The Man in the Street

I met a man in the street today. Actually, it was the manager of the block of units that I'm staying in and we met on the footpath just outside the entrance to the units. I was going out, he was coming in. Only a couple of minutes earlier I'd been reading Marc Morano's "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Climate Change" and so it was ironic that the manager asked me about how I coped with Monday's weather.

Monday in Brisbane was very, very hot. Normally I would have stayed indoors but on that particular day I needed to accompany my brother to hospital for an appointment with the oncologist who had supervised his course of radiotherapy. It was truly the hottest day I'd ever experienced in Brisbane and I lived in the city for the first twenty four years of my life.

So how hot was it on Monday, December 16th 2019? ABC News reported that:

Brisbane had been expected to hit 39 degrees Celsius, but the CBD hit 41.2 °C at 1:40pm on Monday, equalling the city's hottest December day on record originally set in 1981. 

So 41.2 °C is the hottest temperature Brisbane has ever recorded. Well, Wikipedia states that:

The city's highest recorded temperature was 43.2 °C (109.8 °F) on Australia Day 1940 at the Brisbane Regional Office.

This is an interesting discrepancy. What's going on here? The Wikipedia article quoted from earlier goes on to say that:

The highest temperature at the current station (is) 41.7 °C (107.1 °F) on 22 February 2004.

To make sense of these conflicting records , I was fortunate to come across this interesting site created by Jennifer Marohasy in which she writes:

There is intense interest in climate change as a cause, but perhaps not enough interest in the quality of the data underpinning all the rhetoric. If we really care about this issue of global warming then we will want to know exactly how much temperatures have really warmed over recent decades. So, we will need to know the equivalence of temperatures now measured using electronic probes with temperatures previously measured using mercury thermometers. 

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology measures temperatures from electronic probes that have not been calibrated relative to the mercury thermometers that were once used. Further, the Bureau makes adjustments to temperatures after they have been measured, recorded and archived in the creation of the new official temperature series, known as ACORN-SAT. These homogenised series are then used to calculate national and global averages. 

Mark Huxley Akin (Huck) has suggested that we just get on and start constructing regional climate indices based on real and unadjusted/unhomogenised temperature series. 

Specifically, he has suggested we use “a good sample of well-sited stations with long histories”, using the analogy of the Dow Jones Average. He writes: 

No one ever tries to establish an impossible-to-define ‘average stock price’— including many stocks of doubtful provenance — and nobody cares. These pre-selected indexes of certain representative stocks, that are then followed over a long time-span, tell investors what they really want to know: how the market moves over time, relative to itself. 

Figure 1: Thermohygrograph 

It is the case that for some Australian locations there are long consistent records through much of the twentieth century. For example, temperature data recorded at Brisbane (station number 40214) are currently publicly available from January 1887 to March 1986. This is one of the longest continuous high quality temperature records for anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere with measurements taken using the same mercury thermometer at the same place every day (although the Glaisher stand was replaced with a Stevenson screen in 1896). 

Problems begin, however, around the late 1980s, when there are site moves and equipment changes. In the case of Brisbane, in order to continue any index beyond 1986, it is going to be necessary to join different temperature series and yet there is no data to quantify the equivalence of the measurements from electronic probes, mercury thermometers and also thermohygrographs (see Figure 1) — that were also used at Brisbane.

This is interesting for two reasons. Firstly, the Bureau "makes adjustments to temperatures" so we are not really seeing the raw data. Secondly, temperatures began to be measured differently in the late 1980s. She goes on to report that:

Since 1996 the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has been transitioning away from the use of traditional mercury thermometers to electronic probes in automatic weather stations for the measurement of maximum temperatures. This is a major change in equipment — a major change in how temperatures are measured — yet when this change occurs the Bureau keeps the same station number and just continues to add to the previous record. 

This is in contravention of its own policies that clearly state that a new station number should be assigned, and that there should be at least three years (preferably five) of overlapping/parallel temperature recordings at the same location.

This parallel data exists for a limited number of stations, but the Bureau has so far not made the data accessible. Much of it is currently held by the Australian National Archive as manual recordings into observation books. The numbers need to be digitised so that we can see whether or not the measurements from the electronic probes are comparable to the measurements from the mercury thermometers.  

After much effort, I obtained parallel data for Mildura – as thousands of photographed records. Manual transcribing of some of the data has established that the current electronic probe at Mildura often records 0.4 degrees Celsius hotter — for the same weather. The first electronic probe at Mildura actually recorded cooler. So, the custom-built probes installed sequentially at Mildura have different time constants. It was only possible to establish this after the parallel data was provided to me, and I began an analysis of some of the manually transcribed data. 

We know that since 1996 the temperature record for the Brisbane airport (station number 040842) actually represents measurements from an electronic probe, not a mercury thermometer. We don’t know what the time constant is for this probe. We do know that there is parallel data available from 14 February 2000; that is temperature measurements taken from a mercury thermometer in the same shelter (Stevenson screen). 

We know that there have been four different probes used at the Brisbane airport site, as shown in Table 1. The Bureau has not published the time constants for these probes. Depending on the time-constant, a probe may be much more sensitive to temperature change than a mercury thermometer and thus record warmer temperatures for the same weather.

Again, there is much of interest here. The parallel data has not been digitised and is difficult to access. Such data would show how much the new temperature-measuring method differs from the old. In the case of Mildura's data, the new method is 0.4 °C hotter. Figure 1 shows a graph, taken from the same website, of the variation in Brisbane's mean maximum temperatures from 1887 to 1985:

Figure 1

Reading what she's written, it's apparent that temperature measuring is not as straightforward as we might think. The ways of measuring temperature change and the measurements, certainly nowadays, are homogenised and adjusted anyway. We've seen that the Bureau of Meteorology contravenes its own policies regarding keeping parallel data sets during temperature-measuring changeovers. In short, it's a bit of a mess and probably deliberately so.

Anyway, to get back to the man in the street. His comment to me about the heat was that he'd read of a scientific study that stated that by 2050 there would be no winters in Australia. Presumably, that would mean that the summers would be so hot we would have to abandon the continent or go underground as the inhabitants of Coober Pedy do. Clearly, the incessant media propaganda has worked on him. The day before I'd spoken to a woman who was a firm believer in climate alarmism and felt that Gaia was angry with humanity for our abuse of the planet. That got me thinking about how this Gaia myth came about but that's the subject of another post perhaps.

Vaccine Information Failure

An article titled "'Science isn’t enough': Queensland Health admits vaccine info 'failure' " appeared in the online version of The Brisbane Times dated Sunday, December 15th 2019. The article begins:

Queensland Health admits it has failed to do enough to encourage vaccinations as it calls for social media companies to do more to stop the spread of misinformation. Queensland is experiencing one of its worst years for measles cases in the last two decades, with 71 cases recorded by the first week of December. It's the third-worst year for measles since 1997, when a spike saw 267 people diagnosed with the dangerous virus. There were 72 cases in 2014. But Queensland’s experience pales in comparison to that seen recently in Samoa, where a major outbreak has infected nearly 5000 people and claimed 72 lives, 61 of those children under four years old.

