Wednesday, August 31, 2022

How Banks Will Force the Transition to Electric Vehicles

The powers that (ought not) to be are doing their best to force Western consumers into adopting new lifestyles to meet their greenhouse gas emissions targets.  Much of the burden of reducing carbon emissions will fall on the back of reducing the purchases of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars with many governments offering incentives to induce consumers into purchasing over-priced and under-tested electric vehicles (EVs) by insisting that these vehicles are zero emitters.  According to Efficient Manufacturing, there are an estimated 2 billion internal combustion engines in use around the world, making it very difficult to achieve the goal of zero ICE vehicle sales, particularly when EV prices are significantly higher than equivalent ICE prices.  As you will see in this posting, one bank has just announced how it will force its customers to adopt EV technology and you can assure yourself that this is just the first bank to take this drastic action.

  

Bank Australia is Australia's fifth largest customer-owned mutual bank when measured in terms of assets.  It is a relatively small bank when compared to its peers, however, it offers a wide range of services to its customers/shareholders:

 

Business loans

Home loans

Transaction accounts

Credit cards

Saving accounts

Term deposits

Personal loans including lifestyle and car loans

Insurance including home and contents, landlord, renter's, personal risk, business, travel and health insurance


Given the push towards meeting Environment, Social and Governance or ESG targets as mandated by the United Nations, the bank has taken significant steps to reducing its own greenhouse gas footprint as shown here:

 

...here:

 


...and here

 

 

Let's look at a recent announcement from Bank Australia:


 

Here are some quotes with my bolds:

 

"Encouraging customers to think about their next vehicle purchase is an important part of Bank Australia’s climate action strategy and it aims to support them to make sustainable choices. Around 43% of Australia’s transport emissions are from passenger vehicles. Electric vehicles are a ready-to-deploy technology so they can be one of the fastest contributors to Australia meeting its climate goals. 

 

In announcing this commitment at the National Electric Vehicle Summit in Canberra, Bank Australia Chief Impact Officer Sasha Courville said that encouraging the shift to electric vehicles will be an important step in decarbonising the Australian economy. 

 

By ceasing car loans for new fossil fuel vehicles, we are sending a signal to the Australian market about the rapid acceleration in the transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles we expect to see in the next few years.” 

 

“We’ve chosen 2025 because the change to electric vehicles needs to happen quickly, and we believe it can with the right supporting policies in place to bring a greater range of more affordable electric vehicles to Australia."

 

Since 2018, the bank has offered discounted interest rates on lending for low emission vehicles since 2018.  Since EVs are not widely available largely due to supply chain stresses related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank will "continue to support customers who can't yet access an electric vehicle as quoted here:

 

"While we will cease car loans for new fossil fuel cars from 2025, we are deeply aware that we need to support people not yet able to afford an electric vehicle while the market grows. We’ll continue to offer loans for second hand fossil fuel vehicles until there is a viable and thriving market for electric vehicles."

 

The press release closes by noting the importance of electric vehicles for their positive impact on the climate.  Apparently, the bank's management hasn't considered the fact that the electricity needed to recharge EV batteries doesn't come from the burning of unicorn farts and that the mining of lithium and cobalt have significant negative environmental and social impacts as noted here:

 

 
...and in this paper:

 


Don't count on hearing about either of these issues from your local, first-order thinking politician.

 

Given that the infrastructure to needed to support the charging of EVs is completely inadequate, an issue recently experienced in China:



...a situation that will become significantly worse as governments force the switching from fossil fuel- and uranium-based electricity generation to solar and wind power which are, at best, inconsistent, the move by Bank Australia to force its customers into adopting electric vehicles is ill-advised.  That said, those of us who live in other nations should consider the fact that, under ESG guidelines, banks and other financial firms in Western nations are likely to adopt a similar philosophy to remain on the good side of the "ESG police".

