Elijah's seven thousand...

Acerbic, Accusing - Mark Steyn's Take on the Crisis  (16 April 2020)

"Having proved spectacularly inept at preventing the worldwide spread of coronavirus, in early March the WHO tried instead to control the language used to describe the disease. When those affected by Covid-19 curse their luck, heaven forbid that they should 'stigmatise' China. More recently, Amnesty International USA went further and reminded everyone that calling Coivid-19 the 'Chinese virus' is racist. Any stricken patient who audibly blames Beijing for his or her life-threatening ailment presumably will be cautioned for racial prejudice. If like the WHO and Amnesty you regard 'stigmatisation' of China as 'racist', then the opinions of Mark Steyn are not for you..."

Matt Hancock is Trying to Run the UK Like My 1950s Prep School  (12 April 2020)

"From a Government that claims to be preserving life and health [the threat to ban outdoor exercise] was literally mad. Banning exercise for any length of time will lead to the deaths and illness of many thousands of currently healthy, older people who know that such exercise is vital to their physical and mental wellbeing. Such exercise can easily be taken while maintaining the required distance from others. The threat was a dictatorial one, of collective punishment of all for the wrongdoing of others. This is illegal under Article 33 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions. A foreign occupier would not be allowed to do it..."

'Trust the Experts on Coronavirus'. Sure. Which Experts?  (09 April 2020)

"[C]omputer models are unreliable - often based on the junkiest of junk data inputs; programmed with the shonkiest and most politically motivated algorithms, put together by people you wouldn't trust to run a bath let alone dictate government policy ... the models are deeply suspect; the people behind them third rate; the scientific establishment pushing them arrogant, intellectually and morally corrupt, driven by politics, money and power not by honest science. That's why climate sceptics like myself have often been much quicker to understand what the rest of the world is only slowly starting to grasp..."

Germany's Coronavirus Project Fear  (07 April 2020)

"A leaked confidential strategy paper reveals that the German government, in cahoots with the media ands some scientists, is following a 'shock' strategy to make people fear a 'worst-case scenario.'  It says that the general population (for whom the virus is mostly harmless) should be warned of 'painful suffocation' and that children in playgrounds could cause the painful death of their parents. The aim appears to be to frighten the general population into complying with strict government lockdown measures designed to protect those most at risk from the disease. While the intention behind this state propaganda may be laudable, the ends do not justify the means..."

The Deep Velvet Quiet of Our Cities Is As Terrifying As A Fire Bell in the Night  (05 April 2020)

"In this disastrous standstill, in defiance of humanity's innate desire to work, produce and trade, and provide for children and the old, we must stand and stare, apparently powerless ... Oh yes, there are some small compensating pleasures in this. But they are sad ones. There is the glorious clean air in the heartbreaking spring sunlight of this lovely, magic season. But it ought to be a time of hope and rebirth. Instead it is a time of foreboding. The deep velvet quiet at the dead of night takes me back to my childhood in the soft, safe Devon countryside. But I am not there. I am in a busy city. And so the silence is as alarming to me as a fire bell in the night. It is the wrong kind of peace. How can the world we have known up till now survive if this goes on much longer?..."

Lockdown Survival Hint - Stop Watching TV News  (05 April 2020)

"Some are starting to wake up to the fact that we might be safe in the hole from the virus, but the virus is not the only thing that can kill us, and neither is mere survival the only thing important in life. Just think how many people are having to die without family by their side, with almost no one allowed to attend their funeral, to see one example of the costs to basic human decency that this infernal quarantine is inflicting upon us all..."

The Coronavirus Cure Must Not Be Worse Than the Disease  (03 April 2020)

"It is clear that the Wuhan virus is serious and more people will need hospital attention than normal for perhaps two or three months. Yet across the world it is being used to justify the removal of centuries of civil liberties and prolonged 'lockdowns' based on modelling which is spurious at best..."

Lockdown Insanity Will Destroy Britain  (02 April 2020)

"The clown show of Britain's lockdown is dragging our lives down into a bottomless pit of destroyed businesses, shattered lives, unemployment and unpayable debt. All day, every day we are subject to a babble of quacking voices from the 'authorities', although they only ever have three things to say: (1) Death is here, spiralling, soaring, death tolls, infection tolls, more death and yet more; (2) Reduce your life to a wretched, shambling imprisonment. Obey every order and shut up; (3) Give my department huge sums of money for 'more, vital, essential...' (fill in your wish).  There are three important points to make in reply..."

We Love Big Brother  (01 April 2020)

"Good heavens, this is hard to write. To experience a national humiliation and shame is one thing. To describe it as far, far worse ... The streets have been cleared by an irrational panic, which has engulfed almost everyone. Even people I previously respected as reasonably independent minds have fallen for it. They think (though there is only highly debatable evidence for this claim) that by hiding in their homes they will save others from a cruel plague ... a dour ban on even the tiniest pleasure is everywhere enforced with rigor and righteousness. It is like being occupied, except that the grim-jawed occupiers are my own countrymen..."