Figure 1

In the current Queensland "epidemic", no one has died or suffered any long term consequences but the example of Samoa is invoked nonetheless to remind the readership of might happen if they become complacent. Thankfully Instagram has come to the rescue of anyone who might inadvertently stumble upon anti-vaccination material (see Figure 1).

As Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital (RBWH) acting director of infectious diseases, Andrew Redmond, says:

... the idea there was a “debate” around vaccinations was entirely false.

As another spokesperson, Robert Hoge, the Executive Director of Queensland Health’s strategic communications branch, said in the article: "If you look at anything from obesity to climate change to vaccination the science isn’t enough. The science has to be accompanied by good and effective communication and storytelling."

Ironically, he's right about the "storytelling". For communication, one could substitute propaganda and it's the propaganda that is being lamented as being ineffective by these health administrators. The culprit of course is social media, lambasted recently by Sasha Baron Cohen in his ADL award acceptance speech. The mindless masses are being swayed by misinformation and disinformation in the debate over vaccinations.

However, as Andrew Redmond said, there is no debate. The science is settled. Why can't people just accept that and live up or line their children up for their vaccinations? Of course, this approach is entirely antithetical to the way science should operate. There should always be debate as well as proper studies regarding vaccine safety.

This is same approach that global warmists or global warming alarmists take against climate skeptics or climate deniers. There is no room for debate. The science is settled. Just accept the reality of anthropogenic global warming and get ready to make the necessary sacrifices. In both cases, science has become politicised and is no longer true science.

The article referred to in this post also carries a photo of a woman praying in front of a portrait of her child who she lost to measles in Samoa, earlier this month. To the Australian readership toward whom the story is directed, the implication is clear: get your child vaccinated or you could be doing the same.

The next stage in the propaganda war against rational debate on the subject of vaccinations or climate change is more and more interception and redirection of suspicious content toward approved sites. Inevitably, users who post this suspicious material will, if repeat offenders, have their accounts shut down and all of their content deleted. Thus chances of users of social media accessing alternative viewpoints regarding these subjects will continue to diminish.

ClimateGate

This photo (Figure 1) tickled my sense of humour when I came across it on this site.

Figure 1

Here is the text that accompanied the photo: 

U.S.—A fun new "Greta on the Shelf" doll will watch you every day and fly back to the UN each night to report your climate sins to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 

The doll is equipped with eye sensors programmed to detect activities that are harmful to the environment. 

"Greta sees you when you're sleeping, she knows when you drive your SUV to the store instead of taking public transportation," the manufacturer said. "She knows if you've been bad or carbon-neutral, so be carbon-neutral for goodness' sake!" 

One couple in Portland proudly displayed their new doll and lectured their children on the true meaning of Christmas: fighting climate change. "We're gonna play a fun game for the holidays this year -- try to be good little carbon-neutral children, or Greta will tell on you!" 

"How dare you!" the doll chanted as the kids of the household left the door open while the heater was on. "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood." The doll then blasted off toward UN headquarters using its jet engines to report on the naughty children, who will receive coal in their stocking. They will be snitched on again, however, if they burn the coal for warmth. 

Greta is programmed to detect activities including these:

• Leaving the light on when you exit a room
• Leaving the fridge open
• Driving an SUV
• Parents participating in illicit activities that may lead to the creation of more humans
• Using a plastic straw instead of sticking your face in a beverage and slurping
• Forgetting your reusable grocery bags at home
• Getting a cut-down Christmas tree
• Getting a carbon-heavy plastic Christmas tree
• Turning on any electric appliances
• Using the heater instead of rubbing two sticks together for warmth

Children have responded enthusiastically to the doll so far, saying things like, "Mommy, I'm scared," and "Make the bad girl go away."

I shared this image and associated text on Facebook so it will be interesting to see what sort of response I receive, if any. Of course, some people take her seriously and may well be offended. She has just been named Time Magazine's Person of the Year (Figure 2).

Figure 2

I was led to the image shown in Figure 1 by going to a website called CLIMATE DEPOT. It is run by or associated with a certain Marc Morano who boasts:

Study in Journal Nature tries to ‘blacklist’ skeptics – Ranks Climate Depot’s Morano as NUMBER ONE ‘climate contrarian’ in the media! (#1 out of 386 skeptics).

I came across him when we he was been interviewed by James Corbett on the latter's YouTube channel:

Marc Morano has written a book called "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Climate Change" and it looks like it should be well worth reading:

Staggering Exaggeration

Figure 1

The BBC it would seem knows no shame in pushing its pro-vaccination campaign. The graphic shown in Figure 1 was prominently displayed in a news article on its home page today, Friday 6th December 2019. A figure of 142,000 dead is bound to catch any reader's attention. Anticipating that there might be some skepticism regarding such an alarming figure, the article includes a How are numbers calculated section?

The technique is worth quoting:

Every single case of measles cannot be counted. In 2018, only 353,236 cases were officially recorded (out of the 7.8 million estimated). So scientists perform complex maths for each country. They take reported cases, the population size, deaths rates, the proportion of children vaccinated and more to eventually produce a global estimate. Dr Minal Patel, who performed the number-crunching, told the BBC: "We've had a general trajectory downwards for deaths, which is great. Everyone involved in vaccination programmes should be very proud. "But we've been stagnating in numbers of deaths for about the past seven years, and what's really concerning is from last year we've gone up, and it looks like we've gone backwards."

This verbiage can be boiled down to a simple "we made the numbers up". The article includes a video titled "Vaccine fears cost me my children" and another titled "It's a numbers game... if some people are not vaccinated, it can cause a big problem for us all". There are the inevitable quotes from experts working for our favourite Big-Pharma fronts like Gavi:

Dr Seth Berkley, chief executive of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, said: "It is a tragedy that the world is seeing a rapid increase in cases and deaths from a disease that is easily preventable with a vaccine.

The message is clear. If you are a parent living in a country with easy access to the Measles vaccine then it is irresponsible to not vaccinate your children against this killer disease. If you don't then the children can't go to school and child-care allowances are withheld until a certificate of compliance is produced. Down the track, your children may be taken from you and placed in foster care. Anything is possible as politicians respond to pressure from the Big Pharma and the Medical Mafia. As another "expert" says in the article:

Prof Larson said: "These numbers are staggering. Measles, the most contagious of all vaccine-preventable diseases, is the tip of the iceberg of other vaccine-preventable disease threats and should be a wake-up call."