 

Monday, August 29, 2022

Vostok-2022 Exercises: Another Sign of the End of the Unipolar World Order

One of my favourite non-Western news sources is Global Times, a media outlet that represents the views of China's Communist Party, an insider's viewpoint that Westerners rarely hear.  In a recent edition, I found this interesting article:

 


China's participation in the Vostok-2022 exercise was also noted by Russia's TASS News Agency as shown here:

 

 

This is the first time that the People's Liberation Army has sent ground, naval and air forces to Vostok.

 

As an aside, not only is China participating, but troops from another nation in the region will also be attending as shown here:

 

 

The 2022 edition of the Vostok military exercises will take place between August 30 and September 5, 2022 and will involve military personnel from the aforementioned China and India as well as from Belarus, Mongolia, Tajikistan and other nations.  Russia's military will lead the exercises which will be under the command of Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov.

  

Despite that fact that Russia has been vilified by the West since its military actions in Ukraine, reducing it to a pariah state, the Vostok-2022 exercises prove to that Russia still has the diplomatic power to organize other nations into its military orbit.

  

Here is the announcement of China's participation in Vostok-2022 as found on the nation's Ministry of Defense English language website:


 

One can only hope that Washington notes the second sentence of the announcement given that both nations regard the United States as a "security threat":

 

"The Chinese military's participation in the exercise is unrelated to the current international and regional situation, but designed to deepen practical and friendly cooperation with the militaries of participating countries, enhance the level of strategic coordination and strengthen the ability to cope with various security threats."

 

The growing bonhomie between Russia and China has been on exhibit for several years with the militaries of the two nations increasingly interacting as shown in this press release from China's Ministry of Defense, announcing its participation in the International Army Games that were held in a Moscow suburb during the second-last week of August 2022:

 

..and this press release announcing China's participation in the Sea Cup vessel contest of the International Army Games:

 

Given that the ties between China and Russia are now the closest that they have been since the end of the Cold War, this partnership bears watching as it is the greatest threat to Washington's fading global dominance and could well signal the death throes of the unipolar world order that has been America's reality since the collapse of the USSR.


Friday, August 26, 2022

The World Economic Forum's Augmented Society - A Chip Implant for Every Human

In a recent opinion piece on the World Economic Forum's website:

 


....we can see how technology will "transform society" thanks to the use of augmented reality, at least in the eyes of the global ruling class.

  

Let's start with a definition of augmented reality:

 

"Augmented reality (AR) is the integration of digital information with the user's environment in real time. Unlike virtual reality (VR), which creates a totally artificial environment, AR users experience a real-world environment with generated perceptual information overlaid on top of it.

 

Augmented reality is used to either visually change natural environments in some way or to provide additional information to users. The primary benefit of AR is that it manages to blend digital and three-dimensional (3D) components with an individual's perception of the real world. AR has a variety of uses, from helping in decision-making to entertainment.

 

AR delivers visual elements, sound and other sensory information to the user through a device like a smartphone or glasses. This information is overlaid onto the device to create an interwoven experience where digital information alters the user's perception of the real world. The overlaid information can be added to an environment or mask part of the natural environment."

 

Here is a video showing the difference between AR and VR:

 

 

As noted above, augmented reality can be delivered using smartphones and glasses but it can also be delivered using tablets and contact lenses as shown in this video:

 


Augmented reality programs are also used by the military including machine vision, recognition of objects and gestures and can display data on a vehicle's windshield.  The U.S. military also uses AR in an eyepiece called Tactical Augmented Reality which mounts on a helmet and can be used to locate another soldier's location.

 

AR can also be used as follows:

 

1.) retail businesses allow consumers to see how products will look on them or in their home prior to purchase.

 

2.) entertainment and gaming. 

 

3.) tools and measurement of different 3D points in a user's environment.

 

4.) architects can use AR to visualize a project.

 

Now let's go back to the WEF opinion piece on augmented reality.  When the piece was first published, this is what it looked like:

 


Now, thanks to those nasty web denizens who just love to propagate a conspiracy theory, WEF has been forced to add a disclaimer to the beginning of the article:




In case you can't read the small print, here is the disclaimer in full:

 

"Help us prevent the spread of disinformation

 

This article has been intentionally misrepresented on sites that spread false information. Please read the piece for yourself before sharing or commenting.

