Open (More or Less) Post on Covid 139

[ecosophia]

We are now in the third year of these open posts. As the phrase "died suddenly" repeats in the mass media like a mantra, statistics for work days lost to illness and all-cause mortality mount up in heavily vaccinated nations, and more and more ugly facts about the official response to Covid spill out into public, we are entering what may well turn out to be the most difficult period of the Covid disaster -- the phase in which denial rises in lockstep with the death rate, and a great many people try not to admit what has been done to them by the people and institutions they trusted. It could get ugly, folks.

So it's time for another open post. The rules are the same as before: 

1. If you plan on parroting the party line of the medical industry and its paid shills, please go away. This is a place for people to talk openly, honestly, and freely about their concerns that the party line in question is dangerously flawed and that actions being pushed by the medical industry et al. are causing injury and death. It is not a place for you to dismiss those concerns. Anyone who wants to hear the official story and the arguments in favor of it can find those on hundreds of thousands of websites.

2. If you plan on insisting that the current situation is the result of a deliberate plot by some villainous group of people or other, please go away. There are tens of thousands of websites currently rehashing various conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 outbreak and the vaccines. This is not one of them. What we're exploring is the likelihood that what's going on is the product of the same arrogance, incompetence, and corruption that the medical industry and its tame politicians have displayed so abundantly in recent decades. That possibility deserves a space of its own for discussion, and that's what we're doing here. 
 
3. If you plan on using rent-a-troll derailing or disruption tactics, please go away. I'm quite familiar with the standard tactics used by troll farms to disrupt online forums, and am ready, willing, and able -- and in fact quite eager -- to ban people permanently for engaging in them here. Oh, and I also lurk on other Covid-19 vaccine skeptic blogs, so I'm likely to notice when the same posts are showing up on more than one venue. 

4. If you don't believe in treating people with common courtesy, please go away. I have, and enforce, a strict courtesy policy on my blogs and online forums, and this is no exception. The sort of schoolyard bullying that takes place on so many other internet forums will get you deleted and banned here. Also, please don't drag in current quarrels about sex, race, religions, etc. No, I don't care if you disagree with that: my journal, my rules. 

With that said, the floor is open for discussion.

Comments

Re: What do the numbers say?

[white_bear_chronicles]

The term "mass die off" could use some clarification imho. How long would it take to halve a population suffering a sustained 10% excess death rate? What if live births declined at the same rate? Not as long as one might think.
Gawain

Re: What do the numbers say?

[fredsmith11]

I ran a spreadsheet. Death rate +15% birth rate -15%, doesn't make much of a difference to population over a 10 year timeframe. Certainly nothing that couldn't be covered by immigration.

However, birth rates are way below replacement in most Westernised countries (China is included in that categorisation) and were before COVID and the vax too. That's due to a raft of social and economic trends and is part of a natural rise and fall of societies/civilisations.

"Mouse utopia" is an interesting study where mice were placed in a utopian environment, but died out due to social decay. The experiment was repeated several times with the same results.

What is even more interesting is a proportion of the mice went transgender and another group evolved into roving bands of criminals specifically targeting those mice who were still trying to form family units and breed.

It appears we humans need a minimum amount of struggle to stay functional. So the recent past of participation medals for every child irrespective of performance and no punishment for misbehaviour is exactly what kids and adults don't need.

Another major factor is that wokeism and DEI means the end of meritocracy. It's not overstating things to say that many institutions are now functionally incapable of doing anything useful (because they're infested with idiots) and can only mouth platitudes and propaganda.

Re: What do the numbers say?

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you Fred and regarding your last couple sentences.
Being an artist I consider I have a pretty good eye for artistic quality. That isn't to say I don't have my biases.
However, the schlock coming out of wokism is remarkable for it's adherence to 'policy' with (seemingly) zero hunger for depth.

I attended a poetry reading with a friend and we heard a dreadful (absolutely dreadful) poet read 'their' work. Granted the writer was young.
My buddy felt sorry for the poet because 'they' were introduced with a lot of accolades about identity but the work was poor, even pathetic, quality.

If this was a Kurt Vonnegut novel I don't know if backtracking or realization would ever occur. It would be a great idea for a theme.
Could even turn into a 'hero's journey' sort of thing but my money would be on 'not possible.'

Re: What do the numbers say?

[brendhelm]

Using the CDC's stats, a +10% change in deaths and a -10% change in births swings the US from +200k/year population growth to -513k/year.

Without lowering the birth rates, it's -146k/year.

These figures do not, of course, account for immigration, which would temporarily mask the declining population as long as enough people are able and willing to immigrate.

Re: What do the numbers say?

[(Anonymous)]

Today was a 'three ambulance' day in my neck of the woods in a big city. More I didn't see certainly.
Actually one major intersection & within ten minutes three ambulances arrive and turn off aimed in three directions.
Sirens and lights going.
I wondered if people at the crosswalks 'wondered.'