Measles is indeed "the tip of the iceberg". It's not hard to imagine that adult booster vaccinations for Measles and other childhood diseases may be soon be mandatory. Flu vaccinations will be likewise mandatory if you want to enter your workplace or board an airplane. Once social credit scores are operative, those who can produce their certificates will earn merit points (the carrot) and, later, those who refuse to be vaccinated will attract demerit points (the stick).

What's astounding about this BBC article is that it's so blatantly propaganda. And it works. A colleague of mine from a school where I used to teach posted a photo of himself and his daughter on Instagram with the comment: "That's it. We're fighting back! K**** and I both got our flu shots!"

THE NEXT DAY

Samoa was mentioned in the earlier story and it's in the news again today. The arrest of a so-called anti-vaxxer represents an escalation in the measures that governments are willing to go to in order to vaccinate citizens:

Samoa arrests vaccination critic amid deadly measles crisis 

Edwin Tamasese was charged with incitement against a government order after he was detained on Thursday. The outbreak - which has killed at least 63 people, mostly young children, since October - is in part blamed on people spreading false information, claiming vaccinations are dangerous. Samoa declared a state of emergency, and made vaccinations compulsory. 

Mr Tamasese had spoken out against vaccines on Facebook, instead promoting using ineffective remedies such as papaya leaf extract to treat the deadly illness. Before his arrest, he had described the government's mass vaccination programme as "the greatest crime against our people", and falsely claimed vitamin C could cure the infected children.

As the Unicef representative to the Pacific Dr Sheldon Yett, told the BBC earlier this month: "people who are spreading lies and misinformation about vaccinations are killing children". This is likely to be the way forward, simply label anyway to questions a government's vaccination policies as a child killers and put them in jail.

So what has gone wrong in Samoa? This recent Forbes article sheds some light on the matter:

What’s happening on the island of Samoa is not fictional, though. It’s a real declared national crisis. Why is it happening? Could it be related to the fact that measles vaccination rates have been dropping precipitously in Samoa? According to World Health Organization (WHO) surveillance data, the percentage of infants in Samoa who received at least one dose of the measles vaccine fell from 90% in 2013 to just 31% in 2018. 

As Helen Petousis-Harris, PhD, a vaccinologist and senior lecturer at the University of Auckland, explained, the low vaccination rates have probably been due to mistrust in the Samoan heath system and vaccines, further fueled by anti-vaccination messages. For example, anti-vaccination messages have been claiming that the measles vaccine killed two infants last year in Samoa when the culprit was not the measles vaccine itself but Attracurium, a muscle relaxant that nurses accidentally added to the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, according to Barbara Dreaver reporting for One News Pacific. Hmm, what could possibly be causing the measles outbreak?

Of course, other things have gone wrong in Samoa. This report about countries with high obesity rates among its citizens includes the following about Samoa:

43.4 percent of Samoans were found to be obese in a CNN survey, while 9 out of 10 adults are deemed to be overweight. Poor diet and reduced levels of physical activity have become major public health concerns in Samoa, where residents have a genetic predisposition to developing type 2 diabetes. Stroke and heart disease is also increasing across the country, an epidemic which has been linked to an increase in cheap, nutritionally lacking Western food imports. The Guardian reports Samoans view locally sourced, fresh ingredients as somehow socially inferior, leading to a preference for calorific, sugary drinks and tinned, processed goods. 

Whatever is going on, it can't be denied that Samoa has turned into a battle of wills against those who are pro and anti vaccinations. The former have all the usual blunt instruments to employ in the battle: supportive media, health professionals, compliant politicians, the legal system, journalists. Let's quote from the Forbes article again that was written by a certain Bruce Y. Lee. Clearly the "Y" was inserted to differentiate himself from that other Bruce Lee. He describes himself as "a writer, journalist, professor, systems modeler, computational and digital health expert, avocado-eater, and entrepreneur, not always in that order". The following quote shows Bruce's deep grasp of the issues:

Numerous scientific studies have shown over and over and over again that measles vaccination is by far the most effective way of protecting against the measles. 

As the 19th century showed, measles will rip through communities and kill people if their immune systems have been weakened by poor diet and they live in unhealthy, overcrowded living conditions. Samoa is being held up as an example of what happens when you don't vaccinate but there's more going on here. However, there'll be no public debate about it and instead extreme measures will be taken to stifle any form of debate.

Scoot and Borat

Reported in the Brisbane Times of November 25th 2019:

On Thursday night, Prime Minister Scott Morrison accepted the Jerusalem Prize from the Zionist Federation of Australia, the Zionist Council of NSW and the World Zionist Organisation - an honour previously bestowed upon Bob Hawke, John Howard and Julia Gillard.

Scoot Snares Shofar

Julia's nemesis, Kevin Rudd, ruined his chances of the award as the following story from October 18th clearly indicates:

Israel forged Australian passports before, Kevin Rudd reveals in new bookLatika Bourke
October 19, 2018 

When Mossad agents used forged Australian passports to travel to Dubai to assassinate a Hamas official in 2010 it was not the first time the Israelis had been caught using fake Australian documents. 

It was in the fact the second time in less than a decade and in breach of a signed promise Israel made to Australia not to do it again after being caught forging Australian passports seven years earlier. 

The revelation is contained in Kevin Rudd's new book -The PM Years - his biographical account of his time as prime minister, the Labor leadership coup in 2010 and his return to the job. 

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd claims Mossad had been "found out" forging Australian passports before, in 2003.  

In May 2010, the Rudd government expelled from Australia an Israeli diplomat, widely believed to be a Mossad agent, after four of the suspects implicated in the assassination of Hamas arms dealer Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a Dubai hotel room earlier that year were found to have travelled on forged Australian passports in the names of dual Australian-Israeli citizens. 

Ireland and Britain also kicked Israeli diplomats out of their countries after their passports were also forged and used by agents involved in the same killing.

Mr Rudd claims members of the Australian Jewish lobby, which condemned the decision as an "over-reaction", tried to "menace" him for his strong response and doubted him when he told them it was the second time Mossad had abused Australian passports, potentially putting the safety of ordinary travelling Australians in the Middle East at risk. 

"She grunted her assent": Mr Rudd says Julia Gillard, then his deputy, begrudgingly supported the government's action against the forgery. 

Mr Rudd said Mossad had been "found out" forging Australian passports before in 2003 when the Howard government was in power. Dennis Richardson, who was the head of ASIO at the time, is said to have "hauled them over the coals" and forced the Israelis to promise not to do it again - a vow Mr Rudd doubts they ever intended to keep. 

"The Israelis had been forced to sign an agreement with us that if we were to continue intelligence cooperation with them in the future, they would never do this again," he said. 

"Obviously the Israelis had not taken us seriously, because they did it again – this time in a botched intelligence operation which culminated in the assassination of a Hamas leader visiting Dubai. 

