Peer Reviews Block Contrary Scientific Papers
The 'Peers' Doing the 'Reviewing' are the Ones the Establishment Carefully Selects
plus updates on so-called vaccines, Russia’s military strategy, failing EV buses, nuclear power, Ukraine war, Target’s store closures in Portland Oregon, bitcoin, woke bank rug-pulling that hurt Mike Lindell the ‘Pillow Man’, the balance between self-reliance and depending on God, and a preview of the solar and water projects that I was going to do this week but got put off till next week
SCIENCE
reviews have become worthless
from Coffee & Covid, 10/3/23
…the so-called “peer review” process, which some top scientists have long argued has become hopelessly compromised, and captured by pharma interests. The biggest problem, and threat to all our well being, a problem which became painfully obvious during the pandemic, is that government actors dangle grant money in front of unethical whitecoats to obtain fake studies supporting the officials’ preferred policy narratives. Even worse, they all conspire to prevent inconveniently-contradictory papers from ever being published in the first place…”
climate “crisis” - Bill Gates backpedaling?
from Jim Rickards’
“…Recently, a simple statement that there is no climate crisis attracted over 1,600 signatories from among top scientists in the fields of meteorology, climatology, physics, applied mathematics and other relevant specialties. Two Nobel Prize winners were among the signatories. Despite all this evidence, the greenies have done enormous damage. They’ve promoted electric vehicles (which were invented in the 1830s and failed to catch on repeatedly in the 1910s through the 1950s except for golf carts). They’re killing whales by using sonic shock waves to build offshore windmills. They’re mining poisonous chemicals like cobalt, lithium, nickel and rare earths to build batteries for solar farms that don’t work at night or in bad weather. These failures have wasted tens of billions of taxpayer dollars. Now, according to this article, perhaps the tide has turned. Bill Gates, a noted anti-humanist who believes the earth would be better off with 5 billion fewer people and who promoted dangerous mRNA vaccines, has been one of the leading climate alarmists. He now says there’s not really a climate “crisis” that requires immediate action and that running a business on that basis is destructive. Gates has never minded deceptive statements to advance his pet causes in the past. The fact that he is backing away from climate extremism might actually mean that the scam is over.”
Shots for children are unethical
From Alex Berenson
“It’s idiotic because the jabs don’t stop transmission, so giving them to kids won’t protect adults. Worse, it’s unethical because physicians have an obligation to do what is best for each patient individually. They don’t treat “public health.” They treat the person in front of them. mRNA shots have no benefit for healthy children or young adults, so they shouldn’t be given to healthy children or young adults.”
mRNA ‘vaccines’ can be deadly
from Jeff Childers’ “Coffee & Covid” 9/28/23
“ Speaking of rewriting history, a new study published Wednesday in the Journal Nature, titled “Duration of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine persistence and factors associated with cardiac involvement in recently vaccinated patients.”
The researchers autopsied 25 dead folks. Twenty of them died within 30 days of getting the safe and effective covid jabs. Five were a control group of deceased unvaccinated people. Here’s the study’s conclusion, which put the lie to the government’s long-standing claims that mRNA never ever leaves the injection site, disappears within a few short days, and never ever ever enters the heart:
“These results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines routinely persist up to 30 days from vaccination and can be detected in the heart… Vaccine was detected in the myocardium in a subset of patients vaccinated within 30 days of death… In conclusion, this study provides a map of the biodistribution and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines in human tissues.””
World record for acronyms
“WHO’s Health Emergencies Program Experts Advisory Panel for Infection Prevention and Control Preparedness, Readiness and Response to covid-19 …obviously it’s the “HEPEAPIPCPRRC19”
…more from Coffee & Covid : military strategies
“Over the years, the U.S. military and the Russian military have taken very different approaches to designing military equipment. The U.S.’s focus is on fewer, better weapons: high tech, high cost, complicated units with real-time 3D heads-up displays linked into vast battlefield computer networks advised by artificial intelligence systems…Meanwhile, the Russians have focused on quantity, simplicity, and interchangable parts….For example, here’s a video showing a group of Russian cadets — cadets, mind you — disassembling and re-assembling a jeep in four minutes:
Разборка УАЗа курсантами ОАБИИ I loved watching that 4+ minute video – I’d like a jeep like that, but where would I get the crew?
