sumac.carol
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This is my last post and visit here at TAE. The reason is a failure of this blog to recognize the threat of fascism within the leadership of the trucker protests and within the police response. I accept the threat represented by vaccines but the threat of fascism dwarfs this threat.
I wish all of you the very best as we navigate these dark waters.
The lineup of speakers today at Ottawa’s trucker protest includes Maxime Bernier, head of the People’s Party of Canada, which includes in its formal platform a denial of climate change, advocates against immigrants and multi-culturalism, along with the usual pushing of the military industrial complex (overt focus on veterans and resource extraction).
Position of Amnesty International on Canada’s trucker protest:
Amnesty International Canada Statement on “Freedom Convoy” Blockade
OTTAWA – Amnesty International has been following with great concern the developments relating to the “Freedom Convoy” blockade in Ottawa.
“Amnesty International Canada is deeply troubled by the reports of violence, harassment, intimidation, and hate speech which have surfaced since January 29th,” said Amnesty International Canada Secretary General Ketty Nivyabandi. “Nazi flags, Confederate flags, and other symbols of racism and hate exhibited have no room in peaceful protests. Equally concerning is the affiliation of some of the Convoy organizers with overtly racist, white supremacist groups.”
The failure of law enforcement agencies to respond swiftly and appropriately to reports of violence and harassment demands a prompt, thorough, and impartial public inquiry. The inquiry must also address instances of interference with residents’ rights to public health and social services delivery, as well as the harassment of healthcare workers, reporters, people living with disabilities, and racialized and other marginalized persons.
“Authorities hold an equal international obligation to protect people from violence and harassment, and to respect the rights of all protesters to peaceful assembly and expression of their views. Violence and harassment however are not part of exercising the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. Amnesty International calls on authorities to take immediate and appropriate action to facilitate peaceful protests, while investigating and holding those perpetrating violence or inciting hate to account,” added Nivyabandi.
Throughout the demonstrations, racialized workers and residents have reported being singled out for abuse. Over 400 hate messages are under investigation by the Ottawa Police. Frontline services have expressed concern about the impact of the ongoing demonstration on their ability to provide to already vulnerable clients. People with disabilities have reported disruptions and delays in receiving supportive care, given ongoing street blockages by demonstrators. Journalists experienced threats and harassment, both online and while reporting from the demonstration zone. Until a recent court injunction, residents were subjected to almost continuous high-decibel noise levels, including honking, air horns, train whistles, street parties and fireworks since the demonstration began at the end of January.
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, Algonquins of Pikwakanagan, the Algonquin Anishinabeg Nation Tribal Council, and Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg have also expressed concerns about the misuse and appropriation of sacred, traditional objects and ceremonies.
Further, Amnesty International Canada notes with great concern the permissive response afforded by the Ottawa Police to a largely white-dominant protest group. This response is in sharp contrast with how law enforcement authorities have mistreated Indigenous and racialized protesters in the past.
“Amnesty International Canada expresses solidarity with the frontline organizations, including homeless and women’s shelters whose operations have been impacted by these protests, as well as 2SLGBTQI+ and racialized communities – particularly Jewish, Muslim, Black and Indigenous communities – who have been targeted by hate propaganda,” said Nivyabandi.
Further Background on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly
Peaceful protests are a fundamental part of a vibrant society. The right to freedom of peaceful assembly is a vital means of political engagement, with a long history of being a valid and effective means of bringing issues and grievances to light. Facilitating and protecting the right to freedom of assembly contributes to the protection of other human rights, including freedom of expression.
The right to hold assemblies and demonstrations on public roads has been consistently upheld by regional and international human rights bodies, which have established that urban space is not only an area for circulation but also a space for participation. The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association has affirmed that “the free flow of traffic should not automatically take precedence over freedom of peaceful assembly.” However, these rights are not unlimited. They can be restricted in order to protect the rights of others, public order and public health. The UN Human Rights Committee has said that “an assembly that remains peaceful but which nevertheless causes a high level of disruption, such as the extended blocking of traffic, may be dispersed, as a rule, only if the disruption is ‘serious and sustained’.” In any case, the onus is on the authorities to justify any restrictions.
Under international human rights law, states also have the obligation to prohibit and eliminate racial discrimination, including in the enjoyment of the right to security of the person and protection by the State against violence. The UN Human Rights Committee clearly stated that “… peaceful assemblies may not be used for propaganda for war (…) or advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (…). As far as possible, action should be taken in such cases against the individual perpetrators, rather than against the assembly as a whole.”
