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Pyramid

Best of the Web: The seven-step path from pandemic to totalitarianism

Rosemary Frei
OffGuardian
Thu, 23 Apr 2020 06:10 UTC
There are just seven steps from pandemic declaration to permanent totalitarianism - and many jurisdictions are about to start Step 5

total control hand
As if it was planned in advance, billions of people around the globe are being forced step by rapid step into a radically different way of life, one that involves far less personal, physical and financial freedom and agency

Here is the template for rolling this out.

Step 1

A new virus starts to spread around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) declares a pandemic.

International agencies, public-health officials, politicians, media and other influential voices fan fear by focusing almost exclusively on the contagiousness of the virus and the rising numbers of cases, and by characterizing the virus as extremely dangerous.

Within a few days governments at national and local levels also declare states of emergency. At lightning speed they impose lock-down measures that confine most people to their homes - starting with closing schools - and shut down much of the global economy. World markets implode.

The stunned, fearful and credulous public - convinced over the previous few years that their bodies do not have the natural ability to react to pathogens by producing antibodies that confer long-lasting immunity - largely complies willingly.

The first weekly virtual class on local emergency and crisis responses to COVID19 is held for mayors and other city officials around the world. Coordinated by a handful of American organizations in the academic, medical, financial, political and transportation spheres, the classes feature guests ranging from Barack Obama to Bill Gates.

Comment: See also:

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Biohazard

In the information war against Russia, Covid-19 is just another weapon

Bryan MacDonald
Rt
Tue, 21 Apr 2020 16:17 UTC
Russian President Vladimir Putin wearing protective gear
© Sputnik / Alexey Druzhinin / KremlinRussian President Vladimir Putin wearing protective gear at a hospital for Covid-19 patients, March 24, 2020
We need to talk about the Western media's coverage of Russia's battle with Covid-19. Rather depressingly, it seems many outlets, and hacks, are rooting for the virus against "the Russians."

You might think that during this sort of emergency, they'd have the good grace to lay off the "info wars" for a while. But, sadly, that hasn't happened. Instead, coverage has become even more toxic.

Here's what you got early on Tuesday morning if you entered "Russian response to Covid-19" into Google. There are more, but you've probably gotten the gist by now. What you have here is a collection of hokum, hogwash and hooey, Not so much failing to see the wood from the trees, as setting fire to the forest, lest a perceived opponent obtain use of the lumber.
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Eye 2

UK's former chancellor indicates more austerity will be needed to pay off the 'very large' lockdown debt

Jack Peat
The London Economic
Wed, 22 Apr 2020 21:19 UTC
George Osborne
Osborne's austerity cuts were blamed for the first stall in UK life expectancy in 100 years.
George Osborne, the architect of Britain's controversial austerity drive after the financial crisis, has indicated that another period of belt-tightening will be needed to deal with the fiscal damage wrought by the coronavirus shock.

The former chancellor backed Rishi Sunak's plans to spend now in order to avert an economic catastrophe, but warned that the additional debt created will ultimately have to be tackled.

Speaking at a Confederation of British Industry Webinar event he said:

"When this is over there is going to be a very large amount of debt and it's not going to be bonanza time.

Comment: See also: Universal basic income plan for post-lockdown UK endorsed by over 100 opposition MPs

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Eye 1

Universal basic income plan for post-lockdown UK endorsed by over 100 opposition MPs


RT
Wed, 22 Apr 2020 11:30 UTC
universal basic income
© REUTERS/Denis BalibouseFile photo
A group of over 100 MPs and Peers have called on the UK government to prepare some form of recovery Universal Basic Income (UBI) to protect citizens from the impending financial crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

"As the scale and duration of the crisis becomes clear, it is essential that we take steps now to ensure that when we eventually emerge from lockdown, we do so with a fairer and more resilient society and economy," the cross-party Basic Income Conversation group wrote in a blog post and letter published online.

The group admits that the UK is likely facing "a damaging recession, as well as ongoing economic insecurity" and warns of further "economic shocks from financial, climate and pandemic crises over the coming years."

Comment: Considering how inept and tyrannical the UK's benefit system already is this is a chilling development for anyone who finds themselves subjugated to its whims: And check out SOTT radio's:

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Eye 1

SOTT Focus: Techno-Tyranny: US National Security State Using 'COVID-19 Pandemic' to 'Copy China' And Implement AI-Based 'Do-Over' of Western Civilization

Whitney Webb
The Last American Vagabond
Mon, 20 Apr 2020 00:00 UTC
networkhead/corona
© Unknown
Last year, a U.S. government body dedicated to examining how artificial intelligence can "address the national security and defense needs of the United States" discussed in detail the "structural" changes that the American economy and society must undergo in order to ensure a technological advantage over China, according to a recent document acquired through a FOIA request. This document suggests that the U.S. follow China's lead and even surpass them in many aspects related to AI-driven technologies, particularly their use of mass surveillance. This perspective clearly clashes with the public rhetoric of prominent U.S. government officials and politicians on China, who have labeled the Chinese government's technology investments and export of its surveillance systems and other technologies as a major "threat" to Americans' "way of life."

