 | MONEY |
| HOME | PRICE GUIDE | STORE | BLOGS | SPORTS | BUSINESS | NEWS/UPDATES | WILD SIDE | CONTACT | ARCHIVES |
 Money Daily has been providing business and financial market news, views, and coverage on a nearly continuous basis since 2006. Complete archives are available at moneydaily.blogspot.com. PRIOR COVERAGE:
7/27-8/1/2020
Downtown Magazine appreciates your support. If you find the information here helpful, please consider showing your support. PayPal, debit or credit cards accepted.
|
July Jobs Number Shows 1.76 Million Gain, Unemployment at 10.2%; Markets Not Overly Impressed Friday, August 7, 2020, 8:40 am ET While Friday looks to be an interesting day for traders of all stripes, next week could be one of the more volatile in some time depending on how things shame out over the weekend. Anticipation of July non-farm payroll data at 8:30 (at this writing, half and hour away) has put some pressure on equity futures, at their worst levels in weeks though the jobs data is not expected to be a major drag on stocks. Perhaps more worrying is President Trump's late night executive order banning Americans from transactions involving China's ByteDance (parent of TikTok) and WeChat (owned by Tencent). The order will go into effect in 45 days. The president's Working Group on Financial Markets (aka, Plunge Protection Team, or, PPT) has also made a recommendation to delist Chinese companies on US exchanges that are not become compliant with US accounting standards. There's a bit of dark humor here, as the Working Group is notorious for putting a bid under stocks when they're approaching collapse and the idea of US companies actually in compliance with GAAP standards is somewhat laughable when earnings reports are laden with one time charges, off-balance sheet transactions, pre-tax calculations and other accounting tricks designed to shield firms from investor backlash.
The president appears to have struck a nerve with his recent verbal and written attacks against communist China. They are a major trading partner, albeit the one-sided flow of money having headed to them over the past 40 years, and many companies are stuck with agreements and supply chain parameters that are being eroded as US-China relations deteriorate. A lot of money is at risk and the whole world knows it. Beyond the president's trade and sleepless night antics, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary have made little to no progress with steadfast Democrats - particularly NY senator Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - who haven't budged on their demands for a much bigger and more encompassing stimulus bill currently under negotiation. It's all politics all the time in Washington, but this struggle has implications that will likely have a major effect on the November elections. Apparently, the Democrats believe that by holding out on key tenets of their $3 trillion HEROES (Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions) act over the roughly $1 trillion proposal offered by the White House, they can lay blame on "stingy" Republicans and look good holding out for more free things for everybody. Of course, the strategy is not without risks. Potential voters may see the Democrats holding out for too much and scuttling any chance of getting most Americans another round of $1200 checks and an extension - of any kind - on the added unemployment benefits that recently expired. Rightly, citizens should blame both sides, just for being politicians and using the American people as a foil for their election hopes. The White House has indicated that if a deal is not reached Friday, they will cease negotiations and let congress deal with it on its own. Republicans in the Senate should be a shamed of themselves for not being involved in some kind of compromise, but, of course, they have no shame left after doing nothing when they had the presidency and majorities in both houses from 2016 through 2018. That said, it's looking like average working or laid off Americans are sure to suffer again for the foibles of feckless politicians. And people wonder why voter turnout is so low... Getting closer to non-farm payroll data, here (An Effective COVID Treatment the Media Continues to Besmirch) is an excellent analysis by Steven Hatfill published on RealClearPolitics.com on August 4 about the effectiveness of hydroxychloroqine in the fight against COVID-19. Why is nobody listening to respected authorities like Hatfill? Steven Hatfill is a veteran virologist who helped establish the Rapid Hemorrhagic Fever Response Teams for the National Medical Disaster Unit in Kenya, Africa. He is an adjunct assistant professor in two departments at the George Washington University Medical Center where he teaches mass casualty medicine. He is principle author of the prophetic book "Three Seconds Until Midnight -- Preparing for the Next Pandemic," published by Amazon in 2019. It's just after 8:30 now and the July non-farm payroll numbers are out. As expected, the mangled data was benign at worst and positive at best, showing that the US added 1.76 million jobs during the month. The unemployment rate fell to 10.2%. For what it's worth, futures brightened up a bit on the announcement, but are still solidly in the red as the opening bell for the final trading day of the week approaches.
