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Archive for the Kleptocracy Category

Drowning In The Surveillance State: Boiling In Hot Water (July 20, 2026)

Posted in Civil Rights/Civil Liberties, Kleptocracy, Privacy, Surveillance State, Technology on July 20, 2026 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K “In his graduation speech ‘This Is Water’, David Foster Wallace noted that we are often not aware of what surrounds us. We are also not aware of the forces surrounding us that are drowning, consuming, and suffocating us. This rising tide called the Surveillance State is devouring us little by little and step by step and day by day. We may not realize it.”

. . .

J “The human organism is breathtakingly resilient and adaptable. The problem may be that our resilience and adaptability may be killing us. We are learning to tolerate and accept and live with what is killing us. That which does not kill us may make us weaker.”

. . .

K “The Palantir manifesto / screed is the updated high-tech version of the Powell Memorandum. Powell charted the path for the Oligarchs/Kleptocrats to own everything. Palantir outlined the course for the Oligarchs/Kleptocrats to control everyone.”

. . .

J “With the ubiquity and ready acceptance of credit and debit cards, the transition to CBDCs will be seamless and uneventful. Some may see it as inevitable and long overdue.”

K “And probably foisted on us on a lazy Friday or over an idle weekend. The issue with CBDCs is not whether they are in line to go online, but which Big Player among the competing Big Players will control them.”

J “And control us.”

. . .

J “The frog slowly boils in the water. We are slowly being boiled.”

K “We are not aware we are in water. Boiling water.”

. . .

[See the thoughtful and thought-provoking essay “The Great Normalization (Nobody Declared Martial Law—Yet America Began Looking Like It Anyway)” by Madge Waggy at madgewaggy.blogspot.com dated July 16, 2026.]

[See the e-commentary at CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currencies): The End Of Freedom, Privacy, Dignity, Sovereignty And Humanity. And What Happens When AI (Artificial Intelligence) Takes Over Control Of CBDCs? (April 17, 2023), Monitoring The Masses: The Card And The Chip (January 12, 2015), Holographic Treasury Rates? The 500 Trillion Asset Steal? And Then The Great Taking? Oh, And Happy IRS Day! (April 14, 2025), Golden Anniversaries Abound: The [Lewis] Powell Memorandum And Attack On America (August 30, 2021) and Second Annual Noble Prize In Jurisprudence (October 16, 2017) (recognizing the work of John W. Whitehead in protecting and advancing civil rights and civil liberties).]

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

I wasn’t using my civil liberties anyway

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Bankruptcies? Layoffs? Foreclosures? Evictions? Inflation? (July 29, 2024)

Posted in Bankruptcy, Economy, Inflation, Kleptocracy, Unemployment on July 29, 2024 by e-commentary.org

. . .

J “Bankruptcies are up.”

K “And layoffs are rising.”

. . .

J “Foreclosures for property owners.”

K “Evictions for tenants.”

. . .

K “Washington and Wall Street continue to strip mine the American middle class.”

J “And do not remediate and reforest the lives and communities uprooted and destroyed in the process.”

. . .

K “The BLS, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, should drop the pretense and drop the ‘L’ in its name. The unemployment figures are a fraud.”

L “The National Bureau of Economic Research would not recognize a recession if it announced itself with flashing lights and marching band. I can see the lights and hear the band.”

. . .

K “And inflation is much higher than the figures distorted by the government. Some say the consumer price index known as the CPI should be called the ‘CP Lie’.”

J “Yet the thing we call the economy for the wealthy goes on its merry way.”

. . .

K “Maybe.”

J “Maybe.”

. . .

[Listen to the discussion titled “The Plunderers Now Run Our Economy” with Gretchen Morgenson interviewed by Adam Taggart at “Thoughtful Money” dated July 22, 2024. Reflect on the figures on layoffs, quits and hires at “Daily Job Cuts” and on public job cuts at MacroEdge’s “Job Cuts Tracker”. See the figures on real inflation at “ShadowStats”.]

