I have always been very fond of this photo, for reasons which are perhaps obvious. We are left to right Celia, Stuart, Neil, Craig and throughout our childhood we really were that close and that happy. The reason that I post this now is that my mother always told me she was amazed how good we looked in the photo, because it was taken when we were all off school sick with Hong Kong flu.
The Hong Kong flu pandemic of 1968/9 was the last really serious flu pandemic to sweep the UK. They do seem extraordinarily regular – 1919, 1969 and 2020. Flu epidemics have much better punctuality than the trains (though I cheated a bit there and left out the 1958 “Asian flu”). Nowadays “Hong Kong flu” is known as H3N2. Estimates for deaths it caused worldwide vary from 1 to 4 million. In the UK it killed an estimated 80,000 people.
If the current coronavirus had appeared in 1968, it would simply have been called “flu”, probably “Wuhan flu”. COVID-19 may not be nowadays classified as such, but in my youth flu is definitely what we would have called it. The Hong Kong flu was very similar to the current outbreak in being extremely contagious but with a fairly low mortality rate. 30% of the UK population is estimated to have been infected in the Hong Kong flu pandemic. The death rate was about 0.5%, mostly elderly or with underlying health conditions.
But there was no massive panic, no second by second media hysteria, over Hong Kong flu. Let me start being unpopular. “Man in his 80’s already not very well from previous conditions, dies of flu” is not and should not be a news headline. The coverage is prurient, intrusive, unbalanced and designed to cause hysteria.
Consider this: 100% of those who contract coronavirus are going to die. 100% of those who do not contract coronavirus are also going to die. The difference in average life expectancy between the two groups will prove to be only very marginal. That is because the large majority of those who die of COVID-19 will already be nearing the end of life or have other health problems.
Let me make this important statement. I write as somebody whose heart and lungs are damaged and in poor condition, following the multiple bilateral pulmonary emboli which nearly killed me in 2004, which mysteriously appeared at precisely the time the UK and US governments were desperately trying to get rid of me as Ambassador, just a couple of weeks after I had been finally cleared of all the false charges with which the British government had attempted to fit me up. I was in a coma for days and subsequently given a maximum of three years to live (read Murder in Samarkand for the full story). If I get COVID-19 I expect I shall be fairly quickly gone off on my next adventure.
But I am OK with that. I have lived an incredibly full and satisfying life. I have no desire whatsoever to die – I have a wife and children I love deeply and I have important political battles I wish to fight. But human beings are not supposed to live forever and one day my time will come.
What worries me about the current reaction to coronavirus, is that it seems to reflect a belief that death is an aberration, rather than a part of the natural order of things. As the human species continues to expand massively in numbers, and as it continues casually to make other species extinct, it is inevitable that the excessive and crowded human population will become susceptible to disease.
As we see the catastrophic effects of human beings on the environment, including on other species and the climate, I am genuinely perplexed as to what are the underlying assumptions and goals of humankind. Do we really believe that medical science could and should eliminate all disease? There are numerous, well-funded medical scientists working very hard on research into the idea that ageing itself is a process that can be prevented. Because that is a notion very attractive to wealthy westerners, more money is being spent on preventing ageing than on fighting malaria and other tropical diseases. Where does this end? Do we really want a world – or at least a wealthy word – where everybody gets to be a centenarian? What are the effects of that on overall population, on demographics, economics and the allocation of finite resources including food and housing?
The mass hysteria around the current coronavirus is being driven by a societal rejection of the notion that the human species is part of the wider ecology, and that death and disease are unavoidable facts, with which it ought to be part of the human condition to come to terms. Let me offer a comforting thought to those of you who have bought into the hysteria. I have no doubt whatsoever that mortality rates from the coronavirus are being exaggerated. They are all based on extrapolation from those who have been tested, but there exists a very large population of people, worldwide, who have or have had the coronavirus, whose symptoms have been those of a cold or non-existent, who have not put themselves forward for testing. The Hong Kong flu had a mortality rate of 0.5% and I believe that ultimately COVID-19 will prove to be very similar. Just like flu once you get it, the only difference being it is more contagious so more people will get it.
Yes wash your hands, bin your tissues, keep things clean. Don’t hang around someone who has the flu. Take advantage of everything modern medicine can do to help you. But don’t be too shocked at the idea that some sick people die, especially if they are old. We are not Gods, we are mortal. We need to reconnect to that idea.
All human deaths are individual tragedies. I wish all solace and comfort to the grieving, and in no way wish to minimise the pain of individual loss of anybody of any age (I lost my own mother not long ago), or that even a small number of child deaths in particular will be dreadfully painful. My deepest and heartfelt condolences go to all the bereaved, and my warm regards go to all the sick and the worried. But the perspective of the wider place of human life in the cosmos is a help in grieving. The purpose of this blog remains not to shirk from saying what might be unpopular. I do hope people will start to consider COVID-19 in a more measured way.
