank god. I’m not ready to say goodbye.” 

I smile, enjoying our close proximity. 

“You don’t have to say goodbye. I’m not going anywhere.” 

“Good… good.” He mumbled. “I don’t want you to leave my side.” 

We stay like that for a few moments longer, before he helps me stand up from the floor. Lando pats the bed and I soon join him. We lay on opposite sides, he covers us up and we stay in silence, enjoining each other's company as we fall asleep. Right now we don’t need to say anything, everything is understood in the comfortable silence that hugs us. 

Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, 2020

It was yet once again the last race of the season. 

Lando had a great finish in p5, and although he had a happy smile on his face we took team pictures and toasted, I could see he was sad. This was Carlos's last race as Lando’s teammate. And I could see Carlos was a bit sad as well. 

The team principals had gathered together and rented out a club in the city so the party would be just the Formula 1 team and drivers. We had been traveling together all year in the middle of the chaos of the pandemic, so we were all kind of in the same boat, if someone was sick, the odds of everyone else also being sick were extremely high. 

I watched from a far as Lewis celebrated his seventh championship. I chuckled as he, Valtteri and Toto started a shot competition between the three of them. Sebastian was chanting chug chug chug and waving his hands around. 

I feel the familiar presence of Lando standing beside me as he nurses his drink. 

“How was your second year as a Formula 1 employee?” He asks me. 

I smile against the rim of my glass. Just one year ago he had asked me the same question, at the rooftop of the VIP lounge at the paddock, hours before the last race of the season began. 

“It was weird. My last year as an intern, next year I will have to reinvent myself to be on top of my game.”

“You’re already on the top of your game.” He nudges my shoulder with his arm. 

“Yeah, but I still haven’t proved myself here.” I point out. 

Lando frowns, turning his body around to look at me. I’m leaning against the wall and now he’s looming over me. 

“Have you been getting hate online?” 

I give him a weak smile. 

“Let’s not talk about this right now. Tonight is about celebrating.”

He’s still frowning and opens his mouth to protest when I cut him off. 

“How was your second year as Formula 1 driver?”

He chuckles, probably recalling the same memory from last year. He rests his forearm on the wall right beside my head. 

“It was good and weird. I got my first podium ever. I also lost my first teammate…” Lando smiles a bit. “And I got you to be here with me one more year.”

I smile, raising my glass. 

“Here’s to another year of Norris and Button traveling around the world together.”

Lando grins, clinking his glass against mine. 

“Together.” He repeats. 

[transhuman-priestess]

In November 2019 The Weeknd released “Blinding Lights,” as the lead single for his album After Hours, which included the line “The city’s cold and empty, no one’s around to judge me, I can’t see clearly when you’re gone.”

The release date for the album was set as March 20, 2020. On March 19, Gavin Newsom issues the first stay-at-home order of the coronavirus pandemic.

The question this committee must answer is: what did The Weeknd know, and when did he know it.

[theculturedmarxist]

Speculations on Trump

From a thread on leftypol concerning US politics where the question of what the Trump admin is trying to accomplish with tariffs came up, and I tried to answer with some hopefully educated speculation. Indents will be anon posts and below them will be my responses. The posts themselves can be found in situ here and here.

Adding a cut, because long.

>but fold to what? what does the USA want?

It's hard to tell at this point. Federalizing Canada and Greenland seem like bizarre plays, but they might make some sense in light of the failure of project Ukraine.

I think in the ideal liberal timeline, Hillary wins in 2016, kicks off war with Russia, which it of course loses because it's a gas station with nukes run by a petty tyrant that no one likes. The liberals take over Russia, break it up, and nato enjoy the spoils of cheap Russian resources while gearing up for war with China along the same lines.

Trump's election throws a spanner in that and then coronavirus also delays things til 2022. War were declared, but the sanctions and proud Ukrainian warriors don't have the desired effect and now Russia is in a position of strength not seen since the cold war. And that's kind of it really, because with Ukraine likely to disappear in the next year or so there really isn't any other country on Russia's border that serves as a suitable proxy to try this all again.

There's been a lot of talk recently about the Arctic being the next "competition zone" with Russia, which seems likely as climate change accelerates. Melting ice is going to raise sea levels, displacing millions, while also opening up more of the North to settlement and exploitation. Greenland and Canada are both tempting targets because neither have very large populations in comparison to the US, nor any real means of resistance.

Securing control over Russia's resources was imperative for the US because as we're seeing with the fallout from the European economy being cut off from them, they're pretty essential for Europe's economy viability. That along with the development of BRICS and the Belt and Road threatened to undermine American domination there, and without that they can pretty much kiss competing in Asia and Africa goodbye. NATO is trying extremely hard right now to tamp down political movements seeking to normalize relations with Russia for this reason. If Europe just goes back to buying Russian gas then every single facet of project Ukraine has been a complete and total humiliation and failure.

So for the United States, there are only two real choices: give up and acquiesce to the new multi polar reality, or double down on trying to maintain its hegemony. Personally I think Washington is fundamentally incapable of the former, which leaves only the latter choice.

In that case, the US has to more ruthlessly exploit it's "native resources" in North and South America. In that vein the moves towards Canada, Greenland, and Panama make total sense. Greenland has a population of 50k people, and the past two years in Gaza have shown what the US is willing to do if some ice skating natives decide to make an issue of it. Canada also is vast with who knows how many trillions of dollars worth of future iphones under the permafrost. Panama is probably the most aggressive move though, because the ultimate purpose of that would be to shut the Chinese out, but it's also a potentially mighty barrier to migrants trying to escape the havoc I feel pretty confident is about to be unleashed south of it.

So tl;dr, to answer your question, it gets the raw materials to continue waging its war for supremacy tightening its grip on north and south America.

>Likely the US is going to give Greenland the same status that Micronesia has currently with the US. this will give it everything the US wants out of Greenland without the hassle of dealing with another Puerto Rico. The US will likely annex all the Prairie provinces, British Columbia and North Canada. This gives all the access to the Artic that the US wants and a direct connection to Alaska. Canada will be just Ontario. Quebec will be independent as well and the Maritime provinces will be annexed or form its own country as a tax haven.

Doesn't sound unreasonable. I think I differ with you on Greenland only because I picture the gringo settlers expecting full statehood for their trouble, but who knows at this point?

>that makes some sort of sense, i just have trouble believing that trump is thinking it through like that. or musk.

I agree, and personally I don't think he is. I'd put my money on this being the brainchild of someone else in the menagerie of interests he's assembled and placed himself at the head of, though I couldn't say who. I keep meaning to look into the Project 2025 document to see if there might be some answers or clues there, but the fucking thing is a thousand pages long.

>That whole post fails to answer the question of what squeezing mexico and canada aims to accomplish, if anything it loosens america's grip over mexico and forces it to approach china and the rest of south america. there's no negotiations on the table, trump has dismissed them all, and there's little to gain in terms of net influence abroad. also the greenland stuff is a continuation from 2019 policy, he had expressed interest in outright buying it if possible, though he was met with laughter. it's obvious that the permafrost is melting and they want to use greenland as a trade route. I genuinely think Trump's particular vision of the world is making him think all these policies are total slamdunks.

>The whole point of NAFTA/USMCA is "getting the resources", this is like wanting to drink a milkshake in the straw and deciding that the best path of action to accelerate this process is poking holes all over the straw. The US trade deals are worth shit, everyone will want to negotiate with the smart people in the room now, the chinese.

>what resources is it getting from mexico by destroying its economy?

I can only speculate, but which economy do you think is going to cry uncle first, the United States or Mexico? I'm not an expert on the Mexican economy, but the impression that I've gotten is that NAFTA has made it into an export economy, but then what? Saying they'll appeal to China is fine, but what exactly do they have to offer it? Can Mexico produce goods more cheaply? Then why would China undermine their own industries by buying them? And do you think the US would stand idly by while their industry which they spent years painstakingly moving to Mexico suddenly serves a new master?