[See the e-commentary at Is Inflation Inflating!?!? (April 26, 2021) written at a time when those in power insisted that inflation was transitory, Sixth Annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics (October 11, 2021) acknowledging the work of John Williams accurately tracking the true rate of inflation at “Shadowstats”, Interning For Clio: Collecting, Protecting And Preserving The Record (April 4, 2022), The Taxonomy Of The American Economy (May 21, 2018) and Does Any Institution In America Function? Oh, And Happy Friday The 13th! (December 9, 2019) discussing, among other institutions, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and its fraudulent employment numbers.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Unemployment: https://dailyjobcuts.com/ and https://www.macroedge.net/job-cuts-tracker

Inflation: http://www.shadowstats.com/

Fraud + Fraud + Fraud + Fraud + Fraud = / = Truth

Brother, can you spare a dime?

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Airlines: The 800 Lb. Sabre-tooth Tiger Stalks Us; The Reticulated Python Strangles Us (March 25, 2024)

Posted in Airlines, Collapse, Kleptocracy on March 25, 2024 by e-commentary.org

. . .

J “Our gravest concern may be hoping and praying the planes stay in the air long enough to get us there.”

. . .

K “Alaska Airlines would not refund the money directly and immediately. They offered to refund it to some digital wallet to use for a later purchase. A not insubstantial number of folks will not use the digital dollars . . . which rewards and benefits Alaska Airlines. They did transfer the funds, but the funds did not transfer. After an inquiry, I was told that I had to open the e-mail and transfer the funds myself to the wallet. But the e-mail was written so that the spam filter would catch it and divert it. And then when I retrieved it from spam, the time to transfer the funds had expired. After a long telephone delay, I was able to secure another e-mail yet had to go to my spam file and transfer the digital dollars immediately to my wallet for a later purchase. She responded that she does not make policy and . . . hopes I have a nice day. She was sincere. And handcuffed. She is as much a victim.”

. . .

J “American Airlines requires one to pay a fee up front that is not refunded to preserve the right later to seek a refund to the original form of payment. But at least the refund is made to the original form of payment. For a substantial payment. Two-hundred and twenty dollars, US ($220.00), for a local flight.”

. . .

K “A year ago, Alaska airlines began charging for the exit row seats. That is the norm in the industry. For many decades, Alaska Airlines has otherwise treated me quite well and may be the best airline of the flock today. And Alaska Airlines still believes that a mile is a mile is a mile is a mile in their frequent flier plan.”

J “They need to treat their employees far better than they have recently.”

. . .

J “And what about Delta . . . .”

. . .

K “And what about United . . . .”

J “The President of United Airlines should be banned from riding in the United Airlines corporate jet and should instead should be required to fly the friendly skies of United.”

. . .

J “And what about Frontier . . . .”

. . .

K “And what about Southwest . . . .”

. . .

J “Remember during Covid when the government gave tens of billions of dollars to the airlines to survive. One airline executive defiantly stated to Congress that he would not let the government take an economic interest in the airline. As long as the airline owns Congress, the airline can keep the government from obtaining an ownership interest in the airline.”

K “And the money was used largely for stock buy backs that benefited the cabal. And were once illegal.”

. . .

J “And what about . . . .”

K “They all behave criminally and abhorrently.”

. . .

J “When an airline charges for access to the bathroom on the plane, take note. That may be a bridge too far.”

K “Katie bar the door, as they say. You know that possible revenue source is regularly discussed in the airline C-suite.”

J “Before discussing stock buy backs.”

[See the e-commentary at “Recurring Revenue”: Inserting A Tentacle Into Every Pocket (August 29, 2022), Stalking The Stalking Saber-toothed Tiger (June 12, 2023), Go Away Go Daddy (December 18, 2023), Volkswagen (VW). The Bottom Half Of The German Engineering Class Must Go Somewhere. Boeing? (July 1, 2019), Fraudulent Frequent Flying Fiascos. Oh, And Happy Canada Day and Independence Day! (July 2, 2018), Going The Extra Mile: Today’s Airline Mileage Programs (August 19, 2013), China Invaded . . . And Won! Oh Well. (January 29, 2024) and over nineteen years ago at An Airline (Partial) Survival Guide (January 24, 2005).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Full refund to original form of payment: $220.

All of our representatives are assisting other callers.

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China Invaded . . . And Won! Oh Well. (January 29, 2024)

Posted in China, Economy, Kleptocracy, Trade on January 29, 2024 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K “How does one explain why there is such a fuss over China possibly invading Taiwan when there was so little effusion over China invading the USA.”

J “And winning.”

. . .