Amnesty International has produced reports outlining good practices on the policing of assemblies, as well as guidelines on the use of force by law enforcement officials.Amnesty International Canada Statement on “Freedom Convoy” Blockade
Mea culpa -the group I linked to above for the counter-protest is too focused on covid safety protocols. Not good enough for me. Still looking for something better than the truckers.
Here is a counter rally organized in Ottawa. It’s position is clearly stated and reflects precisely my position (see below). I intend to join the protests of this group. TAE we can do better than align with fascists to solve our problems.
https://www.communitysolidarityottawa.ca/
Join Us
A coalition of local labour unions, community organizations and residents will be holding a rally this Saturday in solidarity with frontline workers and Ottawa residents affected by the occupation.Saturday February 12th at 1 PM
Lansdowne Park – at the Share the Flame monumentWe have serious concerns about how governments have handled the pandemic, but we say no to how the far right is mobilizing discontent. We shouldn’t be afraid to walk down the street in our own neighbourhoods. It’s time to build a real working class movement that can defend our communities and our rights.
Join us to:
Show support for frontline workers
Say no to white supremacy, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia and all other forms of hate that the convoy has directed at residents
Call for an end to the occupation
Call for public health measures that protect our communities, including immediate support for workers who have lost income due to the convoy, 14 paid sick days for all workers, decent pandemic pay, an end to the crisis in long-term care, a strong public healthcare system, and a living minimum wage.
Saturday February 12th at 1 PM
Lansdowne Park – at the Share the Flame monumentThe rally will also include a march of approximately 3km. Bring signs, union flags & banners!
This is a peaceful event. There is no intention to engage with the convoy.
Experienced marshals will be present in order to guide participants, help keep participants safe and to de-escalate any conflicts should they arise.
Now our provincial conservative Ontario premier is bringing in repressive actions against the trucker occupation. These rules will assuredly be used to quash any protest. Shall I thank the truckers? Why did they not protest legally? Anyone expect truckers to appear at the next Extinction Rebellion?
Bringing children to such a protest is absolutely beyond the pale. These folks want to protect their kids from vaccines but bring them to a protest involving illegal activities (leave aside exposing them to diesel exhaust fir 24 hours a day).
I agree we are in collapse, not centrally planned-just the normal ebb and flow of civilization (yup that story about ever-improving life was just a nice story).
A word to the was on mass formation and related concepts: Just finished Bob Prechter’s book on Elliott Waves. My take away is that this can happen to multiple social groups at different scales- no need for huge groupings. All these is needed is the right conditions, including high anxiety/fear and imperfect information. These conditions exist on all sides of the covid issue…
On protest- I fully understand the level of commitment required for people to look after their families and appreciate not everyone can do this at all points in their lives.
No I do not expect to have everyone singing from precisely the same song sheets, but there are limits and the truckers leadership are way past that.Latest on truckers – both sides of the protest are making death threats against tow truck driver who answered a request by Pat King (the leader of the protest) to move their shack. Pat King has been silent while this guy is fielding the death threats -real classy guy Pat King and lots of not classy people in all sides.
Re truckers owning the means of production: my take is they are more like workers in the new gig economy. Trucking companies get the contracts and hand them out to the owner operators. Owner operators carry the logos of the truck companies. If truckers don’t “behave” they won’t get work from the trucking companies.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/truck-drivers-companies-ottawa-convoy-protest-1.6343705
No I am not allergic to Marx at all. Far from it.Re the vax administration methods aspiration: according to Robert Malone this is a complete red herring.
This probably already made the rounds but just in case it hasn’t: this liberal mp is breaking rank with Trudeau but condemns the trucker protest. I totally share his perspective, although I would not vote for him because of what the Liberal Party stands for (neoliberal dismantling of our social infrastructure to further corporate interests).
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/liberal-mp-politicization-pandemic-1.6343730I have been involved in activism related to political, economic and environmental issues in Canada, mostly locally focussed. I have an overall political philosophy that is mostly left-leaning. I know many of the actors here: seen some at community meetings (Randy Hillier who, as an aside, was a speaker at the trucker protest). I have seen Poilievre’s lack of respect for environmental concerns in my local environmental advocacy work. I have heard Ezra Levant’s political perspective over time and have found it not in keeping with mine. Been to talks by Denis Rancourt who pops up from time to time in Mercola’s notes – I find Rancourt’s perspective incompatible with mine also.
