Thursday, 30 April 2020


 The God of our imagination?

 The Creation of Adam - Wikipedia
https://www.google.com/search?q=st+peters+ceiling+images+god+michael+angelo&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiXppme_pDpAhVk2OAKHZIeAhMQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=st+peters+ceiling+images+god+michael+angelo&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1DIDViQSGDkS2gAcAB4AIABa4gBmgqSAQQxMi4zmAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWc&sclient=img&ei=oDSrXpfWH-SwgweSvYiYAQ&bih=844&biw=1248&rlz=1C1ARAB_enGB463GB464#imgrc=35SuzDZf3oSYgM


 A reminder of the time when the village was invisibly divided by religious affiliation, not without its social connotations. The four were physically CoE, Wesleyan Methodist and Plymouth Brethren. As far as I know, there had never been a Roman Catholic church, unless of course one concedes that prior to Henry VIII's break with Rome (1533) all churches were RC and no other form of worship was allowed. Pensford up until the early 19th C. also boasted Quaker (Belluton) and Congregationalist (Whitley Batts) the latter now a house. My mother's sister was a Methodist and helped to keep the ailing Chapel going by, with her lodger, Mervyn - sadly recently passed away - playing the organ as he did elsewhere. Also of interest maybe is that Acker Bilk's father and (step) mother were active members, his father acting Minister and mother organist.

  Like plants, we don't question the soil we grow in, yet it determines how well the seed grows. Nature and nurture combine to make the characters we are, and I am not sure how important is the third factor - our own will - to influence what happens to us. We all experience a physical environment and react to it on a constant and continuing basis, but less obvious - but perhaps even more important - is the unseen world of ideas that influences our interpretation of life. It was our illustrious friend and fellow parishioner Locke, who coined the term 'Tabula rasa' or blank slate of the child, on which is inscribed meaning and understanding. Formerly this was the part played by Christian faith within the context of family and wider society. It shaped individual and nation. We are now in a post-Christian age. In lock-down, in fact melt-down. Are we better or worse for it? Only time will tell.

 Dom Lowe Wise words well put Tim, I know I dismiss religion easily, it's a fault of mine of which there are several.
The curve we’re on dictates that one day the world will be free from the worship of supernatural deities and I believe will be a better place for that - I just wish I could be around to see it 

  Dom Lowe You may be right - in both senses - Dom. Humans have been around for at least a hundred thousand years, at least five thousand of which have left documented evidence of religious belief. There is good reason to believe belief may go deeper than the cerebellum - literally. That it is programmed into the genetic make-up of the species, whether the actual tenets are true or not. Sorry to keep referencing him, but our friend JL got into very deep water with his views on religious faith, as he did with those on politics and even science. No wonder he kept his name out of it until he was virtually at death's door.

 Someone once said that there is a God shaped hole in everyone's heart that only God can fill. That may be a trite euphemism but it is undoubtedly true that humans do seem to be restless in their search for meaning, the mystical and luminous. All intellectual efforts, whether they be in art or science, seem to be directed that way. And there are very real philosophical problems if all we have in the universe is chance and chaos. Our lives do indeed become a rather sick joke and we feel it. Then we have the matter of mental insight and genius, Albert Einstein a case in point. (His 'God letter recently sold for three million dollars) He was quoted with saying, "God does not play dice with the universe" whilst disclaiming any belief in the idea. He says: “The word God is for me nothing more than the expression and product of human weaknesses, the Bible a collection of honourable, but still primitive, legends which are nevertheless pretty childish.” Irrationality is at the basis of all our thoughts and actions, even when we think them rational. Yet it is surely impossible to consider the universe and the amazing application of universal laws without a sense of wonder at the ineffability of it all? Nor have we even touched on the moral imperative.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/dec/04/physicist-albert-einstein-god-letter-reflecting-on-religion-up-for-auction-christies
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“Social distancing” police fine man $1.2K for feeding homeless | #FightT...





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Wednesday, 29 April 2020

Quarantyranny





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UKApril 27, 2020

Dissident British ex-diplomat Craig Murray indicted for blog posts in Kafkaesque case

craig murray charges blog posts alex salmond

Craig Murray, a former UK diplomat turned anti-war activist, has been charged with contempt of court for writing blog posts. He faces a possible two years in jail, with no jury and no freedom of speech defense permitted.