K “For most of our adult life, the American economy has been and is being destroyed, disemboweled and dismembered. A crook like Harry Stonecipher destroyed, disemboweled and dismembered a brilliant American jewel – Boeing. A thug like Jack Welch destroyed, disemboweled and dismembered a shining American icon – General Electric. Destruction from within a company. And economic criminals like ‘Mitts’ Romney and Paul Singer and so many others destroyed companies from without.”

J “In the patois of our age, would ‘Domestic Economic Terrorist’ appropriately describe them?”

K “And then they get appointed to a presidential cabinet position or even run for or get into the White House.”

. . .

K “Those in power are only concerned with Washington and Wall Street not with Waukesha and Wabash.”

J “Our friend the ‘War and Wall Street Party’ grinds on and over and around and through us.”

. . .

K “Look at how it was accomplished. With the active cooperation and complicity of the Ruling Class of the United States, China invaded the Greater Midwest writ large of America. . . and took over. The invasion was undertaken not with people and bullets but instead with United States politicians/businessmen and plant closings. The good people in the Greater Midwest writ large know that they have been conquered and vanquished. China also stormed the beaches and invaded the two Golden Coasts . . . and took over. However, the fools on the two Golden Coasts do not know that they too have been conquered and vanquished.”

. . .

J “Someone was sounding that message more than five years ago. The Mandarin language class on Tuesday nights prepares one to interpret the conversations of the prison guards at the re-education camp. And some of us will be quickly identified and shipped to the re-education camp. Or shot on sight.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at Mitt’s “Destructive Destruction”: The Bane of Capitalism (July 9, 2012) and Volkswagen (VW). The Bottom Half Of The German Engineering Class Must Go Somewhere. Boeing? (July 1, 2019).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

We could be getting into trouble

Three “D” USA Economic Policy: Destroy, Disembowel and Dismember

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Monkeying Around With Cryptocurrency: Pumping And Dumping And Monkey Hammering The Villagers (February 27, 2023)

Posted in Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Kleptocracy on February 27, 2023 by e-commentary.org

Revised from a variety of incarnations on the Internet:

How Cryptocurrency Works

Not long ago a Merchant found many stray monkeys living near a village that were disregarded and overlooked by the villagers.

One day the Merchant came into the village stating that he wanted to buy these stray monkeys.

He announced that he would buy the stray monkeys for $100 each.

The villagers thought that this man must be crazy. “How can somebody buy stray monkeys at $100 each? Why would he buy stray monkeys at $100 each?”

Still people caught some monkeys and sold them to the Merchant for $100 each.

This news spread like wildfire. More villagers caught monkeys and sold them to the Merchant.

After a few days, the Merchant announced that he would now buy monkeys for $200 each.

Now even the laziest villagers ran around to catch the remaining monkeys.

They sold the remaining monkeys at $200 each.

The Merchant then announced that he would buy monkeys for $500 each.

The villagers started to lose sleep.

They caught six or seven monkeys which was all that were left and got $500 each.

The villagers were awaiting anxiously for the next announcement.

Then the Merchant proclaimed that he is going on holiday for a week, but when he returned, he would buy monkeys at $1000 each.

He also said that in his absence his Employee would be in charge to take care of the monkeys he had purchased.

The Merchant went on holiday.

The villagers were frantic and very sad as there were no more monkeys left for them to sell at $1000 each as promised by the Merchant, but then the Merchant’s Employee publicized that he would secretly sell some monkeys at $700 each.

The news spread like wildfire as the Merchant had promised that upon his return monkeys would be purchased for $1000 each, producing a $300 profit for each monkey.

The next day the villagers queued up near the monkey cage.

The Employee sold all the monkeys at $700 each. The rich villagers bought monkeys in large numbers. The poor villagers borrowed money from money lenders and bought the rest of the monkeys.

The villagers took care of their monkeys and waited for the Merchant to return.

When the Merchant didn’t return, they searched for the Employee, but he could not be found either.

Eventually the villagers realized that they had been duped into buying the useless stray monkeys at $700 each and were now unable to sell them for any amount.

This Monkey Business is now known as cryptocurrency.

. . .

[See “There’s a wild theory that the price of Bitcoin is being propped up—and the academic who proved manipulation in 2017 suspects it may be happening again” by Shawn Tully behind a paywall at “fortune.com” and reprinted at “yahoo.com” dated February 2, 2023.]