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‘Dr. Francis Boyle Creator Of BioWeapons Act Says Coronavirus Is Biological Warfare Weapon’:
https://www.zerohedge.com/health/creator-bioweapons-act-says-coronavirus-biological-warfare-weapon
‘…In an exclusive interview given to Geopolitics and Empire, Dr. Boyle discusses the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China and the Biosafety Level 4 laboratory (BSL-4) from which he believes the infectious disease escaped. He believes the virus is potentially lethal and an offensive biological warfare weapon or dual-use biowarfare weapons agent genetically modified with gain of function properties, which is why the Chinese government originally tried to cover it up and is now taking drastic measures to contain it.
The Wuhan BSL-4 lab is also a specially designated World Health Organization (WHO) research lab and Dr. Boyle contends that the WHO knows full well what is occurring.
Dr. Boyle also touches upon GreatGameIndia‘s exclusive report Coronavirus Bioweapon – where we reported in detail how Chinese Biowarfare agents working at the Canadian lab in Winnipeg were involved in the smuggling of Coronavirus to Wuhan’s lab from where it is believed to have been leaked….’
For those who instinctively parrot the Pavlovian knee-jerk reaction ‘Conspiracy Theory’, think who weaponised (very successfully) the expression to stigmatise and instantly end any discussion and consideration of the evidence: ‘“Conspiracy Theory”: Foundations of a Weaponized Term’:
https://www.globalresearch.ca/conspiracy-theory-foundations-of-a-weaponized-term/5319708
Please mote, this isn’t Joe ‘Loony Tune’ Bloggs, but: ‘Francis Boyle is a professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law. He drafted the U.S. domestic implementing legislation for the Biological Weapons Convention, known as the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, that was approved unanimously by both Houses of the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush….’
There is no doubt whatsoever that countries continue to weaponise biological pathogens; think of the weaponised anthrax used in the US after 9/11, from a US laboratory.
There is far worse to come, IMO.
Yes a lawyer and not a bioweapons expert, also a bit behind the times calling it “potentially lethal”.
Not really much of a weapon that has a <1.0% kill rate.
“Not really much of a weapon that has a <1.0% kill rate."
Er…6% and counting: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/.
Jury still out and even 6% isn’t that impressive.
6% is 60 times the ‘flu death rate. Not impressed? You’re a hard man.
3800/110,000 = 3.4%
3,831/62,395 = 6% death rate (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/).
The number of deaths caused is probably fairly accurate, The number of infected/recovered is probably a gross underestimate because many will have mild symptoms and won’t be tested or can’t be tested. Since deaths occur mostly among the old, if you’re going to assign blame for developing a biological weapon, assign in to the pension industry or its promoters such as Joe Biden as they have the most to gain.
Remember, the point of bio-weapons is not only to kill but incapacitate large numbers of the other side.
Can see anything about mortality proving or disproving the very possible hypotheses of man made creation of this pathogen.
No it isn’t a conspiracy theory, it’s just a nonsense claim by someone who didn’t think. There’s no point in a weapon that can’t be targetted, and will eventually attack whoever launched it.
Paul, this isn’t a conspiracy theory. “Russia hacked the election” and “MMR causes autism” are both conspiracy theories, and both were propagated by the so-called MSM.
Oh so it’s aluminium now not mercury. No mercury in the MMR either although that never stopped the anti-vaxx loons claiming otherwise.
Symptoms of aluminium poisoning:-
Confusion
Muscle weakness
Bone pain, deformities, and fractures
Seizures
Speech problems
Slow growth—in children
Complications may include:
Lung problems
Nervous system problems causing difficulty with voluntary and involuntary actions
Bone diseases
Brain diseases and disorders
Anemia
Impaired iron absorption
I don’t recognise any similarity to autism there; there’s also zero epidemiological evidence to show that aluminium IS strongly associated with autism.
Major problems facing the anti-vaxx lobby is that whilst vaccine coverage has fallen autism diagnoses have not but cases of the diseases vaccines protect against have risen.
Total vaccine doses given per child have certainly not fallen, so you might want to check your facts there.
@ Clark March 7, 2020 at 23:18
He is not by any means the only one:
Indian Scientists Discover Coronavirus Engineered With HIV (AIDS) Like Insertions
https://greatgameindia.com/indian-scientists-discover-coronavirus-engineered-with-aids-like-insertions/
‘…To our surprise, these sequence insertions were not only absent in S protein of SARS but were also not observed in any other member of the Coronaviridae family (Supplementary figure). This is startling as it is quite unlikely for a virus to have acquired such unique insertions naturally in a short duration of time.
‘..No it isn’t a conspiracy theory (we can agree on that!), it’s just a nonsense claim by someone who didn’t think.There’s no point in a weapon that can’t be targetted, and will eventually attack whoever launched it…’
Clark, you excel yourself! So nuclear weapons aren’t really weapons because they can’t be targeted, and will eventually attack whoever launched it? Quick, inform Blo Jo, so he can cancel Trident.
