Connect with us

The Doctor’s Prescription For Mass Formation Psychosis

How do we fix the apparent epidemic-level misunderstanding of the direction society is headed?

Published

on

How do we fix the apparent epidemic-level misunderstanding of the direction society is headed?

Why does the world seem to have gone mad?

How does this phenomenon work?

What's driving it and where does it go if we’re not careful?

How can we actually use this for good?

The orange pill prescription.

If you're wondering why the world appears to have gone somewhat crazy, and wonder why no one else notices, rest assured, you’re not alone. The world seems to be more divided than ever before, as a large portion of modern society is literally cheering on the creation of a two-tier class system all across the world. This meaningful portion of society appears religiously attached to enforcing a narrative that resides outside the bounds of reality and goes against natural laws, science and plain old common sense.

What’s even more jaw-dropping is that mainstream media is not only going along with this narrative, but they’re also actively facilitating the division through silencing and de-platforming dissenting opinions.

It appears this segment of society that we’re describing has forgotten what the world fought two world wars for in the 20th century. Western democratic countries banded together to engage in the bloodiest century known to man, purely to fight the dangerous collectivist ideologies that are becoming mainstream norms in all “democratic” countries today in the 21st century.

Figure 1: Source

It’s nearly as if a large segment of society has been literally brainwashed or completely hypnotized.

Figure 2: Source

Well, you may be surprised to learn, what you’re seeing around the world is a form of literal hypnosis. We’ve actually seen this psychological condition occur multiple times in our society in the past century. This condition helps to explain a lot of the madness we see in our world and has recently captured the cultural zeitgeist of the world.

It is a mass formation psychosis.

What Is Mass Formation Psychosis?

If you’re unfamiliar with the term that’s not a problem, I am going to explain what it is today; but more importantly explain the risks it poses to humanity, and most importantly, how we can overcome it.

I first learned about this phenomenon and term listening to the Aubrey Marcus podcast with special guest Dr. Mattias Desmet in October 2021, and recently the idea has gone mainstream, even being discussed at length in two recent Joe Rogan podcasts which captured the eyes and ears of 100 million people worldwide.

The Rogan interviews with Dr. Peter McCullough, and Dr. Robert Malone, are some of the most watched interviews in history, and this quote from Dr. Malone shines light on why they’ve been so captivating.

“What we’re experiencing is a coordinated media warfare, the level of which we have never seen before. I and my peers, who are experienced in multiple previous outbreaks, have never seen this level of coordinated propaganda.” — Dr. Robert Malone, “Joe Rogan Experience” episode 1757

 

Now, back to the phrase “mass formation psychosis.” Dr. Mattias Desmet, who has a doctorate in both clinical psychology and also statistics, is the doctor responsible for creating the term.

I will be referring to his work on multiple occasions in this piece, as he is uniquely qualified to be speaking to this psychological condition. Dr. Desmet has been lecturing on the topic of mass formation for over three years now, at Ghent University, Belgium, where he works as a professor of psychology.

In this video, Dr. Desmet claims to apply his expertise in statistical modeling, into investigating the COVID-19 statistics and models being used in early 2020. After months of statistical analysis and ‘’running the numbers,’’ on all the data he could find, Dr. Desmett claims that the data and models surrounding covid simply didn’t match the prevailing narrative being propagated in the mainstream news.

In the interview he explains how he felt like all the trusted “experts” and scientists around the world were almost lying with statistics and models that simply didn’t add up.

Figure 3: Source

Now, what is mass formation psychosis?

Figure 4: Source
Figure 5: Source

Let’s break it down: First, a psychosis is a condition in which the individual loses touch with reality. Once an individual is suffering from a psychosis, their mind is unable to process information effectively, meaning no amount of facts or proof can convince them of a reality that counters the narrative they believe in their mind.

Then the mass formation element obviously refers to this happening to a large portion of society. The larger the crowd grows it reinforces the collective hallucination they believe in.

Dr. Mattias Desmet says that it's a strange phenomenon that about 20 to 30% of the population in the world have succumbed to, and have become entranced with what's called a “noble lie.” The 30% almost seem religiously attached to the narrative, or noble lie their leaders are pushing on them, and once accepting of this lie will defend it at all costs.

Now, what's a noble lie?

Figure 6: Source

They call it a noble lie because if it's for their agenda that they perceive to be “the greater good,” then they justify the lie as therefore being a “noble” one.

Now I’m sure anyone reading this knows what the “noble lie’’ is. 30% of the population is in full alignment with the noble lie that’s become the dominant narrative, both propagated and enforced by politicians, “scientists,’’ bureaucrats, pharmaceutical companies and worst of all the media propaganda outlets.

Hypnosis

A mass formation is a very unique psychological condition that is almost like a mass hypnosis. What one observes with the mass hypnosis is that the fraction of the population that’s embroiled in this noble lie, are completely unable to process new data and facts that challenge the narrative they believe in.

Now, hypnosis is an extraordinarily powerful tool. If you can focus someone’s entire mental state on a problem and a subsequent solution, anything is possible.

An example of just how powerful hypnosis is, becomes evident in its use with patients who are allergic to general anesthetic. Hypnosis has even been used in the place of general anesthetic for major surgeries that would normally be excruciatingly painful to an individual.