 

The World Economic Forum is committed to publishing a wide array of opinions. Misrepresenting content diminishes open conversations."

 

There's nothing that the World Economic Forum hates more than hate directed at itself.  On the upside, since I've read the piece for myself from beginning to end, according to the World Economic Forum, I'm entitled to weigh in.

 

Given the WEF's penchant for all things technological, they note the following three key points about the implementation of a society based on augmented reality:

 

1.) Augmented reality technology has the ability to transform society and individual lives, particularly in health care and mobility.

 

2.) As much as visual and hearing aids are a part of our lives today, implant technologies could become the norm in future.


3.) Stakeholders in society will need to agree on how to ethically make these amazing technologies a part of our lives.


The author notes that society is making the first strides toward an augmented society in two ways:

 

1.) using AR technology as an extension of rehabilitation (i.e. eyeglasses, prosthetics, cochlear implants) to restore a lost or impaired function.

 

2.) using AR technology in healthy individuals in all stages of life from childhood learning environments to professionals at work to ambitious senior citizens.  Examples include night vision googles, exoskeletons and brain-computer interfaces.

 

The author provides two specific examples:

 

1.) trying to converse in a noisy environment - AR technology would allow you to use glasses or earbuds that temporarily improve your ability to hear.

 

2.) children with ADD could use AR technology to block off excessive stimulation that distracts them through the use of extra visual and audio guidance.

 

Now, let's get to one of the key points of the opinion piece.  The author notes that technology will become intertwined in the body in the form of implants and that:

 

"....As scary as chip implants may sound, they form part of a natural evolution that wearables once underwent. Hearing aids or glasses no longer carry a stigma. They are accessories and are even considered a fashion item. Likewise, implants will evolve into a commodity....

 

....Getting an implant is obviously more invasive than picking up a pair of glasses. Generally, implants will be linked to medical conditions. The extent to which a particular device becomes common will depend on the technology’s functionality and how far it’s integrated into your body and daily life(style)."


Fortunately, we can remove hearing aids and glasses when we don't want to use them; the same cannot be said for implantable technology.

 

Of course, the braintrust at the WEF love the very idea of implants as you can see in these quotes:

 

"Brain implants take us one step further and allow us to tap straight into the body’s “operating system...

 

An indispensable wearable device may be implanted under the skin as a first approach or in the belly if needed....there may be other implants that influence the nerves of the peripheral nervous system or the information highways that connect the spinal cord and brain to organs and limbs."

 

In an attempt to convince us that AR technology is for the betterment of humanity, the author states that:

 

"Just as with wearables, no one turns their head anymore for medical necessities like hearing aids or pulse monitors. Even in an educational and professional setting, smart goggles, phones, wristbands and the like are commonplace. Gaming is the next target. The question is whether implants will follow a similar evolution. Health? Plausible. Education and profession? Potentially....

 

If the idea of a chip in your body makes you cringe, consider all the pharmaceuticals you take without question."


Once again, you can stop taking pharmaceuticals should you decide that you no longer wish to ingest them.  The same cannot be said for implantable technology unless you happen to be handy with a scalpel and a mirror.

 

At the beginning of this article, I noted that the WEF had added a disclaimer to the beginning of this opinion piece, stating that certain websites had been spreading false information about the WEF's intentions.  Here are the sentences that have caused many to ponder the real motives of AR:

 

"The limits on implants are going to be set by ethical arguments rather than scientific capacity. For example, should you implant a tracking chip in your child? There are solid, rational reasons for it, like safety."

 

With a sentence like that, it's pretty hard for the WEF to deny that their stakeholders, the world's wealthiest and most influential individuals, are not enthralled with the concept of a chip in every human being starting with the youngest and most vulnerable among us which will be soft-sold to the serfs as a means of improving their lives.