Mustard gas, Sarin and chlorine aren’t really weapons because they can’t be targeted, and will eventually attack whoever launched it? (You may have read what happened with Mustard Gas in WWI, when the wind direction changed).
‘..The study concludes that it is because of these 4 new AIDS like insertions that Wuhan Coronavirus has jumped to humans originally known only to infect animals…’
That is how it was weaponised – with ‘gain of function’ – to add gene sequences so it would affect humans rather than just animals. You reckon, broadly, plans to massively cull the human population are just figments of paranoid ‘Conspiracy Theorists’. Well, the fact that the US weaponised anthrax shows they regard it as a weapon, and be super-sure the West would say it was a ‘WMD’ if Iran, Russia, China or North Korea produced it. And it was not produced just to be sent in addressed letters to two Senators who were opposing the Patriot Act, and a few newspapers.
‘Chinese scientists: Coronavirus is a man-made virus from a Laboratory in Wuhan’:
https://www.eutimes.net/2020/02/chinese-scientists-coronavirus-is-a-man-made-virus-from-a-laboratory-in-wuhan/
I think that there’s a good chance that the SARS-CoV-2 virus came out of a biolab, but the theory I encountered early on is that part of it most resembles part of a virus that was genetically modified to be used in a vaccine against SARS, and although that vaccine was abandoned, part of the genetic sequence somehow turned up in SARS-CoV-2. All very probably accidental, and we should be shouting loudly about the utterly inadequate (ie. effectively non-existent) virus security of most biolabs.
Mustard gas, Sarin, chlorine and nuclear weapons can all be targetted. The area they primarily affect can be very large, but the effects can’t be carried by travellers and break out just as bad elsewhere, and thereby eventually affect the entire global population. I don’t know about anthrax but I could look it up.
No, I don’t insist that some group wouldn’t attempt to cull the human population, but I do insist that the popular conspiracy theory is rubbish. There’s no such plot by the UN, perpetrated by distributing vaccines through the WHO. That’s just a smear of and fear of the UN, and very useful FUD for ‘patriots’ who think that their favourite government shouldn’t be bound by international law.
Any group releasing SARS-CoV-2 to cull the human population would have to be suicidal, and if there’s one thing the elite are not, it’s suicidal. They didn’t want their neoliberal economy crashed either, just when it was making them richer than anyone in all history.
Almost everywhere there are video cameras monitoring the general population in public places, and placing that data away from the public in private or government control.
This is entirely back to front. There should be comprehensive, full time surveillance of places like biolabs, corporate offices, factories, government offices etc. and that data should be made completely public.
Yes Paul, I immediately thought conspiracy theory, I need heaps more evidence to entertain this idea.
Nevertheless it is still early days for the pandemic, for those of you keeping the score the John Hopkins CSSE are doing a count which you can see at this site:
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6
As of this moment it stands at 109,832 cases, of which 3,802 have died and 60,694 have recovered.
What a sensible article- the world is simply overpopulated and this is the cause of the problem.
Only in the popular imagination.
Aluminium is the most abundant metal on the planet, everything you eat and drink contains some but all but a tiny amount is filtered out by the liver.
https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/risk-factors-and-prevention/metals-and-dementia?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxee_-v6L6AIVGLLtCh0J4gQEEAAYASAAEgLkZfD_BwE
@ Mosaic March 8, 2020 at 20:38
I agree with you, but I’ve put my comment on the correct thread:
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/forums/topic/vaccine-contaminants-and-safety/
No it is not overpopulated.
Perhaps by Eurocentric exceptionalists and airheads who may claim to speak for all humanity, but otherwise NOT.
Your post is as ill-informed as it is ageist and unfortunately I don’t have time to counter it properly. If you are, as you claim to be, a human rights activist, you should be attaching equal value to the rights of all humans regardless of sex, gender, age, race, religion, sexual orientation and any other human difference you like to think of. We are, of course, all extremely relieved that our young people seem to be spared the worst of this epidemic – which you clearly fail to understand is in its very early stages. However to somehow suggest that it is acceptable for an older population to be “die off’ is reprehensible and counter to you self-proclaimed identity as a human rights activist. Many people who do not share the privileges that you clearly enjoy, depend upon older parents and grandparents to support them raise their children in a environment where both parents have to work to make anything like a living wage!! In Africa older people have raised entire extended families as their children were decimated by AIDS and still are economically and spiritually vital for these families….. to suggest that these people because of their age are of any less worth is beyond disgust. Mr Former Ambassador, you are a bigoted idiot.
A willful self-serving misinterpretation of the Ambassador’s point, with all the required pearl-clutching, in an effort to show us how smart you are, certainly smarter than the rest of us, and how wretched your target is.
Epic fail, fella.
“However to somehow suggest that it is acceptable for an older population to be “die off’ is reprehensible”
Well, get used to it, mate.
You may think you are divine, but Gaia does not. You are destined to die off like everyone else.
Murray’s point is based on reality.
Yours is not.