Figure 7: Source

“Trained hypnotherapist Alex Lenkei has gone under the knife without general anesthetic an astonishing six times, saying he much prefers putting himself into a hypnotic trance to the traditional drugs used to bring about loss of consciousness.”

The state of hypnosis can be so powerful that the patient can be wide awake in a hypnotic state, yet not feel a thing as the surgeon cuts through their bone.

As we enter year three of “14 days to flatten the curve,’’ we Bitcoiners often wonder how the blue-pilled are so out of touch with reality, as more and more holes in the narrative continue coming to light.

However, it begins to make more sense when understanding the group of people captured in the mass formation are in a state of hypnosis. They can only focus on what their leaders tell them to focus on regardless of what common sense or other information they may receive that contradicts what they have been told.

Now, that's what this mass formation psychosis is, but how does it happen, and most importantly how do we get out of it?

Figure 8: Source

Four Conditions Required For A Mass Psychosis

For a mass formation psychosis to occur, Dr. Desmet outlines that there must be a very specific set of underlying circumstances present and affecting individuals to make them vulnerable to this psychological condition.

First Condition:

The first is that there has to be a segment of the population that seems to be disconnected from society.

When one isn’t feeling connected in a community, family or team, they appear to be more susceptible to falling into this mass formation psychosis.

Since the 1970s in particular our society has become more and more disconnected. We’ve seen the gradual breaking apart of the nuclear family, as it’s become too expensive for one family figure to be the breadwinner:

Figure 9: Source

Since leaving the gold standard in 1971, real wages have stayed flat when adjusted for inflation, yet the cost of living has continued to go higher. This has forced both parents into the workforce, leading to the family spending less time together as they try to afford the ever-increasing cost of living.

Figure 10A: Source

Money problems are often cited as one of the top reasons for divorce. As the departure from a sound monetary system takes place, it’s been harder and harder for families to make it, contributing to skyrocketing divorce rates, and incarceration rates climbing to all-time highs!

Figure 10B: Source

The religious crisis of the 1960s was another signal that society was moving away from previous norms and into a more disconnected state. The rise of atheism and the absence of faith and coming together on Sundays to share in collective beliefs and ideology, has further disconnected society. The media wants to tell you today that we organize based off of race or sex, or sexual preference, but that's all identity politics that's only meant to further divide us.

Over the past decade in particular, everything has been highly politicized and weaponized by the media to further divide the people. This has only been accelerated through technology and the rise of social media, as we now interact with more people than ever before, but we're actually lonelier and more disconnected than ever before. Social interactions are becoming more quantitative, based on likes and shares, however a smaller emphasis is being placed upon the quality of those interactions.

With Facebook rebranding itself to “Meta,’’ and the World Economic Forum becoming increasingly interested in the “metaverse,” it appears these technocrats want to cattle herd us into their idea of a totally centralized, Orwellian version of the metaverse.

Figure 11: Source

Considering all those influencing factors in totality, and then layer in the two years of the government-enforced lockdowns and you can start to see how people have never been so disconnected before.

Second Condition:

The second condition that must be present for a mass formation psychosis to ensue, is a lack of purpose felt by the individual. A feeling of purposelessness can come from one's disengagement in their professional life, but can also be a consequence of the first condition.

A recent poll asked 150,000 full- and part-time working Americans many questions about their jobs. The results were shocking, showing that 70% of workers are completely disengaged at work and hate their job. This further highlights the lack of purpose and fulfillment society has, which makes us more vulnerable to falling into a mass formation psychosis.

The Third Condition:

The third condition that must be present in the individual, is a lingering sense of untethered anxiety. People feel stressed all the time but don't know why or what is causing it. The fiat money hamster wheel that requires society to work more than ever before just to keep up is a large contributing factor that’s causing this stress amongst the population.

This is highlighted by the number of people suffering from anxiety, which is rapidly growing as one in five people now suffer from anxiety (source) and about 25% of women are reported to be on antidepressants (source).

People around the world are living in a constant state of fear and anxiety like never before.

The Slippery Slope Into Tyranny

The Fourth Condition:

Once the people have given in to the first three conditions, then someone appears: a leader, someone that can focus all of their pain and anger, and their untethered anxiety onto a single problem. Once their fear and anger has a point to focus on, this new leader emerges and provides a way out, a solution to bring them from this place of despair and into a new better reality.

This is where the crucial part of mass formation psychosis occurs. The hypnotized masses will naturally seek relief in this narrative when in a hyper-emotional state of fear, disconnectedness and anxiety.

This leader naturally becomes an idol to the masses. The dream sold to the people in our current predicament, was that a small sacrifice of a 14-day lockdown to “flatten the curve’’ would end the pandemic and ensure the hospitals wouldn’t be overrun. Obviously the governments of the world have run with all sorts of narratives after getting their foot in the door and granting themselves these emergency powers.

Now, after the narrative has been propagated that includes the plan to escape the anxiety and fear, the people involved in the mass psychosis will all of a sudden feel a sense of relief.

Once the hypnotized masses collectively go through the steps involved in the leader's noble lie, they feel connected again, they gain a new kind of solidarity or social bond after playing their part in this “new normal.’’

