{"id":296,"date":"2022-02-13T13:56:19","date_gmt":"2022-02-13T18:56:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/?p=296"},"modified":"2022-02-13T14:00:50","modified_gmt":"2022-02-13T19:00:50","slug":"feb-13-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/2022\/02\/13\/feb-13-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Feb. 13, 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>Exploding Covid<\/h4>\n<p>The Covid narrative appears to be imploding at long last.\u00a0 What was recently considered to be &#8220;conspiracy theory&#8221; has now become fact.\u00a0 Consider:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The CDC has <a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/cdc-acknowledges-cloth-masks-less-005651081.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">finally admitted that cloth masks<\/a> are not effective, after telling us NOT to wear N95 masks, saying they were unnecessary.<\/li>\n<li>Researchers from Johns Hopkins University <a href=\"https:\/\/townhall.com\/tipsheet\/leahbarkoukis\/2022\/02\/02\/johns-hopkins-study-on-lockdowns-n2602716\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">released a study<\/a> that has concluded that not only did lockdowns have little or no effect, but that they have actually increased other health issues, resulted in massive economic damage, and contributed to a wide-range of social and psychological ills.<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>We find no evidence that lockdowns, school closures, border closures, and limiting gatherings have had a noticeable effect on COVID-19 mortality&#8230;They have contributed to reducing economic activity, raising unemployment, reducing schooling, causing political unrest, contributing to domestic violence, and undermining liberal democracy<\/p>\n<p>&#8212; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.krieger.jhu.edu\/iae\/files\/2022\/01\/A-Literature-Review-and-Meta-Analysis-of-the-Effects-of-Lockdowns-on-COVID-19-Mortality.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A Literature Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Lockdowns on COVID-19 Mortality<\/a>, 2022<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n<li>States are beginning to drop mandates for vaccinations and masks in droves, even while the Biden Administration tries to push for &#8220;full speed ahead&#8221;.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Of course, &#8220;fact checkers&#8221; and social media platforms are in full damage control mode. Many politicians are finally caving due to the ominous approach of mid-term elections which are likely to go against those supporting the &#8220;Covidian&#8221; narrative.\u00a0 This was always about politics and power &#8211; it was NEVER about &#8220;public health.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-298 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/abstracts-and-data.png?resize=286%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"286\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/abstracts-and-data.png?resize=286%2C300&amp;ssl=1 286w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/abstracts-and-data.png?resize=768%2C805&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/abstracts-and-data.png?w=859&amp;ssl=1 859w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 286px) 100vw, 286px\" \/>Having worked as a scientist and in scientific research (in various capacities) for my entire career, I&#8217;ve tried to explain to people why &#8220;peer reviewed studies&#8221; &#8211; especially when funded by government and reported by media &#8211; need to be regarded with healthy skepticism.\u00a0 This fellow &#8220;el Gato malo&#8221; runs a blog at Substack, and his article &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/boriquagato.substack.com\/p\/telling-the-truth-in-the-age-of-sponsored\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Telling the truth in the age of sponsored science<\/a>&#8221; sums up my experiences better than anything I&#8217;ve found thus far. In fact, el Gato &#8220;hits-it-out-of the-park&#8221; IMHO.<\/p>\n<p>You should take the time to read it. It gets slightly technical, but he does a very good job of explaining the subversion and politicization of science, and how (as I&#8217;ve complained here previously) the conclusions often don&#8217;t fit the actual data in many of these studies.\u00a0 I would also recommend reading the comments &#8211; there are some very bright and experienced people who follow this blog and their observations are enlightening.<\/p>\n<p>It is also important to keep the lessons of Covid fear-mongering in mind as we approach the next great &#8220;catastrophe&#8221; that will be used for further government power grabs &#8211; &#8220;Climate Change&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h4>Truckistan Update<\/h4>\n<p>Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has vilified 10&#8217;s of thousands of protesting truckers and working class people as &#8220;fringe&#8221;, &#8220;Nazis&#8221;, &#8220;white supremacists&#8221;, &#8220;racists&#8221;, etc. He has of course been joined by Canadian and American media as well as the political class of both nations in his condemnations.\u00a0 The Biden Administration has made a <a href=\"https:\/\/legalinsurrection.com\/2022\/02\/still-they-persisted-canadian-truckers-protest-expands-to-critical-ambassador-bridge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">not-so-veiled call<\/a> for Trudeau to use <a href=\"https:\/\/boriquagato.substack.com\/p\/i-see-we-are-entering-the-freedom\/comments?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo1NDkyOTEyMywicG9zdF9pZCI6NDgzMTQ2MTgsIl8iOiJLTG91cyIsImlhdCI6MTY0NDc3NjAyMywiZXhwIjoxNjQ0Nzc5NjIzLCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMzIzOTE0Iiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.JfWLQXs5EPby5BM_y-pdnGC5diH9lZWlOaFdtjP0fbI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">force to subdue the malcontents<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_301\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-301\" style=\"width: 620px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-301\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/trudeau-in-blackface.png?resize=580%2C344&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"580\" height=\"344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/trudeau-in-blackface.png?w=620&amp;ssl=1 620w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/trudeau-in-blackface.png?resize=300%2C178&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-301\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The fellow with the dark complexion is PM Justin Trudeau in Blackface<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Freedom Convoy has been accused of perpetrating acts of vandalism, violence, food theft, abuse of the homeless, and countless other horrific acts &#8211; with absolutely ZERO evidence presented.\u00a0 The protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful, with protestors committing such horrific acts as picking up trash, cleaning war monuments, dancing, and hugging each other (and others) a lot.