Andy, just to say really that our oh so revered NHS have and continue to recommend that older people do not receive treatment for ailments as they get older because they take up too much of the NHS time and resources (allegedly that is because the NHS seem to claim just about everything takes up too much of their time and resources without actually delivering any sort of decent service). They have actively proposed this. The excellent Audit Commission (made defunct by one David Cameron) conducted an in-depth review of the NHS. One of their key findings was that was “Deep rooted contempt for the elderly within the NHS which permeated the whole of the organisations and its institutions, was historical and deeply embedded in its culture”. With Doctors referring to elderly patients as “bobby knockers” yep, shocking isn’t it, you get the gist. Elderly people are not receiving treatment for many illnesses already, that’s in fact, how we have such a large, frail elderly population compared to most of the rest of the world – because the NHS don’t believe they deserve treatment for illnesses. However as the GPs in this country are offered serious financial incentives by the pharmaceutical companies to prescribe myriad numbers of drugs, you will find that the elderly are the victims of serious over prescription of drugs they don’t need, that have negative side effects and are probably worst for you than what they’ve got and if you look at an average frail elderly person’s Dossett Box you will see, routinely between 5-7 different medications not only each and every day but also often, 3-4 times per day. I doubt very much the NHS will even bother treating frail elderly patients who have Covid-19.
Japan’s Asahi TV and Taiwan TV–neither notably Sinophilic–say genetic virologists have traced the birth of COVID-19 to the United States and date it as early as last September.
Apparently there are five extant strains of the virus in different loci. One was transmitted through Australia and now infects Taiwan–but not the Mainland. Another is plaguing Iran, another the EU.
All five strains are related and all mutated in–and exist in–the USA. It is therefore assumed that the US gave birth to COVID-19, just as it did to H1N1 which, ten years ago, killed 300,000 people.
If validated, the significance of this discovery is less medical than reputational.
American media and government have directed five minutes of hatred towards China over COVID-19. If lax American public health is the real culprit, the incident will damage US credibility as the Boeing 737 Max is doing and the world’s regard for the US will never fully recover.
China’s reputation, on the other hand, may be enhanced by its prompt, effective actions and innovative solutions to problems that will always plague us.
Not prompt or effective enough to stop the disease from spreading and they’ve still questions to answer over the alleged cover up.
@ Godfree Roberts March 7, 2020 at 22:57
‘..the world’s regard for the US will never fully recover…’
I think most of the world’s regard for the US was dissipated many moons ago, and not without just cause.
@ Godfree Roberts March 7, 2020 at 22:57
There are claims the Chinese stole coronavirus samples from a Canadian lab; perhaps their (very good) intelligence services learnt it had been weaponised, and stole samples to try to create a vaccine or other antidote. It may well have been created in a US lab, but they may well have shared it with Canada (and our Porton Down).
Craig, you might want to check out https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
You will see a comprehensive and current fact and sourced based record of Covid-19 from a well respected information site.
The ratio of deaths to recoveries in final outcomes is only about 5-6% in East Asia but as we come further West that ratio appears to be getting significantly larger. In Europe the country most effected so far is Italy with nearly 6000 cases identified. However, what we need to know, is the percentage ratio of deaths to survivors. At this early juncture, in the West nearly all detected cases are still active.
For Italy so far there is a closed case total of 822. Of those, 589 have recovered but 233 have died. Seven times more that number are still ‘active’ i.e. ill.
There is not the same statistically significant numbers for other countries but France and Spain on their much smaller numbers seem to be at least as bad.
The UK ratio is currently only 10%, 2 deaths, 18 recoveries, a number too small for reasonable statistical extrapolation.
It is also worthy of comment and I’m sure great relief to parents, that of the thousands of deaths, not one has been below the age of 10.
It is unusually age selective. Whereas in many past epidemics both the elderly and very young have been the most susceptible groups in this instance, 80% of deaths have been in the over 60s.
And that could be why Europe has seen a higher death toll – do elderly people in poor health make up a higher fraction of our population?
I did that calculation for China on February 26. At the time, I commented elsewhere:
– At the time of posting (7:44 pm), I see 30,312 recovered, 2,770 deaths.
2770 / (2770 + 30312) = ~8.4%
– That calculation came to around 10% this morning. When I first tried it a few days ago came to 19.6%. The figure is falling presumably because hospitals were overloaded in Wuhan, but that could happen again elsewhere as outbreaks proliferate and spread.
most people i have known are already dead,
this will see off most of the rest.
Entire region of Lombardy under lockdown as 1,247 new cases and 36 new deaths reported
The new rules include telling people not to enter or leave Lombardy, which is home to some 10 million people.
This is the biggest health scare of our lives.
Not wanting be true, is very understandable
but is not very helpful.