The hypnotized 30% are so consumed by the narrative, that they will unconsciously degrade their physical, emotional and economic health, as all their attention is placed into pursuing their role in the narrative.

Figure 12: Source

Many parts of the new normal have become a tribal ritual for the masses. This is evident in how they proudly conform with their orders and get angry at anyone else who does not comply.

We, who have assessed the events of 2020 and 2021 with rational, independent thought, commonly ask ourselves, why can’t they see through the lies?

Let’s not forget, hypnosis is all about focus. Once society is under this psychosis, they’re unable to think rationally for themselves, as they are very focused on their role. They're so hellbent on escaping their anxious state that they’ll trust anyone that appears like an expert if they're regurgitating the narrative and they are displayed on the mainstream news as an “expert.’’

This video unveils just how coordinated the messaging amongst the mainstream media has become. It nearly makes you ask the question “are they all reading off the same script?’’

The never-ending stream of propaganda has turned minds once capable of rational thought, into a playhouse of narratives and baseless lies.

It doesn’t matter how many times the narratives change and the “elite’’ move the goalposts, the hypnotized masses will continue to believe in them. This video shows just how many times the narrative has shifted over the past two years alone.

Now, directly from Dr. Desmet again, when the society is under the spell of mass formation psychosis, they will support a totalitarian governance structure capable of otherwise unthinkable atrocities.

Figure 13: Source

“Crimes the individual alone could never stand are freely committed by the group (smitten by madness).” – Carl Jung, “The Symbolic Life”

Totalitarianism In The 20th Century

This set of conditions combined with an opportunistic, power-hungry leader generally leads society into a totalitarian nightmare. The world has seen many atrocities committed by similar power-hungry regimes in the 20th century, while their population was suffering from a mass formation psychosis. Today, a large subset of society is happily cheering on the same future, so long as the message comes from the mouth of someone that appears to be an ‘’expert.’’

Whether it was Vladimir Lenin or Joseph Stalin in Russia, Mao Zedong in China, or the Holocaust in Germany, the world saw the perils of totalitarian regimes over the 20th century, as over 100 million lives were lost in the fight against communism.

It's important to remember, these leaders started slowly and used a foot-in-the-door marketing campaign. The German people didn’t start supporting Hitler on the premise that the plan was to round up the 6 million Jewish people and participate in one of the greatest atrocities in human history. It started slowly, step by step.

Figure 14: Source

What we've learned during those events was that even the most highly-educated people went along with events such as the Holocaust. Education level is not necessarily a factor that makes you immune to mass formation psychosis. Highly-educated people essentially lost their minds from the propaganda being spread by the power-hungry leaders.

The general method by how the ruling totalitarians create a totalitarian system is through menticide.

Figure 15: Source

Menticide always starts with inducing the masses with fear and confusion, and in particular waves of fear and terror that never let the individual escape the feelings of fear.

Figure 16: Source

What’s most scary is the individuals are generally unaware they’re under a psychosis while suffering from it.

Figure 17: Source

Totalitarian states cause grave damage to society and its population. One would think we’ve learned our lesson from those episodes of totalitarianism in the 20th century. Sadly, it appears we’re at the precipice of a global totalitarian regime re-emerging in the 21st century, except this time, on a far larger scale.

Dangers Of Totalitarianism In The 21st Century

For a world that’s supposedly come so far in terms of human rights and democracy over the previous century, the world is still a mess. 4.3 billion people (55% of the world) still live under authoritarian regimes (source).

If you understand those previous examples of totalitarianism, what's going on today all around the world should scare the living daylights out of you. Here we have Justin Trudeau, the leader of Canada, calling those that don’t go along with the narrative “racist and misogynistic extremists.”

Figure 18: Source

The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, is using a similar playbook to Justin Trudeau, as he recently came out announcing he wants “to piss off” unvaccinated people.

Figure 19: Source

They're focusing the unseated anger and aggression that the masses feel, and weaponizing it by turning the vaccinated people against the group of people who believe in bodily autonomy. This sets a very dangerous precedent.

Figure 20: Source

Propaganda used on a population who has undergone a mass psychosis is a profoundly powerful tool.

Figure 21: Source

Gustave Le Bon is best known for his 1895 work “The Crowd: A Study Of The Popular Mind,” which is considered one of the seminal works of crowd psychology. In it he theorized the masses would create a new state of totalitarianism, as he saw mass formation and crowd psychology becoming more dangerous through the 19th century and into the 20th century. Judging by the events of the 20th and now 21st century, he was right.

“The totalitarian systems of the 20th century represent a kind of collective psychosis. Whether gradually or suddenly, reason and common human decency are no longer possible in such a system: there is only a pervasive atmosphere of terror, and a projection of ‘The enemy’, imagined to be ‘In our midst’. Thus society turns on itself, urged on by the ruling authorities.”— Joost Meerloo, “The Rape of the Mind”

The Freedom Fighters

We’ve spoken a lot about the brainwashed so far in this piece, but let’s not forget, there’s also around 30% of the population that’s actively fighting back against the narrative when a mass formation emerges:

Figure 22: Source

There’s no clear explanation as to why the mass formation follows a general distribution. It appears individuals who are more connected, have a good family and work life structure are more likely to oppose the mass formation. These people generally have a sense of purpose, are surrounded by a strong community and are less likely to fall into this mass psychosis because they don’t suffer from the above-mentioned fear and anxiety. It also appears people who value individualism are not as swayed by the groupthink present in mass formation.