My point? I don’t do single-issue politics. I’m not vaxed, but even if any of these folks were to take a stand with mine on the vax issue, I would not support them because I do not agree with their overall political philosophy. To do otherwise is dangerous and potentially leads one to dance with a devil. Giving in on one issue is a very old political trick to bring people into a fold. Don’t be fooled.Here’s a challenge question: I will virtue signal here and say that I have on numerous occasions protested against non-democratic global institutions (IMF, World Bank) that have in no small way enabled corporate control of governments which has absolutely had a massive role in this hyper focus on money-making vaccination of the world. Were any others here involved in these protests?
Dr. D a lot has been happening for a long time. Corporatism has been creeping into our world for decades – maybe it’s too late to stop it now.
To repeat another issue that causes me to question the motives of the leadership of the trucker protest: why the myopic focus on Trudeau (who is liberal) when most of the vax mandates are not within federal jurisdiction (and there are many conservative premiers at the provincial level). If the trucker protest leaders are against all vax mandates for everyone, they should save some vitriol for the premiers, unless this runs against their political interests…I differ from many here on my risk assessment of covid and the support for the trucker protest. While I see the harm done by the government response to covid (I don’t agree with trying to figure out whether or not it is a grand conspiracy because we will never know that and besides even governments of arch enemy countries are responding the same way to covid) I do not see covid as the ultimate threat. I see other threats as being larger: fascism, corporate control of our governments and climate change/ecocide.
The leadership of this demonstration is highly compromised – I have lived my whole life in constituencies near where Randy Hillier and Poilievre have been involved in politics. You cannot put lipstick on these guys and make them look good for me-sorry. There was never a progressive issue on which they took the right side.
On policing: many here have questioned the legality of the government responses to covid but now are cheering on police refusal to stop the protest. In a properly functioning democracy the mandate for police does not include deciding when to apply the law. Again, police here have been properly condemned, on record, for inequality in the application of the law against marginalized populations. Police are the last people I would stand beside as arbiters of justice -I would question their motives as would anyone who has been on the receiving end of their unjust conduct. Here’s another anecdote from protests past: when public meetings were held after police overstep was so egregious that such meetings were called, the police sitting behind me at the meeting were laughing amongst themselves throughout the meeting as people were describing their mistreatment at the hands of police.
What I am seeing is that folks who felt terrorized by covid vaxes are running into the arms of anyone who is throwing them a life preserver-most of these people (in my neck of the woods) have a very limited knowledge of the political operatives even in our area -way over their heads. This is a perfect opportunity for bad actors to gain a new base.Here’s Pat King, who has now anointed himself as lead of the trucker protest, making threats of violence after he disrupted a press conference of the Black and Indigenous alliance:
https://www.antihate.ca/wexit_co_founder_pat_king_threatens_demonstratorsFrom 5,000 km away while being threatened with a vax mandate maybe this guy’s saying he will support you seems like a good option. When your head clears and you come back to Earth, he won’t look so good.
I find it unjust to say the least seeing the protective sentiment towards protesters when policing gets up to the “normal” level experienced time and again by indigenous people and those of us who have protested against economic and environmental policies. (Still haven’t seen any tear gas.) To justify the light hand police used up to now by saying that police agree with the position of the protesters hands a lot of power to an institution in Canada with documented recognized biases. I can think of a number of reasons police may support the protest, aside from vax mandates.
Here’s a question for those who think this is a coordinated attack on our world wide democracy: why is it that Russia and China are using similar covid policies? Look, there is enough real documented crap going on environmentally and in the financial realm – no need to create a story around these things -they are right there for us to see. Why the need to speculate about things we can never know for sure (conspiracies to control the world population) when there are massive threats in from of us that are certain and massive threats?
No, sorry, my position remains highly sceptical of the leadership of the protest leadership based on their documented, evidence, facts of their past behaviour and affiliations. I will never align myself with these people no matter how many well-intentioned people line up behind them.Does this kind of statement resonate for folks here? Truckers public statement on horn blowing on Sunday morning:
“Out of respect for the Lord’s Day, for members of our military who have sacrificed and who continue to sacrifice so much for our freedom, for the men and women in blue who are doing such a superb job protecting us, and as a gesture of goodwill, members of our Convoy will desist from the blowing of Horns tomorrow, Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Ottawa time,” a news release said.