"Mossad had left their paw prints all over the operation." 

Australia's response was discussed by the National Security Committee, and Mr Richardson, who was by then the secretary of the department of foreign affairs, unequivocally advised the government to "act firmly and decisively" or risk being seen as a "soft touch" by the Israelis. 

Mr Rudd said Dennis Richardson, who was in 2010 secretary of the department of foreign affairs, unequivocally advised his government to "act firmly and decisively" on the fake passports. 

Mr Rudd recalls the room nodding in agreement with Mr Richardson's advice except Julia Gillard. "I asked her explicitly whether she supported the recommendation. She grunted her assent," Mr Rudd recounted. 

"I knew for a fact that Julia had been cultivating the Israeli lobby in Australia," he said. 

Mr Rudd says a member of the lobby, Mark Leibler "went off " his head at the decision and excused it as the work of those involved in the ugly world of intelligence. 

The former Labor leader, a strong supporter of Israel although recent critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said he invited Jewish leaders to the Lodge for dinner to discuss the government's response out of respect of Labor Jewish Melbourne MPs Michael Danby and Mark Dreyfus who had lobbied him over the matter. 

"I sat there politely as Mark Leibler berated me for having committed such a hostile act," he said. 

Mr Rudd said when he informed Mr Leibler that it was the second Mossad offence after getting off with a "gentle rap over the knuckles" and promising never to do it again, Mr Leibler responded: "I don't believe you." 

Mr Rudd said at this point he offered to provide Mr Leibler with an authorised briefing with Mr Richardson. But Mr Leibler turned angry and made what he perceived as a menacing threat to his leadership. 

"He said 'Julia is looking very good in the public eye these days, Prime Minister. She’s performing very strongly. She’s a great friend of Israel. But you shouldn’t be anxious about her, should you, Prime Minister?’" 

That dinner was held on June 3. Three weeks later, Ms Gillard toppled Mr Rudd as prime minister. 

Mr Leibler emphatically rejected Mr Rudd's claims, telling Fairfax Media the former prime minister was peddling "far-fetched conspiracy theories" and that his account was "completely false, virtually from top to bottom". 

The prominent Melbourne lawyer rejected all quotes attributed to him about the meeting and the implication "that I or some mythical pro-Israel conspiracy somehow had a role in Julia Gillard's success in overthrowing Mr Rudd" in the Labor leadership coup. 

"Nothing even approximating the threat quoted in the article was said by me or anyone else," he said, adding the then-prime minister had merely been sensitive and defensive when Mr Leibler raised Ms Gillard's record on Israel. 

Mr Leibler said he assured Mr Rudd he shared the government's concerns about Mossad's misuse of passports and would be raising the issue with the Israel government directly. 

"I am shocked and disappointed that completely false accounts of the meeting are now being used to prop up far-fetched conspiracy theories by a former prime minister," he said. 

The story is worth reproducing in full and, while we should always doubt anything that politicians write, this one has the ring of truth about it. Furthermore israel today reports:

Israel Can Always Rely on Australia 

Australian leader says his government “doesn’t buy” allegations of wrongdoing by the Jewish state

Prime Minister Scott Morrison received the Jerusalem Prize from the World Zionist Organization for supporting the Jewish community in Australia and the State of Israel. “Israel can always rely on Australia,” he said. 

“I am proud that Australia has given refuge to Holocaust survivors more than any other country,” the prime minister said at the award ceremony in Sydney. “Israel can always rely on Australia. Australia and Israel’s friendship has never even been bumpy. We have always recognized the right of the State of Israel to exist, and will continue to support this for as long as we have breath,” he declared. 

Prime Minister Morrison received the award with the participation of Israel’s Ambassador to Australia Mark Sofer and other leaders of the Australian Jewish community. The award is a shofar overlaid with a silver olive branch and the gold-plated emblem of First Zionist Congress. The Jerusalem Prize is awarded annually to “anyone who is consistently devoted to the support of the Jewish community and strengthens and maintains the connection with Israel and Jerusalem.” 

Morrison added: “It is incomprehensible that the UN, an organization founded on the idea of protecting the world from the kind of atrocities committed in World War II, has allowed antisemitism to seep into the discourse under the guise of human rights concern. I don’t buy it, my government doesn’t buy it,” the prime minister said at the ceremony.  “We recognize the true nature of Israel and her friendship and stand by her. Under this government, we have established a Commerce and Defense Bureau in Jerusalem to tighten our ties in these fields,” he said. 

Morrison has served as prime minister since August 2018, and is known to be an enthusiastic supporter of Israel in the international arena and as a true friend of the Jewish community. Joshua Braverman, head of the Diaspora Department, said during the ceremony: “Unlike other countries, Australia has realized that anti-Zionism is a coverup of the modern antisemitism that is growing around the world. Australia stood by Israel every time someone tried to de-legitimize or demonize Zionism, and when attempts were made to underestimate the importance of or do harm to the Jewish community in Australia. Australia’s actions in favor of Israel and the Jewish community have been part of our country’s leadership over the years. But, Mr. Prime Minister, you are worthy of a special recognition,” he pointed out as he presented the award to Prime Minister Morrison.

Clearly no threats to Scoot's leadership of the nation are imminent. The original Brisbane Times story was promoted as an exclusive and had the title: 

'Very disturbing': People dressed in Nazi uniforms confront shoppers at supermarket.  

Shoppers at a Victorian supermarket were stunned when four people dressed in Nazi uniforms entered the store – an incident that highlights the increasing use of Nazi symbols in Australia, according to Jewish community leaders. 

Craig MacKenzie said he saw two men and two women, who all looked about 20 years old, enter a Coles outlet in Woodend, an hour north of Melbourne, shortly after midday on Saturday, October 26. A photograph obtained by The Sunday Age and The Sun-Herald shows the group wearing uniforms that included swastika armbands and the imperial eagle. 

A photo from inside the Coles supermarket at Woodend shows four people entering the store in Nazi regalia. 

Mr MacKenzie said he believed the group was heading to a party and the people involved did not necessarily identify as right-wing extremists or white supremacists.

Well, it turns out that the "Nazis" did not confront anybody but someone did confront them as was told to "fuck off". It's very much a non-story but it was an excellent opportunity to highlight "the increasing use of Nazi symbols in Australia". Meanwhile, the leading story of the day on the Brisbane Times website, screams: China tried to plants its candidate in federal Parliament, authorities believe. Of course, the fact that the Israelis have their own candidate already installed as Prime Minister is of no concern.