[See the e-commentary almost a half dozen years ago in “Bitcoin”, “Ethereum” . . . “Blockchain Technology” Say What? (July 3, 2017) and a few comments on blockchain five years ago at One World Currency? (January 8, 2018) (K “On a simple level, ‘cryptocurrencies’, etc. are digital and gold, etc. is analog. Blockchain technology underlying ‘cryptocurrencies’ is likely to be supplanted by a fast, fair, sustainable, scalable, guaranteed Byzantine fault tolerant consensus digital technology using gossip protocols and virtual votes such as Hashgraph. And Hashgraph is likely to be supplanted by even more advanced and sophisticated technologies.”) The analogy between “gold” and “analog” is weak because gold is real and can be held in one’s palm and as they say, there is no counterparty risk.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

FOMO

HODL

Let’s celebrate one big happy extended family of transformational leaders and selfless visionaries serving the public interest and promoting the common weal in law, media, business, politics and academia:

SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s old boss at MIT was Glenn Ellison. His daughter Caroline Ellison is the CEO of FTX sister-company Alameda Research (and Sam Bankman-Fried’s lover at one time apparently).

The General Counsel of FTX used to be lead counsel to Gary Gensler when he was the CFTC Chair.

Sam Bankman-Fried’s mother was one of Hillary Clinton’s lawyers.

Gabe Bankman-Fried, brother to Sam (also a former Jane Street trader), is founder of “Guarding Against Pandemics”. He was a Legislative Correspondent for the U.S. House of Representatives and an advisor to large political donors in the Democratic Party.

Aunt Linda Fried is a WEF member on the Global Agenda Council on Aging.

The father, Joseph Bankman, is a Stanford professor who has lobbied on behalf of hedge fund managers before Congress (film at eleven).

Amy Wu, FTX Head of Ventures & Commercial, started with the Clinton Foundation years ago.

Nishad Singh, FTX Director of Engineering, has spent over 8 million dollars for Democratic candidates.

Mark Wetjen, Obama’s Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner, was the head of FTX Policy & Regulation.

Dan Friedberg, Chief Regulatory Officer of FTX, was previously a lawyer at Ultimate Bet (a site where they basically cheated against players).

Stuart Hoegner, General Counsel at Bitfinex/Tether, was previously Director of Compliance at Excapsa which was responsible for the Ultimate Bet Poker software.

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Sanctions, Supply Chains And World War E (March 7, 2022)

Posted in Covid / Coronavirus, Inflation, Kleptocracy, Markets, Russia, Sanctions on March 7, 2022 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K “Seems like ten years ago, not two years ago.”

J “It was ten years ago. Covid time.”

K “In mid-February way back then, we were terrified that it was as virulent as a Hantavirus and more terrified that the rest of the public was oblivious to the threat. The threats to the supply chains were obvious to only a few.”

. . .

K “Two years ago they said that we needed two weeks to ‘flatten the curve’ but never said that they would take two years to ‘flatten the economy’ and transfer wealth to the wealthy and undermine small and independently owned businesses.”

J “They launched ‘helicopter money’ that dropped a dollar to the plebs for every hundred thousand dollars delivered to the Kleptocrats. What an experiment. We as a society tried wage and price controls in 1971 and helicopter money in 2021-2022. Inflation is no surprise; inflation is the consequence.”

. . .

K “Biden and Putin agree. Biden plans to boycott Russian oil and gas that is desperately needed in Germany and the West; Russia agrees not to provide the much needed oil and gas to Germany and the West. As dad would say, Biden is cutting off Europe’s nose to spite Europe’s face and Putin is providing the scalpel.”

J “Oil is life. Turning off and turning down the oil wells will not turn out well.”

. . .

K “Biden’s decision to cut off the Russian central bank’s access to most of its $630 billion of foreign reserves is a desperate and frightening move. Once again, the United States weaponized the monetary system and issued a formal declaration of ‘World War E’ against Russia. The rest of the world knows one truth – No one can trust the United States. There is nothing more important or precious than trust. Mark my words, there will be a new economic order that is fundamentally different than the current machinations.”

J “I tell you, for those of us on the outside, the early tell is when the manipulated paper gold price results in few sellers of gold and then a huge chasm between the manipulated price and the actual selling price between a willing seller and a willing buyer.”

. . .

J “Someone said that Russia holds 90% of the world’s neon that is critical for lasers and semiconductor manufacturing, 40% of palladium that is necessary for catalytic converters and 35% to 40% of Boeing’s titanium and over 50% of Airbus’s titanium. And then there is platinum and there is aluminum and there is rhodium.”