Wokism is killing us. Swastika at the protest has been repeatedly misrepresented for what it was intended to represent at the protest. Rogan using the N word in a non-derogatory way is condemned. I’m not a fan of the trucker protest but this misrepresentation is so dishonest. When our leaders have sold us out to the highest corporate bidders the only thing they have left to virtue signal is identity politics – just smoke and mirrors.
“Mostly peaceful but noisy”
100-150 decibel horns honking 12-16 hours per day. Lets not do a makeover here.
https://canoe.com/news/local-news/class-action-suit-claims-air-horns-causing-unbearable-torment/wcm/45a687aa-14d6-4352-9974-3a955f5825e9Truckers are offering to limit horns to 12 hours per day. Risk of hearing impairment in this environment for everyone including protesters.
And surprise! Pierre Poilievre announces he is throwing his hat into the ring to run as leader of the Conservative Party. He pledges to make Canadians the freest people on Earth:
If elected, Canadians will be the freest people on earth, he said.
“Freedom from the invisible thief of inflation, freedom to raise your kids with your values, freedom to make your own health and vaccine choices, freedom to speak without fear and freedom to worship God in your own way,” he said.Except Poilievre’s freedom pitch, if you look at his past record as Harper’s right-hand man, does not include freedom of speech by climate scientists:
https://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2010/03/25/HarpersMuzzle/
Trudeau is not the disease and if we think he is we will be sadly disappointed. Governments around the world if all stripes have been captured by corporate interests and are no longer doing the bidding of their people. This is where the populists gain traction and, unfortunately, some populists are chasing goals that are not in the interests of their people.
Poilievre is using vax mandates as a wedge issue but he must certainly will continue governing with the “business as usual” model.I cannot understand why young families who are concerned about vaxing their kids would throw support behind a guy who will pulverize any shred of effort to address climate change which threatens all life on Earth.
So now the trucker protesters are going to be treated to the regular policing of other protesters (data collection, group infiltration, kettling). Welcome to the world of protesting. In Toronto during a globalization protest, police infiltration was give away by the fact that police were wearing government-issued police boots- oops!
Conservatives got rid of I’Toole because he was not right-wing enough. It looks like Poilievre is waiting in the wings, to carry on with the Harper tradition of muzzling scientists and blaming residential school survivors for not being hard-working enough. Oh, and he is a big supporter of the trucker protest – that’s some kind of leadership. I’m sure if he replaced Trudeau things would be much better.I listened to Robert Malone’s interview by Rogan and Malone stated that the only truly reliable counts related to covid are total deaths from ALL causes. All other figures are inaccurate due to many different reasons (eg levels of testing, counts of “with vs from”, etc).
Interesting change of tone in Ontario premier Ford’s take on covid protests. Early protests against lockdowns were met with Ford’s condemnation. Now the trucker protests get his “blessing” while he still supports vaccination – good old political talking out of both sides of the mouth. Can you smell an election coming?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/trucker-convoy-protests-toronto-doug-ford-1.6338026One article above says Italy is opening up while the other particle says they are clamping down in covid.
Here is Pat King’s Facebook -looks very much like he is in a leadership role in the trucker protest:
https://m.facebook.com/therealpatking/Why the huge focus on Trudeau when vax requirements and mandates have been rolled out at all levels of government and institutions?
I know someone who lost a six figure job in a tiny town due to a local vax mandate. Hospital admin makes decisions on vaxes as do local governments. If this protest is for all, the blame should be spread around. No fan of Trudeau am I but living in Ontario we have had lots of bad decisions visited on us by Mr. Ford.Speaking of the truckers, here’s an updated update: Tamara Lich is now MIA and Pat King (a white nationalist who praised someone on YouTube for beating up someone else – said he “would be” that guy) has declared himself leader of the trucker protest.
Putting it lightly to say police use a lighter hand when they agree with the protest issue. Just to clarify, so when I was protesting against global economic institutions like the IMF, I had to walk within a metre of a line of police clad in riot gear with German Shepherd dogs barking at me as I walked by. And I got pepper-sprayed. So I guess the police are okay with our current economic system??