At the Close, Thursday, August 6, 2020:
Thursday, August 6, 2020, 8:30 am ET 75 years ago today, the first nuclear bomb was used in warfare, as the United States dropped "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later, the US did the same to the Japanese city of Nagasaki with a nuclear device known by the nickname "Fat Man." Together, the two bombs ushered in a quick end to World War II in the Pacific, with Japan surrendering on August 15, and formally signing the instrument of surrender on September 2, aboard the USS Missouri, harbored in Tokyo Bay. The 13-kiloton blast on Hiroshima destroyed nearly 5 square miles of the Japanese city. Upwards of 70,000 died instantly, and tens of thousands later perished from injury and radiation sickness. Though no official count was ever undertaken, estimates near 150,000 total killed are common. No other nuclear device has ever been used in military combat since the two that ended World War II. Today's nuclear weapons are orders of magnitude more powerful than the two dropped on Japan. According to a 2104 article by the Brookings Institute, the largest ballistic missile warhead in the US arsenal is 455 kilotons on the W88, carried by the Trident II SLBM. The B83 nuclear weapon, which is the largest nuclear weapon currently in the U.S. stockpile is estimated at 1.2 megatons, 1000 times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb, "Little Boy." While these explosions occurred 75 years ago, there's another explosion evident today, that being the one in the price of silver, which is up more than 50 percent in just the last 30 days. Overnight, the price of an ounce of silver not only passed $27 an ounce, it surpassed $28 per ounce. As of this writing, the bid price on August silver futures is $28.22. As is the case with gold, getting physical metal at anywhere near the futures or spot prices is basically an impossibility. For instance, there's little availability of gold in bars or coins of over one ounce at dealers worldwide. Typical prices for one ounce gold coins or bars carries a premium of roughly $100 beyond spot. Silver is even more dear, with 30-40% premiums common. Typical prices for one ounce coins or bars is $34 and higher.
Money Daily has outlined the reasons for silver and gold's spectacular gains this year in previous posts, mostly attributing the rise to destruction of fiat currencies by incessant central bank counterfeiting and negative real interest rates. Outstripping every other asset this year, precious metals are just beginning what is likely to become known as the greatest rally ever. The Federal Reserve, trapped into a corner of their own making, cannot do anything except prop up their favored equity and fixed-income markets via special buying programs that are essentially illegal and serve only as a temporary reprieve for companies that are insolvent and should be headed to bankruptcy. Beyond the roughly 30-40% of listed companies that are technically "zombies" - meaning current profits are not enough to pay the interest on their debt - US and other significant international banks have been frantically ramping up their loan loss reserves while also having taken advantage of handouts from the Federal Reserve. Gold and silver's ascent is a signal the the entire monetary system of the planet - all based on faith and credit - is about to collapse. As it is, stocks are only being kept afloat by the Federal Reserve's ZIRP and special bond-buying programs. Their next step is to buy stocks directly, another violation of their charter. The same is being done in Europe and Asia. Japan and Switzerland have been buyers of equities for years. It's not just big money institutional investors who see the damage being done to the global currency regime. Ordinary people are losing faith in the dollar, euro, pound, Swiss franc, yen, and China's yuan, though the US dollar has been the hardest hit recently when measured against other currencies. Gold has been making record highs against all other currencies for months and years. Just last week gold topped the all-time high against the dollar, signaling that the real rout of all currencies is just beginning. Silver hasn't even come close to its record high of $49 an ounce, though it certainly will, probably early in 2021, if not sooner. The rocket-like nature of silver's price explosion gives credence to current thinking that it is the gentleman's way of saying good-bye to other currencies. There's an old adage that goes something like this:
Gold is the money of kings. Smart money is on gold and silver replacing the fiat currencies within one to three years. You can have your stocks, your bonds, your Federal Reserve Notes, but gold and silver are blowing them all away. If you don't own physical gold or silver or other tradable hard assets within the next few years, you're going to be out of luck and likely out of money. Right now, the economic wheels are wobbling on their axles. When they finally fall off - and they will - chaos will ensue. We've seen nothing yet.
At the close, Wednesday, August 5, 2020:
Wednesday, August 5, 2020, 8:00 am ET The name is Bond. Treasury Bond.
Anyone with a recollection of the classic 1963 initial intonation of the James Bond introduction from the film, "Dr. No," is likely to also have some memories of five percent interest at savings banks, CDs offering yields of seven, or stocks that were marked by quarter or half-point gains and losses. Whether one relates to Sean Connery, Roger Moore, or even the contemporary Daniel Craig, the message remains the same. When the secret agent with the license to kill shows up, it's a sure thing that the bad guy is going to have a rough go of it. The treasury bond market is relatable in similar fashion. Normally, when bonds announce their arrival at the scene of the financial panic of the day via lower yields, it is normally a signal for hard times ahead. These days, with the Fed put in place through various schemes, asset purchase programs, and nefarious back-room dealings, bond yields and the structure of the curve don't seem to matter very much. Stocks keep churning higher. Life - or whatever we're calling the continuing COVID crisis today - goes on. On Tuesday, the evidence of stress was plain to see. Bond prices racked higher, sending the yield on the 10-year note to a record low, 0.52%. The 30-year crumbled to 1.19%, leaving the complex with a top to bottom spread of 110 basis points (1.10%). There's also inversion at the 1-year and 2-year level, the former yielding 0.14, the latter, 0.11. Even worse, the 3-year dipped to 0.10. None of that bodes well for the US economy, but Wall Street barely batted an eyelash. Stocks gained across the board, though the day's rally could best be described as "nervous." There's nothing good about the US or global economy, no matter how hard the Fed and the Wall Street, CNBC, Fox Business, and Bloomberg stock jockeys whip their mounts. There just isn't. Month-over-month data will show the occasional impressive uptick, but whatever the measure, it's from some dismal low point created by coronavirus and government edict. So, when bonds make