To quote again from the Brisbane Times article:

The incident can be revealed ahead of a report due to be released on Monday detailing anti-Semitic incidents in Australia over the past 12 months, compiled by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

While on the topic of awards, Sasha Cowen received an award from ADL. In a long acceptance speech, he states:

That’s why I appreciate the opportunity to be here with you. Today around the world, demagogues appeal to our worst instincts. Conspiracy theories once confined to the fringe are going mainstream. It’s as if the Age of Reason – the era of evidential argument – is ending, and now knowledge is delegitimized and scientific consensus is dismissed. Democracy, which depends on shared truths, is in retreat, and autocracy, which depends on shared lies, is on the march. Hate crimes are surging, as are murderous attacks on religious and ethnic minorities.
What do all these dangerous trends have in common? I’m just a comedian and an actor, not a scholar. But one thing is pretty clear to me. All this hate and violence is being facilitated by a handful of internet companies that amount to the greatest propaganda machine in history.

Think about it. Facebook, YouTube and Google, Twitter and others – they reach billions of people. The algorithms these platforms depend on deliberately amplify the type of content that keeps users engaged – stories that appeal to our baser instincts and that trigger outrage and fear. It’s why YouTube recommended videos by the conspiracist Alex Jones billions of times. It’s why fake news outperforms real news, because studies show that lies spread faster than truth. And it’s no surprise that the greatest propaganda machine in history has spread the oldest conspiracy theory in history – the lie that Jews are somehow dangerous. As one headline put it, “Just Think What Goebbels Could Have Done with Facebook.” 

On the internet, everything can appear equally legitimate. Breitbart resembles the BBC. The fictitious Protocols of the Elders of Zion look as valid as an ADL report. And the rantings of a lunatic seem as credible as the findings of a Nobel prize winner. We have lost, it seems, a shared sense of the basic facts upon which democracy depends.

I think this guy really believes in what he is saying and basically he's saying that all content on social media should be ADL approved. He clearly doesn't see the irony when he also says in his speech that "as an undergraduate, I traveled around America and wrote my thesis about the civil rights movement, with the help of the archives of the ADL". The blacks of America of course woke up to the fact that the civil-rights movement was being run by Jews out of New York but apparently Sasha never did. Clearly, as he says, "I’m just a comedian and an actor, not a scholar".

In Sasha's mind, democracy and censorship are a fertile partnership. He seems to take special aim at his fellow Jew, Mark Zuckerberg, and lambasts him for not being more aggressive in removing supposedly offensive content. As he says, "it’s time for regulation and legislation to curb the greed of these hi-tech robber barons". The "Silicon Six" is the term he uses to describe these robber barons:

The Silicon Six – all billionaires, all Americans – who care more about boosting their share price than about protecting democracy. This is ideological imperialism – six unelected individuals in Silicon Valley imposing their vision on the rest of the world, unaccountable to any government and acting like they’re above the reach of law. It’s like we’re living in the Roman Empire, and Mark Zuckerberg is Caesar. At least that would explain his haircut.

Of course, this is all ADL theatre. The content of his speech was almost certainly a collaborative effort or maybe it was written by a speechwriter that the ADL hired. The companies that the Silicon Six founded exist only thanks to Jewish money and the willingness of their founders to co-operate unreservedly with the United States and Israeli governments. Of the six "robber barons", I think five are Jewish and they are:

Zuckerberg at Facebook, Sundar Pichai at Google, at its parent company Alphabet, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Brin’s ex-sister-in-law, Susan Wojcicki at YouTube and Jack Dorsey at Twitter.

Of course, Cowen makes token references to Moslems and Hispanics but everybody knows what the ADL is all about, even PewDiePie (see this link).

Measles in the Democratic Republic of Congo

"DR Congo measles: Nearly 5,000 dead in major outbreak", the headline screamed from the BBC website today. "Experts warn there are not enough available vaccines in the country" was the caption under a generic photo of a syringe extracting vaccine from a vial. It's interesting to follow the statistics. On August 17th 2019, www.france24.com reported that "Measles has killed 2758 people in the DR Congo since January". On September 19th, Newsweek reported a figure of 2,074 dead. Clearly, no one has any clear idea as to what the exact figure is so why not round up to the nearest 5,000?

As the BBC article informs us: The Congolese government and the WHO launched an emergency vaccination programme in September that aimed to inoculate more than 800,000 children. Good old WHO, selflessly helping out the African masses and helping to divert attention and government funds away from the real problems of poor sanitation, overcrowding, deficient diet, crumbling infrastructure etc. There's no doubt that measles is killing people, especially children, just as it did in 19th century Britain. The problems back then were exactly the same as in the DR Congo now and, once they were addressed, the death rate from measles plummeted towards zero.

I found another article, on the WHO website, from April of 2011 with the title: DR Congo introduces new vaccine against one of its leading causes of child death. The article continues:

Kinshasa, 4 April 2011 -- In an effort to drastically improve the chances of children reaching their fifth birthday, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) today stepped up its immunisation programme by including vaccines to combat pneumonia. Initially the expanded programme will be in two of the 11 provinces. Pneumonia is one of the biggest killers of children worldwide and is responsible for a quarter of all child deaths under five in DRC. 

DRC First Lady Olive Lembe Kabila and Minister of Health Victor Makwenge Kaput joined parents and health workers in Kinshasa to witness the first child being immunised as part of the official introduction of pneumococcal vaccine into the national routine immunisation programme. 

On the same day in Paris, GAVI founding partner Bill Gates launched a European-wide awareness campaign to highlight the extraordinary life-saving opportunity that vaccines represent for donor countries.

Good old bastard Bill, selflessly promoting "the extraordinary life-saving opportunity that vaccines represent for donor countries" while being coy about the bonanza reaped by pharmaceutical countries. In healthy children, pneumonia is not a killer and it is not even recommended a childhood vaccine in Western countries to my knowledge. The children in the DR Congo are not healthy and vaccinations will compromise their already weakened immune systems even more. There will be no statistics to show how many children were adversely affected by vaccinations because no statistics are being gathered.

GAVI of course is just one of many nefarious fronts for Big Pharma, pretending to work for the welfare of the world's poorest inhabitants. Here is part of its stated mission:

Gavi is an international organisation that was created in 2000 to improve access to new and underused vaccines for children living in the world’s poorest countries. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Gavi is the Vaccine Alliance, which brings together public and private sectors with the shared goal of creating equal access to vaccines for children, wherever they live.

For "new" read "experimental" and for "underused" read "discontinued in the West". Of course, "DRC First Lady Olive Lembe Kabila and Minister of Health Victor Makwenge Kaput" back in 2011 would have been only too happy to oversee the first pneumococcal vaccination in the country. The occasion makes for a good news story. As children line up to get their shots, it very much looks the Government is doing something positive to fight the frightful death rate amongst young children in the country. 

On the other hand, improving access to clean water, improving sanitation, relieving overcrowding and so on are less newsworthy and nobody benefits but the people. In fact, it diverts much needed money away from the vaccination programs that are touted as the best way to fight infant mortality. 