Figure 23: Source

If you're reading this description of the people fighting the mass formation and thinking it sounds like the Bitcoiners, I agree. Bitcoiners base their principles and philosophy on not blindly trusting people and instead verifying information presented to them.

The Bitcoiners, and the other people in the 30% not psychologically affected by the brainwashing campaign, have an important role to play in getting our society out of this mass formation psychosis.

Figure 23: Source

The other large group involved in the psychosis, is the 40% of people in the middle who just follow along with what’s easiest.

They just want life to be easy and normal and may follow the brainwashed into a digital panopticon if there's no perceived alternative. Some in this subset may believe the whole thing is irrational, but just aren’t as ideologically motivated to stand up for the truth as the 20-30% fighting the narrative are.

Now let’s talk about how Dr. Desmet suggests we can get out of this - a doctor's prescription if you will.

The Doctor’s Prescription: “Yes, Bitcoin Can Fix This”

When confronting someone who is possibly part of the psychosis you can’t speak hatefully or shame them as being a ”sheep’’ or ”brainwashed."

Dr. Desmet explains the steps:

First:

We must live and speak the truth and continue to keep speaking out. This can help to break down the narrative, as the conflicting narratives go a long way to awakening the 40% of people in the middle. This is why you see the leaders trying to promote this ‘’new normal,’’ desperately trying to censor and silence all dissenting voices, even from professionals speaking out against the narrative.

A great example of the censorship was on full display after tens of millions of people were searching for the term ‘’mass formation psychosis’’ following the “Joe Rogan Experience” podcasts with Dr. Malone and Dr. McCollough.

Figure 24: Source
Figure 25: Source

Google’s unofficial motto has long been the simple phrase “don’t be evil.” They ironically changed their motto in 2018 and certainly confirmed itself to be “evil’’ throughout the recent mass formation psychosis ordeal.

Figure 26: Source

What exactly are “reliable sources’’ as defined by Google? Would it possibly be as defined by their so-called “fact checkers’’ who were also quick to attempt to brainwash the masses in the ordeal?

Figure 27: Source

Would it surprise you to learn that the former chairman of Reuters is also an investor and board member of Pfizer? No conflict of interest there?

Figure 28: Source

It’s for these reasons that people are beginning to distrust what has long been considered the “mainstream’’ media over prior years. More and more people are turning to more honest, unbiased sources of information. The growing viewership base of independent media sources like Joe Rogan or Tucker Carlson is testament of people actively seeking out the truth from people who don’t have an agenda to sell.

Figure 29: Source
Figure 30: Source

What we need to do is politely and gently point out the fact that the data doesn’t make sense, and continue to point to all these clear conflicts of interests the mainstream media are involved in. Dr. Desmet suggests using humor “memes,” while poking holes in their narrative can also be helpful in breaking down the narrative.

Figure 31: Source

Remember, we have to do this with love, not violence. If we laugh derisively at the person, or show violence and aggression in our arguments, it can focus all that angst onto us and make us look like the enemy. Becoming frustrated and getting into arguments with the brainwashed only legitimizes the narratives that they’ve been indoctrinated with from the media, declaring that we’re the enemy.

Second:

The second thing we need to do is to build closeness and togetherness. We need to bring people together. Remember, people connect over shared values. The Bitcoin Conference 2022 is expected to have 35,000 people, all with different identities, race, gender, preference etc … but all sharing the same values of freedom, sovereignty, sound money etc.

We need something that can rally people together on a shared value system and Bitcoin is doing just that. And we definitely do not show violence. Remember, love, not violence. Because if we show violence it can focus all that angst onto us and make us look like the enemy.

Finally:

The most important thing is that the people that have become susceptible to this did so because they were unhappy with where their lives were and they are following the leader to a new place, a new reality. So trying to convince them to “hold the line” and stay where they are will not work, as they are unhappy in that place.

So what we must do is show them a new path forward, a new better reality. We must show them a place they can feel connected, share values, and a sense of purpose. Their unhappiness with their prior life is part of the reason they’ve accepted the “new normal’’ narrative. They don’t want to go back to their old life.

Former Soviet Union political dissident and eventual president of Czechoslovakia, Václav Havel, talked about the importance of building parallel structures within a totalitarian society:

Figure 32: Source

He noted these structures were more efficient than political action against the totalitarian regime.

These structures provided an enclave for freedom for the rational individuals in the society and helped to shine a light on the madness of the portion of society trapped within the totalitarian nightmare.

We need to show the masses the true reason they’re working too hard and failing to get ahead is because the money is broken. We need to show them the source of all this angst and anguish, the source of all this disconnectedness, the source of all this lack of purpose is all because of the fiat money system. The fiat money system is a system built on theft, lies, and deceit and is a moral cancer on our modern society. Our broken money and associated inflationary monetary policies are the reason for our lives getting harder, which has largely contributed to their feelings of anxiety and stress as we struggle to get off the fiat money hamster wheel.