their ominous introductions, don't expect much to happen to stocks. Rather, look to precious metals for a suitable response. While bond yields were headed toward Hades in a handbag, gold and silver were launched to impressive levels. Gold vaulted past $2000 and silver gained almost two dollars on the day, ripping from $24.50 to beyond $26 the ounce. This is the natural reaction in the precious metals when storage costs become cheaper than real (negative) yields and price appreciation appears to be a no-brainer as opposed to declining interest rates. The moves haven't slowed overnight either. Traders in the near and far East know currency and empire collapse when they see it and have made the requisite adjustment in the price of real money. Those expecting a slowing of precious metals' daring ascent are going to be disappointed. The recent spike - especially in silver, normally the more volatile of the pair - is the natural reaction to the global mess created by central banks and aided by coronavirus. The destruction of fiat currencies is a slow process, but the precious metals aren't wasting any time signaling the coming cataclysm. While the recent gains may not be entirely sustainable, long term prospects for gold and silver are nothing short of magnificent. When every currency is backed by good faith and credit - and there is little left of those - a runaway response by precious metals is to be expected. Over the next two to five years, gold could easily triple or more; silver could be priced well over $100 per ounce as the gold:silver ratio executes a reversion to the mean. There was more good news on the bond front. Argentina finalized a deal with creditors over $65 billion in long-term debt that has been hanging over the South American nation like the sword of Damocles since May, when a scheduled interest payment went missing. The deal worked out has some interesting non-moving parts, most notably the swapping out of old bonds for new ones at a price of 55 cents on the dollar, with principal payments delayed until 2024, ostensibly to give Argentina time to get its fiscal house in order (or to find another way to screw over even more creditors). No matter the case, the Argentina Treatment is likely to set a new standard - a "new normal" - for debt negotiations. This is what credit card companies and home equity specialists will be hearing in coming months and years. "I'm unable to meet my debt obligations, so I would like the Argentina Treatment. If you can see to it that 45% of my debt is forgiven, I'll gladly pay you back at two percent or so, beginning in three years. Or, would you rather have your financial institution pounding sand?" Not exactly a debt jubilee, but what some may call a suitable solution to decades of high-interest credit card debt and squeezed homeowners with no piggy bank left.
At the Close, Tuesday, August 4, 2020:
Tuesday, August 4, 2020, 8:06 am ET This morning, the Miami Herald reports: 2 more Florida teens die of complications related to COVID-19, data show That brings the number to seven the number of children under the age of 19 that have died from COVID-19. A total of 38,171 children have contracted the disease, according to Florida's data, bringing the case fatality rate (number of deaths divided by the number of positive tests) for teens and pre-teens in Florida to 0.018, or just less than two in 10,000 who will die from COVID-related illness or complications of those diagnosed with it. Just to be doubly sure to cover all the bases in an effort at "honest journalism," the Herald reporters made sure to include this oft-used phrase:
Additional information on both teenagers, including whether they had any preexisting heath conditions, was not immediately available. Nationwide, nearly 90% of all deaths attributed to COVID-19 were people with pre-existing medical conditions, the most prevalent being obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. It is stories like this one in the Miami Herald that are designed to keep the level of panic and confusion high among the general population. Fear and panic are key to getting people to submit to the will of government, be it wearing face masks, sheltering in place, keeping "social distance" or any of a handful of useless ideas that federal and state governments have imposed upon citizens over the past six months. It being useless to try to convince millions of Americans that there's really little danger to the vast majority of people when the mainstream media is mimicking Chicken Little with a "sky is falling" message, Downtown Magazine has taken to presenting information that diverges from the fake news in an effort to at least keep some critical conversation active. Here are some of our findings, with links and occasional commentary. COVID-19 poses virtually no health risk to athletes. Quercetin Antiviral Effects with Zinc (Ionophore) This is a very positive paper promoting quercetin as an ionophore (a substance which is able to transport particular ions across a lipid membrane in a cell) for zinc, to allow zinc (Zn2+) to enter cells and inhibit entry of coronavirus, thus eliminating the risk of infection nearly 100%. Quercetin + Zinc = NO COVID The comment thread at Zero Hedge is loaded with stories and links: by user TRM (with edits): Moderna and NIAID (Gates, Fauci, etc.) have a BLATANT conflict of interest. "It's completely correct to say that NIAID (National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the NIH and is headed by Dr. Fauci) will reap a profit on the Moderna/NIAID vaccine. There are 6 NIAID scientists who work for Dr. Fauci, each of whom would get $150,000/year indefinitely as their reward. So that's $900,000 to his subordinates every year in perpetuity." - Mary Holland, General Counsel, RFK Jr's Children's Health Defense
1) They skipped animal testing and went straight to humans. Ian Haydon volunteered to test Moderna's experimental COVID vaccine. Moderna chose Haydon for the study because of his robust good health. He was among the 15 volunteers in the high dose group. Less than 12 hours after vaccination, Hayden suffered muscle aches, vomiting, spiked a 103.2 degree fever and lost consciousness. His girlfriend caught him as he fell. Within 45 days 20% experienced "serious" adverse events according to Moderna's press release meaning they REQUIRED hospitalization or medical intervention.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- At first, the experiment seemed successful as all the animals developed a robust antibody response to coronavirus. However, when the scientists exposed the vaccinated animals to the WILD VIRUS, the results were horrifying. Vaccinated animals suffered hyper-immune responses including inflammation throughout their bodies, especially in their lungs. Researchers had seen this same "enhanced immune response" during human testing of the failed RSV vaccine tests in the 1960s. Two children died.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X19313647#! The study found that those who had been vaccinated with the flu vaccine had a 36 percent higher risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2.