K “From what I read, Europe imports 28% of their oil and 40% of their natural gas from Russia. The U.S. is not happy with that reality yet cannot meet the demand. So the U.S. tells the Europeans to freeze. In the dark. That will play well in Potsdam.”

. . .

K “The move from the factory to the farm is as disquieting. In high school, they described the Ukraine as the breadbasket of what was then the USSR.”

J “We always flow back to oil. Oil is life; food is just oil reconstituted in another form. Someone observed that Russia and Ukraine account for 30% of the global wheat trade, 20% of the corn, 80% of the sunflower-oil exports and 12% of all calories traded globally. And they provide fertilizer to grow the products. Without fertilizer, farmers will not plant. The inescapable problem is that a car plant can be closed or opened at any time of the year, but a carrot must be planted at a specific time of the year governed by Gaia not by the government. The times to plant have passed and are passing. You cannot plant yesterday.”

. . .

K “You reap what you sow. We are not sowing.”

J “We are so in trouble.”

. . .

[See “If Russian Currency Reserves Aren’t Really Money, the World Is in for a Shock” dated March 3, 2022 by Jon Sindreu in the “Wall Street Journal”.]

[See the e-commentary at Covid-19: BAU v. BAU (February 24, 2020), Covid-19 PanICdemic/Plague: Basically, Back To Basics: Finding Food; Printing Rutabagas. Happy Earth Day! (April 20, 2020), Is Inflation Inflating!?!? (April 26, 2021) and Careening Toward A Global Totalitarian Authoritarian Behemoth? And Then There Is The Fed’s Self-Inflicted Great Checkmate. (January 3, 2022).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

“Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people.” Henry Kissinger

Two is one; one is none; none is none.

Socio-politico-economic experiments: 1971: Wage and Price Controls; 2020 – 21: Helicopter Money

“Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7

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“Clinton, Inc., Trump, Inc., Bush, Inc., Kennedy, Inc., O’Bama, Inc. (October 24, 2016)” Four Years Later (October 26, 2020)

Posted in Book Reference, Kleptocracy on October 25, 2020 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K “Add Biden, Inc. to the mix. The Bideni gang rides again.”

J “Over six years ago it was clear that the sons of the Ruling Class like Kerry-Heinz and Biden were positioned and poised to make a killing. No matter how things stay the same, they stay the same.”

. . .

K “Professor G. William Domhoff’s classic examination of power in America, Who Rules America?, revisited and explored observations developed earlier by Professor C. Wright Mills in his seminal The Power Elite. I read Mills in high school and Domhoff in college. Now there is Professor Peter Phillips who has written Giants, Who Really Rules The World? and refines and updates the analysis.”

J “Phillips in the graduate school of life. His division of the new “Global Power Elite” into four sections includes four archetypes: 1) Managers (i.e., the financial elite), 2) Facilitators (i.e., bureaucrats and policy planners), 3) Protectors (i.e., military-intelligence apparatus of power), and 4) Ideologists (i.e., public-relations operatives and propagandists) is frighteningly insightful. An inquiry into the absolute domination of the powerful over the powerless. To continue the tradition, he may need to add an initial to his name . . . say Professor P. Peter Phillips.”

. . .

K “That uneasy feeling in late October 2016 manifested itself in the political surprise of our lifetime.”

J “I’m still uneasy.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at “Clinton, Inc., Trump, Inc., Bush, Inc., Kennedy, Inc., O’Bama, Inc. (October 24, 2016)”, “Impeachment Imbroglio. Oh, And Happy Saint Nicholas Day! (December 2, 2019)” and “World’s Reserve Currency War I = Cold War 2.0 = WW III (?) (September 8, 2014)”.]

Bumper sticker of the week:

And the beating goes on

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Covid-19 PanICdemic/Plague: Now What?! Make Masks Great Again (June 15, 2020)

Posted in Covid / Coronavirus, Kleptocracy, Public Health, Schooling on June 15, 2020 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K “Too many of the protests degenerated into riots. Who provided the bricks? Provocateurs provoking tensions for their own agenda? Protestors with a nefarious plan unconnected with engendering racial harmony?”

J “A single brick too often is used to destroy a collection of bricks that serve the collective. Once a brick goes through a window, the building is usually broken.”

. . .