Proterra’s battery EV bus
EV buses in trouble
Energy Newsbeat wrote about Jackson Hole, in Teton County Wyoming having bought 8 electric buses from Proterra is now waiting for parts – all 8 buses are down. Proterra filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in August. Proterra was toured by President Biden in January ‘23…. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provided more than $5.5 billion for low- and no-emission buses, each costing around $1 million each…. In 2021 Biden participated in a virtual tour of the company. “The fact is, you’re making me look good,” the president said. Biden went on to discuss a plan to build 50,000 charging stations with federal support…. (your tax dollars at work) …When the START electric buses did run, they also suffered from degradation of performance during the winter months, something that plagues electric vehicles of all types… during the summer months, the buses would go all day without needing a charge. When the temperatures dropped, the batteries would lose considerable range. Not only does it not provide as much power, the bus has to be heated, which places further demands on the battery…So, the electric buses had to return to the depot at midday to recharge. They were replaced by another electric bus, when one was available, or the diesel-powered buses.”
subsidies
From The Washington Post - The bipartisan infrastructure law provided $5.5 billion for low- and no-emission buses over five years, with billions more available through other federal grant programs boosted by the law. The Biden administration has touted its success in getting money into the hands of transit agencies, which need the aid to replace aging diesel buses with electric models that cost about $1 million each.
fires!
Hot news from San Jose Inside – 9/4/23 - Fire in Proterra bus – “The fire was reported around 11:45am. at the Cerone maintenance yard on Zanker Road, where the bus had been taken for repairs, according to the VTA. (Valley Transit Authority in California)…After the mechanics couldn't put the fire out, they pushed the bus out of the maintenance bay to avoid further damage to the building and responding emergency crews were able to extinguish the flames, VTA officials said. The two mechanics were taken to a hospital…The bus that caught fire was one of VTA's 10 Proterra battery electric buses and all of them have been taken out of service pending an investigation into the fire.”
Proterra couldn’t make a profit
From Gazette.com “Proterra's reported loss in 2023 was five times over its loss in 2022. The company would also subsequently lay off 300 staff in January…”
From the Philadelphia Enquirer, 9/30/23, apparently a reprint from last year, Nov. 11, 2022 “A battery power pack in a sidelined electric bus ignited Wednesday at SEPTA’s Southern Bus Depot, occupying city fire crews for hours and delivering another possible setback to efforts to build a low-emission fleet in Philadelphia….The transit agency bought 25 battery-electric buses from California manufacturer Proterra in 2016, but all have been parked at the depot since 2020 after discovery of cracks in bus frames and performance problems…. Proterra, the largest electric bus maker in the country, has been subject to other inquiries involving bus fires…. In 2021, a California transit agency considered shelving its entire Proterra fleet after a blaze the company attributed to “third-party components.” In 2015, a mysterious fire broke out inside a Proterra factory, destroying a bus. The company said that incident involved technology that is no longer in use… Lithium ion batteries are vulnerable to “thermal overload” and are notoriously difficult to extinguish. They have been linked to similar incidents in electric vehicles made by a variety of manufacturers, including Tesla and General Motors…. Even prior to discovery of the cracks, the buses drew complaints about limited battery range and sensitivity to cold temperatures. Some experts believed the cracking may have been caused by overloading the buses with additional batteries to increase longevity.
conflict of interest
Digging a little deeper… CNN noted in 2021 a conflict of interest of Biden’s Energy Secretary…Updated Thur May 6, 2021 “President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ efforts to sell their green agenda and infrastructure plan are being complicated by a thorny conflict of interest for Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm – who stands to gain a windfall from stock options in a private electric vehicle company. According to a report by the Associated Press, she did sell her stock options in May ‘21, for a “net gain” of 1.6 million dollars. …Last month, Biden took a virtual tour of Proterra, a company Granholm holds (held) millions of dollars in vested stock options in and previously sat on the board of. During the tour Biden praised employees and the CEO for their work in the electric vehicle space.”