----------------------------------------------------------------------- https://childrenshealthdefense.org/child-health-topics/exposing-truth/fda-director-peter-marks-and-the-ever-shifting-covid-vaccine-narrative/ "In its guidance, FDA said it expected sponsors to demonstrate a vaccine is at least 50% effective in a placebo-controlled trial, with an adjusted lower bound of >30%." Yes, you read that correctly. The FDA will accept a coin toss for effectiveness when you need 70% to stop the virus! Don't worry though you'll need multiple shots anyway because ... Fauci conceded that vaccine immunity may only last a few months and both he and Bill Gates are suggesting that the vaccine may not even prevent transmission! -Conclusion: If you need a conclusion for this part I am truly at a loss for words. It is quickly becoming a solution looking for a problem. The Oxford vaccine group are lamenting the fact that it is dying out so quickly in the UK that they may not have anyone to test it on. Like that is a bad thing? Nobel-laureate Dr. Michael Levitt (Chemistry and structural biology at Stanford) has made another prediction. July 25, 2020: "US COVID19 will be done in 4 weeks [Aug 25] with total reported deaths below 170,000. How will we know it is over? Like for Europe, when all cause excess deaths are at normal level for week. Reported COVID19 deaths may continue after 25 Aug. & reported cases will, but it will be over." Now, past performance doesn't guarantee future results but at least he was correct on his predictions unlike the "experts" the governments are mindlessly following. The CDC is now showing "total/excess" deaths so we can all track it here. Scroll down to the chart: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/excess_deaths.htm Quercetin + Zinc = NO COVID From user NotAGenius: Never had the flu and I'm 72. Never took that horrible flu shot since it's worthless at best. Been trying to catch this cold bug for months, never wore any muzzle, never will. I'm probably testing (+) for covid-19 by now but so what - it'll never affect me and these antibodies I've acquired over 72 years confer lifetime immunity, that's what antibodies do and why they exist, so folks like me never get sick. In fact we now know that old cold and flu antibodies make at least 60% of us immune to covid-19 from day 1, that's me and millions like me. Read about my acquired immunity to covid-19, like 60% of Americans / ~180 millions of us who'd never be affected by this cold bug due to our antibodies acquired over a lifetime: https://fort-russ.com/2020/06/revealed-studies-show-60-of-people-naturally-resistant-to-covid-19/
According to the CDC website, national deaths related to Covid have been declining since April 18. Every week, less deaths. You'll never hear about it, though. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm From user Jugs Fan: The whole Covid 19 vaccine thing is a scam to enrich big pharma, at best. At worst, it's a depopulation ploy (I doubt this). Evidence: 1) There has never been a vaccine for a coronavirus. Common cold aids, aids, etc. They mutate too fast. https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-vaccine-may-be-impossible-to-produce-scientists-covid-2020-4?op=1 2) The fastest vaccine for anything took 5 years. https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/other/the-fastest-ever-vaccine-took-5-years-deputy-cmo-ronan-glynn-rules-out-covid-19-vaccine-being-ready-by-late-summer/ar-BB14irpk 3) The all out disinformation campaign against HCQ. 4) France banned HCQ before trump ever mentioned it. I.e., its a global scam. 5) Fauci is in on it. https://prepareforchange.net/2020/07/13/new-docs-nih-owns-half-of-moderna-vaccine/comment-page-1/ From user Being Free: Aug 2, Sweden: 66,971 active cases only 37 (0.06%) are serious or critical, 1 new death reported. 7-day avg # deaths is 1/day and falling. It's already over, over there. https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/sweden/
COVID case numbers far lower than claimed A main reference for Rappoport's and other articles is https://childrenshealthdefense.org/news/if-covid-fatalities-were-90-2-lower-how-would-you-feel-about-schools-reopening/ Quercetin + Zinc = NO COVID Just checking... has anyone ever seen or heard any government operative ever talk about strengthening one's immune system as a way to limit the possibility of contracting COVID-19 or any other illness? Check your memory banks. Waiting.... Waiting.... Waiting................. Yeah, I thought so. Why?????? Does the government want us to be ignorant? Don't answer that. Quercetin + Zinc = NO COVID Moving on. Finally, this is interesting: Culprits Behind Covid-19 Coronavirus Epidemic Reveal Their Destructive Agenda, by Bill Sardi, covers the Great Reset Summit scheduled for 2021 by the World Economic Forum (WEF). Yes, that's the one held every winter in Davos, Switzerland where world political and business leaders rub elbows and dream up world domination schemes. Here's how the WEF puts it:
"The Great Reset" will be the theme of a unique twin summit to be convened by the World Economic Forum in January 2021. In-person and virtual dialogues will address the need for a more fair, sustainable and resilient future, and a new social contract centered on human dignity, social justice and where societal progress does not fall behind economic development. The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change. We are all in this together, but, you have to make your own decisions, so, in some very real ways, you are on your own.