The fiat money system enables the government to print unlimited amounts of money, thus stealing the value from our people's savings via inflation, and then the government can then use that money against us the people. The government is able to pay police officers to enforce their tyrannical rules via their printed money, and also run their propaganda programs with the value that they extract from our savings.

The Bitcoin community is the perfect parallel structure to bring down for our current day mass formation psychosis. It is an island of sanity where radical truthfulness and sovereignty are principles highly valued within the Bitcoin community. The Bitcoiners even have our own slogans that can single-handedly help our species escape this mass formation psychosis.

Figure 33: Source

Remember, mass formations are generally based on “noble lies." As soon as one begins to verify the propaganda they’re told, it becomes immediately clear where the truth lies.

Bitcoin also takes the power to print money out of the hands of the government. If the government had to fund its war against the people through direct taxation alone, the people might start to realize just how wasteful governments are.

Bitcoin, beginning with its incorruptible 21 million hard cap supply, ground our world back into reality. The majority of Bitcoiners appear vehemently opposed to this new normal, and can act as role models for those still searching for truth.

Figure 34: Source

Bitcoiners are the manifestation of Carl Jung’s “redeemer personality.’’ We always speak our minds and will call out any untruths irrespective of being afraid to come off as confrontational. We even get called ‘’toxic’’ on occasions by those perpetuating the lies that we loudly call out. This radical adherence to truth is why the Bitcoiners are the ones most likely to create a parallel structure that shines a light on the world that’s literally living in a lie.

This is my call to humanity. We need to take the doctor's prescription to cure this mass formation psychosis, before things get really bad.

Two diametrically opposing futures await our civilization on the other side of this mass formation. If we let this psychosis go on for too long, we could all be living in a digital panopticon where our every interaction, transaction and thought is tracked by a social-scoring-led nation state. Or, we can opt out of that Orwellian nightmare and transition to the parallel structure that Bitcoin helps to build in the coming decentralized revolution.

It all starts with the money.

This is a guest post by Mark Moss. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

Read More

Continue Reading

Government

Four Years Ago This Week, Freedom Was Torched

Four Years Ago This Week, Freedom Was Torched

Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Brownstone Institute,

"Beware the Ides of March,” Shakespeare…

Published

on

Four Years Ago This Week, Freedom Was Torched

Authored by Jeffrey Tucker via The Brownstone Institute,

"Beware the Ides of March,” Shakespeare quotes the soothsayer’s warning Julius Caesar about what turned out to be an impending assassination on March 15. The death of American liberty happened around the same time four years ago, when the orders went out from all levels of government to close all indoor and outdoor venues where people gather. 

It was not quite a law and it was never voted on by anyone. Seemingly out of nowhere, people who the public had largely ignored, the public health bureaucrats, all united to tell the executives in charge – mayors, governors, and the president – that the only way to deal with a respiratory virus was to scrap freedom and the Bill of Rights. 

And they did, not only in the US but all over the world. 

The forced closures in the US began on March 6 when the mayor of Austin, Texas, announced the shutdown of the technology and arts festival South by Southwest. Hundreds of thousands of contracts, of attendees and vendors, were instantly scrapped. The mayor said he was acting on the advice of his health experts and they in turn pointed to the CDC, which in turn pointed to the World Health Organization, which in turn pointed to member states and so on. 

There was no record of Covid in Austin, Texas, that day but they were sure they were doing their part to stop the spread. It was the first deployment of the “Zero Covid” strategy that became, for a time, official US policy, just as in China. 

It was never clear precisely who to blame or who would take responsibility, legal or otherwise. 

This Friday evening press conference in Austin was just the beginning. By the next Thursday evening, the lockdown mania reached a full crescendo. Donald Trump went on nationwide television to announce that everything was under control but that he was stopping all travel in and out of US borders, from Europe, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. American citizens would need to return by Monday or be stuck. 

Americans abroad panicked while spending on tickets home and crowded into international airports with waits up to 8 hours standing shoulder to shoulder. It was the first clear sign: there would be no consistency in the deployment of these edicts. 

There is no historical record of any American president ever issuing global travel restrictions like this without a declaration of war. Until then, and since the age of travel began, every American had taken it for granted that he could buy a ticket and board a plane. That was no longer possible. Very quickly it became even difficult to travel state to state, as most states eventually implemented a two-week quarantine rule. 

The next day, Friday March 13, Broadway closed and New York City began to empty out as any residents who could went to summer homes or out of state. 

On that day, the Trump administration declared the national emergency by invoking the Stafford Act which triggers new powers and resources to the Federal Emergency Management Administration. 

In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a classified document, only to be released to the public months later. The document initiated the lockdowns. It still does not exist on any government website.

The White House Coronavirus Response Task Force, led by the Vice President, will coordinate a whole-of-government approach, including governors, state and local officials, and members of Congress, to develop the best options for the safety, well-being, and health of the American people. HHS is the LFA [Lead Federal Agency] for coordinating the federal response to COVID-19.