Nuclear power news
From Stu Turley’s “Energy News Beat” 9/29/23 - Saudi Arabia is planning to build its first nuclear power plant! “In a statement to the 67th International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference, Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud reiterated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s intention to develop “peaceful uses for nuclear energy across various fields”. The Saudi National Atomic Energy Project includes plans to build a nuclear power plant to help meet the sustainable development requirements outlined in the Saudi Vision 2030 roadmap.”
chart of Uranium stock (ETF - URNM) rising since July
Ukraine
From “Bonner Private Research” 9/29/23 “US foreign policy is controlled by a cabal of arms producers, glory seekers and useful idiots. It costs…all in…about $1.5 trillion per year to support them. That’s about a quarter of all federal spending. And $1 trillion of that cost could easily be cut – with no loss to US security.” then on 10/2… “I'm not too good at history. I didn't know, or forgot, that in the 90s, the US and allies promised Russia that NATO would not encroach. Bill Bonner, who is not in favor of our involvement in foreign wars, pointed out today that the Ukraine war was the US and NATO's fault, at least partly. Here's an excerpt:
"Nor was (Russia's) attack (on Ukraine) un-provoked. Instead, it appears to be just what America’s empire architects wanted. The deal made in the early ‘90s, between Russia and the leaders of the US, France, Britain and Germany was that Russia would allow re-unification of Germany and in exchange ‘the West’ would not allow NATO to creep to the East. US Ambassador to Moscow, William Burns, who later became head of the CIA, reminded the Bush administration of this promise in 2008. His memo – ‘Nyet Means Nyet’ – famously recalled that bringing NATO up to Russia’s border was a ‘red line’ that shouldn’t be crossed….Unless, of course, you really wanted to provoke a war….Even Zelensky’s own team admitted that the real cause of the war wasn’t Putin’s desire for conquest; it was NATO enlargement…Russia tried to avoid war; it was the US that was eager for it."
FINANCE
Target closes 3 stores in Portland
“He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.” Ephesians 4:28
9/28/23 - Target – one of America's largest retailers – made a move to deal with continued and increased "theft and organized retail crime," it said. The company is closing nine stores – one in New York City, two in Seattle, three in the San Francisco area, and three in Portland, Oregon – that it says are dogged by stealing.
According to global news service Reuters...
“Despite heavy investments in security, the company continued to face "fundamental challenges" to running the stores safely, the retailer said. It operates nearly 2,000 stores across the United States…."We cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance," Target said in a statement.” -10/2/23 – I see on the news that Target is trying to get help from Homeland Security!
In the great depression, in the 1930s, homeless men were often called “hobos”, and camped near the railroad tracks, “riding the rails” (dangerously hanging underneath the RR cars) so they could travel from city to city looking for work. They were looking for work; not stealing. It’s different today. Lawlessness doesn’t need encouragement; we’re all sinners and subject to temptation, but the present administration has been encouraging and in some cases even rewarding lawlessness, coddling criminals and aliens who come in illegally, especially in ‘sanctuary cities’. Is it any wonder that those cities have rampant crime? What did they expect?
bitcoin/crypto
Next 2 para from Jim Rickards “Paradigm Press” 10/2/23…
“…Binance, the world’s largest crypto-currency exchange, is in financial distress. Crypto holders are taking their coins out or asking to be converted back into dollars. Senior management is deserting and over 1,500 layoffs have been announced. The chief marketing officer sai”d, “Every battle is a do-or-die situation, and the only thing that can defeat us is ourselves.” Nice try. But if I saw that message coming from an institution where I had money, I would take my money out the same day. A Binance fiasco will not be confined to the crypto world. Get ready for phase two of the ongoing financial crisis.”
another woke bank cancels a good man
“Mike Lindell is an entrepreneur and founder of the My Pillow company, which offers pillows, linens, bathrobes, slippers, and just about every other item for the bedroom or bathroom you can name. Even if you don’t buy his products, you must know his name because he has a huge marketing budget and bombards the airwaves with his commercials. Lindell is a billionaire based on his efforts and is a close friend of Donald Trump. He has become controversial because of his views on election rigging in 2020…Now, the elites have aimed their most powerful weapon at Lindell – financial cancellation. As reported here, American Express has cut My Pillow’s credit line by 90% and cancelled their online payment and shipping channels. Lindell said American Express gave “no reason” for the financial attack and that the My Pillow business has been “crippled” by the attack. Lindell also had his banking lines closed by Minnesota Bank & Trust. So, this is the favored technique of cancel culture.”