At this point all I can guess is that the point is to hurt Mexico to such a degree that America can dictate new terms in their relationship. It seems like over the past decade the Mexican government has been taking a more independent stance, and Mexican workers have been winning better conditions for themselves. One of the goals of nafta was to move US industry to a place where wages and protections for workers were as close to nothing as possible. Putting the Mexicans "back in their place" might be part of this new relationship.

And beyond that, the US is faced with several contradictory needs. Primarily the Ukraine conflict has demonstrated a pressing need to reindustrialize. Its domestic politics make this untenable I think. American industrial workers would expect industrial wages, and furthermore raises the specter of what the bourgeoisie fear most and have been trying to kill for the past century: an organized and militant industrial proletariat. But to give you an example, Toyota is building an EV battery plant in my state. Starting wages for the production line without prior experience is double what any other factory work is offering here, and maintenance makes even more than that. Covid sent wages rapidly rising, and Biden spent much of his term trying to reverse that. That's to say nothing about how the company is making extensive outlays in the name of education, and how the sheer size of the factory and everything meant to service it will transform the region if all goes to plan.

But the sort of reindustrialization that would be needed to compete with Russia on bomb or shell production would be even more extensive. With profitability being the overall concern for the private contractors that will inevitably take up such a thing, American workers and infrastructure simply won't do I think. You need a much cheaper work force and one that's imminently disposable in the face of the inevitable accidents that will come with cut corners and cost saving measures. Displacing industry there might also have the added "benefit" of placing jobs outside of America's borders, attracting migrant workers there instead of to the US itself.

At this point, I think that's what I'd put my money on, that this is an effort to subjugate Mexico in the name of American industrial policy.

>idk anon >wouldn't continual industrial outsourcing to mexico be a little too hard to jive with drumpf's whole image/message?

I suppose, but at the same time I don't know how much it would matter. For the average American voter, the expectations are so low already that it seems like a lot of Trump's supporters are celebrating just the prospect of being able to say "retard" again.

So on the one hand you might get showpieces like Toyota's battery plant or that chip plant they're trying to build in Arizona (?), and on the other the dangerous, essential stuff is sent to Mexico.

>unless they try to dismember mexico and break up the northern states where a lot of the industry is to create a couple of little comprador states but there's been no mention of that

I don't know if I'd put it past them either. I think it was back in Bush's admin that there were talks of sending troops into Mexico to fight the cartels, and that kind of talk has cropped up again recently. Trump has sent some troops to the border, which seems like overkill to handle simple migrants. Maybe it could end up in a Syria sort of situation with US troops deployed across the border and these states under de facto US control while being ostensibly still under Mexican jurisdiction.

Personally I think the stakes have become existential for the American bourgeoisie. The loss of the status quo threatens to upset everything in the US, which has become so thoroughly brittle and rotten that I don't know if it can withstand a significant enough shock. Under these circumstances I don't think anything can be definitively ruled out.

>Yeah but mexico is already crying uncle, that's the thing, right? If there were any concessions to extract, including hammering the extensive cheap labor force in Mexico, they would've done so already, even pinko leaders won't hesitate to slam workers in the face of economic collapse. So maybe they want to subjugate Mexico, deal, but what little industry the US has left has been spread across the entire north american block, the inmediate effect will be a collapse of industry across the continent, setting back reindustrialization efforts, not further. I do think you're spot on with Trump wanting the US to reindustrialize, what I think is missing here is that the Trump's timeline is unrealistically short, and they're collapsing their sphere of influence to advance this plan. It's not that Mexico will want to approach China, is that the rest of the world will look at more consistent conditions offered by China now that America's word is equal to trash and vomit, and without a local cheap labor force, and no one wanting to be left to dry like Mexico and Canada, the US is going to struggle rebuilding their supply chain. No doubt will Mexico collapse miserably first, but in the long term, the US gives a lot more than it gains in terms of hegemony.

>Yeah but mexico is already crying uncle, that's the thing, right? If there were any concessions to extract, including hammering the extensive cheap labor force in Mexico, they would've done so already, even pinko leaders won't hesitate to slam workers in the face of economic collapse.

In the last thread there was a Twitter post I think about Trump saying that the tariffs aren't about concessions, so that raises a couple possibilities

1. We don't take Trump the Liar at his word. They are in fact about concessions. But if that's the case, and Mexico is already willing to concede, then what? Just get what you came for and call it a day.

Or, what Trump is trying to extract is so big that while Mexico is willing to negotiate, they won't give Trump what he wants without significantly more pain. What this could be I can't begin to guess at this point.

2. It actually isn't about concessions, and the pain is the point. The actual intention is to crash the economy with no survivors. This seems insane at first glance, but I think it fits given the circumstances and what we're seeing from the Trump administration.

The US is embroiled in a number of crises right now which are intractable without major changes.

For one, it must reindustrialize. The conflict with Ukraine has shown that the military edge that the US enjoyed over its competitors has evaporated, and this can only be remedied with increased military production. However, this is for all intents and purposes impossible at this point.

1. The US government has been shaped in such a way that its only means of doing so is the public/private partnership. 2. The private contractors don't want to increase production because that cuts into their profits. 3. Even with the government footing the bill, American labor costs would make such production unprofitable.

And that last part is I think the major fulcrum all this is turning on. As far as the bourgeoisie as a class are concerned, domestic reindustrialization is nothing short of a class defeat. American workers would expect factory work to be well paid, and reintroducing large scale, well paid factory work to the American economy risks undermining bourgeois class domination. If Americans are going to work, it's going to have to be on the cheap.

This seems to contradict the stated goal of the Trump Administration of ridding the US of its migrant workers. They function to keep wages and prices low, so getting rid of them seems to be working against that. The Biden admin struggled with the inflation caused by companies increasing prices to take advantage of rising wages caused by covid. Their response was to increase worker suffering, cut benefits and subsidies in order to force more people back into the labor market to try and drive wages down. Needless to say it didn't work.

But there are already reports of crop harvests going uncollected because migrants have either been deported or are hiding from fear of it. That means that Americans are the only ones left to do these jobs. However, they won't/can't take these jobs because they're unsustainable. You can't survive on picking tomatoes for 80c an hour. Wages can't rise to fix this because that would cause a rise in prices, and all other wages would have to rise as well to compensate. Regardless, this work has to be done.

The Republican solution to this kind of situation is to increase worker suffering until they have no choice but to take whatever they can get. So Trump's admin intends to cut social security, medicaid, snap, any sort of prole support that might give any lazy bastard an excuse not to get out and earn a living, and crashing the economy might just play into that as well. The US didn't have any problems industrializing in the 19th century, right? So all we have to do is return to 19th century conditions. No social security, no osha, no labor board. The final victory over the hated New Deal.

>So maybe they want to subjugate Mexico, deal, but what little industry the US has left has been spread across the entire north american block, the inmediate effect will be a collapse of industry across the continent, setting back reindustrialization efforts, not further. I do think you're spot on with Trump wanting the US to reindustrialize, what I think is missing here is that the Trump's timeline is unrealistically short, and they're collapsing their sphere of influence to advance this plan.

It is unrealistically short if Trump is expecting to accomplish all this within his term, but I'm not sure that he is. I think this is supported by the drastic purges that we're seeing him carry out through the government right now.

I think he learned a hard lesson in his first term, namely that the president has the power to set policy, but not the power to carry it out. Basically, whenever he tried to deviate from the Project For A New American Century, he was betrayed, stonewalled, or undermined by "the deep state," or in other words the federal bureaucracy. That institutional inertia is what guarantees continuity of government between administrations, ensuring that long term goals like destroying Russia or whatever carry on regardless of who is president. I think this past election was a struggle between old PFANAC die hards and Trump's coterie which see it as dead in the water. They're still committed to us hegemony, but have to go about it on a different tack, and the first step towards that is purging the government of those bearing the standard of the old cause.