By Ben Norton https://thegrayzone.com/2020/04/27/craig-murray-indicted-blog-posts/

The renowned British peace activist and former diplomat Craig Murray has been charged with contempt of court for writing blog posts.
The suspicious indictment represents a heavily politicized, Kafkaesque case in which Murray has virtually none of his rights guaranteed. It also appears to be a part of the British government’s aggressive crackdown on the Scottish independence movement.
In comments to The Grayzone, Murray described the case against him as a thoroughly undemocratic attack on free speech, and warned it may be punishment for his dissident journalism and activism exposing the UK’s crimes and lies.
Murray said he faces the possibility of “no jury, no ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ test, no public interest defence allowed, no freedom of speech defence allowed, and up to two years in jail and an ‘unlimited’ fine.”
Craig Murray served as Britain’s ambassador to Uzbekistan from 2002 to 2004. The UK Foreign Office fired him for his exposure of British and US involvement in egregious human rights violations in the country. Murray had blown the whistle on torture, warning that the CIA was using highly dubious intelligence obtained from tortured detainees.
Since leaving the UK diplomatic service, Murray has become a prominent human rights activist who maintains a popular blog at his personal website.
On his blog and through social media, Murray has established himself as an outspoken supporter of WikiLeaks and its publisher Julian Assange, who is being tormented in Britain’s high-security Belmarsh prison while awaiting potential extradition to the United States.
In recent years, Murray has brought to light an array of US, British, and Israeli government crimes. He poked holes in Britain’s accusations that Russia poisoned double agent Sergei Skripal under official government orders. And in recent months, he has publicly excoriated the UK’s hypocrisy in a scandal involving Anne Sacoolas, a CIA operative who killed the British teenager Harry Dunn after she collided into him while driving on the wrong side of the road outside of a US Air Force spying station.
A resident of Scotland’s capital Edinburgh, Murray has been especially outspoken in his support for the country’s independence from the United Kingdom. His pro-independence agitation appears to be a key factor in his persecution at the hands of the government.
craig murray scottish independence
Craig Murray speaking at a pro-Scottish independence event in 2013
With Brexit looming and a grassroots movement still building for Scottish independence, Britain has ramped up its crackdown on dissent.
One of the most recognizable faces of the independence movement, Alex Salmond, has become a major target of the backlash. Salmond, who served as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) for more than two decades, was forced to resign from the party in 2018 after facing allegations of sexual assault by several women.
Craig Murray published a series of blog posts alleging questionable conflicts of interest and blatant irregularities in Salmond’s case, suggesting a politicization of the allegations. He also revealed some of the accusers’ suspicious ties to the police and to Salmond’s political rivals.
In the end, Salmond was cleared of all 14 charges. A majority-women jury found him not guilty on 12 of the charges and declared the 13th to be not proven, while the prosecution dropped the 14th charge. The government in turn admitted to violating its own laws in the case, and wound up paying out hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of Salmond’s legal fees.
Since Salmond was pushed out, the SNP has lurched to the right. His replacement as the SNP’s new leader, Nicola Sturgeon, is a centrist who is less committed to Scottish independence and much more politically dubious. Sturgeon has expressed admiration for Henry Kissinger, and has praised Hillary Clinton, blaming the US presidential candidate’s defeat not on her neoliberal politics and lackluster campaign but rather on misogyny.
Murray attended two days of Salmond’s trial and published lengthy blog posts on the proceedings. The court refused to grant him media credentials, and subsequently banned him from the trial in a highly suspect move that was initiated by the prosecution, not the judge, as Murray later discovered.
On April 24, Murray published an article revealing that police were intimidating him and other journalists and activists who spoke out about the Alex Salmond case.
Murray said he knows four pro-independence activists who were called or visited by police. Some were threatened with charges of contempt of court for their social media posts on Salmond. Police subsequently raided the house of a Scottish journalist and confiscated his computers and phones.
Murray was the next victim, charged with contempt of court over his blog posts on the Salmond case — even after Salmond was cleared of all charges.
“This is a blatant, one-sided political persecution. That much is entirely plain,” Murray wrote. He decided to make the indictment against him public (PDF link here).
“This indictment is the basis on which they are attempting to put me in prison – in fact the indictment specifies up to two years in jail and an unlimited fine as the punishment sought from the court,” Murray stated.
“The state believes it has finally discovered a way to put me in prison without the inconvenient hurdle of a jury of my peers,” he continued. “Contempt of Court is just decided by a judge. It is extraordinary that you can go to jail for a substantial two years with no jury protection and no test of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’; and on the whim of a judge defending what he may view as the dignity of his own office. This really is the epitome of bad law. To use it against freedom of speech is disgusting.”
Murray also lamented that the “prosecution is taking a terrible toll on [his] family.”
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Sunday, 26 April 2020

Covid-19 Historical Perspective: Niall Ferguson | Direct | On the response to COVID-19





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Saturday, 25 April 2020

A message for today?

