ericbj

"Why in the world would we still be talking about Covid?" "You must read between the lines."

Sounds like you have a pretty healthy life-style. Fermented foods, correctly produced, are extremely rich in health-giving bacteria. Probiotics marketed by the big drug companies contain a few million bacteria per dose according to the manufacturers' specifications. However doses of at least several billion are said to be necessary to be effective. To produce such concentrations is expensive and it is obvious that few people will pay the necessary prices. There are specialised companies that produce high-potency probiotics for a limited market, at high prices. Long-live fermented foods! Many more people than realise it have fungal infections these days; commonly of candida albicans, starting in the intestines. I first learnt about it when working as an unpaid volunteer in a cancer centre. According to the doctor and nutritionist who founded and headed the centre, "candida overgrowth is found in 100% of cancer patients". Candida occurs naturally in the digestive tract as a yeast which participates in the digestion of proteins. But if excess space is created around it by killing off the bacteria that help to keep it in check, it can spread. And in so doing transform itself into a filarial fungus. … [dragged away to a New Year's Eve party! 🙂 Home the following day] … The candida threads attach themselves to the intestinal walls, causing perforations in the one-cell thick lining which restricts passage into the blood-stream of all but the smallest molecules. The result is hyperpermeability of the intestines, commonly referred to as "leaky gut". Leaky gut means that macro-molecules of half-digested or undigested food can pass into the blood. They are recognised as foreign bodies and immediately attacked by the immune system. However, as the leaky gut develops, the situation deteriorates, with the immune system being slowly overwhelmed. Intolerances to foods that were previously well tolerated can develop. Eventually the candida itself may escape to infect other organs throughout the body. Some oncologists have even claimed cancer to be a fungal disease. But this is probably an oversimplification. Cancer cells are constantly formed within all of us. Tumours develop when the immune system is so weakened as to be unable to deal with the constant threats to the body's integrity. p.s. https://greenmedinfo.com/disease/respiratory-infections

I agree. But would add this: Antibiotics have likely saved millions of lives. (An uncle of mine suffocated to death from quinsy at the age of 21 in 1925 - likely avoided with penicillin). But antibiotics have probably contributed to the premature death of hundreds of millions. By the immeasurably slow process of undermining the immune system. Why? Because administered orally they habitually cause dysbiosis of the gut; and our intestinal flora are the first line of defence of the immune system. (The second line of defence is the 80% or so of the immune system's killer cells that are said to hang out, every time one has a meal, on the other side of the intestinal wall. Make sure to consume live (unpasteurised) fermented foods after a course of antibiotics. Oral antibiotics are not the sole culprit. Blame must also go to ultra-processed industrial foods containing bacterial-killing preservatives, the chemically-contaminated nutrient deficient products of modern farming, excess sugar and lack of prebiotic soluble fibre in present-day diets, etc. Finally: antibiotics encourage fungal infections. They are these days synthesized, but mostly derived from fungal secretions.

Let those who wish to be vaccinated be vaccinated. Let those who wish to wear masks wear masks. And the converse should also be true. If you search Google you will find endless support for the restrictions imposed by officialdom. But Google, once relatively unbiased, is known now to shape its search algorythms to suit its financial interests. And even respected academic institutions must keep an eye on their bottom line. Studies support both sides of the arguments regarding vaccines, face masks and lockdowns. But there can be little doubt that there has been criminal negligence, at the very least, where those suffering from mild Covid have been turned away from hospitals without any form of advice except to return when the disease becomes serious. And many similar such mistakes. If errors they were. The Covid virus is a large, heavy one, as viruses go. Spread largely by contact. And fragile. Soap and water kills it. No need for toxic hand-washes. Not airborne except on droplets of spittle. About 30,000 base units, it is said. Whatever base units may be. Subject to faulty replication, i.e. mutation. Nothing like the wee polio virus which has only produced two or three mutations during its long presence amongst us. According to one report "a moderate positive correlation was found between mask usage and deaths in Western Europe, which suggests that the universal use of masks may have had harmful unintended consequences." Nothing conclusive there. But I tend to disagree with the possible reason they offer for this. According to the F.L.C.C.C. doctors and healthcare professionals (about 600 of them internationally) they had zero deaths amongst their Covid patients as long as blood oxygen was maintained above 78% (the norm being 95 to 100%). Masks, depending upon type and upon the individual, can reduce respiratory oxygen by up to 20%. Just a personal footnote: I am unvaccinated (as regards Covid), in my 80s, with co-morbidities, contracted what was probably Covid in October last year. This was long a "dark red" province, up on a border not recognised by Covid, nor now by the cholera. Three days of hell in bed, knocking back doses of the vile CDS. Up on the fourth day. And cycling into town on the fifth for lunch at my favourite tea-room. Viruses have been with us for millions of years and can be knocked on the head. The means are not lacking and the cost is negligible.