Closures were guaranteed:

Recommend significantly limiting public gatherings and cancellation of almost all sporting events, performances, and public and private meetings that cannot be convened by phone. Consider school closures. Issue widespread ‘stay at home’ directives for public and private organizations, with nearly 100% telework for some, although critical public services and infrastructure may need to retain skeleton crews. Law enforcement could shift to focus more on crime prevention, as routine monitoring of storefronts could be important.

In this vision of turnkey totalitarian control of society, the vaccine was pre-approved: “Partner with pharmaceutical industry to produce anti-virals and vaccine.”

The National Security Council was put in charge of policy making. The CDC was just the marketing operation. That’s why it felt like martial law. Without using those words, that’s what was being declared. It even urged information management, with censorship strongly implied.

The timing here is fascinating. This document came out on a Friday. But according to every autobiographical account – from Mike Pence and Scott Gottlieb to Deborah Birx and Jared Kushner – the gathered team did not meet with Trump himself until the weekend of the 14th and 15th, Saturday and Sunday. 

According to their account, this was his first real encounter with the urge that he lock down the whole country. He reluctantly agreed to 15 days to flatten the curve. He announced this on Monday the 16th with the famous line: “All public and private venues where people gather should be closed.”

This makes no sense. The decision had already been made and all enabling documents were already in circulation. 

There are only two possibilities. 

One: the Department of Homeland Security issued this March 13 HHS document without Trump’s knowledge or authority. That seems unlikely. 

Two: Kushner, Birx, Pence, and Gottlieb are lying. They decided on a story and they are sticking to it. 

Trump himself has never explained the timeline or precisely when he decided to greenlight the lockdowns. To this day, he avoids the issue beyond his constant claim that he doesn’t get enough credit for his handling of the pandemic.

With Nixon, the famous question was always what did he know and when did he know it? When it comes to Trump and insofar as concerns Covid lockdowns – unlike the fake allegations of collusion with Russia – we have no investigations. To this day, no one in the corporate media seems even slightly interested in why, how, or when human rights got abolished by bureaucratic edict. 

As part of the lockdowns, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which was and is part of the Department of Homeland Security, as set up in 2018, broke the entire American labor force into essential and nonessential.

They also set up and enforced censorship protocols, which is why it seemed like so few objected. In addition, CISA was tasked with overseeing mail-in ballots. 

Only 8 days into the 15, Trump announced that he wanted to open the country by Easter, which was on April 12. His announcement on March 24 was treated as outrageous and irresponsible by the national press but keep in mind: Easter would already take us beyond the initial two-week lockdown. What seemed to be an opening was an extension of closing. 

This announcement by Trump encouraged Birx and Fauci to ask for an additional 30 days of lockdown, which Trump granted. Even on April 23, Trump told Georgia and Florida, which had made noises about reopening, that “It’s too soon.” He publicly fought with the governor of Georgia, who was first to open his state. 

Before the 15 days was over, Congress passed and the president signed the 880-page CARES Act, which authorized the distribution of $2 trillion to states, businesses, and individuals, thus guaranteeing that lockdowns would continue for the duration. 

There was never a stated exit plan beyond Birx’s public statements that she wanted zero cases of Covid in the country. That was never going to happen. It is very likely that the virus had already been circulating in the US and Canada from October 2019. A famous seroprevalence study by Jay Bhattacharya came out in May 2020 discerning that infections and immunity were already widespread in the California county they examined. 

What that implied was two crucial points: there was zero hope for the Zero Covid mission and this pandemic would end as they all did, through endemicity via exposure, not from a vaccine as such. That was certainly not the message that was being broadcast from Washington. The growing sense at the time was that we all had to sit tight and just wait for the inoculation on which pharmaceutical companies were working. 

By summer 2020, you recall what happened. A restless generation of kids fed up with this stay-at-home nonsense seized on the opportunity to protest racial injustice in the killing of George Floyd. Public health officials approved of these gatherings – unlike protests against lockdowns – on grounds that racism was a virus even more serious than Covid. Some of these protests got out of hand and became violent and destructive. 

Meanwhile, substance abuse rage – the liquor and weed stores never closed – and immune systems were being degraded by lack of normal exposure, exactly as the Bakersfield doctors had predicted. Millions of small businesses had closed. The learning losses from school closures were mounting, as it turned out that Zoom school was near worthless. 

It was about this time that Trump seemed to figure out – thanks to the wise council of Dr. Scott Atlas – that he had been played and started urging states to reopen. But it was strange: he seemed to be less in the position of being a president in charge and more of a public pundit, Tweeting out his wishes until his account was banned. He was unable to put the worms back in the can that he had approved opening. 

By that time, and by all accounts, Trump was convinced that the whole effort was a mistake, that he had been trolled into wrecking the country he promised to make great. It was too late. Mail-in ballots had been widely approved, the country was in shambles, the media and public health bureaucrats were ruling the airwaves, and his final months of the campaign failed even to come to grips with the reality on the ground. 

At the time, many people had predicted that once Biden took office and the vaccine was released, Covid would be declared to have been beaten. But that didn’t happen and mainly for one reason: resistance to the vaccine was more intense than anyone had predicted. The Biden administration attempted to impose mandates on the entire US workforce. Thanks to a Supreme Court ruling, that effort was thwarted but not before HR departments around the country had already implemented them. 