 There's obviously much more to this CD19 than meets the eye (and body) Has anyone really explained how it jumped from Wuhan (if it did) without passing 'Go'? Or how apparently it was so endemic, so early, almost everywhere? Why children appear not to be susceptible? Why severity of reaction appears to be inversely proportional to age? Why men are more affected than women? Why black Caribbeans are x3 as likely to die from infection as white Europeans? Why the effect imitates altitude sickness rather than typical pneumonia? Why there is no proof of actual modes of transmission? Why, knowledge of Coronavirus and even this variant, has been around for so long, no effective vaccine or prophylactic, had not already been developed? Why the most vulnerable groups and locations (nursing homes and hospitals) were not provided with essential PPE in good time? If indeed the virus was so virulent and infectious (of course two different criteria) we might have expected to see huge mortality in the medical and caring sectors, and importantly a clear distinction between factors such as close contact and the level of PPE, neither of which as far as I am aware, have been demonstrated to date. Further we would have witnessed overflowing hospitals and no staff, both notable by their absence.

 Holiday Books: Movies - The New York Times
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1ARAB_enGB463GB464&sxsrf=ALeKk02CtPKSnrSaU_Gyn7Z-iNSCPBLYNg:1587806054377&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=they+live+1988+images&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjejt--noPpAhUDqXEKHaciDtAQ7Al6BAgKECk&biw=1248&bih=844#imgrc=97G-nSwaYEQEcM


'THEY LIVE 1988'



https://vimeo.com/391426692


they live 8" clothed alien action figures 2 pack from neca
https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1ARAB_enGB463GB464&sxsrf=ALeKk02CtPKSnrSaU_Gyn7Z-iNSCPBLYNg:1587806054377&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=they+live+1988+images&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjejt--noPpAhUDqXEKHaciDtAQ7Al6BAgKECk&biw=1248&bih=844#imgrc=97G-nSwaYEQEcM&imgdii=IhHAxAJDfr2fKM




WIKI:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/They_Live

"They Live is a 1988 American science-fiction action horror film written and directed by John Carpenter, based on the 1963 short story "Eight O'Clock in the Morning" by Ray Nelson, and starring Roddy Piper, Keith David, and Meg Foster. It follows an unnamed drifter[nb 1] who discovers through special sunglasses that the ruling class are aliens concealing their appearance and manipulating people to spend money, breed, and accept the status quo with subliminal messages in mass media.
The film was a minor success at the time of its release, debuting #1 at the North American box office. It originally received negative reviews criticizing its social commentary, writing and acting. However, like other films of Carpenter, it later enjoyed a cult following and eventually became recognized as a largely underrated work. The film has also entered popular culture, and notably had a lasting impact on street art (particularly that of Shepard Fairey), while its near six-minute alley brawl between the protagonists makes appearances on all-time lists for best fight scenes."




There are BIG unanswered questions regarding this alleged 'pandemic'. Death rates are largely unchanged from normal. The whole diagnosis scenario is questionable as are the imposed social exclusion and distancing measures introduced. Deaths from multiple other unrelated causes may be greater than those from so-called 'Covid-19'. Unnecessary hysteria and paranoia have been stoked by the government that may have lasting psychological and social consequences. Having set the scene, the government hasn't got a clue how to extricate itself from the horrendous mess and I can't see how testing will necessarily improve matters. To be clear means you are still vulnerable to infection. A positive test proves what - infectivity or immunity? Do you exclude such or regard them as protected? The blanket measures, as those now imposed by super markets are as stupid as they are useless. There are strong indicators the infection, if such it is, was started deliberately and is being used as much for political propaganda and social purposes as it is for initiatives in the sphere of public health.

VACCINES, RETROVIRUSES, DNA, AND THE DISCOVERY THAT DESTROYED JUDY MIKOVITS’ CAREER

 by 
Last updated on: July 22, 2018

   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xr1POaG08M

Whose Bioweapon Is It Anyway?

20,028 views
•Streamed live on Apr 22, 2020

 A home grown bio-weapon?