"Ignore the mistakes of the past and learn nothing from them. Just keep repeating them."

In brief: "Money-printing". Increases in money supply outstripping increases in assets (goods and services). In detail, see here: "The global economy is a pyramid scheme | End of the Road (full documentary)" https://youtu.be/6F7h1VJGp8w

Since you dismiss rather than answer the points that I raise I have no intention to waste time and effort in doing research at your behest. You are free to publish the details you consider to support your case. But your bias should be self-evident to those with open eyes and an open mind. For the non-francophones here, I should have mentioned in my previous post that 'L'Arnaque du PIB' translates as The GDP Fraud. The sources I quoted from in that post are concerned with economic realities rather than political or geopolitical propaganda.

Maybe the first thing to attempt is to determine the exact nature of the damage that is causing the pain. This would involve seeing a specialist. By which I mean someone other than a G.P. or the average hospital doctor. A chiropractor might be a good choice. Used Dr Philip Parry very successfully about a dozen years ago, for a severe debilitating pain in the neck: "Thai registered Chiropractor, consultant at Rajavej Hospital Chiang Mai and Piyavate Hospital (TRIA) Bangkok, treating patients with neck & back pain, sciatica, headaches, sports injuries, arthritis, allergies & many paediatric chiropractic complaints." Possibly there is one or other of these suggestions that might help: https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/features/alternative-treatments I have seen it said that pain exists where there is a shortage of oxygen, i.e. poor circulation, often caused by wounding. Might explain some circumstances.

I suggest doing some research of your own. But here is to kick you off: https://www.shadowstats.com/ "ShadowStats Newsletter: 'John Williams’ Shadow Government Statistics' is an electronic newsletter service that exposes and analyzes flaws in current U.S. government economic data and reporting, as well as in certain private-sector numbers, and provides an assessment of underlying economic and financial conditions, net of financial-market and political hype." You will nowadays need a subscription to access it. However, various financial newsletters refer to shadowstats.com in order to get a clearer view of the economy than that offered by the U.S. Government. More readily available sources include: self-explanatory: https://intellectualtakeout.org/2018/06/three-common-ways-governments-misuse-statistics-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/ Many shades of wrong: what governments do when they manipulate statistics: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09692290.2020.1769704#d1e174 When Do Governments Manipulate Official Statistics? An Empirical Analysis: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Papers.cfm?abstract_id=4244682 Dealing more with the U.K. economy is the publication 'Fortune & Freedom' by Southbank Investment Research. See here to subscribe: https://www.facebook.com/southbankinvestmentresearch Details about manipulation of French official statistics I had from the 'Lettre d'Information du Petit Economiste' - https://lepetiteconomiste.com/ - and 'La Lettre Economique d'Olivier Delamarche' - https://www.ultrabourse.com/ - [see 'L'Arnaque du PIB'] to both of which I was subscribed until about five years ago. At least the French did not, in those days at least, emulate the U.K. practice of including the earnings of crime and prostitution in their GDP figures.

Is Russia facing an economic crisis? The global economy is falling apart, and no one can tell where the global crisis will hit hardest. It could be Russia. Time will tell. But there have been umpteen stories over the past couple of years of how Russia was about to fall apart, etc., etc. So for now I prefer to wait and see. Exchange rates are relevant when it comes to purchase of foreign produced goods, or to locally produced goods heavily dependent upon foreign inputs. Such as gas or oil. German and other E.U. consumers will be able to tell you something about that. Russia is largely self-sufficient in its most vital needs. And many of its requirements for sophisticated manufactured goods can be met by China. China needs much of what Russia can supply: energy, minerals, and agricultural produce. So they are mutually self-supporting in trade. Unemployment in Russia is extremely low, and demand for labour is such that wages are rising faster than inflation. In fact wage rises are fuelling inflation - the opposite of what is happening in, say, the U.K. There are sectors of the Russian population that suffer from inflation. Such as pensioners. Their pensions are linked to inflation. But this is the overall inflation rate whereas the individual person experiences a higher rise in his cost-of-living than that. [U.K. annual pension increases long ago ceased to be linked to the government's bogus inflation figures, but instead to the lesser figure for the average increase in wages]. Russia distorts its statistics? To my knowledge Britain, France, the U.S. do the same. And I'm sure there are other countries besides. GDP was supposed to, and once did, express a country's industrial production. The U.K. now includes figures (presumably 'guesstimates') for the earnings of crime and prostitution. Maybe these two industries should be developed further? Finally, I would suggest that a country that can afford to fight poverty is not on its beam ends.