As the months rolled on – and four major cities closed all public accommodations to the unvaccinated, who were being demonized for prolonging the pandemic – it became clear that the vaccine could not and would not stop infection or transmission, which means that this shot could not be classified as a public health benefit. Even as a private benefit, the evidence was mixed. Any protection it provided was short-lived and reports of vaccine injury began to mount. Even now, we cannot gain full clarity on the scale of the problem because essential data and documentation remains classified. 

After four years, we find ourselves in a strange position. We still do not know precisely what unfolded in mid-March 2020: who made what decisions, when, and why. There has been no serious attempt at any high level to provide a clear accounting much less assign blame. 

Not even Tucker Carlson, who reportedly played a crucial role in getting Trump to panic over the virus, will tell us the source of his own information or what his source told him. There have been a series of valuable hearings in the House and Senate but they have received little to no press attention, and none have focus on the lockdown orders themselves. 

The prevailing attitude in public life is just to forget the whole thing. And yet we live now in a country very different from the one we inhabited five years ago. Our media is captured. Social media is widely censored in violation of the First Amendment, a problem being taken up by the Supreme Court this month with no certainty of the outcome. The administrative state that seized control has not given up power. Crime has been normalized. Art and music institutions are on the rocks. Public trust in all official institutions is at rock bottom. We don’t even know if we can trust the elections anymore. 

In the early days of lockdown, Henry Kissinger warned that if the mitigation plan does not go well, the world will find itself set “on fire.” He died in 2023. Meanwhile, the world is indeed on fire. The essential struggle in every country on earth today concerns the battle between the authority and power of permanent administration apparatus of the state – the very one that took total control in lockdowns – and the enlightenment ideal of a government that is responsible to the will of the people and the moral demand for freedom and rights. 

How this struggle turns out is the essential story of our times. 

CODA: I’m embedding a copy of PanCAP Adapted, as annotated by Debbie Lerman. You might need to download the whole thing to see the annotations. If you can help with research, please do.

*  *  *

Jeffrey Tucker is the author of the excellent new book 'Life After Lock-Down'

Tyler Durden Mon, 03/11/2024 - 23:40

Read More

Continue Reading

Government

CDC Warns Thousands Of Children Sent To ER After Taking Common Sleep Aid

CDC Warns Thousands Of Children Sent To ER After Taking Common Sleep Aid

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A…

Published

on

CDC Warns Thousands Of Children Sent To ER After Taking Common Sleep Aid

Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) paper released Thursday found that thousands of young children have been taken to the emergency room over the past several years after taking the very common sleep-aid supplement melatonin.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 23, 2020. (Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images)

The agency said that melatonin, which can come in gummies that are meant for adults, was implicated in about 7 percent of all emergency room visits for young children and infants “for unsupervised medication ingestions,” adding that many incidents were linked to the ingestion of gummy formulations that were flavored. Those incidents occurred between the years 2019 and 2022.

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the human body to regulate its sleep cycle. Supplements, which are sold in a number of different formulas, are generally taken before falling asleep and are popular among people suffering from insomnia, jet lag, chronic pain, or other problems.

The supplement isn’t regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and does not require child-resistant packaging. However, a number of supplement companies include caps or lids that are difficult for children to open.

The CDC report said that a significant number of melatonin-ingestion cases among young children were due to the children opening bottles that had not been properly closed or were within their reach. Thursday’s report, the agency said, “highlights the importance of educating parents and other caregivers about keeping all medications and supplements (including gummies) out of children’s reach and sight,” including melatonin.

The approximately 11,000 emergency department visits for unsupervised melatonin ingestions by infants and young children during 2019–2022 highlight the importance of educating parents and other caregivers about keeping all medications and supplements (including gummies) out of children’s reach and sight.

The CDC notes that melatonin use among Americans has increased five-fold over the past 25 years or so. That has coincided with a 530 percent increase in poison center calls for melatonin exposures to children between 2012 and 2021, it said, as well as a 420 percent increase in emergency visits for unsupervised melatonin ingestion by young children or infants between 2009 and 2020.

Some health officials advise that children under the age of 3 should avoid taking melatonin unless a doctor says otherwise. Side effects include drowsiness, headaches, agitation, dizziness, and bed wetting.

Other symptoms of too much melatonin include nausea, diarrhea, joint pain, anxiety, and irritability. The supplement can also impact blood pressure.

However, there is no established threshold for a melatonin overdose, officials have said. Most adult melatonin supplements contain a maximum of 10 milligrams of melatonin per serving, and some contain less.

Many people can tolerate even relatively large doses of melatonin without significant harm, officials say. But there is no antidote for an overdose. In cases of a child accidentally ingesting melatonin, doctors often ask a reliable adult to monitor them at home.

Dr. Cora Collette Breuner, with the Seattle Children’s Hospital at the University of Washington, told CNN that parents should speak with a doctor before giving their children the supplement.

“I also tell families, this is not something your child should take forever. Nobody knows what the long-term effects of taking this is on your child’s growth and development,” she told the outlet. “Taking away blue-light-emitting smartphones, tablets, laptops, and television at least two hours before bed will keep melatonin production humming along, as will reading or listening to bedtime stories in a softly lit room, taking a warm bath, or doing light stretches.”