'Misguided Social Experiment': Two Professors Argue to End Global Coronavirus Lockdown  (31 March 2020)

Reader's comment:  "The experiment did give us lots of useful info though. The police and local authorities have just had a massive public examination on how they handle broad and draconian powers, and they have failed. Comprehensively. Within hours they were creating all sorts of additional rules to enforce. Now they bleat that the powers don’t go far enough. We also learned that when faced with a choice between border controls or cratering the economy and destroying the freedoms of the British people, the ruling class all chose the latter. Even now as our “human rights” are widely suppressed, the human rights of illegal immigrants crossing the channel remain sacrosanct. They will be ferried across the channel by a pliant Border Agency and claim asylum from the perils of living in France. We also now know what would have happened if the communists won and bought in the Stasi. Frame it with the right collectivist language and the majority of the British public would have been fervent collaborators. An uncomfortable observation in a country that has already banned free speech. The sad part of the experiment though is that none of the discoveries were surprising."

Coronavirus - An Alternative View (Part 2 of 3)  (30 March 2020)

"Obviously, all government health advice and suggestions should be taken notice of by the public, but then it seems that they are. That is effectively all that is needed ... The curtailment of business activities, the transport system and more should be reversed without delay ... The borders will have to remain mainly closed for a few more weeks to ensure we import no more individuals with the virus. That is how the virus became active in the country in the first place, because of human carriers travelling here from abroad. It is in this area where perhaps the government was most at fault. It seems more successful countries have had early and through checking and quarantining methods..."

It Is Time to End This Misguided Social Experiment, Get Back to Work!  (29 March 2020)

"Citizens of many countries throughout the world have recently become human subjects in a grand social science experiment that is being conducted without our informed consent. As social scientists, when we conduct an experiment, we are most often required by law to obtain the informed consent of our human subjects. That is, we are required to explain to each subject, in great detail, precisely what we are trying to accomplish in our project, as well as its duration, cost and risks. We also have to abide by an ethical code, which says that there should be no psychological or physical harm to the subject. Unfortunately, the current experiment that is being conducted on us by supposedly democratic governments throughout the world follows none of these principles..."

There's Powerful Evidence This Great Panic is Foolish. Yet Our Freedom Is Still Broken and Our Economy Crippled  (29 March 2020)

"As I watched the PM order mass house arrest on Monday night, I felt revulsion, anger and grief - as anyone brought up when this was a free and well-governed country would. I also felt terribly alone. You could not have known, from anything broadcast that night or printed the following day, that anyone was unhappy with these events. But they were. So above all things this week I would like to thank all the kind, perplexed people who have got in touch with me by so many means, to say that they share my doubts about the government's handling of the Covid-19 virus. There are in fact many of us. If you feel this way, you are nothing like as solitary as you think..."

Coronavirus - An Alternative View (Part 1 of 3)  (29 March 2020)

"At the time of writing the infection and death rates as result of the coronavirus - Covid-19 - continue to rise. However does this situation justify the economic and political policies the government have embarked upon? There is a difference between good advice, which the government on the whole have been giving to the public, and taking measures which may not be necessary. The public have been very ready and able to adhere to the medical advice, and that should be borne in mind..."

Coronavirus - Peter Hitchens Is Right  (25 March 2020)

"Just like in war, the great coronavirus plague is bringing out the best in people and the worst in people. So far, the petty tyrants, the tell-tales, the ignoramuses, the rule-takers and the finger-pointers are having a field day; the more original, clear-eyed thinkers meanwhile, are having to take care about what they say for fear of being judged and found wanting by the self-righteous mob. Already the battle lines are starting to make themselves clear. There are, roughly speaking, two opposing camps: 'I for one welcome our new insect overlords'.  This contains the control freaks; the authoritarians; the snitches; the panickers; the killjoys; the 'trust the experts'; the curtain-twitchers; the leftists; and the catastrophists.  The Awkward Squad. This contains the liberty-lovers; the libertines; the grand strategists; the rebels; the sceptics; the mavericks; the contrarians; the misfits; the deplorables..."

Dissent In A Time of Covid  (23 March 2020)

"Two nasty ailments have gripped Britain in recent days. The first is Covid-19. The second is intolerance of dissent. The authoritarian instincts of the chattering classes have been on full display in this crisis. You can see it in their daily pleas for Boris Johnson to turn the UK into a police state. You can see it in their sneering at people who visit parks or take a walk on a beachfront. And you can see it most disturbingly in their implacable rage against anyone who deviates from the Covid-19 script and asks if shutting down society really is the right thing to do..."

Is Shutting Down Britain - With Unprecedented Curbs on Ancient Liberties - REALLY the Best Answer?  (22 March 2020)

"Some years ago I had the very good luck to fall into the hands of a totally useless doctor. It was hell and nearly worse than that, but it taught me one of the most important lessons of my life ... the point was this. A mere title, a white coat, a smooth manner, a winning way with long words and technical jargon, will never again be enough for me. It never, ever does any harm to question decisions which you think are wrong. If they are right, then no harm will be done. They will be able to deal with your questions. If they are, in fact, wrong, you could save everyone a lot of trouble. And so here I am, asking bluntly - is the closedown of the country the right answer to the coronavirus? ... because if we have this wrong we have a great deal to lose..."