At the Close, Monday, August 3, 2020:
Sunday, August 2, 2020, 11:37 am ET The amount of misinformation that is being presented by the mainstream media surrounding the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 has become practically overwhelming. The degree to which the media now stretches and distorts events and statistics that do not comport to their ongoing, accepted narrative has reached a point at which the nightly broadcasts from the likes of ABC, CBS, and NBC and the 24-hour non-stop train wreck of coverage by CNN can aptly be regarded as propaganda. It is not news. It is not journalism. It is agenda-driven, twisted, stretched beyond reasonable limits of credulity propaganda. What broadcast media - and by extension, the readers of discredited, biased reportage by the New York Times and Washington Post - wants the public to believe is that COVID-19 is a existential threat to all of humanity, that it is raging out of control and that it can only be stopped by a vaccine which must be universally accepted when it (or any number of vaccines) becomes available sometime in early 2021. In other words, the media pushed an agenda driven by government officials who relied on sketchy, unreliable data to shut down most of the US economy, badly damaged the general psyche of the American populace, and they're pushing to go back into nationwide lockdown mode again or at least mandate nationwide mask-wearing, school closings and business disruptions. The over-the-top propagandizing of the "pandemic" and the now-evident pushback, notably by doctors, has put America and the COVID-19 debate at a veritable tipping point. So intensely arrogant and oppressive is the media onslaught that it needs to be examined for journalistic competence. We'll start with one article that highlighted a study concerning the drug, hydroxychloroquine, or HCQ, for short. This article on CNN.com needs to be analyzed from a journalistic perspective, not from a scientific or political point of view, because the science is unsettled and the politics is known to be badly biased. Bear in mind, this was published on June 3, 2020.
Here's the headline: Fine. Let's examine the journalistic rigor involved in coming to the headline conclusion.
At about the middle of the article, this is what is posted:
Then the article makes this claim: Keep that in mind. This statement will be challenged by the article itself. Here is the meat of the article:
Starting in mid-March, [Dr. David] Boulware and his colleagues recruited 821 people in the US and Canada who had been exposed to Covid-19. Some were health care workers and others lived in the same house as someone with the virus. The median age was 40.
Fine. No statistical difference. Keep in mind the part about the study being "double-blind randomized clinical control trial, considered the gold standard in medicine," because the article itself - remember, we're judging journalistic integrity here - will refute this statement in the very next paragraph. In both groups, most of the patients did not receive a Covid-19 diagnostic test, since at the time of the study, such tests were in short supply. Instead, four physicians involved with the study reviewed the study subjects' symptoms to see if they were compatible with a Covid diagnosis. Wait a minute. Most of the patients did NOT receive a Covid-19 diagnostic test? The conclusions of this "gold standard" study were based upon the opinions of "four physicians involved with the study reviewed the study subjects' symptoms to see if they were compatible with a Covid diagnosis." Sorry, the opinions of four physicians involved with the study (who were they? How involved were they? How much were they being paid by anybody?) to draw conclusions does not qualify as a randomized, double-blind study worth any scientific value. Usually, in conditions such as this, actual blood samples and real tests would be performed upon which conclusions could then be scientifically concluded. This was not what happened here. This is not a "gold standard" study. Let's go on.
Boulware said his story underscores the need to study drugs to find out if they work in particular situations. Wait a minute. What's that? "Maybe if they take the drug before they're exposed, before the infection has had time to set up shop, it could have an effect at preventing disease." That is a statement from the lead author of the study. That's honest. That's truth.