In 2022, researchers found that in 2021, U.S. poison control centers received more than 52,000 calls about children consuming worrisome amounts of the dietary supplement. That’s a six-fold increase from about a decade earlier. Most such calls are about young children who accidentally got into bottles of melatonin, some of which come in the form of gummies for kids, the report said.

Dr. Karima Lelak, an emergency physician at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and the lead author of the study published in 2022 by the CDC, found that in about 83 percent of those calls, the children did not show any symptoms.

However, other children had vomiting, altered breathing, or other symptoms. Over the 10 years studied, more than 4,000 children were hospitalized, five were put on machines to help them breathe, and two children under the age of two died. Most of the hospitalized children were teenagers, and many of those ingestions were thought to be suicide attempts.

Those researchers also suggested that COVID-19 lockdowns and virtual learning forced more children to be at home all day, meaning there were more opportunities for kids to access melatonin. Also, those restrictions may have caused sleep-disrupting stress and anxiety, leading more families to consider melatonin, they suggested.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tyler Durden Mon, 03/11/2024 - 21:40

Read More

Continue Reading

International

Red Candle In The Wind

Red Candle In The Wind

By Benjamin PIcton of Rabobank

February non-farm payrolls superficially exceeded market expectations on Friday by…

Published

on

Red Candle In The Wind

By Benjamin PIcton of Rabobank

February non-farm payrolls superficially exceeded market expectations on Friday by printing at 275,000 against a consensus call of 200,000. We say superficially, because the downward revisions to prior months totalled 167,000 for December and January, taking the total change in employed persons well below the implied forecast, and helping the unemployment rate to pop two-ticks to 3.9%. The U6 underemployment rate also rose from 7.2% to 7.3%, while average hourly earnings growth fell to 0.2% m-o-m and average weekly hours worked languished at 34.3, equalling pre-pandemic lows.

Undeterred by the devil in the detail, the algos sprang into action once exchanges opened. Market darling NVIDIA hit a new intraday high of $974 before (presumably) the humans took over and sold the stock down more than 10% to close at $875.28. If our suspicions are correct that it was the AIs buying before the humans started selling (no doubt triggering trailing stops on the way down), the irony is not lost on us.

The 1-day chart for NVIDIA now makes for interesting viewing, because the red candle posted on Friday presents quite a strong bearish engulfing signal. Volume traded on the day was almost double the 15-day simple moving average, and similar price action is observable on the 1-day charts for both Intel and AMD. Regular readers will be aware that we have expressed incredulity in the past about the durability the AI thematic melt-up, so it will be interesting to see whether Friday’s sell off is just a profit-taking blip, or a genuine trend reversal.

AI equities aside, this week ought to be important for markets because the BTFP program expires today. That means that the Fed will no longer be loaning cash to the banking system in exchange for collateral pledged at-par. The KBW Regional Banking index has so far taken this in its stride and is trading 30% above the lows established during the mini banking crisis of this time last year, but the Fed’s liquidity facility was effectively an exercise in can-kicking that makes regional banks a sector of the market worth paying attention to in the weeks ahead. Even here in Sydney, regulators are warning of external risks posed to the banking sector from scheduled refinancing of commercial real estate loans following sharp falls in valuations.

Markets are sending signals in other sectors, too. Gold closed at a new record-high of $2178/oz on Friday after trading above $2200/oz briefly. Gold has been going ballistic since the Friday before last, posting gains even on days where 2-year Treasury yields have risen. Gold bugs are buying as real yields fall from the October highs and inflation breakevens creep higher. This is particularly interesting as gold ETFs have been recording net outflows; suggesting that price gains aren’t being driven by a retail pile-in. Are gold buyers now betting on a stagflationary outcome where the Fed cuts without inflation being anchored at the 2% target? The price action around the US CPI release tomorrow ought to be illuminating.

Leaving the day-to-day movements to one side, we are also seeing further signs of structural change at the macro level. The UK budget last week included a provision for the creation of a British ISA. That is, an Individual Savings Account that provides tax breaks to savers who invest their money in the stock of British companies. This follows moves last year to encourage pension funds to head up the risk curve by allocating 5% of their capital to unlisted investments.

As a Hail Mary option for a government cruising toward an electoral drubbing it’s a curious choice, but it’s worth highlighting as cash-strapped governments increasingly see private savings pools as a funding solution for their spending priorities.

Of course, the UK is not alone in making creeping moves towards financial repression. In contrast to announcements today of increased trade liberalisation, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers has in the recent past flagged his interest in tapping private pension savings to fund state spending priorities, including defence, public housing and renewable energy projects. Both the UK and Australia appear intent on finding ways to open up the lungs of their economies, but government wants more say in directing private capital flows for state goals.

So, how far is the blurring of the lines between free markets and state planning likely to go? Given the immense and varied budgetary (and security) pressures that governments are facing, could we see a re-up of WWII-era Victory bonds, where private investors are encouraged to do their patriotic duty by directly financing government at negative real rates?

That would really light a fire under the gold market.

Tyler Durden Mon, 03/11/2024 - 19:00

Read More

Continue Reading

Trending