In addition, many of the steps for the implementation of such a program in the U.S., as laid out in this newly available document, are currently being promoted and implemented as part of the government's response to the current coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis. This is likely due to the fact that many members of this same body have considerable overlap with the task forces and advisors currently guiding the government's plans to "re-open the economy" and efforts to use technology to respond to the current crisis.

The FOIA document, obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), was produced by a little-known U.S. government organization called the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI). It was created by the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and its official purpose is "to consider the methods and means necessary to advance the development of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and associated technologies to comprehensively address the national security and defense needs of the United States."

Comment: A scary future awaits a useless humankind, should this model be implemented on a global scale.

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Health

What did the US intel truly know about the 'Chinese' virus?

Pepe Escobar
Strategic Culture Foundation
Tue, 21 Apr 2020 00:00 UTC
Trump and reps at CDC
© AFP via GettyImages/Jim WatsonUS President Donald Trump on tour at the CDC with Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), HHS Secretary Alex Azar, in Atlanta, GA, March 6, 2020.
Hybrid War 2.0 on China, a bipartisan U.S. operation, is already reaching fever pitch. Its 24/7 full spectrum infowar arm blames China for everything coronavirus-related - doubling as a diversionist tactic against any informed criticism of woeful American unpreparedness.

Hysteria predictably reigns. And this is just the beginning.

A deluge of lawsuits is imminent - such as the one in the Southern District of Florida entered by Berman Law Group (linked to the Democrats) and Lucas-Compton (linked to the Republicans). In a nutshell: China has to shell out tons of cash. To the tune of at least $1.2 trillion, which happens to be - by surrealist irony - the amount of U.S. Treasury bills held by Beijing, all the way to $20 trillion, claimed by a lawsuit in Texas.

The prosecution's case, as Scott Ritter memorably reminded us, is straight out of Monty Python. It works exactly like this:

"If she weighs the same as a duck...
...she's made of wood!"
"And therefore..."
"A witch!!!!!"

In Hybrid War 2.0 terms, the current CIA-style narrative translates as evil China never telling us, the civilized West, there was a terrible new virus around. If they did, we would have had time to prepare.

Comment: Interesting theory, but no.

Here's a more likely one:

China discovered something strange in Wuhan in December. They ID'd the problem, alerted the WHO, implemented a regional lockdown, and began doing detective work in case it was a bio-attack.

They probably realized it came from Fort Detrick/US military bio-reseach labs, leaked info suggesting as much, realized that - whatever the source of the virus - it wasn't more dangerous than a flu, then folded up their lockdown/emergency hospitals.

But in the meantime, the Deep State/Western Shadow Govt realized China's measures provided them with an opportunity to roll out COMPLETE lockdowns, so in February they ramped up hysteria about COVID-19 (even though they knew by then that it was benign), and began massive propaganda campaigns.

Their aim is apparently to effect a kind of 'controlled demolition' throughout the 'Western Realm', such that by the time everything is reopened, mass surveillance systems, social credit systems, cashless society, centralized govt control of markets, mandatory medical methods and all the other plans they've had on the sidelines all these years could be rolled out in one fell swoop.

They're trying to 'leap-frog China' before 'China leapfrogs us'.

See also:

Techno-Tyranny: US National Security State Using 'COVID-19 Pandemic' to 'Copy China' And Implement AI-Based 'Do-Over' of Western Civilization

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Briefcase

The blame games begin: Missouri sues China and Wuhan Lab for coronavirus outbreak

Helen Buyniski
RT
Tue, 21 Apr 2020 21:59 UTC
Schmitt
© Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesMissouri AG Eric Schmitt
The state of Missouri has sued China - plus its Communist Party and a handful of other entities - for "causing a global pandemic that was unnecessary and preventable." It's the first state to take the dubious accusation to court.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed suit on Tuesday against the entire nation of China, its national, provincial and city governments, and a smattering of government agencies and research institutes, blaming the lot for allowing the coronavirus epidemic to go global. Laying the sum total of suffering that has resulted from the epidemic at China's feet might sound like an overly ambitious gambit for little old Missouri, but the lawsuit reads less like a legal document and more like a manifesto.