Anyway, this is the BBC and clearly the main purpose of the article is to remind the BBC readership yet again that measles is a killer and vaccination is the only sure way to combat it. Just to drive home the point, there is a link to video at the end of the article titled "My daughter's life was destroyed by measles". 

This is simply:

Aspirin and the Spanish Flu

" ... the fact that he was spending day after day in bed 

being dosed with aspirin did nothing to improve his strength."

I came across this when reading Humphrey Carpenter's biography of J.R.R. Tolkien and was reminded of a connection that I'd read about concerning aspirin and the Spanish Flu that broke out at the end of the First World War. The quote above relates to Tolkien's recuperation in hospital from so-called trench fever contracted during his stint in the trenches at the Somme.

You'd be hard pressed to find too many people who could make a connection between aspirin and the Spanish Flu and that's why it stuck in my head. I came across the idea in a book by John Hamer titled OUR DISTORTED REALITY.

Here is part of what he had to say about the role of aspirin:

The 20 to 50 million deaths during 1918 have long been attributed to a virulent new virus but the NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) has now clearly stated that common upper respiratory bacteria was responsible, not a new virus.  There was no new deadly virus but there was something new in 1918 and that was toxic aspirin, being used in totally inappropriate, dangerous dosages. 

“... just before the 1918 death spike, aspirin was recommended in regimens now known to be potentially toxic and to cause pulmonary oedema and may therefore have contributed to overall pandemic mortality and several of its mysteries. Young adult mortality may be explained by willingness to use the new, recommended therapy and the presence of youth in regimented treatment settings (military)” stated Dr. Karen Starko. 

Use of Bayer aspirin and other generic aspirin suppressed immunity, allowing the bacteria to develop into a massive bacterial infections and pneumonias.  In addition to the deaths by pneumonia, the use of Bayer aspirin (and generic versions) at toxic doses can explain the lingering mysteries of extremely rapid deterioration from health to death as well as the death of young, apparently otherwise healthy people.  Bayer's heavy advertising and government and medical recommendations fuelled use of both Bayer aspirin and generic versions. 

Based on the primary role that aspirin played in the millions of 1918 deaths versus the survival of those who avoided it in favour of natural treatments, it would suggest that 1918 was not a plague caused by a virus, but a pharmaceutical industry issue.  And given the scale of the deaths, it was without question, the greatest medical catastrophe in human history, exceeding even the ‘Great Plague’ of the Dark and Middle Ages.

Here is a New York Times article that discusses Dr. Karen Starko's findings:

A nurse took a patient's pulse in the influenza ward at Walter Reed Hospital in 1918. CreditCorbis

In 1918 Pandemic, Another Possible Killer: Aspirin

By NICHOLAS BAKALAR OCT. 12, 2009

The 1918 flu epidemic was probably the deadliest plague in human history, killing more than 50 million people worldwide. Now it appears that a small number of the deaths may have been caused not by the virus, but by a drug used to treat it: aspirin. 

Dr. Karen M. Starko, author of one of the earliest papers connecting aspirin use with Reye’s syndrome, has published an article suggesting that overdoses of the relatively new “wonder drug” could have been deadly. 

What raised Dr. Starko’s suspicions is that high doses of aspirin, amounts considered unsafe today, were commonly used to treat the illness, and the symptoms of aspirin overdose may have been difficult to distinguish from those of the flu, especially among those who died soon after they became ill. 

Some doubts were raised even at the time. At least one contemporary pathologist working for the Public Health Service thought that the amount of lung damage seen during autopsies in early deaths was too little to attribute to viral pneumonia, and that the large amounts of bloody, watery liquid in the lungs must have had some other cause. 

Dr. Starko acknowledged that she did not have autopsy reports or other documents that could prove that aspirin was the problem. “There was a lot of chaos in these places,” she said, “and I’m not sure if there are good records anywhere.” 

But of the many factors that might have influenced the outcome in any particular case, Dr. Starko wrote, aspirin overdose stands out for several reasons, including a confluence of historical events. 

In February 1917, Bayer lost its American patent on aspirin, opening a lucrative drug market to many manufacturers. Bayer fought back with copious advertising, celebrating the brand’s purity just as the epidemic was reaching its peak. 

Aspirin packages were produced containing no warnings about toxicity and few instructions about use. In the fall of 1918, facing a widespread deadly disease with no known cure, the surgeon general and the United States Navy recommended aspirin as a symptomatic treatment, and the military bought large quantities of the drug. 

The Journal of the American Medical Association suggested a dose of 1,000 milligrams every three hours, the equivalent of almost 25 standard 325-milligram aspirin tablets in 24 hours. This is about twice the daily dosage generally considered safe today. 

Dr. Starko’s paper, published in the Nov. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, has stirred some interest, if not enthusiastic endorsement, among other experts.

“I think the paper is creative and asking good questions,” said John M. Barry, author of a book on the 1918 flu titled “The Great Influenza.” “But we don’t know how many people actually took the doses of aspirin discussed in the article.” 

The pharmacology of aspirin is complex and was not fully understood until the 1960s, but dosage is crucial. Doubling the dose given at six-hour intervals can cause a 400 percent increase in the amount of the medicine that remains in the body. Even quite low daily doses — six to nine standard aspirin pills a day for several days — can lead to dangerously high blood levels of the drug in some people. 

Peter A. Chyka, a professor of pharmacy at the University of Tennessee, said he found Dr. Starko’s theory “intriguing.” Little was known about safe dosages at the time, he said, and doctors often simply raised the amount until they saw signs of toxicity. 

“In the context of what we know today about aspirin and aspirin-like products, Starko has made an interesting effort to put this together,” Dr. Chyka said. “There are things other than flu that can complicate a disease like this.” 

Although he doubted that more than a small number of deaths could be attributed to aspirin overdose, Dr. David M. Morens, an epidemiologist with the National Institutes of Health, said the paper was valuable in that “it makes an attempt to look at environmental or host factors that may be involved.” He said, “We haven’t been able to explain all the deaths in young adults with the virus itself.” 

Dr. Starko was hesitant to estimate how many deaths aspirin overdose could have caused, but suggested that military archives might be one place to look. “I’m hoping others will follow up,” she said, “by examining available treatment records.” 

Of course, it's emphasised that only a small number of deaths could have been caused by aspirin overdose but, as is admitted, nobody really knows how many. Once the possibility of aspirin being a factor in the death toll is admitted, the supposition that its effect was minimal is unscientific. One can equally assert that it had a major effect. Only more research can resolve the issue. 

Of course, this news has done little to affect the official narrative that a deadly influenza virus came out of nowhere and killed millions of people, many of them in their prime. The pharmaceutical industry thrives on the fear that another such virus may emerge at any time and sweep most of humanity away. Therefore, don't forget your annual flu shot!

