Author: HP McLovincraft

Seeker of rabbit holes. Pessimist. Libertine. Contrarian. Your huckleberry. Possibly true tales of sanity-blasting horror also known as abject reality. Prepare yourself. Veteran of a thousand psychic wars. I have seen the fnords. Deplatformed on Tumblr and Twitter.

Next Time You’re Called A “Crank” Or “Flat Earther” On Concerns About A ‘Rushed’ Coronavirus Vaccine, Show Them This

We detailed earlier that a number of US universities will enforce mandatory COVID-19 tests for all students wishing to return to campus through the Fall semester — with some lately announcing that this will be at a rate of two nasal swabs per week — which is a policy, no doubt uncomfortable for those having to endure such “routine” swabs, also appearing among companies for on-site personnel.

And in many parts of the country, cities and counties currently have mask laws requiring them in all public spaces. Given that over the past months the race has been on to develop and fast-track a coronavirus vaccine, the logical next step will be that students and employees provide proof they’ve received the vaccine before returning to work or school. Naturally, the idea of fast-tracking this process also amid a deeply politically charged climate has people concerned. And they should be, if Bill Gates’ latest appearance on CBS is any indicator of where things stand.

British veteran journalist Neil Clark had this reaction to the Bill Gates interview, which came days ago: When anyone tries to gaslight you by calling you a ‘crank’ , a ‘tin-foil hat conspiracy theorist’ or ‘Flat Earther’ for having perfectly legitimate & sensible concerns over a rushed through ‘Coronavirus’ vaccine & its side effects, just send them this.

Even the mainstream media correspondent giving the interview appeared momentarily exasperated and incredulous that Bill Gates shrugged off credible reports of side effects as ultimately no big deal. When the anchor pressed him again on the safety of the vaccine, his answer appeared to be simply, trust us. Gates was asked:

Side effects from the Moderna vaccine sound concerning… we looked. After the second dose at least 80% of participants experienced a systemic side effect, ranging from severe chills to fevers. So are these vaccines safe?

“The FDA, not being pressured, will look hard at that,” Gates said, addressing the issue of possible side effects. “The FDA is the gold standard of regulators, and their current guidance on this — if they stick with that — is very very appropriate.”

Gates even goes on to candidly acknowledge the likelihood of side effects from the vaccine, which he admitted would “improve” over time. Does this sound comforting? Add to this that as part of his explanation he argues that for a vaccine to be effective it would have to be administered to the population on a mass scale, and globally:

“If what you’re trying to do is block all the transmission, then you need to get 70-80% coverage on a global basis. So it’s unbelievably big numbers,” he said.

Gates, who has been warning about the threat of a global pandemic since 2015, admitted that “there will be a lot of uncertainty” about the efficacy of any vaccine, but stressed that it’s a solution “that will improve over time.”

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‘Patently Unconstitutional’: Portland Judges Are Barring Arrestees From Attending Public Protests As A Condition of Release

In a move that legal experts say is “patently unconstitutional,” federal authorities in Portland are arresting people for minor offenses and then barring them from attending any future protests as a condition of their release, ProPublica reported Tuesday. According to the report, at least 12 people arrested in connection with the demonstrations were expressly prohibited from being present at any future public demonstrations as they await their days in court.

In one instance, the conditions of release issued by the U.S. District Court in Oregon for a defendant whose offense was “fail[ing] to comply with the lawful direction of federal police officers” stated that “Defendant may not attend any other protests, rallies, assemblies or public gatherings in the state of Oregon.”

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The false hope of Ghislaine Maxwell’s arrest

With the July 2 arrest and indictment of Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime partner of Jeffrey Epstein, the victims of their child sex-trafficking ring are once again being led to believe that the truth about the network of high-profile abusers and protectors will finally be revealed.

One victim, Maria Farmer, first reported Epstein’s crimes to the FBI in the 1990s, but her reports were ignored. Maria is currently battling two forms of cancer. The arrest of Maxwell has given her renewed hope. “When you wait a quarter of a century for something, it’s pretty exciting when it happens,” she told the Daily Beast through happy tears. “I really feel hopeful that . . . maybe they’ll go down the list of coconspirators.” Another victim, Jennifer Araoz, said, “Maxwell was the center of that sex trafficking ring.” Her arrest “means some justice for survivors can exist.” Courtney Wild said that the arrest of Maxwell “gives me more confidence in our system.”

In a previous column, I described how the federal government has covered up for Epstein and Maxwell and their coconspirators. Back in 2005, more than 30 child victims, some as young as 14 when they were recruited to become sex slaves for Epstein and his guests, were tricked into cooperating with the FBI, based on the promise that the U.S. attorney’s office in south Florida intended to prosecute the Epstein-Maxwell child sex ring. Instead, the lead prosecutor on the case, Alexander Acosta, double-crossed the victims and entered into a secret and illegal deal to grant immunity to Epstein and all his “potential coconspirators.” Acosta later explained that he cut the nonprosecution deal with Epstein’s attorneys because he had “been told” to back off, that Epstein was above his pay grade: “I was told Epstein ‘belonged to intelligence’ and to leave it alone.”

The problem for the victims is that a deep dive into the Epstein-Maxwell network would implicate not just powerful men like Bill Clinton, who took at least 26 trips on Epstein’s private jet—nicknamed the Lolita Express—but also untouchable U.S. intelligence officials like Michael Hayden, who was CIA director in 2007 when Acosta was told to “leave [Epstein] alone.”

Thus, the government has gone to great lengths to avoid any detailed investigations into the criminal enterprise. Then in November 2018, a reporter from the Miami Herald embarrassed the government by identifying about 80 victims of the sex ring and by telling the story of how the victims were double-crossed by Acosta’s office in 2007. In response to this series in the Herald, federal agents arrested Epstein last summer and charged him under the same indictment that had been drafted and shelved a decade before.

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