Policing of this protest was clearly different from other protests, including the Summit of the America’s In which I participated in Quebec in 2001 (lots of tear gas, kettling and police in riot gear). Why the difference, and this is an important question to answer. Here’s a theory : fascist elements in police supported any fascistic representation, however small, in the protest.
Speaking from the fringe of this protest (I have many friends who participated while I did not) it has been very divisive even among the folks against mandatory vax. While people who participated saw lots of friendly people at the protest, others were appalled at the mayhem visited on the downtown residents.https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-protest-convoy-police-success-reaction-1.6334976
People who have felt so ignored for so long understandably felt deeply moved and validated to see a place where their perspective was recognized. Yet there are troubling elements within this movement, not the least of which is the leadership that endorses Poilievre, Harper’s right-hand man in muzzling scientists. Another notable: Maxine Bernier was at the protest- leader of the People’s Party of Canada that advocates for controlling “environmental extremists” to allow for massive increase in oil and gas extraction, among other retrograde policies. Are we willing to stand behind these types of folks to stop vax mandates? For me this is a tough question, but I will not stand behind this kind of leadership.
https://www.peoplespartyofcanada.ca/platformAccording to recent Angus Reid poll, the majority of Canadians want covid restrictions to end.
https://apple.news/A0O4aKDGeRiSd52iNByW0vwQuebec scrapped their covid health tax today -yay!!
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/vax-tax-nixed-1.6334828
Do you find that muzzling scientists is a bad thing? I do. Here’s something interesting: after a public investigation it was found that the Harper government muzzled scientists:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/second-opinion-scientists-muzzled-1.4588913
And another tidbit: Poilievre was a key figure in Harper’s government, living in infamy for joking about “tar babies” in parliament and criticizing providing financial compensation for indigenous people who were harmed in residential school -what a neat guy!
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canada-politics/stephen-harper-slammed-appointing-pierre-poilievre-cabinet-201250517.htmlWhy is this interesting you ask? Well because he is in a post in Tamara Lich’s Facebook page for the trucker protest. Inquiring minds want to know: is Lich not aware that Poilievre was part of the Conservative party muzzling of scientists? Did he promise to never do it again? Makes you wonder.
Ms. Lich (the head of the truck protest against vax mandates in spite of being neither a trucker nor an activist in the area of vaccines) has tried to distance herself from some unsavoury characters but the one she cannot distance herself from is herself, even though she has deleted her LinkedIn profile. She is on the board of the Maverick party and they do have an interesting platform. Key pieces are massively ramped up oil and gas exploration and extraction, huge increases in infrastructure to get resources to “tide water” (that’s code for export) and equal treatment of economic and environmental considerations in resource extraction decisions. Inquiring minds want to know: what’s the economic impact of decimating caribou habitat? If we permanent pollute (that’s what oil sands extraction does) all of the fresh water in the boreal areas but we can make a pile of money, do we go ahead anyway?
Leadership, that’s really something init?Oh, just remembered another Pierre Poilievre anecdote: he was one of the main henchmen under Prime Minister Harper whose claim to fame was silencing scientists, particularly those working in the area of climate change. I can vouch for this first hand as I worked at the time in a department with many climate scientists. All of their public statements, even for conferences, had to go thru “communications” folks, who are not scientists. Yes Virginia, we have seen scientists being silenced in Canada before under a conservative government in which Poilievre had a leadership role.
https://itsgoingdown.org/far-right-yellow-vests-convoy-rolls-into-ottawa-met-with-resistance/
This is the last truck convoy we had in Canada and note that Poilievre was happy to welcome it too.
At the risk of appearing to be on the side of the official narrative, I repeat my concern that bad actors are using the trucker convoy as an opportunity to gain visibility and credibility for long-term political gain. My sense is that, as was the case with right-wing populist governments getting elected around the globe, the cause was a failure of liberal/democrats to protect the interests of the average people against the Uber-rich. Same phenomenon with the vaxes- bit a peep from anyone. The gap left is being filled by alt-right. We have to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea.Here’s another one: on the trucker’s page of Tamara Linch, they show a clip by Pierre Poilievre, who was one of Prime Minister Harper’s key people. One of Poilievre’s claims to fame was a push to bring “right to work” (ie kill unions) legislation into Canada. Either Linch agrees with Poilievre’s perspectives or she is politically naive in accepting support from someone who happens to agree with the anti-vax perspective but does not agree with her other perspectives. Either way this is not a good sign. I’m guessing Linch is not naive because she is quite politically active:
https://www.maverickparty.ca/tamara-lich
I would be the first to line up in support of a leader who was clean.