Getting back to Tolkien, he did have a couple of further hospitalisations and never returned to the trenches. As his long suffering wife Edith sarcastically wrote in a letter to him:

‘I should think you ought never to feel tired again,’ Edith wrote, ‘for the amount of Bed you have had since you came back from France nearly two years ago is enormous.’

Whether he was taking aspirin during his time between hospital interludes is unknown but it is probable that he was because it was widely available. What Hamer has done in respect to the Spanish Flu is to introduce an element of doubt into the official narrative. He hasn't done this by making any wild claims but instead has used the findings of medical professionals.

ANIARA

It was only when watching 2017's " Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" that I realised how anti-Catholic Hollywood had become. The Jewish-controlled media is saturated with concerns about anti-Semitism but there is nary a mention made of instances of anti-Catholicism. In the movie just mentioned, a Catholic priest comes to visit the character played by Frances McDormand and she launches into a foul-mouthed tirade. It is described in Catholic News Service as follows:

Earlier in the proceedings, a priest visits Mildred (a recently lapsed Catholic) to remonstrate with her about the strife her billboards are causing. In response, she launches into a tirade in which she compares Catholic clergymen to the members of violent street gangs and applies the principle of collective guilt to claim that even good priests are complicit in their evil peers' crimes against children. 

This cruel and unreasonable denunciation will rightly outrage the sensibilities of Catholic moviegoers. Add to it the picture's ill-advised treatment of suicide and a climactic sequence that toys with justifying murderous revenge -- though the outcome is left unclear -- and the verdict on this aesthetically accomplished piece of cinema must be that it is spiritually unfit for all. 

The film contains anti-Catholicism, a skewed view of suicide, an ambivalent treatment of vigilantism, some violence with brief gore, numerous profanities and at least one milder oath as well as pervasive rough and frequent crude language. The Catholic News Service classification is O, morally offensive. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R, restricted with under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Mildred's outburst is clearly inserted for shock value as it does not add to the storyline. The relationship between Hollywood and the Catholic Church goes back a long way, as I discovered when reading E. Michael Jones' book "The Jewish Revolutionary Influence and its Impact on World History". To quote from page 776 of that book:

The outcry against Hollywood's subversion of morals was so great that federal, state and local legislation was proposed as an antidote. To head off legislation, Hollywood's Jews in 1934 entered into a voluntary agreement, the Production Code, with the Legion of Decency, a Catholic operation. The Catholics had forced the issue by organising boycotts when the film industry was reeling. 

Henry Ford admired Catholic resistance to Jewish Hollywood, even before imposition of the Code. Unlike Protestant clergymen who were regularly ridiculed in Hollywood films, "The Catholic clergy very soon made themselves felt in opposition to this abuse of their priestly dignity, and as a result of their vigorous resentment the Jew climbed down. You now never see a priest made light of on the screen. But the Protestant clergyman is still the elongated, snivelling, bilious hypocrite of anti-Christian caricatures."

How things have changed. The Production Code terminated in 1965. Joe Breen, who oversaw the Production Code for 20 years had this to say about the Hollywood elite (again I'm quoting from page 776 of the book):

They are simply a rotten bunch of vile people with no respect for anything beyond the making of money.... Here [in Hollywood] we have Paganism rampant and in its most virulent form. Drunkenness and debauchery are commonplace. Sexual perversion is rampant,'" any number of our directors and stars are perverts.... These Jews seem to think of nothing but moneymaking and sexual indulgence. The vilest kind of sin is a common indulgence hereabouts and the men and women who engage in this sort of business are the men and women who decide what the film fare of the nation is to be. They and they alone make the decision. Ninety-five percent of these folks are Jews of an Eastern European lineage. They are, probably, the scum of the earth.

Strong words and probably more true today than it was then but, oddly enough considering today's sensitivities, the Hollywood barons of the time didn't regard Joe Breen as an anti-Semite:

Joe Breen, who had railed against the immorality of the Hollywood Jews, had learned from them, and they from him. They would not have asked him to run RKO Pictures if he had been truly anti-Semitic. They would not have flown him here and there. They would not have invited him into their homes. And they certainly would not have given him an Academy Award. He had convictions. He was a fighter, but he didn't hate.

This of course is the point. One can criticise Jewish control of Hollywood or the media or American foreign policy without hating Jews. Of course, organisations like the Anti Defamation League or ADL view any explicit mention of Jewish control or any criticism of Jews or Israel as anti-Semiticism. Imagine the outcry if Mildred launched into a similar tirade against Rabbinical Judaism. Frances McDormand, who comes from a Protestant background, is married to Joel Coen (one half of the famous Coen brothers). 

Lately I've grown increasingly disillusioned with Hollywood movies, Netflix series and the like and so last night I chose to watch a Swedish science fiction movie, Aniara. However, it was more of the same Hollywood crap. To quote from a Rotten Tomatoes review:

ANIARA is the story of one of the many spaceships used for transporting Earth's fleeing population to their new home-planet Mars. But just as the ship leaves the destroyed Earth, she collides with space junk and is thrown off her course. The passengers slowly realize that they'll never be able to return. The protagonist, MR, runs a room where a sentient computer allows humans to experience near-spiritual memories of the Earth. As the ship drifts further into the endless void more and more passengers are in need of MRs services. Pressure builds on MR as she is the only one who can keep the growing insanity and lethal depression at bay. In Aniara's inexorable journey towards destruction there is a warning that cannot be emphasised enough. There's only one Earth. It's time to take responsibility for our actions.

In short, more propaganda to support the Global Warming Alarmists who believe that humanity is headed for disaster because of uncontrolled carbon dioxide emissions. The protagonist also gets involved in a lesbian relationship and her lover becomes pregnant after a group sex orgy. Together they raise the resulting infant although it doesn't end well. Again more propaganda, this time in support of the LBGT agenda that disparages the cliché of a mother and a father as being so yesterday and proposes that mother and mother or father and father are equally viable options. It seems that Hollywood has infected the entire world.

The Star Kicker Logo

I was watching a YouTube video of Dire Straits performing "Sultans of Swing" in 1978 on a BBC show called "The Old Grey Whistle Test". According to Wikipedia:

The Old Grey Whistle Test (usually abbreviated to Whistle Test or OGWT) was a British television music show. It was commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC2 from 1971 to 1988. It took over the BBC2 late night slot from Disco 2, which ran between September 1970 and July 1971, while continuing to feature non-chart music. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers. The original producer, involved in an executive capacity throughout the show's entire history, was Michael Appleton. According to presenter Bob Harris, the programme derived its name from a Tin Pan Alley phrase from years before. When they got the first pressing of a record they would play it to people they called the old greys – doormen in grey suits. Any song they could remember and whistle, having heard it just once or twice, had passed the old grey whistle test.