So destroying the economy will be a mess, and it will negatively effect many of Trump's supporters, but in the calculus of him and his cabinet I don't think that matters. I think that the way Trump is looking at it, he'll be vindicated by history as the president that cleared away all the detritus and laid the foundations for MAGA.

My reasoning is that yeah, this will create a huge crisis now, but Trump isn't worried about the consequences. Other people will be left holding the bag. The Republicans will take the brunt of voter displeasure, and the Democrats will score a rebound victory in the next couple elections, but as a party and a class they are fundamentally incapable of dealing with the problems that will result, and inevitably the Republicans will get back into power, with the intended results of the crash having run their course and Americans being more destitute and desperate than ever, and ready to work in whatever job they can get, however dirty, dangerous, or destructive. This should coincide with the completion of at least some of the desired construction projects, like ammunition factories.

>It's not that Mexico will want to approach China, is that the rest of the world will look at more consistent conditions offered by China now that America's word is equal to trash and vomit, and without a local cheap labor force, and no one wanting to be left to dry like Mexico and Canada, the US is going to struggle rebuilding their supply chain. No doubt will Mexico collapse miserably first, but in the long term, the US gives a lot more than it gains in terms of hegemony.

I think you're right to some extent, but in the Republican view that restructuring of supply chains is absolutely necessary.

A world where the US can't unilaterally dictate policy is one the Republicans absolutely don't want to live in. Having to negotiate and honor their word is tantamount to surrendering to the new multipolar order.

However, certain adjustments must be made in respect to the multipolar situation if only because carrying on as things are is a losing prospect. Similar to how Russian gas have Russia de facto control over Europe's economy, Chinese commodities function the same way. The US can't fight China with the expectation that a stop in the flow of essential goods will collapse the US in a matter of weeks.

So from their warmongering perspective, whatever pain they experience NOW in the course of securing their ability to wage war is much preferable to the pain of total defeat if things continue as they are. As things stand, the US is losing ground in every sphere of conflict.

Europe: They're in the process of losing the Ukraine war and the economic fallout from it is generating anti NATO discontent that it is resorting to increasingly draconian methods to tamp down. Europe can't compete economically with the burden of American gas prices, and if the anti nato political groups have their way they'll be buying Russian gas very soon with Europe slipping out of their orbit.

Africa: Old colonialist structures conducive to American domination of the continent are being undermined or swept away and the US is being outcompeted there by Russia, China, and Turkey.

Asia: China is set to eclipse the US in virtually every metric, if it hasn't already. As things stand there's no way for American auto makers to compete with China's $10,000 EVs. Deepseek alone has basically upended the entire US tech industry. Like you mentioned before, China is an increasingly attractive partner to all the countries the US and nato have spent decades exploiting and bombing, which is practically everyone.

So in the face of all that and them doubling down on imperialism, I think their only recourse is to renew the Monroe Doctrine. Consolidate power in North America while tightening their grip on South America, with the intention of making it an anti BRICS reserve. Mexico will be transformed into a buffer state to absorb refugees from Operation Condor II. Panama seized in order to deny transit to Chinese ships, but also to serve as a bulwark between Central and South America, cutting them off and stymieing refugees/blowback from the south as it works to prise Brazil out of BRICS and bring Venezuela back into line.

The alternative is for America to be "defeated," and it's way of life "destroyed" by having to adjust their ways or even, quelle horreur, learn from these backwards, godless foreigners with their satanic cultures and barbarisms like mandatory holidays, universal healthcare, and worst of all social accountability, and if it comes to that I think they'd just as soon bathe the world in nuclear hellfire.

[covid-safer-hotties]

A rare mention of covid conscious people in this NYT article:

Harris supporters, by and large, answered the question about trust with enthusiasm. “Absolutely!” several said. Those whose feelings were mixed said they wanted the agency to be more aggressive, not less. They included Vendella De Moors, a real-estate investor, and her 27-year-old daughter Chastity, who has long Covid and is in a wheelchair. Both wore masks.

“Dr. Fauci is the best,” declared Gary Tate, a Harris voter who grew up in Queens but moved to Atlanta in 1992. He praised the C.D.C. for its Covid response and was wearing a mask to protect himself, saying that he has health conditions, including high blood pressure and diabetes. Of Mr. Trump, Mr. Tate said: “He thinks bleach can kill Covid. Only an idiot would think something like that.” (In fact, bleach can kill the coronavirus on surfaces, but injecting it, as Mr. Trump suggested in 2020, before quickly walking it back, is dangerous.)

The rest of the article is as wishy-washy as you'd imagine and talks about covid in the past tense. If you still want to read it in full, you can also find it preserved in our archive.

[mybeingthere]

JAN C SCHLEGEL -

OF ALIENS, MERMAIDS AND MEDUSAS

Platinum Prints, limited edition of 5 in the size of 56x76cm (Arches Platinum Rag).

A folio of 12 plates (plus cover page) is available as limited edition of 3

The series „of Aliens, Mermaids and Medusas" was inspired by imagination itself.

Today it seems as if its influence on people is losing its power because we begin to forget or stop noticing how imagination can change our lives. It is the way people approach all kinds of problems with creativity.

We live in a time of crisis when everything in the world has been turned upside down by global warming, ocean pollution, the coronavirus pandemic, and wars (just to mention a few). We have to deal with everyday problems, and this is quite difficult in a state of anxiety. In addition, we are attacked by negative news, and in this information noise, the voice of our imagination that helps us to cope mentally is drowned out.

We do not mean an escape from reality to completely lose touch with it, but a deeper dive into your inner world, where the answers to all questions lie. The ability to imagine, to think outside the box, encourages us to change for the better.

How long ago have you been peering into quirky, chaotic at first glance patterns to discern unusual images in them? How long ago have you laid with a friend on the grass, looking up at the sky and saying, "That cloud looks like a jumping tiger!"? Jan C Schlegel's series of photographs will help you revive your imagination. Just take a closer look at the most primitive, yet incredibly complex creatures: jellyfish.

Jellyfish appeared long before the dinosaurs. They inhabited the ocean 500-700 million years ago, at the dawn of life on Earth. They have no blood, bones or brain, but thanks to evolution, these organisms have developed very cunning methods of adaptation, some secrets of which scientists have not yet managed to unravel. Bizarre camouflage is the most understandable means of adaptation. But there are many unsolved mysteries. Why would a sea creature without a brain need eyes? How can some individuals transform from adult jellyfish to polyps without any limitations, thereby repeating the life cycle and providing themselves with actual immortality?

To date, scientists have described nearly 3,200 species of jellyfish, and the number is only growing every year. The in-depth study of jellyfish has made it possible to advance in solving the ecological problem of plastic emissions into the ocean. Geneticists are grappling with the question of immortality and suggest that the very same immortal jellyfish will help them get a little closer to answering this important question.

It was these amazing, little-studied creatures that attracted the attention of Jan C Schlegel, and he has attempted to show them from a different perspective. The project was photographed in Germany, at the artist’s house, and the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa.

The jellyfish placed in large aquariums moved chaotically, and their movements were meditative and calming. These are the moments when the magic of the imagination happens. The relaxed mind is attuned to observation. The smooth movements of the jellyfish seemed to show some pictures, and Jan only had to follow them and catch the moment.

Each person has their own unique experience, so we guess you'll see something of your own. You can look at the jellyfish silhouette as a whole or you can gaze at a particular element. You can focus on the pattern of the tentacles or the unusual fibers that make up the jellyfish's pileus. All of Jan's photos are chosen so that with a little effort you can see something really unexpected. Just take a closer look.

Let's consider one example that might help you engage your imagination at Jan C Schlegel's series. The box jellyfish, considered one of the most dangerous creatures on Earth, has another name: the sea wasp. Its venom can kill an adult in a few minutes if the victim is not treated in time. And yet in the photo from the series „of Aliens, Mermaids and Medusas“ she appears in a slightly different guise, more peaceful. The pattern of her head resembles the gaze of an elephant. As soon as you notice this look, your imagination will add the recognizable elephant skin texture and it will be very hard to get rid of this image, it will stay in your memory for a long time.