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-300\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/bouncy-swat.png?resize=580%2C366&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"580\" height=\"366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/bouncy-swat.png?resize=1024%2C646&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/bouncy-swat.png?resize=300%2C189&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/bouncy-swat.png?resize=768%2C485&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/bouncy-swat.png?resize=1536%2C969&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/bouncy-swat.png?resize=1200%2C757&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/bouncy-swat.png?w=1786&amp;ssl=1 1786w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A CNN &#8220;analyst&#8221;, Harvard Professor, and former Obama Administration official <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/cnn-analyst-desperately-backtracks-truckers-tires\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">has called for authorities<\/a> to:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Slash (their) tires, empty gas tanks, arrest the drivers, and move the trucks.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212; Juliette Kayyem, CNN &#8220;Analyst&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Of course it would be fun to watch the government attempt to move a bunch of big-rigs with slashed tires and no fuel, but..hey, she went to Harvard and stuff!\u00a0 Besides, towing companies are telling the government to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2022\/02\/09\/ottawa-tow-truck-companies-refuse-haul-away-freedom-convoy-trucks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">go-pound-sand<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Freedom Convoy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-10503649\/GOP-Whip-Scalise-slams-Bidens-disturbing-outrageous-end-Canadas-Freedom-Convoy.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">has spread from Ottawa<\/a> to major border crossing points like the Ambassador Bridge between Windsor and Detroit.\u00a0 In this regard, it is interesting that the governments of the U.S. and Canada are screaming that the Convoy is &#8220;disrupting business and people going to work&#8221;.\u00a0 Remember, these are the same government officials that paralyzed the economies of <strong>BOTH<\/strong> nations for <strong>2 YEARS<\/strong> with ineffective and unnecessary lockdowns. The same governments that violated basic human rights, even while endorsing <a href=\"https:\/\/fee.org\/articles\/the-solzhenitsyn-quote-that-explains-the-mostly-peaceful-violence-in-america\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">violent BLM and Antifa riots<\/a> that resulted in murder, business destruction, looting, arson, burned government buildings, &#8220;autonomous zones&#8221; (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/seattle-chop-protest-police-video\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CHOP<\/a>), and billions in economic damage.<\/p>\n<p>Equally amusing &#8211; government and their corporate cronies are now claiming the automobile shortages (that have been going on for 2 years) are being <a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/convoy-protests-disrupt-auto-industry-170702866.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">caused by the Convoy<\/a> (which has been going on for 2 weeks).\u00a0 Even though auto manufacturers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2022\/02\/07\/business\/ford-production-suspended\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">had already stated recently<\/a> they were reducing production (again) due to chip shortages related to ongoing supply chain disruptions (caused by the government).<\/p>\n<p>In Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer (who absolutely hammered small businesses with her draconian Covid policies) is now suddenly a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc12.com\/news\/state\/gov-whitmer-urges-canada-to-break-blockade-and-reopen-ambassador-bridge\/article_9a90b8c2-8a86-11ec-9f7f-2fbc5a98506d.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">heroic defender of small business<\/a>?\u00a0 Please.<\/p>\n<p>If all of that wasn&#8217;t bad enough, Biden&#8217;s Department of Homeland Security has issued the following chilling warning concerning &#8220;domestic terrorism&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DHS-terrorism.jpeg?ssl=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-302 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DHS-terrorism.jpeg?resize=580%2C376&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"580\" height=\"376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DHS-terrorism.jpeg?resize=1024%2C664&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DHS-terrorism.jpeg?resize=300%2C194&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DHS-terrorism.jpeg?resize=768%2C498&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DHS-terrorism.jpeg?resize=1536%2C996&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DHS-terrorism.jpeg?resize=2048%2C1327&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DHS-terrorism.jpeg?resize=1200%2C778&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DHS-terrorism.jpeg?resize=1980%2C1283&amp;ssl=1 1980w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/DHS-terrorism.jpeg?w=1740&amp;ssl=1 1740w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 580px) 100vw, 580px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Who gets to decide what is &#8220;misinformation, disinformation, or malinformation?&#8221;\u00a0 The government?<\/li>\n<li>Any criticism of the government could be considered to &#8220;undermine public trust in government institutions&#8221;.\u00a0 What then, is the purpose of the 1st Amendment?<\/li>\n<li>So all criticisms of government that government doesn&#8217;t like are terrorist activities because they <em>might<\/em> &#8220;inspire&#8221; some random person to commit an act of violence?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I would submit that the 1st Amendment in all of its&#8217; forms was designed to enable Americans to hold government accountable. That <strong>especially<\/strong> includes leveling criticisms that the government and their media\/corporate allies might not like.<\/p>\n<p>If the 1st Amendment was strictly created to praise and heap adoration on government institutions, we wouldn&#8217;t need it, now would we? Last time I checked, North Korea had no 1st Amendment, and Kim Jong-Un was just fine with citizen heaping adoration on his regime &#8211; in fact it is strongly encouraged &#8211; or required.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Exploding Covid The Covid narrative appears to be imploding at long last.\u00a0 What was recently considered to be &#8220;conspiracy theory&#8221; has now become fact.\u00a0 Consider: The CDC has finally admitted that cloth masks are not effective, after telling us NOT to wear N95 masks, saying they were unnecessary. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University released a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,4,12,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climate-change","category-covid","category-media","category-protests"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdslCM-4M","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":305,"href":"https:\/\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296\/revisions\/305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arnoldziffel.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}