Here comes the kicker and how we find the CNN authors of the story to be derelict in their application of journalistic integrity: His team is also looking to see whether the drug might help people with early symptoms of Covid-19 from becoming so sick that they end up in the hospital. Hold it. We thought this was a "gold standard" clinical trial. According to Dr. David Boulware, the lead author, he's still waiting for one. If a professor at a journalism school was grading this as a paper, he might give it a C- or a D. The headline is completely misleading. Some of the claims made in the story are refuted further down the story line. The study may have been randomized, it may have been double-blind. But it was certainly not a "clinical control trial," since the results were nothing other than observations by four physicians. There were no diagnostic tests for Covid-19. Therefore, the study fails miserably at the level of being "gold standard." This would be like taking your car to a mechanic because the engine was sputtering, and getting the opinions from four shop-hands who listened to the engine running and concluded that it was "bad gas" or something else, like "fuel pump," or "gaskets." This study is just an example of many that have been presented by the mainstream media to undermine any useful information that could be gleaned from physician experience with patients treated with hydroxycholoroquine (HCQ). This article doesn't even pass a basic smell test for journalism. It starts with a biased headline that isn't supported by the body of the article. It's trash. It should not be believed. It should have never even been published if there were honest editors in the CNN newsrooms. Ha! That's a good one. Honesty and CNN should never be used in the same sentence. Futhermore, almost none of the studies - as aptly pointed out innumerable times by Peak Prosperity's Dr. Chris Martenson - of HCQ involved the use of ZINC, which happens to be a key element, the main inhibitor of viral infection. Had enough? We're just getting started. Let's take a look at the article on this study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. You are encouraged to read the article in its entirely yourself, but considering that you may be a lazy, numb, sheep-like American zombie, we'll offer the highlights here. First off, the dosages of hydroxycholoroquine (HCQ) administered were nearly toxic (800 mg once, followed by 600 mg in 6 to 8 hours, then 600 mg daily for 4 additional days). That's 1400 mg. the first day, then another 2400 mg. over the next 4 days, for a total of 3800 mg. The CDC's recommendations as a prophylaxis (preventive) for malaria (yeah, malaria) is 310 mg base orally once a week. For patients with malaria, the recommended dosage is 620 mg orally as an initial dose, followed by 310 mg at 6, 24, and 48 hours after the initial dose. Total dose: 1550 mg. Hmmm. 3800 mg. in the study, when the total dose for people with malaria is 1550 mg. Sounds a little fishy, like maybe too much HCQ.
Here's the conclusion, per NEJM: After high-risk or moderate-risk exposure to Covid-19, hydroxychloroquine did not prevent illness compatible with Covid-19 or confirmed infection when used as postexposure prophylaxis within 4 days after exposure. Please note the term "postexposure," as in after you already have the disease. Moving on to the NEJM commentary:
Remember, this was June 3, 2020 and the dig down the rabbit hole goes even deeper. While you are encouraged to read the NEJM report yourself, here are some of the highlights from the commentary:
Persons with symptoms of Covid-19 or with PCR-proven SARS-CoV-2 infection were excluded from this prevention trial but were separately enrolled in a companion clinical trial to treat early infection. We assumed that health care workers would have access to Covid-19 testing if symptomatic; however, access to testing was limited throughout the trial period. Although PCR or serologic testing for asymptomatic infection would have added to the scientific strength of this trial, this was not possible, and we cannot assess an effect on mild or asymptomatic infections. Because of the lack of availability of diagnostic testing in the United States, the vast majority of the participants, including health care workers, were unable to access testing. given the small number of PCR tests, it remains theoretically possible that hydroxychloroquine therapy limits proven infection. Still with us? In a nearly-complete backtracking from the CNN headline, the conclusion from this study is pretty much inconclusive. The NEJM even raises the possibility that HCQ could be an effective treatment, a complete 100% about-face from the headline. It's a pretty good bet that Dr. Chris Martenson had already ripped this "gold standard" study to shreds in one of his twice-weekly Youtube videos.
At this point (12.20 am ET, Sunday morning), this clip seems suitably appropriate on a number of levels (OK to search your soul here): OK, have we all achieved moral clarity now? Not yet? Let's proceed. COVID-19 and the stay-at-home orders, the media onslaught of "wear a mask," "social distance", the lockdowns, the millions of people unemployed, the businesses needlessly bankrupted was all a monstrous scam on the public and the scam continues to this day. If there ever was a time to string up federal and state elected officials, Fed presidents, high-profile medical "professionals", and bankers, this is it. This is all lies and propaganda designed to scare people into submission, funnel trillions of dollars to nearly-insolvent (again) major banks, financial institutions and other top-line corporations and prepare the American public for a "new normal" in which shaking hands is dangerous, breathing might kill your neighbor, kids shouldn't go to school, nobody should touch anything handled by another human, major league sports need to be played in a "bubble", and other absurdities and insults to the intelligence. If you still accept the mainstream media interpretation of what's happening, adjust your mask (and goggles) and read on, little lamb. We've been hoodwinked by people who want complete control over everybody and everything, all the time with no questions asked, no critical thinking applied, no objections to the mendacious, tyrannical, bizarre psychological derangement that could have even thought up such a diabolical, global control function such as this. From this Yahoo News story, we can clearly see the media bias and essential narrative. Nothing readily available and inexpensive will be adequate to halt the relentless spread of COVID-19. Only the vaccination of billions of people with unproven, potentially dangerous chemicals will do. This is an outrageous lie:
On Monday, Trump shared versions of a viral coronavirus video that made false statements about the disease, including the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment; two days later, Fauci told MSNBC the video "isn't true." That, friend, is propaganda on a level that would make Joseph Goebbels blush with pride. The video being referenced is the one of the press conference which was held on the steps of the Supreme Court by about a dozen doctors wearing lab coats, now known as America's Frontline Doctors. These are medical professionals with decades of combined experience who have been treating patients for COVID-19 since the virus became prevalent in their communities. The video, in which the doctors praised the use of hydroxychloroqune (HCQ), proclaimed that schools could safely open now with nearly no risk of further spread of the disease and generally debunked the entire narrative of mask-wearing, social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and lockdowns as a strategy. The video, which was streamed on Brietbart news, received over 20 million views within hours prior to its removal from the internet by Youtube, a fully-owned subsidiary of Google. That is the video Dr. Fauci says "isn't true." False statements? Which ones? If there are false statements, otherwise known in the real world as lies, shouldn't the American public be entitled to know exactly what they are? No, that's too hard for the propagandists at NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, Google, Facebook, and Twitter. No, let's just expunge the video - which happened to be the fastest-spreading viral video ever seen before the censors at Youtube took it down. No, let's just let the little liar, the dictator of the CDC, Anthony Fauci, tell us that the video of a dozen frontline doctors is "false" and leave it at that. Sure, we can trust him because... well, we can, can't we? Not only was the video taken down, but the website, americasfrontlinedoctors.com was taken down by Square, the hosting company. Since then the group, headed and founded by Dr. Simone Gold, has put up another website and another video at americasfrontlinedoctorsummit.com. Their message remains the same: stop the lockdowns and mask-wearing nonsense, make HCQ available to the general public, reopen the school on time without restrictions. It is highly recommended that everybody watch the new video on the home page of their website. Also on the americasfrontlinedoctorsummit.com website is a white paper by Dr. Gold, with facts about HCQ. Not innuendo and sensationalized headlines. Cold, hard facts about the safety and efficacy of HCQ, a drug that's been used safely for 65 years. There's also a Compendium of HCQ Studies, titled, Medical Studies Support MDs Prescribing Hydroxychloroquine for Early Stage COVID-19 and for Prophylaxis by Vladimir Zelenko, M.D., Harvey A. Risch, M.D., PH.D., George C. Fareed, M.D. These doctors are highly-respected in the field of medicine. Dr. Risch is Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at the Yale School of Public Health and Yale School of Medicine. That's Yale, as in Ivy League. You want a gold standard? Dr. Risch is it and he says using HCQ could save 75,000 to 100,000 lives. The compendium is 248 pages of data and findings. It's far too extensive to expect the average American to read it, much less understand it. But, the executives and news anchors and reporters at the media companies should be able to get it. They're smart people, right? Why are they doing everything in their power to keep the truth about a drug that saves lives from the American people? As far as Dr. Fauci is concerned, he's done real harm to the American public and to the medical industry as a whole by continuing to push the false narrative of being helpless against the virus and the need for draconian measures to fight it. Dr. Anthony Fauci has never once publicly advised anybody to strengthen one's immune system. He's never advised exercise or good diet. He's only promoted the inevitable preordained conclusion that COVID-19 will kill everything and everyone in its path unless a vaccine (or multiple vaccines) is developed by a big pharmaceutical company costing billions of dollars in record time, distributed and deployed sometime early in 2021. That's his message and his only message. Fear the virus. Stop being human. Cower in abject terror. Meanwhile, the evidence is clear: 99.98% of the people alive today will not die from COVID-19 and there are more people born every minute of every day who will not die from it. Dr. Fauci and the mainstream media don't want the American public to know the truth. They don't want the public to know how conflicted and compromised Dr. Fauci is. Dr. Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx both have close associations with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the group that is pushing for a vaccine for COVID-19. There's a lot of money and power involved. Bill Gates says he talks to Dr. Fauci regularly. Fauci's conflicts don't end there, but, they are so extensive they cannot be given the proper coverage in this post, which is already too long. Here's more:
In 2013, Dr Fauci cheered Hydroxychloroquine success treating SARS-MERS-Cornoavirus, not any more though. Relevant links:
Big tech's out to get conservatives. It's time they face the consequences.
Petition to Revoke Federal Licenses Issued to Technology Companies that Violate First Amendment Free Speech Rights
Related: Trump's Executive Order On Online Censorship (July 29):
WATCH: Dems Unglued After Jordan Grills Big Tech for Censoring Conservatives
Big tech COVID-19 surveillance data & censorship threaten privacy & free speech: op-ed
Trump Administration Directs Federal Communications Commission to Combat Big Tech
Bozell, Tucker Carlson Condemn Big Tech Censorship of Doctors' Viral Coronavirus Video
If Big Tech Can Censor Political Speech, It Can Police Illegal Speech
Dr. Dan Erickson says YouTube's censorship of anti-lockdown video helped it spread
Free speech advocates call YouTube's removal of coronavirus-related video 'egregious censorship effort'
Rep Jim Jordan's Opening Remarks At Big Tech's Antitrust Hearing.