There is no point in telling what Jan l saw in all these amazing creatures. We'll just ask a few guiding questions to stimulate your imagination. Could you see a single jellyfish as a forest on a lonely planet? Would you have thought of the idea that a close friendship might develop between a jellyfish and a fish? Or maybe some picture reminded you of your childhood fears when you didn't want to get out from under the covers, being afraid of the monster under the bed? Would you find a woman's profile in one of Jan C Schlegel's works? As you look at the dancing tentacles, will you hear a melody dear to your heart?

The Series is dedicated to Ksenia Chapkayeva who also wrote this introduction. Her inspiration, encouragement and support were vital to see the series realized.

[sirravenous2]

First allow me to state a fact:

I will not respond to any comments on this, it's my opinion & I'm just sharing & don't have an opinion on anyone's opinion of My President!

My position on Donald Trump:

Make no mistake ... I'm not posting this for debate.

I don’t seek or need commentary.

It's okay if you don't agree because we are ALL entitled to our own opinions & you can Also just keep scrolling.

Just consider this ... When you think the President is a jerk; he is.

He’s a fucking New Yorker ... a QUEENS New Yorker.

He’s crude and can be rude.

He gets his feelings hurt & he’s a hothead.

He hits back - harder! He's made mistakes morally, personally, and professionally - who of us hasn't?!?

Certainly he's done things I don't agree with - all politicians have & oh my fuckin god. still do!

The media hates it when he tweets. Lol!

Why? Because he goes around the mainstream media & gets HONEST information out that they don’t want to report.

Let me tell you what else:

He is a guy who demands performance. If you don't work as hard as he does, you're fired!

He is a guy who asks lots of questions.

The questions he asks aren’t cloaked in fancy “political” bullshit phrases ... they are “why the hell ...” questions.

He doesn't structure his phrases so that anyone can misconstrue or misinterpret what he says in facts.

He is abrupt & to the point ... how many of us are the same way every day?

I know I am.

He is both harsh & kind ... most disciplinarians are.

For decades the health industry has thrown away billions of face masks after one use. Trump asks,

“Why the hell are we throwing them away"? Why not sterilize them & use them numerous times?”

They called him stupid. But what are they doing now?

Sterilizing face masks. Lol!

He’s the guy who gets hospital ships readied in one week when it would have taken loser greedy bureaucrats weeks or months to get it done.

He’s the guy who gets temporary hospitals built in three days. They said there was no way he could do it. Hahaha!

He’s the guy who gets auto industries to restructure to build ventilators in a business that’s highly regulated by agencies that move like our congress, sloths.

He’s the guy who asks, “Why aren’t we using drugs that might work on people who are dying; being killed slowly by big greedy pharma.

"What the hell do we have to lose"?

He’s the guy who restricted travel from China when the stupid Democrats and hateful liberals & liberal media were screaming “xenophobia” and “racist” ...

Now they’re wanting to know why he didn't react sooner.

Smfh...

He’s the guy who campaigned on securing the border - protecting America - in the face of screaming idiot Democrats & the liberal media.

Both Clinton and Obama talked about a crisis at the border & Obama did some things to address the crisis, but they all proved to be just more bullshit talk & definitely insufficient.

When Trump shut down borders in the midst of the coronavirus virus, they screamed louder.

Then the rest of the world followed suit, including the European Union with travel between their member countries.

Hahaha!

His policy is always 'America First'!

For many years we have complained about sending billions abroad while Americans suffer here.

I have for sure.

He's minimized that outflow of money!

Not anymore bullshit ass kissing aid!

Has he made mistakes? Yes.

EVERYONE I know has and does, we're all just people.

The “experts” wouldn’t & haven’t done any fuckin better! Fact!

Does he change his mind?

Yes, & he's allowed to, I mean who doesn't?

Trump is working harder than I’ve ever ever seen a President work ... twenty-four-hour days

Even when they complain that he takes vacations, he's really still at work ...

Mar-a-Lago ... working.

He isn’t hiding in his office ... never trying to avoid anyone, he’s out front - briefing, answering countless, nonstop questions - every day!

When Trump offers hope, they say he’s lying; and when he’s straight forward, they say he should be hopeful. Smh..

It’s a no-win situation with the mainstream media and the energized nonsense hate from left-wing liberals, but he will not be deterred!

Thank God!

And when the mainstream & social media trolls gaslight with false doctored

"soundbites",

Just look at the true whole context ... it's almost always a completely different picture than what's being painted!

Come on, jeeze!

I’ll take this kind of fucking leadership eight days a week & twice on Sunday, over a “polished, lying fake nice guy” politician who reads prepared speeches from a teleprompter & answers pre-scripted for certain questions.

Finally.

I’ll take him any day over any of our politicians.

I’m so fuckin proud to have him as My true American President!

I’m confident he will get us, America back on the course we need to be on to be a strong self reliant country again!

Like it was before corrupt elites started talking about social security & population control & dumbing down America's children with A rich wealthy pricks ideas (Rothschild or J. P. Morgan), to indoctrinate a school curriculum that doesn't teach anyone anything to do with truth & history & real intellect!Thank God, & thank you Mr. President, Mr Donald Trump, for your love of our people & our country!

He is my Motherfuckin President. ❤🇺🇸💯

I don't care what anyone else thinks on this opinion.

You can share this if you agree.

If you don't agree, that's okay, too.

We are all entitled to our opinions, & this is MINE.

And I will not respond or reply to anyone commenting on this post with good or bad opinions of My opinion or My President!

Thank you.

Or not .? ..

[the-real-zhora-salome]

In the stillness of London’s Harold Pinter Theatre, as David Tennant crouched on stage to deliver a pivotal soliloquy in Macbeth, chaos erupted.

A patron, incensed after being asked to wait before returning to his seat after a loo break, began shouting indignantly from the wings. Demanding immediate access, he disrupted the performance with his cries of, “two hours without a loo break! I paid £250 to see David Tennant in Macbeth and I was really looking forward to it!”

Staff intervened, but the situation escalated when the man shoved security personnel. Frustrated, fellow theatergoers began slow-clapping and chanting “out, out, out!” until he was forcibly removed, booed all the way to the door.

The incident spread rapidly across social media, sparking debates about audience etiquette. One commenter encapsulated the frustration many felt:

"Some people just do not know how to behave in public, and at the theatre, they feel they should be able to get up and move around, talk, and even look at their mobiles. They behave as if they are at home."

Others, however, sought to clarify the sequence of events, pointing to a misunderstanding that framed the outburst. Another user explained:

"The disgruntled ticket holder caused a furore when he was told he would have to wait to return to his seat after returning from the toilet. He wasn’t refused re-admission completely, just asked to wait for a suitable moment to retake his seat. All this person’s rage was because he couldn’t sit back down immediately – he HAD to wait a few minutes."

This raises a troubling question: How could such a minor inconvenience – a short wait for an appropriate pause in the performance – escalate into such aggression? And why does this kind of behaviour seem to be happening in theatres more frequently?

The Macbeth incident is part of a broader trend of escalating audience disruptions. Theatres across the UK have reported an increase in violent, aggressive, and antisocial behaviour since the pandemic.

Earlier this year, a performance of the Bodyguard at Manchester’s Palace Theatre ended in chaos. Audience members, determined to sing over the cast during the final number, sparked a confrontation so intense that the production was stopped and police were called, arriving in riot vans.

Disruptions have ranged from heckling and shouting to physical altercations and even instances of public urination in seats. One front-of-house worker described to the Guardian how, since the beginning of the pandemic, she and her colleagues have faced escalating violence and abuse, breaking up fights and enduring verbal attacks on a weekly basis.