Here is yet another video on the use of AR to enhance human beings, turning us into Homo sapiens 2.0 and the ethical debate that will be brought to the forefront as a result:



Given the rapidly growing implementation of digital identification and the fact that governments and Big Tech thrive on their ability to track and trace our every move, it is only logical to those who are capable of critical thinking that there are serious issues regarding privacy and civil rights that accompany the implementation of implants and other augmented technologies.  As well, while we are being told that AR technology will be the ultimate solution for all that ails humanity, in fact, there is no guarantee that this technology will result in an improved quality of life for the useless eater class.


Monday, August 22, 2022

The Thailand Myocarditis Study - Is This the Safety Signal That Will Halt Adolescent COVID-19 Vaccinations?

While it hasn't received a great deal of coverage in the mainstream media, myocarditis has proven to be one of the adverse side effects of the COVID-19 vaccines, particularly among young males.  While government health officials have taken the stance that there are insufficient cases of myocarditis among young males to send out a safety signal to vaccine manufacturers and those who are being vaccinated as shown here for Canada:

 


 ...and here for the United States:



Based on what government "experts" are telling us, one could be forgiven for thinking that the risk of COVID-19 in adolescents is far higher than the risk of post-COVID-19 vaccination cardiac adverse events.


According to the Myocarditis Foundation, while many myocarditis patients live long lives post-diagnosis  with no major long-term side effects, in some cases, ongoing cardiovascular medications and even heart transplants may be needed.  Here are two quotes:

 

"Overall, myocarditis which can cause dilated cardiomyopathy, are thought to account for up to 45 percent of heart transplants in the U.S. today...

  

...myocarditis can recur, and in some cases can lead to a chronically enlarged heart (called dilated cardiomyopathy). There is no known way to prevent recurrence of myocarditis. However, the risk of recurrence is low (probably about 10 to 15 percent)."

 

A recent peer-reviewed prospective cohort study of the cardiovascular effects of Pfizer's Comirnaty/BNT162b2 vaccine on adolescents living in Thailand:

 


...looked at the post-vaccination health of 301 adolescents (202 males and 99 females) aged 13 to 18 years with a mean of 15 years from two schools using ECG, echocardiography and cardiac enzymes which were collected at baseline (i.e. prior to vaccination), days 3, 7 and 14 (optional) after receiving the second dose of the vaccine.  Patients who had a history of cardiomyopathy, tuberculosis, constrictive or tuberculosis pericarditis or an allergy to the COVID-19 vaccine were excluded from the study.

  

Cardiovascular manifestations were recorded  including the following:

 

1.) Chest pain/pericarditis

 

2.) Dyspnea/orthopnea

 

3.) Palpitation

 

4.) Hypertension/hypotension

 

5.) Tachycardia/bradycardia

 

6.) Shock/cardiogenic shock

 

7.) Abnormal ECG or abnormal rhythm or ECG change

 

8.) Bundle branch block

 

9.) Decreased ejection fraction

 

10.) Diastolic dysfunction

 

11.) Elevation in at least one cardiac biomarker (troponinT, CKMB)/myocarditis

 

 Myocarditis patients were those with the presence or worsening of one or more of the following clinical symptoms along with evidence of inflammation:

 

1.) chest pain, pressure, or discomfort


2.) dyspnea, shortness of breath, or pain with breathing


3.) palpitation


4.)  syncope and more than one new finding of: (a) troponin level above upper normal limit of normal; (b) abnormal ECG or rhythm monitoring consistent with myocarditis; (c) abnormal cardiac function or wall motion on echocardiography; (d) cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) findings consistent with myocarditis and no identifiable cause for symptoms and findings.

 

Pericarditis patients were those with new presence or worsening of more than two of the following clinical features: 


1.) acute chest pain


2.) pericardial rub on exam


3.) new STsegment elevation or PRsegment depression on ECG


4.) pericardial effusion on echocardiography or cMRI.

 

As well, all participants had a high-sensitivity cardiac troponin-T assay at baseline, and on Day 3, Day 7, and Day 14 (optional) after the second vaccination dose.  Troponin is a type of protein that is normally found in the muscles of the heart.  It is not normally found in blood unless there has been damage to the heart.  As heart damage increases, troponin levels also increase.  As such, troponin is invaluable in diagnosing heart attacks and other heart-related health issues.