Of course truckers are there for their own good reasons; however, in allowing themselves to be aligned with compromised leaders, they are helping to build a leadership platform for these nefarious folks, who will certainly put their new-found high profiles to use.Pat King is a key figure leading the trucker protest. He is a white nationalist and a thug. Here is one link highlighting some of the controversy around this guy:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7e4wp/inspiring-the-canadian-far-right-is-falling-apart-because-this-guy-cant-read-court-documents?utm_source=vicecanada_twitter&utm_medium=socialNo, I will not participate in any demonstration that gives any firm of approval to the likes of this guy. Not even if he is perfectly aligned with me on the issue of vax mandates. To do so would be to choose fascism over our current corporatism. Horrible choice but that’s where we are. Nothing short of deplorable that we have no sane leadership in Canada on covid.
Requiem for health care:
First they rejected the unvaxed, but I didn’t worry because I was vaccinated.
Then they rejected the drug addicts and alcoholics, but I didn’t worry because my life had not forced me down these paths.
Then they rejected the slovenly obese who ate junk food and the lazy who refused to exercise, but I was relieved to console myself that I ate healthy food and worked out regularly — whew!
Then they rejected the texting drivers- oh oh…
Then they rejected the elderly …Oxy too bad about your arm. So many dangers working in farming. I was holding the ladder for my better half as he was cutting a large tree limb that ran horizontal to the ground from the trunk. Easy peesy -not. The limb landed on the ground and then I watched as it bounced back and hit me in the head with such force that I had whiplash. Luckily I was wearing a helmet -otherwise my face would have been rearranged.
Those of us with socialized medicine must be a head-scratcher for those in the US. As imperfect as it is, we are fortunate to not have health care bills as a primary source of bankruptcy for huge numbers of people where socialized medicine is the norm.“The world has used half (51%) of all the oil ever produced in just the last 25 years…
This is overshoot and population growth is the root cause.”This should be refined to reflect the fact that the wealth is a huge factor driving up energy consumption. The table below shows electricity consumption per capita for selected countries. Note that Saudi Arabia, which is not a cold climate location, is #3 (ie climate does not explain this).
I dislike the argument that it is just population growth driving the issue because inevitably people use it to blame highly populated poor countries when it is in fact the sparsely populated rich countries that are consuming the vast majority of energy on a per capita basis.Consumption in kilowatt hours per capita
Canada 15,438
United States 13,098
Saudi Arabia 10,239
Japan 8,010
France 7,141
Russia 6,917
Germany 6,848
United Kingdom 4,906
China 4,906
Turkey 3,348
Brazil 2,570
Mexico 2,329
India 968
South Korea 509
Nigeria 157Nation-wide trucker protest underway in Canada protesting vax mandates for Canada-US trucking.
https://m.facebook.com/Freedom-Convoy-2022-100286905896085/posts/?ref=page_internal&mt_nav=0Yes eastern Ontario had lots of snow today -a record 45 cm.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/record-45-cm-of-snow-dropped-on-ottawa/vi-AASSC2wCrazy -snow right up to the top of my boots.
I’m not sure if this interview has already been shared but just in case: infectious disease specialist at Hamilton Ontario McMaster Children’s Hospital gives a firm sensible take on the impact of covid restrictions on kids and also refers to the international comparisons clearly demonstrating that the outcomes for everyone globally are not improved by masks and lockdowns. She also calls out the media. I would imagine her workplace is probably not too thrilled with her right now.
I should add that I store the tincture in a glass jar in the fridge. You can either remove or include the seeds in the jalopeno peppers depending on your tolerance for heat.
WES you asked in yesterday’s post whether or not garlic compounds could survive the stomach acids. The best evidence I have found to support the ability of garlic to tolerate stomach acids is garlic’s long history of use as a pathogen destroyer. As garlic is not a money-maker, you can be sure that very little research money is being spent on it. Here is a link from Mercola describing the known benefits of garlic and the studies that have been done.
https://foodfacts.mercola.com/garlic.htmlI made another batch of garlic (fire cider) tincture. This is how I make it:
5 or 6 heads of garlic
2 or 3 jalapeños
1 inch of horse radish root
1 or 2 inches of ginger
2 cups of apple cider vinegar
(Note: if you don’t have all ingredients, not the end of the world. However garlic is key.$
Throw it all in the blender and purée for about 5 minutes. Let the puréed mixture just sit and steep for about 30 minutes if you have time.