World Bank Poverty Outlook for Russia : October 2024: https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099829310162421721/idu139cc068e1392a1497e1ba221287858c23786 Reuters: "Poverty level in Russia dropped to 9.3% in 2023" https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poverty-level-russia-dropped-93-2023-says-statistics-service-2024-03-06/ I am bewildered why fighting poverty [successfully so, it seems] can be regarded as proof of a declining economy. The global economy was already stressed before half-baked politicians - serving themselves and vested interests, and backed by MSM-deluded members of the public - stressed it further. With a "pandemic" and proxy wars. People would do well to study economic data, including those from official, pro-western sources, before jumping to conclusions about Russia's economic demise.

Some ramifications of the US-China trade war: "US price tag for China's gallium export ban: $602 billion and new monopolies for Huawei" https://youtu.be/Qp4DNpJjHSs

Whether or not Trump is "going soft" on China, he would be well advised to do so. It is possible that some have not been following the global economic news. Of how China has begun retaliating against the U.S. by imposing … sanctions. The Chinese are starting to play the win-lose game, in place of their avowed "win-win" strategy. Restricting imports of, for example, U.S. agricultural produce, and banning exports of, for example, rare earths. Time will tell who loses the most.

Is it a deliberate ploy of the Deep State (essentially agents of U.S. oligarchs) to encumber voters with either egotistic-bombasts or script-readers as candidates ? Perhaps Trump envisages a new War Plan Red. In which case Canadians will need a Defence Scheme No.2. It is interesting to remark that U.S. forces have several times attempted to conquer what is now known as Canada. And each time failed. "We were refugees, American loyalists, British soldiers, First Nations, a mixed bag of people who realized they had a common land to defend." Reference to the War of 1812. https://www.history.com/news/how-u-s-forces-failed-to-conquer-canada-200-years-ago

The problem is whether my remittances from the UK to my Thai bank account are assessable. The local tax office seems to think they are not. Unfortunately my reading of things differs; despite the fact that I have no desire to pay tax. And also no desire to be penalised for not paying it. Have certainly brought in more than the 60K baht required to register; failing which one may be subject to a fine. You have prompted me to do a quick check on how much I have remitted to my Thai bank account this year and it looks to be just under 300K. So one needs now to take into account allowances. My expenditure well exceeds 300K baht because of purchases overseas and in Thailand made with foreign credit and debit cards. Notably about 200K for outpatient treatment in a Thai hospital, not covered by my accident-only-inpatient-only health insurance. [At 80 years of age health insurance becomes prohibitively expensive]

It seems that without a TIN you cannot pay Thai income tax. And yet, if you receive in Thailand in one tax year (1st Jan. to 31st Dec.) at least 60,000 baht, you are obliged to register for tax. I.e. to obtain a TIN. Failing which a fine, even if income is below the tax threshold. "Receiving in Thailand" includes transfers to Thailand from abroad. For me, Thai derived income is negligible, being only interest on a bank deposit account (from which I believe tax is deducted at source). But I remit to Thailand, from time to time, several months-worth of my measly UK DWP pension. Plus a bit derived from savings; savings that are held as precious metals and converted into fiat currency as needed. On Wednesday I went to the local tax office to ask for the form to fill in to request a TIN. However the person I dealt with, who appeared to be the manager, felt I was not eligible for a TIN because not having significant income from within Thailand. I pointed out I receive transfers from abroad into my Thai bank account; and showed him my passbook. He studied this and my passport with its 'O' visa, spoke of making photocopies but did not do so, made some telephone calls, studied his computer, and finally it was arranged I should come back another day. Seems no foreigners in these parts are registered to pay tax unless they have a business or are employees. I can see one further hurdle, if all other obstacles are cleared. According to online doc., a copy of one's rent agreement is required. I have none. Despite renting the same house since 1st December 2007. If I ask for a rent agreement, through the intermediary of an employee at the business of the house-owner's son-in-law (since I have not seen the house-owner for several years) there is a high risk of a rent increase.

Received these forms, which were sent to me at an old e-mail address on 23 November, but only recently sighted, then forwarded to my current e-mail address with Posteo because on Gmail they could not be printed correctly. With Posteo I use my old and trusted e-mail client, Pegasus, using true e-mail protocols [SMTP and POP3] and can view in 'Raw View' the full headers, showing the path by which it came. Don't know how to do that with web-mail, assuming it is possible. So origin untraceable. The final (3rd) page of the "FATCA/CRS Individual Self-Certification" requires one to sign as agreeing to "the terms and conditions specified herein, which include permitting the disclosure of information, account witholding and termination of bankinng/business relationship." 🙂 At least they don't ask me to sign my own Death Certificate! None of these forms have as yet been received from my other Thai bank. Did however have to fill in essentially the same U.S. IRS forms for my E.U. on-line stockbrokers a year or two ago. Maybe because I hold a few U.S. shares.