   

Here are some of the results of the ECG findings in chart form:

 


After vaccination, ECG revealed that 247 (82.06 percent) of the 301 patients had normal sinus rhythm and 54 (17.94 percent) had abnormal ECG rhythm.  

  

Here is a table showing the patients with positive lab assessments or elevated biomarkers (troponin-T):


Note that the baseline troponin-T level in all 7 patients is low prior to vaccination and that in 5 cases, the troponin-T levels continue to rise for at least two weeks after 2 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is administered.  Using a 14 pg/mL cutoff, the combined clinical and subclinical rate of myocarditis is 2.5 percent (5 divided by 202 male participants).  It is also important to note that among the 99 females in the study, there were no patients with elevated post-vaccination troponin-T levels.

  

From this study, it would appear that heart damage in male adolescents continues well after the second dose of Pfizer's BNT162b2 vaccine.  Unfortunately, scientists do not know what level of heart damage is required before there is an increased risk of a cardiac event which could well be life-shortening nor do they know if these cardiovascular manifestations are transient.

  

Let's close with this excerpt from the Emergency Use Authorization granted by the FDA for Pfizer/BioNTech's Comirnaty COVID-19 vaccine dated August 23, 2021:

 



Unfortunately, given that it will take up to the year 2027 before these studies are completed, the health of adolescent males is at significant risk from cardiac events after vaccination for COVID-19.  Fortunately,  governments, the medical community and parents of young males now have the safety signal data that they need to make a decision on the continued vaccination of young males; whether the powers that (ought not to) be use it wisely or choose to ignore it because it doesn't fit their narrative of a "needle in every arm" is up to them.


Friday, August 19, 2022

How the World Economic Forum Defends Its "You'll Own Nothing and Be Happy" Narrative

On July 25, 2022, this story appeared on Rappler:

 

Before we dig into the article, let's look at the publisher of the story.  Rappler is a Phillipines-based online news website.  Rappler has received funding from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a private, not for profit foundation which is "...dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world".  It was launched in the early 1980s and, although it claims that  it is not an agency or establishment of the United States government, it is largely funded by the United States Congress, giving it the ability to make more than 2000 grants annually to support the projects of non-governmental groups outside of the United States who are working for democratic goals.

 

Here is the funding that NED has provided to Rappler:

 


Rappler also receives funding from the Omidyar Network, a philanthropic organization founded by Pierre Omidyar as shown here:


 

Pierre Omidyar is the founder of eBay and the 217th richest person in the world according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.


With that background let's look at the Rappler article in question,.

 

In this article, the author, Adrian Monck (we'll look in more detail at Mr. Monck later) writes a missive which seeks to explain this article which appeared on the World Economic Forum website back in 2016 and has created significant angst among those of us paying attention over the past two years:


 

For some reason, while the original article has been scrubbed from the WEF website due to alleged threats against the author, Ida Auken (according to the Rappler article), this copy still exists on the Forbes website:

 

 

In his missive, Monck spends a great deal of effort to convince the world that the "Own Nothing and Be Happy" narrative is merely a part of the World Economic Forum's attempts to "...spark debate about socio-economic developments".  While the article received relatively little attention for four years, Monck notes that the article went viral when it was picked up by an anonymous anti-semitic account on 4chan.  He also claims that the unmoderated board was used by operators of a Russian propaganda campaign which existed to stir Far Right outrage about COVID-19 and perpetuate domestic extremism.  Here's a quote:

 

"The pandemic magnified many societal ills. The mistrust in governments and leaders that had been building before played into the hands of both fringe groups and state-sponsored actors looking to undermine and weaken rivals. Both came together on the anonymous dark web in places like 4chan’s “politically incorrect” image board. 


The board, which is completely unmoderated, was also used by operators of a Russian propaganda campaign, active since 2014. The intent was apparently to spread disinformation in a bid to stir Far Right outrage about COVID-19 and perpetuate domestic extremism. The means was often via bots that would push a Far Right conspiracy theory to communities on boards such as 4chan. 