Another excellent article, thank you Craig Murray. Some thoughts…
When this story initially broke I was somewhat dismissive of it. I remember avian flu, and particularly swine flu, when hysteria was purposefully whipped up in order to boost the profits of big pharma, and of course to keep the population in it’s usual state of paralyzed anxiety. I am not qualified to comment on the suggestions other’s have made relating to this being a bio-weapon, deployed either by accident or design. As far as I can see it’s too early to tell, speculation and rumor abound, the dust has yet to settle.
I agree that it is normal and desirable for old people to die, and while I have no wish to hasten the death of individuals within any demographic group, it seems that the current fashion of prolonging the lives of the aged at the expense (financially and environmentally) of subsequent generations is questionable. Perhaps it is emblematic of the mechanistic, materialistic, individualistic and narcissistic agenda so aggressively promoted to justify the consumerism currently infecting the world. I was taught that the debt we owe to our parents we repay to our children, that is is better to subsist on crusts if it means our children may have jam. Some would rather eat jam today than leave crusts for their progeny tomorrow, maybe because as a society we see individual gratification as the meaning of life.
Is anyone else concerned that this event, or the perception of this event, will be used as a pretext to impose something approximating martial law? Already we hear of large gatherings being outlawed, of controls on people’s movements, plans to mobilise the armed forces, and ever increased “vigilance”. I’m not suggesting this is or is not likely, only that it’s possible, and it concerns me. As people here are well aware the media has already been co-opted by the establishment and serves as it’s mouthpiece, we already have show trials and other features of a totalitarian state. Once such emergency measures are deployed centralised power will be loathe to relinquish them.
“The Limits to Growth” predicted peak industrial output in 2008, peak food in 2020, and peak population in 2030. We had a financial crash in 2008, since then the economy has been kept on life support through a mixture of financial smoke and mirrors and environmentally destructive fracking. “Peak Oil” didn’t go away, it’s just been postponed. For those who are unfamiliar with the importance of fossil fuels may I recommend investigating the work of Joseph Tainter, author of “The Collapse of Complex Societies”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Limits_to_Growth#Conclusions
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=limits+to+growth+graph&t=ffab&iar=images&iax=images&ia=images
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0R09YzyuCI
There is a complex multi-faceted connection here concerning overpopulation, resource depletion and environmental destruction, specifically with climate change. I do wonder if the inexorable drift to authoritarianism is motivated in part by an awareness among the ruling class that the social contract is doomed, that soon a large portion of the population will no longer be able to be fed. What we see is a preemptive move to put controls in place that will cement established power in the face of inevitable unrest. Bread will be replaced by bullets, and we will have ever more frenetic circuses until the very end.
For those who don’t follow these issues, it’s looking like climate change has entered a new phase. Many tipping points seem to have been reached, the rate of change is accelerating rapidly. Talk of limiting temperature rise to 2 degrees is hopelessly optimistic, any “green new deal” is too little too late. The reduction in aviation and industrial output in the northern hemisphere prompted by coronavirus is likely to reduce global dimming in the short term, boosting temperatures this summer beyond the extremes that were already predicted. Expect more and increasingly extreme unusual weather this year. It seems to me that the policy of the establishment in regard to climate change has always been to minimise panic, to distract and confuse, to pay lip service while maintaining “Business as usual”.
Coronavirus seems useful (to the rulers) for several reasons. It is a distraction from the main problem. It provides the aforementioned pretext to tighten control on the population that is unrelated to the actual reason for doing so. It significantly diminishes a segment of the population that consumes much but contributes little, allowing resources to be redistributed among the rest and thereby reducing the perception that abundance is reducing. Even if a reduction in abundance is perceived it can be explained away as a consequence of the economic impact of the virus, we’re due a recession anyway. The reduction in particulate pollution and resultant increase in global temperature is a way to ensure a climatic step change happens at the same time as the response and the distraction, it’s a convenient way to synchronized them.
There are more threads that could be woven into this garish tapestry, but this post is already too long. While each part of this story is true (to the best of my understanding) I am not suggesting that the connections I’m making are valid. Consider this a postulation, a thought experiment, one that I felt I should share.
Memento Mori
Beautiful thoughts, Craig…
With respect to the Corona Virus:
The Patriot Act had been prepared prior to the catastrophic event on 9/11 and was ready to be immediately enacted.
One did not see the shape of things to come while the event was unfolding.
Perhaps there are clues:
This is a paid Guardian advert from the IPFMA (International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations). It could easily be mistaken for a newspaper report.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-health-progress/2020/jan/30/global-health-challenges-how-innovative-collaboration-is-key-to-tackling-diseases
In my humble opinion the established power-holders with all their privileges and advantaged offices, intend to achieve stronger controls on every human body. It’s because their former earnings (through for example, the car industry and petrol with steady massive turnover) has completely collapsed. Because of electric cars and new energy sources.
The price of petrol dropped 9% the day before yesterday.
Medicine opens new frontiers for exploitation because ill health is a regular earner.
There is nothing left to sell in the capitalist system but business services, Intellectual Property and ‘Apps’ perhaps. The Smart Phone market is saturated. The Russians, and other nations like Iran have still got endless supplies of gas, oil, etc.