What exactly is an "either/or account"? When I, accompanied by friend, asked to open a joint savings account with the SCB, they asked "Both to sign, or either to sign?" I replied "Either to sign." We both have ATM cards for the account This account is in case of necessary expenditure when I happen to be abroad; or if incapacitated. The friend is a long-standing acquaintance, whom, years ago, I assisted during more than eight years with her studies for an Australian Open University degree.

If you are going to ban massage on the grounds of a few deaths, whose exact cause has not yet been elucidated, then it is more urgent to lock up doctors. Iatrogenic disease is said to be the third leading cause of death. At least in the U.S. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK225187/ Nothing new as far as I am concerned, having read Ivan Illich's 'Medical Nemesis' more than half a century ago. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1122871/ Why do certain sorts of information take so many years to reach a broader audience?

This interview with a former UK diplomat, who seems to be well informed on the background to the situation in the region, throws some light on how the recent blitzkrieg occurred. And likely complications that will be at play. Nothing is as simple as assumed. https://www.youtube.com/live/UX2X9KT9Xmg

Have had Thai massage a number of times over the years, none recently, without incident. Once, maybe 15 years ago, when visiting a hospital about poor circulation in the legs, I asked the doctor if massage might help. His answer "No!" and then "Not Thai massage." If there is pain that could be linked to a displaced bone, from whatever cause, consider seeing a qualified chiropractor. There are few in Thailand but they do exist. Years ago when staying with friends near Chiang Mai, I awoke with an acute pain in the back of the neck. I could not turn my head. Could not rise from the bed; had to roll off it. Had a piercing headache. An English chiropractor at the Rajavej hospital found a small bone out of place, and pushed it back. Total and instant cure !

The urine colour test is undoubtedly a useful indicator. But I think not infallible, for the following reason . I used to drink a lot of liquid in the form of tea and coffee (mainly the former). I was peeing frequently and my urine was a pale yellow, seemingly indicating good hydration. But these beverages are known for their dehydrating effect upon the body and should be accompanied by an equal amount of warm water (as seems to be recognised traditionally in these parts). Recently, at the end of dinner at a friend's house, she offered me a mug of strong green tea. Thereafter I was peeing all evening and up umpteen times throughout the night, divesting myself of far more fluid than I had drunk.

Advise her of known risks: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/breast-implants/risks-and-complications-breast-implants https://www.health.harvard.edu/womens-health/could-your-breast-implants-be-making-you-sick https://www.americanboardcosmeticsurgery.org/cosmetic-medicine/breast-enhancement-surgery/breast-augmentation-complications-risks/

[Hereby is remedied "unsubstantiated allegations with no supporting, credible evidence or link" which resulted in removal of my previous post.] You need to define what you mean by "strongest". I presume that in the present context you are referring to the financially strongest, i.e. the wealthiest. So George Soros would be a prime example. A Nazi collaborator during the 39-45 War, which reinforces your view that lack of ethics can pay off. (True, he was only a teenager assisting his father) "George Soros CLEARLY admits to assisting Nazis to rob Hungarian Jews in WWII (CBS 1998)" He gained much of his wealth through a flawed global financial system (i.e. post-1971), gaining about a billion dollars speculating against the GBP. "How Did George Soros Break the Bank of England?" https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/08/george-soros-bank-of-england.asp '(which cost me about a third of my savings)' The fall of the GBP against the FRF over a period of months was, according to historical records, less than I recalled: from around 11 to a little over 8 French francs. And later threatening starvation in Malaysia and elsewhere. "The Day Malaysia’s Economy Fell Apart! What Happened?" Before finally losing about two billion USD speculating against the yen. This earlier statement of mine was incorrect (unless a subsequent loss is hidden somewhere): "Soros' yen bets net him $1b in three months" https://www.smh.com.au/business/soros-yen-bets-net-him-1b-in-three-months-20130218-2em9d.html The Tobin tax, if introduced, would have put paid to such antics. "Tobin Tax: What it is, How it Works, Examples" https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tobin-tax.asp

I exposed the realpolitik of the situation, which is based upon power and practicalities. And which is contrary to my opinion on how global relations should function. Realpolitik is far divorced from rights and ethics, which tend to be sadly lacking in the real world. (Look at the situation in Burma, as a glaring example)