A recent survey by the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph, and Theatre Union (BECTU) found that 90% of theatre workers had experienced or witnessed unacceptable behavior from audiences, with 70% saying such incidents have worsened since the beginning of pandemic.

What’s driving this rise in impatience, aggression, and disregard for others? The answer may lie in the lingering neurological effects of Covid-19 (coronavirus).

Initially dismissed as a result of post-lockdown awkwardness or direct sales of alcohol to audiences at theatres, this behavioural shift now appears to have a biological component. Covid-19, widely understood as a respiratory illness early in the pandemic, is now recognised as a vascular disease that affects multiple systems in the body, including the brain.

Even infections whose symptoms appear ‘mild’ can lead to long-term neurological changes, with symptoms such as emotional dysregulation, impulsiveness, and aggression becoming more common.

Neuropsychiatrist Dr. Adam Kaplin of Johns Hopkins University describes a phenomenon he calls “Covid-induced disinhibition,” in which individuals exhibit drastic personality changes after infection.

According to Kaplin, it is not the virus itself but the immune system’s inflammatory response to Covid-19 that can alter brain function, particularly in areas governing impulse control, empathy, and emotional regulation. These changes can manifest as uncharacteristic aggression, a diminished capacity for social norms, and a skewed sense of entitlement.

Covid isn’t just changing how we feel physically, it’s reshaping how we think and act.

Impatience, like that exhibited by the audience member who refused to wait for an appropriate moment to return to his seat, might seem like a minor issue. But in the context of Covid-19’s neurological impact, it represents something much larger: a fundamental shift in the way we think, process emotions, and interact with the world.

One person’s impatience at a play can be irritating, but in other contexts it can be lethal.

A 2024 study published in Neurology revealed that Covid-19 survivors were 50% more likely to be involved in car accidents compared to those who had never been infected. Researchers compared this increased risk to driving under the influence, linking it to heightened impulsivity and reduced attention spans.

Traffic fatalities in the U.S., which had been steadily declining for decades, have risen sharply since the pandemic. Between 2018 and 2023, speeding-related deaths increased by 21%, while fatalities linked to distracted driving climbed by 16%.

Brain imaging studies have revealed that Covid can thin the gray matter in the frontal and temporal lobes – areas critical to moral reasoning, impulse control, and empathy. Thinning of these areas doesn’t necessarily result in cognitive symptoms or forgetfulness in the early stages. Instead, it often manifests as disinhibition, with individuals exhibiting uncharacteristic impulsivity, poor judgment, or aggressive behaviour that might not seem immediately related to intelligence or memory.

Damage to these regions of the brain can induce what has been called ‘a slow and insidious loss of the capacity for moral rationality’. What begins as disinhibition – minor lapses in patience or self-control – can escalate over time into more sociopathic behaviour, with profound consequences for society at large.

This crisis extends beyond theatre etiquette; it is a public health issue. If the whole of society are experiencing cumulative damage to our nervous systems, the consequences for society, even geopolitics, are cause for alarm. Theatre can lead the way, not only with protecting performers, crew, venue staff and audiences, but in modelling how governments and institutions can prevent further damage to the nation’s health and intellectual capital.

Advocacy groups like Protect the Heart of the Arts argue that addressing these disruptions requires tackling their root cause: COVID itself.

Theatres can lead by example by adopting measures that prioritise clean air and accurate on-site testing.

In 2021, the National Theatre in London upgraded their ventilation with HEPA air filtration. In April 2024, this may have allowed performances to continue when Michael Sheen, the lead actor of Nye, fell ill. Instead of the illness spreading to the rest of the cast, Sheen was replaced with understudy Lee Mungo for several performances.

By contrast, David Tennant’s Macbeth was cancelled for four consecutive performances and returned with the support of six understudies. Other venues can follow suit, combining air quality improvements with on-site molecular testing, like PlusLife, that delivers PCR-level accuracy in minutes.

Audience masking, though politically contentious, is a cost-effective measure that could protect both patrons and performers.

But the responsibility extends beyond theatres.

Governments, institutions, and individuals must recognise Covid’s connection to anti-social behaviour and invest in policies which will curb transmission, including face masks in healthcare settings and on-site molecular testing, such as PlusLife.

If Covid is contributing to the erosion of moral reasoning and impulse control, then preventing further infections isn’t just about health—it’s about preserving the fabric of our social lives.

Theatre has always reflected our individual and collective struggles, and Macbeth itself serves as a cautionary tale about moral decay.

Today, the challenge is to confront the slow erosion of our collective empathy and impulse control, not from ambition, but from infectious disease.

The question cannot be more urgent: if Covid-19 is silently reshaping our brains and behaviours, what kind of society will we become? The answer, as always, lies in our willingness to confront the truth and to act before we find ourselves having lost our grasp on morality – just like the play’s titular character.

[yuzukahibiscus]

Takarazuka Flower Troupe Top Star Yuzuka Rei Retirement Press Conference – "Want to meet a new self" – Her answer to the generic marriage question is...

(Source from Sponichi)

Takarazuka Revue Flower Troupe Top [Star] Yuzuka Rei will retire next May and had her retirement press conference in Osaka city on 16th [of August].

In a pure white suit and pants, she said with a smile "Knowing that this time has come has felt once again real to me, that I am nervous." She recalled, "Takarazuka is my youth. To me, this is where I have spent my time fruitfully.

Her intention of graduation came in February. "I am filled with memories of Takarazuka that I thought 'now is the time I retire'. I want to meet myself from the outer world that I haven't known about yet." Also retiring is the Top Musumeyaku Hoshikaze Madoka who also expressed [retirement] a month later when the two talked, which [Hoshikaze] said "Please let me [retire] along with you". She told the troupe members the day after the performance on the 12th, a day before the 13th which is the Senshuuraku day of the Takarazuka Grand Theatre performance "Singing Lovebirds" "GRAND MIRAGE!"

When asked about her memorable performances, "All of them, they exist like duplicates of myself, so it is difficult to choose just one." But when asked about memorable sights, she immediately answered, "The smiles of the audience appear in my mind". "Even wearing a mask, I could see their sparkling eyes, so I love the connections with the audience. Now that I think of it, those are great. Whatever the time, I am grateful for the time we should share with the audience and that they are supporting us warmtly.

Yuzuka is born in Tokyo. She was assigned to Flower Troupe after having her debut stage in 2009, and captured the attention of the audience from her gorgeous stage poise and dancing. Embarking on the stable star-tracked path, she became the Top Star in November 2019. But due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus that her Top debut performance "Haikara-san ga Tooru" was delayed 4 months later and her Top [Star] career was also affected by the coronavirus a lot. "Corona was when the world drastically changed. Those who support me are the audiences' words, the staff members...these people's sentiments", she spoke. As for the general question of “marriage”, she replied, “I would have worn a rubber band on my left ring finger, but I don’t have the courage (LOL). Of course, I’m available”, she replied cheekily with a smile.

Her [last] Sayonara performance [in Takarazuka] will be the musical "Arc en Ciel ~The Rainbow over Paris~" starting on February 9 2024 in the Takarazuka Grand Theatre. The Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre will be May 26. Later Hoshikaze will also have a press conference at the Takarazuka Revue for her retirement announcement.

[eviligo-archive]

extremely specific question but i think if anyone would know the answer its probably you

do you happen to know the episode of the podcast where ryan sucks matts finger (or similar) and matt starts talking about how it sent shivers down his spine or something because he hasnt had physical contact with anyone in so long

its from i assume peak coronavirus times and when the podcast didnt have accompanying video

!!! I very very very vaguely remember this but tbh I’d have to do a relisten to find the exact ep so this is me putting out the meghead signal for help

[boaringoldguy]

Clown World.

We are caught in The Twilight Zone!

ntd.com CIA Officers Paid to Change Their Position on Origins of COVID-19: Whistleblower NTD 6–7 minutes

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) seal is displayed in the lobby of CIA Headquarters in Langley, Va., on Aug. 14, 2008. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Six CIA officers were paid to change their position on the origins of COVID-19, according to new whistleblower testimony.