Europe’s gas supplies for example come from Russia and Germany was to be sanctioned recently for buying from them.
In order to keep the hold on power the power brokers may be trying to collapse the economy. As in China, they are getting ready to “roll out 5G” and increase surveillance and surveillance products, drawing the population into collaboration and increasing the dependency of the masses.
Thank you so much could you send this to the Irish government please. Their health service is a war zone . A ship drifting at sea with no captain.
@ Julie Greene March 8, 2020 at 10:23
Shush! Don’t let Trump hear you!
“Because that is a notion very attractive to wealthy westerners, more money is being spent on preventing ageing than on fighting malaria and other tropical diseases. Where does this end? Do we really want a world – or at least a wealthy word – where everybody gets to be a centenarian?”
Regarding this I had some thoughts where it all might lead….
“What if..another conspiracy theory based on the current state of the world
The current situation of depletion of resources, the threat of global warming and the inability of the planetary resources to bear the demands of an ever increasing population, the unabating increase in wealth of a small group of already immensely wealthy people – all well known and factual – lead to the conclusions by a small group of oligarchs worldwide:
The planet with the current load of population and their demands is under threat, the current model and mode of production, creating wealth and wealth distribution does neither work nor is it sustainable.
We have at our demand available all resources and have accumulated wealth sufficient that we control almost all the worlds production
We with the means that are available to us can radically change the current situation of over population.
Therefore we decide:
The vast majority of the people not of our class is superfluous.
We do no longer need to increase our wealth with gains based on the debt slavery and production by hired labour
We substitute any needed labour with AI sufficient to produce what we need for a sustainable life in comparable luxury with non human labour, demanding no food or space.
We save on energy, free up space for the regrowth of forests und undisturbed wilderness and reduction of CO2 sufficiently to curb global warming to prevent the ecosystem we rely on from collapsing.
We keep those of the population needed for research into further development of AI so it becomes ever more autonomous, research into diseases threatening the remainder of humanity and research into agricultural projects to need with increasing efficiency ever less human interference to keep food production viable and continuous for the remainders.
What if that is the goal of talks about overpopulation being a real threat – but with different goals than those not of the oligarch class?”
following the money… a windfall for the life insurance industry?
and the dead pensioners.
How does the life insurance industry benefit, exactly?
Claim: ‘It is no more dangerous than winter flu’
Many individuals who get coronavirus will experience nothing worse than seasonal flu symptoms, but the overall profile of the disease, including its mortality rate, looks more serious. At the start of an outbreak the apparent mortality rate can be an overestimate if a lot of mild cases are being missed. But this week, a WHO expert suggested that this has not been the case with Covid-19. Bruce Aylward, who led an international mission to China to learn about the virus and the country’s response, said the evidence did not suggest that we were only seeing the tip of the iceberg. If borne out by further testing, this could mean that current estimates of a roughly 1% fatality rate are accurate. This would make Covid-19 about 10 times more deadly than seasonal flu, which is estimated to kill between 290,000 and 650,000 people a year globally.
It is all very well philosophising about mortality, but no-one wants to die prematurely or from a preventable disease.
With all respect Craig I think you may be wandering into areas you are not qualified to judge. Mea culpa also, I am not a medic either. But I regularly see very senior medical experts saying that they are very concerned about this virus and they must have good reason because these people are clinicians not politicians.
As for the deaths from ordinary flu: how on earth do we know? I have had flu several times in my life and never bothered notifying my GP. I stayed home, isolated myself, and self-medicated. I suspect most people are the same. So the mortality of flu is limited to serious cases which comes to GPs’ attention and is therefore an underestimate and more like 0.1% or even 0.01% than the claimed 1% as most people will not report it.
“As for the deaths from ordinary flu: how on earth do we know?”
This is also true for Covid19 as there are likely more unreported mild cases especially from those below 60 that are apparently less affected.So the case fatality rate might also be much lower than estimated.
This might put things in perspective:
The Covid-19 ……………………………. does not compare with seasonal flu, which is not new but harmful no less. According to the CDC’s weekly U.S. flu report of February 22, 2020, “So far this season there have been at least 32 million flu illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations and 18,000 deaths from flu.”
Worldwide, up to 650,000 individuals die from complications of seasonal flu each year. Take a moment to think about that. We can compare this number with other causes of death around the globe, like 470,000 people who lose their lives to homicide and many more who do to suicide. Nearly 1.35 million individuals die each year as a result of car accidents (an additional 20 to 50 million suffer injuries)……………………..
Covid-19 is a viral disease and appears to have a fatality rate of roughly 1 percent or less. It is dangerous, but it is not so dangerous we should put our lives on hold. Remember, we all take risks every single day and are exposed to hundreds of potential threats. The goal is to live our lives while also doing what is necessary to reduce the likelihood of being seriously harmed (and harming others). Do not increase your anxiety by staying home and constantly watching the news about the spread of the virus around the globe.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-new-home/202003/coronavirus-countering-your-fears
Statistics on mortality are created from those who tested positive, and looking at how many recovered and how many died.