FAITH
the balance between self-reliance and depending on God
Depending on God and putting our trust in Him does not mean sitting on our hands and doing nothing. On the other hand, self-reliance does not necessarily mean that we don’t trust God. My take is that God gave us a brain and surely He expects us to use it the best we can. The only thing we (as Christians) know about the future, for sure, is that Jesus is coming back - but we don’t know when. So it makes sense to be prepared for whatever the future may bring. That gives a motive for investing, and also preparing for the future in other ways, in case Jesus delays His coming - “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children…” Proverbs 13:22. We also have reason to prepare for emergencies, not just for ourselves, but for our families and neighbors. If we are able, it would be better to be prepared to help others than to be needing help because we didn’t bother to prepare. One of the areas on my mind lately is the vulnerability of the power grid. It looks to me like the mad rush to “net zero” carbon emissions will cause such an overload on our inadequate electric power grid that we might do well to prepare for longer and more frequent outages. So I’ve been wanting to share a few ideas on how to get along during those outages, and how to save electricity, and also while I’m at it, how to save and filter rainwater.
Solar and Water
Do-it-Yourself Projects to Save Electricity and to be Prepared for Emergencies
I was going to write about this today, but there was too much news, so I’ll just give you a little background for next week, when I’ll hopefully get into the meat of it…
Disappointed with our grid-tied solar system
We installed 14 solar panels on our roof in 2010. It was a grid- tied system, so it was worthless when the power grid was down, which happens fairly often out where we live. When I did the math, the installation was expected to pay for itself within 10 years, which is a decent return on any investment. However, it was based on federal and state subsidies. The only way to get the subsidies was to have an approved solar contractor to the installation – so labor cost was high. Without the subsidies, the cost made no sense whatever. It turned out to be a small scale disaster. Because of IRS and Oregon State rules, I was only able to take a portion of the credits in any one year. The rest was “carried forward”. Because of another deduction, I had to carry much of the credits forward until the time limit expired, at which time I lost about half the credits. Meanwhile, the inverters for the solar panels turned out to be rapidly failing, so the electricity generated declined much faster than projected. Finally, earlier this year, I replaced the inverters with new, much more efficient inverters, and we’re at least producing significant ‘juice’ when the sun shines, except the system automatically shuts down to protect line workers from feedback during power company outages. So when grid power is down, our grid-tied solar system is no help – which is why I’m in the process of putting together a small off-grid solar system for emergency backup.
—building a 600W off grid solar backup with 200A hour lithium/iron battery - more next week
DIY (do-it-yourself) projects that are fun, interesting, and worthwhile
I like to tinker with ideas that give me something to keep me busy since I “retired”. Some are age old ideas that we learn from our ancestors, like a solar clothes drier (also known as a ‘clothesline’ LOL), sun-dried fruits and vegetables- (I have 4 framed screens for laying out sliced apples, etc, and a $40 commercial dehydrator to finish the drying if the weather turns bad) and capturing the sun’s energy in a good location for a garden.
Nothing new there, so I’ll share my extremely amateurish and somewhat crude contraptions that you can probably improve on and build yourself – a solar oven, solar water heater, and the afore-mentioned off-grid emergency backup solar system that’s still a work in progress. Then there is a rain barrel, a water filter, and a 1200 gallon cistern to capture all the rainwater from our gutters and downspouts, and a pond for the overflow (we tend to get a lot of rain in Oregon)
Screens for sun-drying
Solar oven
Solar water heater
Off-grid solar emergency backup
Rain barrel
Water filter
Polypropolene cistern to catch rainwater
Pond for enjoying the overflow
Will try to get into more detail next Thursday – stay tuned…