What is Covid-19?

"Covid-19 is supposedly a pneumonia as a complication of SARS-COV-2, but ...

• For most people, Covid-19 is a mild illness which is never confirmed as being due to SARS-COV-2, but the perception of reality is created by official general prognosis,
• A developed SARS-COV-2 infection could be flu, or even a bacterial infection, and Covid-19, or the pneumonia associated with it, would in fact arise as a complication due to these other causations,
• Pneumonia or severe respiratory complications can occur from a treatment for cancer - which incriminates other pre-existing conditions in combination with their medical treatments,
• Meanwhile, quite astonishingly, there is no acknowledgement of what might be true Covid-19, which is an infection of the lungs related to the interaction between SARS-COV/SARS-COV-2 and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2) that is promoted in treatment by prescribed drugs.

"[T]he UK Government's reaction to Covid-19 has been way beyond anything anyone could call proportional. It has been unnecessarily, grotesquely exaggerated, and pointlessly damaging" [source].

Fear is the Little Death

"As Frank Herbert wrote in his novel, Dune, 'Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration' and collective fear is also the primary tool that governments have long used to bring potentially recalcitrant populations under control... sometimes to the point of obliteration.  Historically, that type of fear is not sudden but eats away at the heart and soul of a people one small nibble at a time until the minds of a now docile demographic willingly acquiesce to any number of outrageous edicts and restraints upon their lives and freedoms in the hope that in so doing this will ensure their personal survival.  And note always that once this induced fear has taken a firm hold the decisive instruments of draconian suppression are placed in the hands of powerful enforcement agencies who invariably career out of control and become a law unto themselves, quickly becoming too big and too powerful for even the political drones who unleashed them to restrain.

"Look about you now at the actions and verbal vomitus coming from HM Government's emergent blue uniformed SS, particularly their local Obersturmbannführers so erroneously referred to as Chief Constables. (Did anyone else notice the Home Secretary singing their praises at the daily briefing session a few days ago... with the senior Obergruppenführer by her side?)  Have no doubt about it, this is the situation extant in so many once-democratic countries throughout the Anglosphere and the Staatspolizei certainly won't give up their intoxicating new found powers easily, so think again - is it really worth the candle that you should sell your children into a future defined only by blind obedience to the Diktats of a monolithic controlling State in order to prolong  your lives by a few years?  'Action this day or never' is a cliché that has so often turned out to be a truism.

"And, finally, the seminal question that will probably remain unanswered until sanity and honesty return - why is it that a particular subsection of the demographic is being so grotesquely pandered to and permitted to break all social distancing rules with impunity whilst the original indigenes are not?  Also, have you noticed the constant compassionate references to 'Little Ishmail' and his poor family?  No mention of little David or Julia and their families, of course. Perhaps the answer lies there.

"In conclusion, I am convinced that above all other political aberrations Selective Policing is the definitive sign of a corrupted Establishment acting with malignant intent to a hidden agenda and thus, with reference to the two preceding questions, I regret that I must leave you to mentally fill in, in private, those details which we are not permitted to mention in the public domain or face being prosecuted for a hate crime if we do... damn! How Orwellian is that?" [Reader's comment at source]. 

Coronavirus Act: What Are We Consenting To?

"In the UK, it is worth recapping what it is we are consenting to with the Coronavirus Act:

• We consent to increased State surveillance of ourselves and our family;
• We are happy that we could be detained, without charge, because some state official suspects, or claims they suspect, we may be infected;
• It is fine with us that we or our loved ones can be sectioned under the Mental Health Act on the recommendation of a single doctor and neither we nor they need to have the protection of a second opinion we are locked up;
• We accept that the state can retain our biometric data and fingerprints for an extended period;
• We consent that jury trials are a bit of an anachronism and Judges can hear more evidence by video or even audio link;
• We think it's fine that the evidence required, and processes undertaken, to determine and record our or our loved ones' deaths can be eroded to the point where they can be registered by people with no medical or legal expertise at all;
• We don't think the NHS needs to adhere to practice standards or bother with assessing the needs of some patients, especially older people;
• We are also fine with the complete suspension of democracy in Britain;
• We accept all of this based upon a unique subset of scientific opinion which, contrary t every known scientific principle, can never be questioned;
• We agree with the MSM that people who question any aspect of the stories they tell us are dangerous because these people just don't care if their own loved ones die. Only true believers care about their families;
• We also accept the need for the State to invest considerable resources creating counter disinformation units whose purpose is to censor anything and everything which questions our firmly held beliefs. The beliefs informed by many of the same people doing the censoring..." [source].

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in Him will I trust.
Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday ...
He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways ...
he shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble ... and show him my salvation"
(Psalm 91)

© Elizabeth McDonald     https://www.bayith.org     bayith@blueyonder.co.uk