You can speculate all you like about those who contracted but had little in the way of symptoms, of course. Doubtless this never occurred to the medical specialists.
Thanks for a levelled coherent comparison. The hoovering up response of the media is an obvious news management issue. For example the unavoidable climate emergency issue currently causing much misery and desolation to many floodvictims, the continuing slash burnings around the globe, the ignorance of planners who are still selling off public land to developers, the clear felling of ancient forests for road/HS2 projects, and much more is all being elbowed out of the news agenda.
Instead they are fawning and fannying about a virus that, although without a serum available, kills less people than the approx. 2500 humans that die each day of hunger.
Bbc news avoidance managers would be the correct title for those many controlled minds that are smithing our daily news to suit the status quo and its string pullers.
I am not convinced that this is an accidental release. Wuhan market is less than a mile away from a high security bioweapon lab, which has released the SARS virus by ‘accident’
That alone makes this a possible 50/50 chance of being the source.
Alternatively it could have been placed there by persons unknown, released whilst on one walk through the market.
Whoever had an interest in damaging the Chinese economy could have released this in a one/two day visit.
It might be worth their while to check all market cctv recordings for a person of unknown biometrics wearing gloves.
I jumped off the shovel some 20 years ago and feel equally blasee about ending my curved existence
There are only two important happenings in all our lives, our birth and our death everything inbetween is merely filling in time with chaws, multiplying and breathing.
Given the events in Vienna (Opec+ meeting ends in failure for SA) and infighting in the House of Saud, lockdown and arrests – a major event is certainly underway.
Following the money is the vital keeping it simple strategy – where is the money leading to?
I have asked repeatedly of the various authors and many a poster in recent days but there is no answer forthcoming.
What of the PANDEMIC BONDS?
Why is the WHO not allowed to use the word because it has legal implication?
How about the out of control daily QE in the repo market?
What about the actual Black Swan being ignored, the now walking dead – BOEING?
And ultimately the end of the 20 year escaped in the ME in defeat for the 5+1 eyed anglo Imperialist gollum.
The virus that is spreading is just a massive cover for the implosion of the bubble as the creators pocket their gains yet again from their asset inflation.
And the bbc has been using the word pandemic since yesterday in every report ! ‘Panic but not legally’ !
——–
If it is a bio warfare weapon it must have a greater purpose than simple flu symptoms and – few vulnerable and elderly deaths – something like mass infertility!
Back on planet Earth, meanwhile, the number of British cases has increased by about a third just today – so far. A slightly higher proportion of increase also occurred in the Netherlands today.
There are a lot more cases which have not yet been reported – which will only become evident many months down the line. I have posted a longer comment below today, if you are interested.
“I’m OK with dying so fuck everyone else”. This disease isn’t going anywhere you moron. Your comfort with death doesn’t mitigate the nightmare this will be for decades to come.
It’s not going to be very good for the third world either, whose unfortunate inhabitants will be the last people on Earth to get a vaccine or treatment, even when it becomes available to rich countries. The close proximity of living space in overcrowded slums will certainly facilitate the spread of Covid-19, and the treatment of victims isn’t likely to be first class either.
Stay well, Craig. You are needed now.
Greek emergency measures, Greece is but a ferry ride from Italy
Greece’s Health authorities announced on Sunday afternoon that seven new cases of the Covid19 coronavirus were diagnosed in the country, raising the total number to 73. The announcement was made by Sotiris Tsiodras, the Health Ministry spokesperson for the Covid19 coronavirus outbreak.
Italy has fared many times worse than their close neighbours, there must be a reason for this
dammed if I can think what it is other than skiing holidays.
Maybe it’s because everyone – particularly men – are so fond of
sticking their tongues downhugging and kissing each other with such enthusiasm, at every opportunity?The number of people to have died from the coronavirus in Italy has shot up by 133 in a day to 366, officials say,
I thought it was the French who did all the groping and kissing?
Nothing like as bad as the Italians, believe me! I had an Italian girlfriend for several years back in the day. They just can’t seem to help themselves.
“They just can’t seem to help themselves.”
Maybe it’s only when you’re around, big boy?
Hah! 🙂
Nice picture Craig, you all look amazingly well.
In August ’68 I caught H3N2 while stationed in Hong Kong. I was brought unconscious to the Gurkha military field hospital in Shek Kong and was kept there until my temperature returned to normal after a week. There was no attempt at quarantine or to trace victims or any follow up by the authorities. The HK Police and military were too busy dealing with communists and illegals crossing from China. Hong Kong Flu then spread to Vietnam via US sailors and other military who used HK for shore leave from the Vietnam War.
So naturally after that experience and being a 24/7 carer I am taking precautions. No not bulk buying but plenty of hand washing with soap, minimising people contact and trying not to cough or sneeze near anyone.