Donald Trump Jr. On Big Tech Censorship: They believe in their speech, not free speech
Exploiting COVID-19, Big Tech Censors Become Big Brother
Pollak: Big Tech, Establishment Media Crush Free Speech Through a Form of Prior Restraint
Re-open Schools Full Time: There's some research into the whole hydroxychloroqine + zinc regimen, and, as it turns out, the over-the-counter supplement, quercetin, may be a reliable substitute for HCQ as an ionophore which helps zinc enter healthy cells and do its work, which is, to block viral replication, i.e., stopping COVID in its tracks. So, the real answer to stopping the spread of COVID-19 may not be wearing masks or social distancing at all, but fortifying one's own immune system with Quercetin + Zinc, both readily available OVER THE COUNTER. What's even better is that quercetin is found in lots of foods, including green tea, red wine, onions, most hot peppers, grapes, and especially, Dr. Chris Martenson's favorite, Elderberry. It's becoming easier to conclude that there never was any need to shut down entire economies, because, while COVID-19 is very contagious, it is not particularly deadly, more or less an enhanced cold or flu. For people under the age of 50, the chances of dying from COVID-19 are about as remote as dying from the seasonal flu, about 1 in 100,000, or 0.01%. There's also widely-available evidence that nearly 90% of reported COVID-19 deaths have occured in people which had other underlying medical conditions, the top three being diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Interesting forum discussion at Peak Prosperity (Dr. Chris Martenson and Adam Taggart) concerning tonic water (quinine), quercetin and other natural preventatives (prophylaxis). Seems quercetin (available widely over the counter in the US and other countries) with zinc will inhibit COVID-19 effectively. https://www.peakprosperity.com/forum-topic/quinine-tonic-water-zinc/
Here's webMD, which offers interesting information on quercetin, but, keeping with the "only a vaccine will stop COVID-19" narrative, they include this tidbit: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): Quercetin may have benefit for some airway infections, but there is no good evidence to support using it for COVID-19. Follow healthy lifestyle choices and proven prevention methods instead. Still, here's a partial list of plants and foods containing quercetin: Quercetin is a plant pigment (flavonoid). It is found in many plants and foods, such as red wine, onions, green tea, apples, berries, Ginkgo biloba, St. John's wort, American elder, and others. Buckwheat tea has a large amount of quercetin. People use quercetin as a medicine. Note that last line, "people use quercetin as medicine." https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-294/quercetin So, maybe we don't need hydroxychloroquine for everybody. Maybe quercetin and zinc can boost the immune system to a point at which the body can fight off COVID-19 itself.
This is very interesting to Fearless Rick, who has been drinking lots of vodka tonics (quinine), but also, since it's been very, very hot in East Tennessee, gallons of green tea. Plus, Rick has a garden and eats plenty of onions and peppers (both good sources of quercetin), plus there are two fig trees on the property he maintains and figs are also a good source for quercetin per this unbiased article: Here is a very informative video covering the microbiology of HCQ and Zinc in relation to COVID-19 in plain English that the Covid-censor Googlebot apparently missed.
So, to the mask-wearing simpletons who would likely don a pussy-hat if told to do so, this has been an opening salvo of truth. I hope you hated it. I hope you vomited over it because you cannot argue effectively against it. I hope you choke on it, because more is on the way. I intend to shove it down your throats the same way the media shovels the fake COVID-19 news at you. I am not taking prisoners here. People are either going to stand up for principles or lay down under the boot of servility and dehumanization. Kneel, and Bill Gates' COVID vaccine and the rest of a miserable existence awaits you. So long as you keep bowing to the perception of power, you will be a slave to their whims and executions. The moment you throw off your false sense of security - for truly, you, and nothing you hold dear is secure in this world - you will have hope. You can believe whatever you want to believe. But, when you believe in lies you have nothing to gain. You will become a fatality to your own version of normalcy bias. You will die as you lived, with your own invalid sense of self-worth and self-righteousness to etch upon your tombstone. You will have achieved nothing more than you were asked. Forever, and again tomorrow and the next day, --Fearless Rick Oh, by the way, there were some market-moving events over the past week.
At the Close, Friday, July 31, 2020:
For the Week: Stocks were boosted mostly by increased from Alphabet/Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB), and Amazon (AMZN). The bulk of the market, such as the other 495 stocks in the S&P 500 were hardly changed. Bond yields were driven to their lowest ever, with the 10-year note dropping to 0.55%, it's second-lowest ever, and the 30-year at 1.20%. The entire treasury complex, 1-month though 30-year is now covered by 111 basis points or 1.11%. WTI crude oil remained anchored around $40/barrel, which has provided some relief at the pump for America's drivers. Silver and gold got smacked around by heavy hitters in the futures markets, becoming more and more irrelevant every day. The most recent prices (including shipping - often free) for select items on eBay:
Item: Low / High / Average / Median
And that's the WEEKEND WRAP.
Enya, Only Time: Disclaimer: Information disseminated on this site should not be construed as investment advice. Downtown Magazine, Money Daily and it's owners, affiliates and/or employees are not investment advisors and do not offer specific investment advice. All investments have risk. You should consult a professional investment advisor or stock broker or use your individual judgement when making investment decisions. By reading this site, you hold harmless Downtown Magazine, Money Daily, its owners, affiliates and employees against any and all liability.
|