Strain the mixture through several layers of cheese cloth, retaining the vinegar that now tastes very much like garlic, ginger, horse radish and hot pepper!How to use: 1 teaspoon in half a cup of water. Frequency: if you can tolerate it, 3 or 4 times per day if you are sick. I try to take it once per day as a preventative. Sometimes it nauseates me if I take it in an empty stomach.
Interesting to hear the experiences of people with the ivermectin protocol. It might be worth exploring adding garlic to the mix. Here is some background on the anti-viral characteristics of garlic, curtesy of Jon Barron:
“… nature has been fighting viruses since the beginning of time and has provided us with some incredibly powerful anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial medicines such as garlic, olive leaf extract, wild mountain oregano… Their naturally complex structure is what makes these remedies so powerful against viruses. Unlike bacteria, where antibiotics can remain effective for 2-5 years before resistant strains render them ineffective, antiviral resistant strains can appear in a matter of months, or even weeks. So what specifically allows nature to resist pathogens for thousands of years whereas pharmaceutical drugs are rendered useless so quickly?
Actually, it’s quite simple – or more accurately, quite complex. Drugs are essentially one dimensional, which allows microbes an easy avenue to evolve around them. Natural antipathogens, on the other hand, are anything but one dimensional. They often contain dozens of biochemicals. Not all of them are “active,” of course, but many of the so called non-active biochemicals work to potentiate the active ones and offer combinations with each other numbering in the millions – presenting a complexity that makes it virtually impossible for microbes to work around.
Interestingly, science is beginning to support nature’s defense model. It was briefly thought that alternating the most commonly used antibiotics might stop the spread of antibiotic resistance. But empirical evidence shows that the practice of cycling, alternating between two or more classes of antibiotics as often as every few months, doesn’t seem to work. Resistance to the drugs spreads rapidly. The latest theory is that mixing cocktails of antibiotics and antivirals may help. And, in fact, this is closer to the way natural substances avoid the resistance problem. Let’s take garlic as an example.
When raw garlic is crushed — by slicing, cooking, or chewing them — the enzyme alliinase immediately converts non-active alliin into the active ingredient, allicin. In the process of oxidation, allicin breaks down into more than 100 biologically active sulfur-containing compounds. While allicin may still serve as a general marker of garlic’s potency, research increasingly points to S-allylcysteine and other compounds as the most therapeutically active ingredients in garlic. In fact, hundreds have been identified as natural anti-viral compounds. And, when you put these compounds together, how many possible pathogenic defense combinations can you get from garlic’s 100 biologically active compounds? A whole bunch!! Gazillions!
The bottom line is that with 100 objects/compounds to work with and possible permutations ranging from any one presented by itself up to and including all 100 presented together, the complexity is just far too much for simple pathogens to evolve around. And that’s nature’s secret to helping you fight colds and flu. But it gets even better. When you combine several natural substances in one formula, the combinations of compounds are beyond counting. Quite simply, microbes cannot evolve around them. So the next time you have the typical flu symptoms of sore throat, fever, chills, cough, and aches and pains, consider the power of alternative medicine. You may be surprised at the results!This is what I disagree with in the above-mentioned article from Mercola:
“The fearmongering about climate change and ecosystem collapse also falls under this “grooming.” “I’m not going to say the existence of pollution is not real,” he says. “However, to say that the world will end in 12 years … is not truthful.” The goal is to change people’s behavior, to instill a sense of compliance, so that resources can be reallocated.”
To talk about fear mongering with regards to climate change and ecosystem collapse, you would have to explain to me how this is different from appropriate response to the reality that faces us in these two areas.
Background article on BMAA (related to New Brunswick disease)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3295368/I watched “Bye Bye 2021” on the French side of Canada’s public broadcasting station. (See link) What was striking, aside from the cutting political and social satire the likes of which I have never observed from the more controlled English side of our public broadcaster, was the number of skits poking fun at covid – the vaccination process, the crazy policies, and the ways in which people gleefully ignore the policies. There was almost no mocking of anti-vaxers. Very fun watch and top quality.
Enjoy https://ici.radio-canada.ca/tele/bye-bye/2021?mediaId=8546264