Here are a couple of useful links:
https://mobile.twitter.com/PalliThordarson/status/1236549305189597189
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1235127363341553667.html
The naysayers on here who appear not to be concerned about the rising mortality and case incidence statistics are probably quite scared if they were honest.
I would certainly agree with you. Being blasé about it seems heartlessly indifferent when the danger is concentrated on just a particular section of the population, which doesn’t happen to include the person dismissing it.
A lot of faux fatalism, mixed with the usual misuse of statistics and a large dollop of indifference to those who will suffer. Armchair medics and pub experts.
Another brilliant post by Craig Murray…You survived all that, well even a couple of weeks ago, queuing to get into jail for Julian Assange’s trial. You are quite obviously as tough as old boots. Even the CIA have given up trying to kill you. The Coronavirus, if you get it is unlikely to have any effect on you.
Read Linh Dinh’s too, check out his photography, and buy his book in Hardback – it has High Definition photos too “Postcards from the End of America”. He was born in Vietnam, about the same age as Craig Murray, and travels around a lot, mostly by bus.
“Sick Days, Market Crash and Shut Borders”
https://www.unz.com/ldinh/sick-days-market-crash-and-shut-borders/
Tony
@ Tony_0pmoc March 8, 2020 at 17:52
Craig should be OK – whisky (and Lysol – not together!) are the only known antidotes.
nicely put, Craig.
O.K. let’s try a different way.
First you get Wuhan Virus,
then if you get viral pneumonia, you probably will not need to be hospitalised
but if it changes into a different pneumonia or becomes multi-pneumonias your cards are already marked.
“Memento Mori – Unpopular Thoughts on Corona Virus” (Corrected by Wikispooks)
Consider this: 100% of those who contract coronavirus are going to die. 100% of those who do not contract coronavirus are also going to die. The difference in average life expectancy between the two groups will prove to be only very marginal. That is because the large majority of those who die of COVID-19 will already be nearing the end of life or have other health problems.
(https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Document:Memento_Mori_%E2%80%93_Unpopular_Thoughts_on_Corona_Virus)
@ Patrick Haseldine March 8, 2020 at 20:11
‘…That is because the large majority of those who die of COVID-19 will already be nearing the end of life or have other health problems…’
Sure, for now. It has already ‘jumped’ (probably with considerable help) the species barrier, and will now mutate at a rate of knots. But don’t worry! Go out and shop.
I haven’t heard anything about ‘Dubya’ recently – maybe he’s snug in his (coronavirus-proof) bunker.
It is reasonable to be sceptical and phlegmatic (no pun intended), given past pandemics. The problem with the coronavirus is that:
– we have no partial immunity from previous strains
– it results in a much greater hospitalisation rate and cases take weeks to resolve
– it is explosively more infectious than any flu since the second wave of Spanish flu, which peaked in three weeks in some places. It has R0 of 3.5 according to latest Chinese paper.
What that means is that entire healthcare systems will become saturated and people who might have been expected to live will die from lack of care, not old age. It will be luck of the draw who lives and diss, unless we agree turn off ventilation on older people in favour of the young when they have equal survival chances if ventilated…. It also means that non-coronavirus healthcare is overwhelmed and people die indirectly.
With vigorous countermeasures, the peak of infection can be reduced, ideally below healthcare capacity. 40% peak reduction and 20% mortality reduction was possible in 1918 where implemented. Wuhan measures reduced R0 to 0.3, I.e. Killing transmission in three serial intervals of infection.
It is a public health and moral imperative not to be fatalistic here, Craig, and your normal humanism is lacking here.
Well presented article craig. What do I think about the hysterical propaganda the uk press is publishing? Well it strikes me that the overblown hysteria is nothing more than a deliberate distraction for the disaster that is this Government and the fact that billions were wiped off the ftse following Bojos statement that we would walk away from the E U trade talks in June, bullying legal action against priti patel and an imminent budget that will show the dire state the british economy is in.
This is why every country on Earth is behaving pretty much the same way, right? A reaction to Bojo, EU talks, Priti Patel and so on.
Hoping and praying that this virus comes nowhere Julian in Belmarsh.
@ Mary March 8, 2020 at 21:33
Shush! Don’t let Baraitser hear you – might give her ideas.
Hello.
I appreciate reading you from time to time.
Question: you appear to have perfectly normal ears as an adult, but you and your siblings had remarkably sticking-out, flying-elephant-like, worse-than-prince-charles, ears.
Was the normalization natural, or the result of surgery?
Best Regards.
– asking for a friend.
You are repeating my view of this ncov19, it’s the flu. Average age (never published) of the dead is something like 84. And each dead person had an average of 3 preexisting conditions. Such as pneumonia. So, how do we hold the MSM accountable for their extreme efforts to terrorize a gullible public into accepting the extreme?
I can’t help thinking that during the November elections quarantines of select counties will be rolled out, with the purpose of turning Red areas Blue. So maybe this should be renamed the BLUE FLU. We’ll see.
It’s not ‘the flu’.