"Defendants are responsible for the enormous death, suffering, and economic losses they inflicted on the world, including Missourians, and they should be held accountable," Schmitt declares in the 47-page complaint. The specific parties being sued are the People's Republic of China; the Chinese Communist Party; the local governments of Hubei Province and Wuhan; China's National Health Commission, Ministry of Emergency Management, and Ministry of Civil Affairs; the Wuhan Institute of Virology; and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Comment: So the Chinese should have had hindsight for a disaster not of their making! What responsibility and foresight does Missouri claim for similar circumstances? Hindsight is faulty at best and blame is a 'feel-good' diversion. Who really knew? Ask the pandemic's Gates-keeper.

22/4/2020: China dismisses US lawsuit as 'nothing short of absurdity'
China on Wednesday dismissed, as "nothing short of absurdity" and violation of sovereignty, the lawsuit filed by the US state of Missouri. The lawsuit seeks relief on one count of public nuisance, one count of abnormally dangerous activities, and two counts of breach of duty.

He reiterated that since the outbreak, the Chinese government has been acting in open, transparent and responsible manner to report the information to the US and other countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) besides issuing general sequence of the virus.

Geng said China is in communication with the US on this issue since January 3, ensuring updates.

"This is part of China's important contribution and recognised by the international community. is a malicious abuse of litigation. It violates the basic law and principle of equal sovereignty in international law. The Chinese government's response in the pandemic is not under the jurisdiction of US courts."

See also:

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Whistle

Feds confirm the CDC's failed coronavirus tests were tainted with coronavirus, breached protocol

Beth Mole
Ars Technica
Mon, 20 Apr 2020 11:16 UTC
CDC headquarters
© Getty Images/BloombergCDC Headquarters, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
As the new coronavirus took root across America, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent states tainted test kits in early February that were themselves seeded with the virus, federal officials have confirmed.

The contamination made the tests uninterpretable, and — because testing is crucial for containment efforts — it lost the country invaluable time to get ahead of the advancing pandemic.

The CDC had been vague about what went wrong with the tests, initially only saying that "a problem in the manufacturing of one of the reagents" had led to the failure. Subsequent reporting suggested that the problem was with a negative control — that is, a part of the test meant to be free of any trace of the coronavirus as a critical reference for confirming that the test was working properly overall.

Now, according to investigation results reported by The New York Times, federal officials confirm that sloppy laboratory practices at two of three CDC labs involved in the tests' creation led to contamination of the tests and their uninterpretable results.

Comment: Were contaminated test kits and their subsequent send-outs (that took a month to fix!) adequately explained away by The New York Times? How lax in protocol is the CDC or is there more to this story?

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Star of David

EU to Gantz: Don't accept annexation of West Bank settlements!


Middle East Monitor
Mon, 20 Apr 2020 11:31 UTC
Gantz
© BBCBenny Gantz
The European Union has warned Israel's Benny Gantz not to accept the annexation of the country's settlements in the occupied West Bank, Quds Press reported on Sunday.

EU officials have apparently told Gantz's foreign affairs adviser, Melody Sucharewicz, over the past few weeks that Europe strongly opposes any unilateral move to extend Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank.

The officials also told Sucharewicz that any such move would have serious implications for Israel-EU relations.

Gantz has made several comments regarding the annexation of the illegal settlements, and could possibly agree with the move, which could happen if he agrees to be part of a coalition government with Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

The EU diplomats were told by Sucharewicz that Gantz has been forced to compromise his views on annexation. She claimed that the erstwhile leader of the Blue and White bloc would try to turn down such a plan if he does join a coalition government.

Comment: Is this a faint glimmer of hope for the Palestinians, a pacification response to the EU, or a ploy to buy time for the coalition? With Netanyahu in the driver's seat, we know where this is going.

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Boat

Trump's new order: Navy to destroy Iranian gunboats harassing US ships


RFE/RL
Wed, 22 Apr 2020 14:09 UTC
Iranian gunboats
© US Navy/AFPUS Navy ship and Iranian gunboats
U.S. President Donald Trump says he has ordered the Navy to attack and destroy any Iranian vessel that harasses U.S. ships after Iranian ships appeared to harass U.S. vessels last week in the Persian Gulf.

"I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea," Trump said in a tweet posted on April 22.

The order comes a week after a U.S. Navy video showed small Iranian gunboats coming close to U.S. warships as they operated in the northern Persian Gulf near Kuwait.

The U.S. Navy said its ships were in international waters carrying out exercises at the time of the incidents on April 15. It said 11 vessels of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) made "dangerous and harassing approaches" toward the U.S. ships.

Trump did not cite a specific event or provide any further details in his tweet.
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