As the group was performing, I noticed an illuminated picture in the background that I've since discovered is the so-called Star kicker Logo. Again to quote from Wikipedia:

The original opening credits were played over a naked woman, painted in green, dancing to Santana's Jingo. When Richard Williams was replaced by 'Whispering' Bob Harris, the series' opening titles theme was changed to the now more famous animation of a male figure made up of stars (known as the 'Star Kicker') dancing. The programme's title music, with its harmonica theme, was a track called "Stone Fox Chase" by a Nashville band, Area Code 615. 

Figure 1 shows a T-shirt with the logo:

Figure 1

To me it looks like someone kicking a cross rather than a star, making it distinctly anti-Christian in character. However, searches thus far haven't revealed anybody making that accusation. There is this BBC article from the 5th of September 2010 titled "Cardinal: BBC biased against Christianity" and to quote:

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland has accused the BBC of "institutional bias" against Christianity. Cardinal Keith O'Brien said that mainstream Christian views had been marginalised by the corporation. He also said a forthcoming BBC documentary about the Pope's visit, would be a "hatchet job". A spokeswoman for the BBC said the corporation refuted the allegations "absolutely". In an interview with the Sunday Times, Cardinal O'Brien said: "(Our) detailed research into BBC news coverage of Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular, together with a systematic analysis of output by the Catholic Church, has revealed a consistent anti-Christian institutional bias. "This week the BBC's director-general admitted that the corporation had displayed massive bias in its political coverage throughout the 1980s, acknowledging the existence of an institutional political bias." The cardinal said that senior news managers had admitted to the Catholic Church that a "radically secular mindset and socially liberal mindset" pervaded newsrooms. He added: "This is utterly at odds with wider public attitudes and sadly taints BBC news and current affairs coverage of religious issues, particularly matters of Christian belief." The cardinal also voiced concern that a forthcoming BBC documentary titled Benedict - Trials of a Pope will be a "hatchet job" on the Vatican. It covers Catholic abuse scandals and will be shown on 15 September, the eve of Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Scotland. In response, a spokeswoman for the BBC said: "The BBC's news and current affairs coverage of any subject is approached in an objective and impartial way reflecting the different sides of the debate. "BBC news and current affairs has a dedicated religion correspondent, and works closely with BBC Religion, ensuring topical religious and ethical affairs stories are featured across all BBC networks."

Given the Jewish influence over mass media, I think the Cardinal's accusations are definitely justified. Whether there was deliberate intent to "put the boot" into Christianity by the introduction of this logo in the early 70's is hard to gauge now. I must confess that at first I thought Mark Knopfler had chosen the background and I was naturally suspicious because to quote from Wikipedia yet again:

Mark Freuder Knopfler was born on 12 August 1949 in Glasgow, Scotland, to an English mother, Louisa Mary (née Laidler), and a Hungarian father, Erwin Knopfler. His mother was a teacher and his father was an architect and a chess player whose anti-fascist sympathies and Jewish parentage forced him to flee from his native Hungary in 1939. Knopfler later described his father as a Marxist agnostic.

The Marxist oriented Jews are notoriously anti-Christian and I thought the father might have passed this on to the son. Of course, I now know this wasn't the case but the suspicion set me off on an investigation of what the logo meant. I'm primed for suspicion at the moment because I'm reaching page 1000 of E. Michael Jones's "The Jewish Revolutionary Spirit". The section of the book that I'm currently reading is dealing with the 1960's and the effect this spirit had on that decade. Figure 2 shows the book cover.

Figure 2

A musical program like "The Old Grey Whistle Test" provided a wonderful opportunity to erode youthful morals by suggesting it's time to kick away old religious baggage. Decades later, the attack on morality via mainstream music and musical performances has intensified nauseating proportions. Figure 3 shows Kesha performing with an inverted cross with commentary from this source:

Sadly inverted crosses are becoming commonplace in popular culture, often also associated with darkness in other ways. Where once they may have been used for shock value and rebellion, they are now becoming a new norm in fashion accessories as society moves further and further away from an understanding of spiritual values.

Figure 3

So the Star Kicker logo perhaps represents an early attack on Christian morals and values. An attack that has only gathered momentum over the following decades.

Einstein: Right Again!

Every time I see another headline about Einstein being right again, I want to scream. This news update from New Scientist was the latest. Notice that it's not "Relativity proved right again". The emphasis is always on the main, Einstein, and not the Theory of Relativity that is associated with him. Scientific publications like New Scientist will trumpet it first and then mainstream media outlets will join in the apotheosis that has been in full swing for almost one hundred years now.

In the early part of the twentieth century, Relativity (both Special and General) was certainly coming whether Einstein was there or not. Other mathematicians and scientists had laid the groundwork: Riemann, Hilbert, Lorenz, Poincaré and others. However, Einstein was first to publish and so deserves the credit according to the general consensus. Not all agree of course and controversy has dogged Einstein for the past century. How did this obscure patent clerk rise so suddenly from anonymity to worldwide acclaim? Christopher Jon Bjerknes in his book THE MANUFACTURE AND SALE OF SAINT EINSTEIN is scathing in his attack on Einstein as a fraud and a product of Jewish propaganda. I did start ready this book but its over 2500 pages and is badly written.

I should try to read this book again but Bjerkness is not the only one to accuse Einstein of plagiarism. There are plenty of others but I don't want to go into that in this post. I'll accept for now that Einstein did publish first and deserves major credit for the theory. What irks me is that nobody else ever seems to get any credit as the focus is always on the man. The name Einstein has been burnt into the brains of most of humanity so that phrases like "I'm no Einstein but ... " have come to permeate the language, the English language at least. An industry has sprung up around his name and his image. A century of perception management has created a towering, God-like figure who may well have feet of clay. Einstein seems to 99% hype and perhaps 1% substance.

The same propaganda has been applied to Freud, the so-called Father of Psychoanalysis. However, Frederick Crews in his book "Freud: the Making of an Illusion" does a good job of exposing the hype surrounding him. In the twentieth century, the Jewish control of mainstream media purposefully and effectively set out to portray Einstein and Freud as intellectual Jewish giants for whom, although this was only implied, there was no equivalent amongst the Gentiles. Of course compared to Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud looks lilliputian in the eyes of many and indeed the latter's stature has diminished over the years while the former's has grown. Einstein still remains on his pedestal for now. Many would claim that the bust of Nikola Tesla deserves to be mounted on that pedestal but that's another story.

The takeaway here is that, as always, nothing is what it seems. The question to be asked is: Does Albert Einstein deserve the accolade of Greatest Scientist of the Twentieth Century? How much is he a product of mainstream media hype? There are no ready answers to either question but merely by asking these questions a beginning has been made in doubting what we take for granted about the world and its history.