A current CIA senior officer told the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic that a CIA team of seven personnel analyzed the origins of COVID-19. Six of the members believed, based on the available evidence, that they could say with low confidence that COVID-19 originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, where the first COVID-19 cases appeared.

The seventh and most senior member of the team thought COVID-19 came from animals.

“The whistleblower further contends that to come to the eventual public determination of uncertainty, the other six members were given a significant monetary incentive to change their position,” Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), chairman of the panel, and Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, told CIA Director William Burns in a letter on Sept. 12.

“These allegations, from a seemingly credible source, requires the Committees to conduct further oversight of how the CIA handled its internal investigation into the origins of COVID-19,” they said.

The CIA was asked to provide all documents from the CIA team that analyzed the origins of COVID-19, including communications among members regarding the analysis. Mr. Wenstrup and Mr. Turner also requested documents showing the pay history of the seven members.

“At CIA we are committed to the highest standards of analytic rigor, integrity, and objectivity. We do not pay analysts to reach specific conclusions,” a CIA spokesperson told The Epoch Times via email. “We take these allegations extremely seriously and are looking into them. We will keep our Congressional oversight committees appropriately informed.” Another Letter

In another missive, the lawmakers asked Andrew Makridis, until late 2022 the CIA’s chief operating officer, to sit and answer questions.

“The whistleblower pointed the Committees to a CIA led COVID Discovery Team(s) in which you played a central role in its formation and eventual conclusion that the CIA was ‘unable to determine’ the origins of COVID-19,” they told Mr. Makridis.

Mr. Makridis, now with Beacon Global Strategies, should participate in a voluntary interview on Sept. 26, the letter said.

The lawmakers suggested that a subpoena might be issued if Mr. Makridis declines to appear. Intelligence Report

The CIA and other intelligence agencies each offered an assessment of the origins of COVID-19.

A declassified report said that all of the agencies “continue to assess that both a natural and laboratory-associated origin remain plausible hypotheses to explain the first human infection,” though a majority of the agencies believe the virus originated in animals.

The U.S. Department of Energy and the FBI say evidence indicates the virus originated in the Wuhan lab, where testing—some U.S.-funded—of coronaviruses has been taking place for years.

Two agencies, including the CIA, “remain unable to determine the precise origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, as both hypotheses rely on significant assumptions or face challenges with conflicting reporting,” the report stated.

It also said that none of the agencies think COVID-19 was developed as a biological weapon.

Former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe told Congress in April that the CIA’s stance was “unjustifiable, and a reflection not that the agency can’t make an assessment with any confidence, but that it won’t.” New Bill

The report was just 10 pages and was released in response to a bill passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) on Sept. 11 introduced new legislation that would compel the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release records on the COVID-19 origins.

“Every American deserves to know the truth about the origins of Covid-19, China’s involvement, and the ongoing cover-up,” Mr. Marshall said in a statement. “Yet, here we are after YEARS of asking for the Biden Administration to provide this much-needed transparency and they continue to stonewall our investigations and find ‘work arounds’ to dodge our requests.”

He added: “Every American should be asking, ‘Why is that?’ Our legislation requires the HHS to publicly release all agency records related to the origin of COVID-19, the cover-up of the pandemic origins, and coronavirus research, including vaccine development. It’s past time for answers—this is a matter of national security.”

The HHS includes the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which funded some of the research conducted at the Wuhan lab. Influenced

The NIH exerted “undue influence” in downplaying the idea that COVID-19 originated from the lab, a House report released over the summer said.

Dr. Francis Collins and Dr. Anthony Fauci, two top NIH officials, helped draft a paper that claimed to rule out the possibility of a lab origin.

Neither were listed as co-authors or thanked as contributors.

“After publication, Proximal Origin was used to downplay the lab leak hypothesis and call those who believe it may be true conspiracy theorists. Dr. Fauci and Dr. Collins tracked the paper through the review and publication process. And finally, Dr. Collins expressed dismay when Proximal Origin did not successfully kill the lab leak theory. He subsequently asked Dr. Fauci if there was anything more they could do. The next day, Dr. Fauci directly cited Proximal Origin from the White House podium,” the report stated.

Other records showed authors of the study were concerned that the virus may have come from the lab.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a comment from the CIA.

From The Epoch Times

[creature-wizard]

Is there anything spiritual that happened 2019 that affected the universe?

For the purpose of answering this question, I am going to interpret the word "universe" from an anthrocentric perspective; IE, the world as most of us people on Earth comprehend it, rather than the totality of the actual universe as science has mapped it. Because I strongly doubt that any spiritual event on Earth would affect the orbit of a meteorite in a distant galaxy.

Many people have their own explanations about why things happened the way they did in late 2019 and onward. But we have to keep in mind that that many of these are post-hoc explanations, effectively applying rationalizations after the fact. This is a common feature of conspiracy thinking; people interpret past events as being part of a grander design or narrative despite any real evidence to suggest this kind of intentionality behind them. And New Agers right now are coasting on the belief that everything happens is just how it's supposed to be and it's all part of the grand cosmic plan, despite their many, many channeled predictions about the near future failing on the regular.

Here's what we know happened in 2019: a coronavirus mutated, as viruses are wont to do. This was a particularly nasty mutation, and as it infected the human population, lockdowns were ordered in many parts of the world as a defense measure.

As a consequence, many people in 2020 were stuck at home, bored out of their minds with nothing to do. Meanwhile, New Agers were out there making and promoting content as always - and suddenly, they had a whole new audience of people who suddenly had nothing but time on their hands and were also looking for something to give them comfort and make sense of it all. For the average bored and anxious person with minimal knowledge in history, biology, and every other field of science New Agers butcher, it was extremely compelling and many slid right down the rabbit hole.

Like, we can't disprove that something spiritual happened, but there's no strong reason to think it did, either. And a lot of what happened afterward is pretty easy to explain when you consider how coronavirus affected people's lives at the time.

[ruthfeiertag]

The White House just announced that President Biden has contacted COVID. I wish him a speedy and complete recovery. Because the President has been fully vaccinated (and because he has access to levels of health care few of the rest of us enjoy), he is likely to be well again soon. But even a mild or asymptomatic case can lead to Long-COVID, and we should be protecting ourselves and each other from catching this corona virus and possibly developing a permanent, debilitating condition.

Apoorva Mandavilli, writing for the _New YorkTimes_, reminds us that “for some people with certain risk factors — age, pregnancy, chronic conditions or a compromised immune system — an infection may bring serious illness.”1

If you want to know what it’s like to live with a post-viral chronic illness, read the Tumblrs of people enduring them (see the tags below), particularly those of us living with myalgic encephalomyelitis (me/cfs), the condition closely aligned with Long-COVID. (“The illness [Long COVID] is similar to myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome [ME/CFS] as well as to persisting illnesses that can follow a wide variety of other infectious agents and following major traumatic injury.”2) And while some of us are more susceptible than others, ANYONE, no matter how young and healthy, can develop Long-haul COVID:

“Long COVID occurs more often in people who had severe COVID-19 illness, but anyone who gets COVID-19 can experience it, including children.”3

The CDC article also highlights the way that “Living with Long COVID can be difficult and isolating, especially when there are no immediate answers or solutions.” It does not describe the devastating possible “side effects” of losing the ability to work, to enjoy activities, to be independent, nor of the experiences of having doctors refuse to believe one’s condition is real, of the near-impossibility of getting to a doctor who specializes in post-viral diseases (and who won’t accept insurance)4, nor of the feeling of being an inconvenience or burden to those who care for us.

“In every age group, even a mild illness may trigger a lasting set of problems. Nearly 14 million Americans, or about 5.3 percent of adults, may now be living with long Covid, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”1

Wearing an N95 might not be the most comfortable fashion accessory, but putting one on when we will be among others can save lives and the meaningful existence of the people with whom we come in contact. The inconvenience is far less than the loss of income, health, and happiness Long-COVID can bring.