Paul Cottrell, Ph D, Getting News To Trump About Fauci 29,779 views



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Friday, 24 April 2020



Why lockdowns are the wrong policy - Swedish expert Prof. Johan Giesecke

508,146 views
•Apr 17, 2020

Picture released 18 November 2007 shows Professor Johan Giesecke, Chief Scientist at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) answering questions during a press conference in Stockholm.
BERTIL ERICSON/SCANPIX SWEDEN/AFP via Getty Images

LOCKDOWN TV @  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfN2JWifLCY&lc=Ugz5G9YbtLZPCgycEKd4AaABAg.97jWunrri3X97orsCmeNcs



That was one of the more extraordinary interviews we have done here at UnHerd. Professor Johan Giesecke, one of the world’s most senior epidemiologists, advisor to the Swedish Government (he hired Anders Tegnell who is currently directing Swedish strategy), the first Chief Scientist of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and an advisor to the director general of the WHO, lays out with typically Swedish bluntness, why he thinks: - UK policy on lockdown and other European countries are not evidence-based - The correct policy is to protect the old and the frail only - This will eventually lead to herd immunity as a “by-product” - The initial UK response, before the “180 degree U-turn”, was better - The Imperial College paper was “not very good” and he has never seen an unpublished paper have so much policy impact - The paper was very much too pessimistic - Any such models are a dubious basis for public policy anyway - The flattening of the curve is due to the most vulnerable dying first as much as the lockdown - The results will eventually be similar for all countries - Covid-19 is a “mild disease” and similar to the flu, and it was the novelty of the disease that scared people. - The actual fatality rate of Covid-19 is the region of 0.1% - At least 50% of the population of both the UK and Sweden will be shown to have already had the disease when mass antibody testing becomes available


mrhat 75

I love how straightforward his answers are!
74




swikaharra

Really? Are you as North American by birth? If so that is how in the other part of the word people communicate, here they keep telling people byo speak your mind be assertive...be clear ...and then you get those nice pre-made answers ...even in a job interview you will get your feedback right away...here you never get a strait truthful answer
1

Veater Ecosan

@swikaharra 'Straight' I think you meant. Although we are in 'straits' at the moment and I suppose 'social distancing' could be one - i.e. 'a narrow space between two points'. He He
1

swikaharra

@Veater Ecosan yep straight, my phone does its own autocorrect
2

Veater Ecosan

@swikaharra You are definitely auto-corrected. lol

dtz1000

Yes, Professor Death is very straightforward in his answers and Swedes are too cowardly or too trusting to challenge people like him.

Veater Ecosan

@dtz1000 It seems to me, he is speaking sense: protect the vulnerable, isolate the affected, recommend sensible hygienic practise and let everyone else get on with their normal life. Why? Because the alternative crashes the and .economy and by this and other consequences,
causes more fatalities than it prevents.

Veater Ecosan

Unfortunately this bio-lab created RNA entity called SARS Cov-II has a Fauci patented HIV spike added to the genome, the short and long term effects of which are hardly understood, but may be quite different to the classical influenza. There may even be a cover-up of this particular aspect. veaterecosan
1

Veater Ecosan

"How will they get out of this?" A point I made weeks ago. British leaders have dug a hole but forgot a ladder.

MrCurry

Thank God for an interviewer who asks intelligent questions and reacts to what the interviewee said, when deciding the next Q to pose. Quite a difference to the TV news where the interviewer is following the direction of an editor in their earpiece and simply trying to start an argument to win ratings. Channel 4, ITV and BBC news editors and presenters should watch this video to find out what an interview should be. 👍👍
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Katharine Henegan

These guys, and the likes of UK Column, put our MSM to shame. This is calm, collected, and considered.

@Veater Ecosan...The problem is that this virus is a bioweapon and we know very little about its long term effects. Some say that it stays in the body and reactivates at a later date causing more organ damage or death. There's some reports of sterility in men caused by this virus, yet Professor Death here says nothing about it. The Chinese know more about it than anyone and they have taken extreme measures. So far Sweden has had 5 to 6 times more deaths per capita than Norway and Finland.
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Veater Ecosan
@dtz1000 There are many factors to death rate variance and anomalies may be difficult to explain. The Chinese situation is a case in point. Why for example was disease confined it seems to Wuhan, yet crops up almost immediately much further afield? If as infective as suggested, why did it not make its way through normal routes to adjacent provinces first? Incidentally, Chinese researchers now report at least 30 variations to the initial RNA entity which further complicates the issue.
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