English propaganda poster by the Parliamentary Recruiting Committee, London 1915 (Wikipedia Commons)
Despite the lamentations and orders from Geneva or the local capitals of Capital, I refuse to believe that COVID-19 or the putative pathogens are a principal challenge to humanity — except for those using these viruses for policing and/or culling the population.
It has taken quite a while, but famous 2nd — or 3rd — iteration Fleetwood Mac lead singer, Stevie Nicks, has finally opined on the coronavirus crisis, and the 72 year old songstress of note imploringly had this to say, in a paraphrase: If I get this, I’ll never sing again! This was from a People magazine article appearing on Yahoo! on August 11. In a direct quote, Nicks says this: “Put me on a ventilator and I will be hoarse for the rest of my life — I don’t have much time…”
[T]he hard but just rule [of science] is that if the ideas didn’t work, you must throw them away.
— Carl Sagan1
What a joy to travel again!
COVID-19 is not just a disease; it is also a state of mind, a psychosis, a fear. It is an event that, all over the world, unleashed irrational behavior by the governments, individuals, and media. It triggered speculations, bizarre analyses, and selective ‘cut-and-paste science.’
Mayhem in Melbourne
On August 2, lockdown measures were implemented in Melbourne, Australia, that were so draconian that Australian news commentator Alan Jones said on Sky News: “People are entitled to think there is an ‘agenda to destroy western society.’”
Limitation is essential to authority. A government is legitimate only if it is effectively limited.
— Lord Acton,
Don’t bother, they’re here, already performing in the center ring under the big top owned and operated by The Umbrella People.
The current pandemic continues to have a large negative impact on most aspects of our lives. Over 20.6 million have been infected and almost 750,000 have died worldwide (about 5.3 million infections and over 168,00 deaths in the US) due to this pandemic. Besides these horrific impacts, this pandemic has also made clearer the failure of the bipartisan neoliberal economic approach that puts profit before people and planet.
Pre-pandemic
Greta Acosta Reyes (Cuba), Neoliberalism, 2020.
Dear Friends,
Greetings from the desk of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.
Beirut, mon amour.