************************

1. Apoorva Mandavilli. “Long Covid and Vaccination: What You Need to Know,” _New York Times_, July 17, 2024, 6:03 p.m. ET

https://www.nytimes.com/article/long-covid-vaccine.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

2. Anthony L. Komaroff and W. Ian Lipkin. “ME/CFS and Long COVID share similar symptoms and biological abnormalities: road map to the literature,” Front Med (Lausanne). 2023; 10: 1187163. Published online 2023 Jun 2. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1187163

PMCID: PMC10278546PMID: 37342500

3. https://www.cdc.gov/covid/long-term-effects/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html

4. “There are only a handful of specialists and clinical centers that specialize in ME/CFS around the country. Many of them do not take insurance and most have waiting lists that can be years long.” https://solvecfs.org/me-cfs-long-covid/patient-and-caregiver-resources/

[lenbryant]

(Times) This May Be Our Last Chance to Halt Bird Flu in Humans, and We Are Blowing It

The outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza among U.S. dairy cows, first reported on March 25, has now spread to at least 33 herds in eight states. On Wednesday, genetic evidence of the virus turned up in commercially available milk. Federal authorities say the milk supply is safe, but this latest development raises troubling questions about how widespread the outbreak really is.

So far, there is only one confirmed human case. Rick Bright, an expert on the H5N1 virus who served on President Biden’s coronavirus advisory board, told me this is the crucial moment. “There’s a fine line between one person and 10 people with H5N1,” he said. “By the time we’ve detected 10, it’s probably too late” to contain.

That’s when I told him what I’d heard from Sid Miller, the Texas commissioner for agriculture. He said he strongly suspected that the outbreak dated back to at least February. The commissioner speculated that then as many as 40 percent of the herds in the Texas Panhandle might have been infected.

Dr. Bright fell silent, then asked a very reasonable question: “Doesn’t anyone keep tabs on this?”

The H5N1 outbreak, already a devastating crisis for cattle farmers and their herds, has the potential to turn into an enormous tragedy for the rest of us. But having spent the past two weeks trying to get answers from our nation’s public health authorities, I’m shocked by how little they seem to know about what’s going on and how little of what they do know is being shared in a timely manner.

How exactly is the infection transmitted between herds? The United States Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all say they are working to figure it out.

Sign up for the Opinion Today newsletter  Get expert analysis of the news and a guide to the big ideas shaping the world every weekday morning. 

According to many public health officials, the virus load in the infected cows’ milk is especially high, raising the possibility that the disease is being spread through milking machines or from aerosolized spray when the milking room floors are power washed. Another possible route is the cows’ feed, owing to the fairly revolting fact that the U.S. allows farmers to feed leftover poultry bedding material — feathers, excrement, spilled seeds — to dairy and beef cattle as a cheap source of additional protein.

Alarmingly, the U.S.D.A. told me that it has evidence that the virus has also spread from dairy farms back to poultry farms “through an unknown route.” Well, one thing that travels back and forth between cattle farms and chicken farms is human beings. They can also travel from cattle farms to pig farms, and pigs are the doomsday animals for human influenza pandemics. Because they are especially susceptible to both avian and human flu, they make for good petri dishes in which avian influenza can become an effective human virus. The damage could be vast.

The U.S.D.A. also told me it doesn’t know how many farmers have tested their cattle and doesn’t know how many of those tests came up positive; whatever testing is being done takes place at the state level or in private labs. Just Wednesday, the agency made it mandatory to report all positive results, a long overdue step that is still — without the negative results alongside them — insufficient to give us a full picture. Also on Wednesday, the U.S.D.A. made testing mandatory for dairy cattle that are being moved from one state to another. It says mandatory testing of other herds wouldn’t be “practical, feasible or necessarily informative” because of “several reasons, ranging from laboratory capacity to testing turnaround times.” The furthest the agency will go is to recommend voluntary testing for cattle that show symptoms of the illness — which not all that are infected do. Dr. Bright compares this to the Trump administration’s approach to Covid-19: If you don’t test, it doesn’t exist.

As for the F.D.A., it tells me it hasn’t completed specific tests to confirm that pasteurization would make milk from infected cows safe, though the agency considers it “very likely” based on extensive testing for other pathogens. (It is not yet clear whether the elements of the H5N1 virus that recently turned up in milk had been fully neutralized.) That testing should have been completed by now. In any case, unpasteurized milk remains legal in many states. Dr. Bright told me that “this is a major concern, especially given recent infections and deaths in cats that have consumed infected milk.”

Making matters worse, the U.S.D.A. failed to share the genomes from infected animals in a timely manner, and then when it shared the genomes did so in an unwieldy format and without any geographic information, causing scientists to tear their hair out in frustration.

All this makes catching potential human cases so urgent. Dr. Bright says that given a situation like this, and the fact that undocumented farmworkers may not have access to health care, the government should be using every sophisticated surveillance technique, including wastewater testing, and reporting the results publicly. That is not happening. The C.D.C. says it is monitoring data from emergency rooms for any signs of an outbreak. By the time enough people are sick enough to be noticed in emergency rooms, it is almost certainly too late to prevent one.

So far, the agency told me, it is aware of only 23 people who have been tested. That tiny number is deeply troubling. (Others may be getting tested through private providers, but if negative, the results do not have to be reported.)

On the ground, people are doing the best they can. Adeline Hambley, a public health officer in Ottawa, Mich., told me of a farm whose herd had tested positive. The farm owner voluntarily handed over the workers’ cellphone numbers, and the workers got texts asking them to report all potential symptoms. Lynn Sutfin, a public information officer in the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, told me that response rates to those texts and other forms of outreach can be as high as 90 percent. That’s heartening, but it’s too much to expect that a poor farmworker — afraid of stigma, legal troubles and economic loss — will always report even mild symptoms and stay home from work as instructed.

It’s entirely possible that we’ll get lucky with H5N1 and it will never manage to spread among humans. Spillovers from animals to humans are common, yet pandemics are rare because they require a chain of unlucky events to happen one after the other. But pandemics are a numbers game, and a widespread animal outbreak like this raises the risks. When dangerous novel pathogens emerge among humans, there is only a small window of time in which to stop them before they spiral out of control. Neither our animal farming practices nor our public health tools seem up to the task.

There is some good news: David Boucher, at the federal government’s Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, told me that this virus strain is a close match for some vaccines that have already been formulated and that America has the capacity to manufacture and potentially distribute many millions of doses, and fairly quickly, if it takes off in humans. That ability is a little like fire insurance — I’m glad it exists, but by the time it comes into play your house has already burned down.

I’m sure the employees of these agencies are working hard, but the message they are sending is, “Trust us — we are on this.” One troubling legacy of the coronavirus pandemic is that there was too much attention on telling the public how to feel — to panic or not panic — rather than sharing facts and inspiring confidence through transparency and competence. And four years later we have an added layer of polarization and distrust to work around.

In April 2020, the Trump administration ousted Dr. Bright from his position as the director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, the agency responsible for fighting emerging pandemics. In a whistle-blower complaint, he alleged this happened after his early warnings against the coronavirus pandemic were ignored and as retaliation for his caution against unproven treatments favored by Donald Trump.

Dr. Bright told me that he would have expected things to be much different during the current administration, but “this is a live fire test,” he said, “and right now we are failing it.”

Zeynep Tufekci (@zeynep) is a professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University, the author of “Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest” and a New York Times Opinion columnist. @zeynep • Facebook

A version of this article appears in print on April 28, 2024, Section SR, Page 9 of the New York edition with the headline: The U.S. Is Blowing Its Chance to Halt Bird Flu in Humans. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

[reality-detective]

The circus is exhausting, the performances never cease and on top of it they keep getting more intensely bizarre. A lot of it is mere distraction; look over here! Now look over there! Whilst behind the scenes who knows what is really going on.