Recent analysis explains how this context brought extremists together “using rhetoric that trivialized National Socialism and the Holocaust.” This same Far Right, Holocaust-denying cohort latched onto “The Great Reset,” claiming that the Forum was part of a group that “orchestrated the pandemic to take control of the global economy.”


A number of threads appeared in this vein, dedicated to the Great Reset. One such 4chan thread linked the pandemic, the alleged nefarious control that the Forum exercises over the global economy, and the idea that “You’ll own nothing and be happy.”"


He goes on to note that the anti-WEF campaign went viral and captured the "warped imagination of conspiracy and fringe groups" and that more mainstream right wing organizations (i.e. Fox News and Sky News Australia) used the phrase as a "dog-whistle".  He even states that Pierre Poilievre, a Canadian Member of Parliament and front-runner for the leadership of the Conservative party, used the "You'll own nothing" mantra to discredit Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government as shown here:



Just so he remains current, Monck goes on to discuss how the WEF has long been concerned about disinformation as quoted here:


"As far back as 2013, the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risks Report flagged disinformation as a concern, warning then that disinformation could spark “digital wildfires” in our hyper-connected world.


Today, that warning has largely been born out. Disinformation is a serious challenge for regulators, a minefield for individuals who seek the facts, and a barrier to governments and organizations wanting to disseminate important information. 


The consequences of unabated disinformation are dangerous. Disinformation concerning COVID-19 and vaccines cost lives during the pandemic...


The story of “You’ll own nothing and be happy” is anything but trivial and offers valuable insights into how disinformation is created and why it’s essential not to perpetuate its spread."


I'm betting that the WEF wishes that it had kept this particular aspect of its vision for the future under wraps until the global elites had the opportunity to spring it on the unsuspecting useless eater class.


And, here are his concluding remarks:


"In a world where the trolls win, more forward-thinking conversations like the one Auken tried to initiate will be tarnished."


Now, as promised, here is background information on Adrian Monck:



Mr. Monck just happens to be the Managing Director of the World Economic Forum.  I'm sure that his views reflect only his own version of the truth and have absolutely nothing to do with defending the Great Reset narrative promoted by his employer.

 

There is more to this story.  This same article appeared on the website of one of Canada's most influential left-leaning, pro-Liberal newspapers, the Globe and Mail, on August 5, 2022 as shown here:


One might wonder why Canada has been singled out for such auspicious attention by the World Economic Forum.  There are three reasons:


1.) Chrystia Freeland - Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister and WEF Board of Trustees member and the woman responsible for freezing the assets of Canadians who she found disagreeable during the truckers' protest in February 2022:



2.) Mark Carney: Former Deputy Governor and Governor of the Bank of Canada and WEF Board of Trustees member:



3.) The mention of Pierre Poilievre in the article is very timely given that his party, the Conservative Party of Canada, is currently holding its leadership campaign and he is considered to be a frontrunner and a significant threat to Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party.  For your information, the party's new leader will be officially unveiled to the public on September 10, 2022.  It is also interesting to note that one of Klaus Schwab's disciples is none other than Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as shown here and the WEF simply cannot have him replaced by a populist-led Conservative government, can they?


It is interesting to see how complex the globalist cabal is when it comes to promoting their narrative.  While the World Economic Forum may just be serving as the advertising arm of the Great Reset/New World Order/Global Government, it is interesting to see the efforts that WEF insiders make to protect their organization from public scrutiny and public criticism.  In Mr. Monck's diatribe not once does he make any apologies on behalf of his cult leader, rather, he deflects the blame for the entire "misunderstanding" on the far right wing and hate group members.   If it was the World Economic's Forum to create an atmosphere of debate, they should consider their efforts to be highly successful when it comes to the useless eaters "owning nothing and being happy".  


While the ruling class love to tout any criticism of their agendas as a "conspiracy theory", as the past two and a half years have taught us, the only difference between a conspiracy theory and fact is six months.