Dystopian Download 15 April 2024
To the moon, deep state pivot, walking spike protein factories, US defence contractor teams up with Aussie supermarket chain, pregnancy caution, queer theory, trans tipping point, Biblical wisdom
I went to a moon-themed exhibition at the museum on the weekend. Curiously, there was a whole section dedicated to deepfake education, featuring a fake televised moon landing scenario (astronauts were stranded) and a fake newspaper. Punters could flop on the 60’s themed sofas and read about how to spot a deepfake, and debunked moon conspiracies.
As well as learning about deepfakes, I discovered that the first cat in space was a Parisien stray called Félicette, and that the spawning of coral is dependent on lunar cycles.
The host of the event informed us that Australia’s First Nations People had a unique affinity with the moon. He then did an acknowledgement of country and personally thanked any FNPs present on the rest of the audience’s behalf for allowing us to be there, after which he instructed the rest of us non-FNPs to be grateful as it was ‘the least we can do.’ I wondered to myself if our host was aware of the diversity of ancient cultures represented in our audience who also had a deep and unique affinity with the moon, which is shared by everyone.
Deep state pivot
FYI everyone, the New York Times has done an about-face on the deep state. When Trump said there was a deep state, NYT said that wasn’t true because orange man derp. Now NYT says the deep state does exist, but Trump is still wrong to criticise it because it’s actually just a group of “unsung heroes making our country great,” and that “just because we don’t know about it, doesn’t make it suspicious.” *NPCs update programming*
Scientists detect vaccine spike protein in monocytes 245 days after vaccination
Well gosh darn, this would have been good to know before injecting billions of human beings, turning them into veritable spike-protein production factories.
In a new preprint study, scientists examined samples taken from 50 vaccinated subjects with post-vac symptoms who had taken the Covid vaccines, but had never had a Covid infection. 45 vaccinated subjects with no symptoms provided the control. The 50 test subjects had no prior health conditions before the onset of their post-vac illness.
The scientists found vaccine-produced spike protein in the monocytes of vaccinated subjects up to 245 days after vaccination experiencing ongoing symptoms. Monocytes are a type of white blood cell that helps fight infections in your body.
The authors note similarities between post-vac syndrome and long Covid, a phenomenon which has long been observed amongst the Covid vaccine injured, but only gained wider-spread acknowledgement when Science.org ran a long-form article on the link between the two conditions in July last year.
An article published in the Australian Journal of General Practice this month draws the same link, suggesting that the spike protein may have something to do with it:
”There is concern that COVID-19 vaccination per se might contribute to long COVID, giving rise to the colloquial term ‘Long Vax(x)’. The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 exhibits pathogenic characteristics and is a possible cause of post-acute sequelae after SARS-CoV-2 infection or COVID-19 vaccination”
The scientists’ new findings lend weight to the hypothesis that one of the mechanisms underlying post-vac syndrome and long Covid is toxic spike-protein persistence (also called 'spikeopathy'). This is why doctors and scientists such as Dr Peter McCullough and Dr Astrid Lefringhausen suggest that Covid vaccine injections should be thought of in the same terms as an infection, and that people should try to avoid both. Of course, more research is needed.
US defence contractor hired by leading supermarket chain
This article in the Conversation by University of Queensland academic Luke Munn caught my interest recently, about supermarket giant Coles engaging US tech company Palantir in an effort to save a billion dollars over the next four years.
Munn, a Research Fellow in Digital Cultures & Societies at UQ, writes,
“What does the Australian supermarket chain Coles have in common with the CIA? As of last week, both are clients of Palantir Technologies, a US tech company “focused on creating the world’s best user experience for working with data”.
“In a three-year deal, Coles plans to deploy Palantir’s tools across more than 840 supermarkets to cut costs and “redefine how we think about our workforce”…
”For Coles, the goal is to “optimise its workforce” by analysing “over 10 billion rows of data, comprising each store, team member, shift and allocation across all intervals in a day, every day”.
”The announcement is linked to Coles’ plan to save a billion dollars over the next four years, and follows a 2019 big data deal with Microsoft, an effort to build robotic delivery centres, and the introduction of customer-tracking cameras and other high-tech security measures.”
This line below made me think of the panopticon, which is frequently employed as a metaphor in critiques of digital surveillance.
"A technology of surveillance and control is quietly becoming infrastructure, moving from front-page news to something ticking along silently in the background."
The panopticon is a prison design proposed by Englishman Jeremy Bentham in the 18th C, whereby a central tower in a round prison conceals the prison guard so that the prisoners, dotted in their cells around the tower, know they could be being watched at any time, but can never know at which moments the guard is watching them, or not.
This leads prisoners to act as though they are always being watched, thereby shaping their behaviour. There are lots of ‘panopticons’ in modern life constructed of CCTV cameras, hidden speed cameras, employee monitoring systems and so on. Theorists suggest that digital surveillance tools make users (or workers, or customers) the prisoners in this metaphor.
Munn worries that Coles’ engagement with Palantir will squeeze and dehumanise workers, and will lock Australia’s biggest grocery chain into a data services “walled garden” that will guarantee the funnelling of millions of dollars to Palantir over years to come, but that would be very difficult (read: costly) to leave.
Pregnancy caution out the window
I had to go on a medication recently. The doctor spent a good five minutes running through a checklist of questions to make sure I wasn’t pregnant, wasn’t going to get pregnant any time soon, wasn’t even thinking about getting pregnant. You see, she explained, it’s not that we know the medication is harmful in pregnancy. But there’s no safety data on use during pregnancy, so you absolutely must stop using it if you suspect that you’re pregnant.