A lot of the stories coming out now are old news to some of us; David Martin more than a year ago already exposed the NIH funding of gain of function at the Wuhan lab, naming names and exposing the money trail, but it is only now that it’s hit MSM headlines, with an emphasis on blaming China.

To be honest with you, the real question is, was there even a virus? (Bear with me, don’t freak out).How can we be so sure when it’s not been proven to exist? How can we talk of lab leaks or gain of function of something that to this day still remains a ‘ghost’? A set of fragments assembled by a computer model and labelled Sars Cov-2.

I know many of you think that even questioning its existence is madness, I get it, after three years of brainwashing us about it, it seems ludicrous to contemplate the possibility that yet again we were deceived, but in the aftermath of 9/11 nobody would have put into question what we thought our eyes had seen, but what exactly did we see?

It was Louis Pasteur who convinced a skeptical medical community that contagious germs cause disease; his “germ theory” now serves as the official explanation for most illness. However, in his private diaries he states unequivocally that in his entire career he was not once able to transfer disease with a pure culture of bacteria. He admitted that the whole effort to prove contagion, was a failure, leading to his famous death bed confession that “the germ is nothing, the terrain is everything.” 

While the incidence and death statistics for COVID-19 may not be reliable, there is no question that many people were taken ill with a strange new disease—with odd symptoms like gasping for air and “fizzing” feelings as hundreds of thousands died.

Many suspect that the cause is not viral but a kind of pollution unique to the modern age—electromagnetic pollution. Today we are surrounded by a jangle of overlapping and jarring frequencies—from power lines to the fridge to the cell phone. The most recent addition to this disturbing racket is fifth generation wireless—5G.

On September 26, 2019, 5G wireless was turned on in Wuhan, China (and officially launched November 1) with a grid of about ten thousand antennas—more antennas than exist in the whole United States, all concentrated in one city. A spike in cases occurred on February 13, the same week that Wuhan turned on its 5G network for monitoring traffic. Illness subsequently followed 5G installation in all the major cities in America.

Since the dawn of the human race, medicine men and physicians have wondered about the cause of disease, especially what we call “contagions,” numerous people ill with similar symptoms, all at the same time.

Do we catch the illness from others or from some outside influence? Could some RNA fragments, which cannot even be defined as a living organism, cause such havoc? Perhaps something else is involved—something that has upset the balance of nature and made us more susceptible to disease? Perhaps there is no “coronavirus” at all; perhaps, as Pasteur said, “the germ is nothing, the terrain is everything.” 

I don’t have the answer, but as I lie in bed with what we refer to as the ‘flu’, (or is just a detox process?), I cannot help but wonder about all the possibilities.

We have been deceived many times about many things. Keeping us in perpetual fear of deadly viruses which seems like a very convenient tactic for those that wish to totally control us, this in itself, is enough to make my cynical mind open to exploring all the probabilities.

I look forward to the day when I actually understand what exactly causes us to feel like we're sick, is it really a virus or frequencies being used in a nefarious way⁉️

Additional Note: 👇

The virus has never been isolated by anyone including NIH or the CDC. However there was a virologist who took 1500 test samples who tried isolating the virus and all 1500 tests turned out to be influenza A and influenza B, most were influenza A.

I'm just asking a lot of questions which is what everyone should be doing. 🤔

[kickingitwithkirk]

Greetings from Austin

Summary: Jensen and Jared are at odds over a monumental decision that changes their lives in a way they couldn’t have envisioned.

Pairing: Alpha!Jensen Ackles x Alpha!Jared Padalecki x Omega!OFC

Word Count: 639

Warnings: a/b/o, J2 are married/mated, homophobia, bisexuality, biphobia, angst, cursing, jealousy, depression/anxiety, medical stuff, sexual dysfunction, infertility, IVF, surrogacy

*additional warnings to be added in future parts.

A/N: Here we go again with one my weird as hell dreams, series Inspired by this art.

A/N II: There is no intentional hate or malevolence intended towards any of the Ackles or Padalecki families. This is a purely fictional piece containing real and created persons/names/events set in the fictional A/B/O verse. Some dates/events altered to fit story.

*no beta-all mistakes are mine

*divider by @writeyourmindaway​​​​​​

*images found online

Prologue

Austin, TX

Mid-July

“Babe,” Jensen softly says in a low voice to the person seated next to him in the waiting room, “Babe,” he tried again, still getting no response. Leaning closer, his breath puffing into his ear startled Jared, his what is muted by the finger he’s been chewing on.

“You can’t do that, can’t have you getting sick.” 

Taking his hand, Jensen pulls it away from pretty, pink lips, gently caressing the finger. Jared had finally stopped chewing on his hands when Covid-19 became widespread.

“Where’s your gum?” Jared bites his lip as Jensen retrieves his pack and hands a piece to him. “What’s got you masticating again?” He inquires as Jared pops the stick in his mouth.

Jared chews the gum nervously, weighing how to answer the question knowing Jensen won’t accept anything less than the whole truth. “What if something goes wrong again because of me.”

Jensen’s brow furrowed. He learned years ago that while their relationship was equal, there were times he had to be the lead Alpha due to Jared’s mental state overwhelming him, as it had the last few weeks.

***

After the public announcement in March of 2019 that would be Supernatural's last season, and when finished with pickups, they would take an extended break and concentrate on their marriage.

Jared intended to stop acting indefinitely, pursuing other interests while Jensen concentrated on his music.

Of course, things didn’t end up how they planned.

Jared entered negotiations to star in the Walker, Texas Ranger reboot with being an executive producer, and Jensen collaborated with Kripke to audition for the role of Soldier Boy in The Boys' third season.

But by March 2020, everything halts thanks to the Coronavirus.

The shutdowns left Supernaturals' final two episodes with no definitive filming date while other projects were on pause until finishing that seemingly never-ending last season.

For the first time in years, they had the luxury of leisurely schedules not on a timetable, could communicate with friends and family uninterrupted, and deal with their other businesses and charities, leaving most days free to enjoy being together without constraint.

But even the amazing, mind-blowing vigorous sex on every horizontal/vertical surface that could support the two big Alphas filled so many hours, and, like many couples, they started getting each other's nerves and looked for another way to stay occupied.

By late May, Jared wasn’t sleeping or eating much, and leaving the house had become a chore. When he hit his fourth day in bed, Jensen bodily dragged him into the bath for a shower, then drove to his doctor’s.

During check-in, they informed Jensen only patients were allowed in the facility. Jared started panicking, saying he had chest pains and couldn’t breathe. They rushed him in with Jensen hot on their heels after morphing into an overprotective Alpha mate; no one was stopping.

Jared’s doctor deduced that the lockdowns prohibiting him from his routine checkups and periodic adjustments needed to his medications triggered this episode.

The first step was to wean him off his current prescriptions and change to a newly approved, alternative regime. He was checked in a facility for ten days under observation while detoxing off his meds.

His therapist switched his twice weekly tele-counseling sessions to daily for the foreseeable future, and Koda's certification as his emotional support animal was approved. His progress was slow, but he was returning to his sweet-natured, big-hearted, exceptionally tactical, overgrown puppy self.

When the surprise call from the clinic came a few days ago about an appointment opening, Jensen initially didn’t want it, still in his overly excessive protective Alpha mode. Jared’s outburst made him relent, fearing they were on a collision course for a significant setback if he didn’t.

And Jensen, being Jensen, went overboard to ensure the appointment was one hundred percent private.

tbc

Part I

SPN TAGS: @donnaintx  @lyarr24  @flamencodiva  @b3autyfuldisast3r  @lassie-bird @nancymcl  @spnbaby-67  @leigh70

Sam/Jared:  @idreamofplaid Dean/Jensen:  @thoughts-and-funnies  @stoneyggirl2  @akshi8278  @beabutterfly987 @smoothdogsgirl @siospins2

GFA: @babypink224221 @waywardjoy @let-me-luve-you @all-4-wincest