The bottle has a label stating in large text, “Do not use if pregnant - may cause birth defects,” because they don’t know that it doesn’t cause birth defects.
Yet, just three years ago, Australian state and territory governments mandated a drug that had never been tested in pregnant women, and pregnant women who wished to play it safe per the age-old precautionary standard were sacked, refused travel rights, and denied access to services for their non-compliance.
Queer theory
Two things I learned from studying queer theory at university:
It's just a theory
Its primary objective is to subvert norms so that there is no longer any such thing as a default
Trans tipping point
Earlier this month I reported that there seems to be a shift afoot with Australians finding the government’s censorship of online speech all a bit much, particularly on subjective topics like gender ideology.
Similarly, things seem to have reached a head with the debate over trans medicine for children and young people, which until now had been mostly stifled, with anyone who raised concerns being labelled as ‘transphobic.’ There is also mounting push-back from women wishing to reclaim sex-based rights which have been eroded as gender identification rights and women’s rights increasingly clash.
This month, the UK independent Cass review was released, highlighting the lack of evidence-based care in the field. JK Rowling played chicken with the Scottish police over new hate speech laws and won. eSafety’s censorship of activist Billboard Chris caused a national hooha. Tickle vs. Giggle will determine whether Australian women will hitherto be allowed to enjoy sex-based rights to exclusive spaces.
To get my head around the issues, I have accessed many great resources, but the one that I would like to recommend to readers the most is a podcast series called The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, by Megan Phelps Roper.
In this podcast series, published by the Free Press, Phelps Roper displays a degree of empathy, thoughtfulness and non-judgementalism that is super rare, although not uncommon in people who have examined their own core beliefs and have had the courage to admit error and adjust course.
Phelps Roper grew up in the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, known for picketing against a range of activities and identities its members believe to be sinful, including trans identity, homosexuality and abortion. Phelps Roper was a prominent advocate for the church. Through free and open discussion which started on social media, Phelps Roper changed her mind. She eventually left Westboro.
In The Witch Trials of JK Rowling, Phelps Roper artfully interviews JK Rowling as well as several trans-identified individuals. I came away with a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the emotional terrain and guiding logic for both sides.
Maths
Commenting on my recent report that the Australian government has binned 35% of the nation’s Covid vaccine supply, Queensland GP, Dr Melissa McCann did some table napkin maths, posting to X:
“Almost 200 million doses unused- even if a price as low as $20 per dose that's 4000 million wasted. That's 1 million each for 4000 injured and bereaved. Unacceptable use of tax dollars while these people are still fighting for measly payments from the Govt claim scheme”
Dr McCann knows a thing or two about the hurdles Covid vaccine-injured Australians are facing - she is leading a class action lawsuit against the government for compensation.
The lawsuit is underway, with litigants gathering last week to appear at the Federal Court in Sydney for a case management hearing, which was covered by journalist Alison Bevege on her Substack, Letters From Australia.
The action is still taking on members and has reached 73% of its funding goal. More donations are needed to fund its progress.
If you are injured, you can find out more about the class action here.
If you would like to donate towards this effort to hold the government to account and secure proper compensation for the injured, you can do so here.
Wise as serpents, innocent as doves
A follower was particularly put out with me for my article, 'Conspiracy theorist!': How to effectively respond to toxic labeling’. He contended that by using certain techniques to steer the conversation, I was being dishonest and manipulative, and that the only correct mode of conversation is to hammer people with your truth and facts.
I completely disagree. First, because hammering people with facts is rarely effective unless a person is already open to being convinced. Second, because the Bible tells us in Matthew 10:16,
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; so be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves.”
Like so many Biblical axioms, it appears paradoxical on first read, but ponder a minute and it makes total sense. Be smart, but have no self-serving agenda.
Innocence without wisdom will get you eaten alive. Wisdom without purity of heart will make a monster of you.
If your true goal is to foster understanding and connection, then being smart about how you do that is a good thing in my estimation. Where I would worry is if someone’s goal is to force compliance or catch you out or some other nefarious motive.
As I said in the article,
“The great thing about these four techniques is that they build better conversations, because they model empathetic listening and unconditional positive regard, which research shows are necessary to changing someone’s mind. This goes both ways. All of us can improve our outlook by increments, and we should be glad to converse with anyone using these techniques in our direction, just as our conversational partners can be glad when we employ them too.
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I had to laugh at the Coles piece - the midwits driving both of the data projects you mention will probably be promoted to positions where they can do less harm to the company. I mean, Microsoft powered robotic warehouse? Those guys can't write two lines of code without three bugs. They're probably proposing "AI" tools to "analyse" the employee data - you can bet that the only people losing jobs on the back of this will be those actually doing the work that keeps the company functioning. Coles is fooked.
(If you wonder about my expertise on the above: before I decided to become a farmer, I spent 25+ years in IT, which eventually devolved into simply automating people out of work - 12 years now on the land and the world and I are both better off)
On point per usual 👌 and although incapable myself of diplomacy I do understand and appreciate your ... attempts to be even handed. My temper alas serves me not at all in convincing these mass formation psychosis victims.
If Dr Geert Vanden Bossche is correct in his prognostications, quite a few subjects (sic) of 3+ are due to meet their Maker before 2030. 💣 IF that unfolds then the tone will, ahhh, sharpen.