K “In 2008, it was illiquidity, so they added liquidity. Now it is insolvency, so they add . . . liquidity. A flood has overwhelmed the town, so the FRFD comes to the rescue and turns all the water hoses on the town.”

J “The Federal Reserve Fire Department is contributing to the flood while filling the swimming pools of the Kleptocrats and providing them with the money to build bigger pools. They are all wet. It will not end well.”

. . .

K “Futball players are returning to the grid iron and may need to rethink the ‘full contact, two a day, with pads’ regimen and instead institute ‘six feet apart, one a day, with masks’ to keep the kids alive.”

J “Once the kids are there, it is their problem. It could be a doozy.”

. . .

K “Those in power are terrified that hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with azithromycin and zinc is an effective prophylactic and a treatment, so it is banned. The grand obscene irony is the world will know in less than a year. Those who want to know now, now know. A crime against humanity, possibly?”

J “The real crime is the refusal to undertake a valid scientific test. To date, the tests by my colleagues have been premeditated frauds. At this time, I reserve final judgment.”

. . .

J “You shouldn’t get your medical advice from television ads . . . or the NYT.”

K “And any advice from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Health (NIH), the American Medical Association (AMA), President Trumpi, the Surgeon General, Anthony Fauci, the Main Stream Media (MSM), Corporate News Network (CNN), Faux News (Fox), Big Pharma (BG), etc. also should be consumed cum grano salis and perhaps not BID.”

. . .

[See “Coronavirus To Decimate Colleges and Universities” by Yves Smith in “Naked Capitalism” dated May 12, 2020.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Make masks great again

The relaxation of isolation rules does not mean the Plague is over. It means they currently have a bunk for you in the ICU.

Wearing a mask outside makes about as much sense to me as wearing rubbers in the rain.

Covid-19(84)

You shouldn’t get your medical advice from television ads . . . or the NYT.

Wash; mask; space

“The current mitigation measures, such as social distancing, quarantine, and isolation implemented in the United States, are insufficient by themselves in protecting the public. Our analysis reveals that the difference with and without mandated face covering represents the determinant in shaping the trends of the pandemic worldwide. We conclude that wearing of face masks in public corresponds to the most effective means to prevent interhuman transmission, and this inexpensive practice, in conjunction with extensive testing, quarantine, and contact tracking, poses the most probable fighting opportunity to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, prior to the development of a vaccine.”

“Identifying airborne transmission as the dominant route for the spread of COVID-19” in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America by multiple authors dated June 10, 2020.

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Covid-19 PanICdemic/Plague: Rioters / Protestors: Too Much Noise / Too Little Signal (June 8, 2020)

Posted in Covid / Coronavirus, Kleptocracy, Occupy Movement, Police on June 8, 2020 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K “I have said for weeks the most devastating rioting and looting has been taking place in the suites in New York and DC not in the streets of Denver and Detroit.”

J “I hear you. It will not stop. Last year as I recall around September 17, 2019, eight years to the day after the emergence of the Occupy Movement, the economy was heading into another major collapse. And once again, the Federal Reserve stepped in and gave away billions via its repo purchases. That was not enough. Covid was and is a godsend for the Kleptocrats because it graciously provided cover and allowed the Federal Reserve to step in and give away trillions. It just will not stop.”

. . .

J “Being cooped up has also led many folks to fly the coop. The legitimate and the undigested anger were unleashed, but the rage is unfocused. The protestors are protesting about something more and something even the reflective ones would admit is difficult to describe.”

K “I’m with you. So much is wrong, yet too much has been needlessly destroyed. So many of the hard-working business owners already confronted too many challenges and now likely will quit the market.”

. . .

K “So now the statues have been beheaded, drowned, defaced, dethroned, destroyed and demolished rather than being properly displayed. I still maintain that all the Confederate and genuinely offending statues should be removed from their public perch and carefully moved to museums and displayed with an explanatory historical text.”

J “The statues should have been removed by reasonable minded politicians long ago. The public has had it and did it for them. The public needs to do things for themselves.”

. . .

J “We need to rename a dozen military bases currently named for domestic terrorists. What heroes should we celebrate to replace Fort Benning and Fort Bragg?”

K “Fort E. Shinseki and Fort S. Butler, although Fort. S. Butler really should be a Marine base. Or the new name for the Pentagon.”

. . .

K “So much energy is being misdirected. The rage and the energy must be directed at the Kleptocrats not just the cops who are doing their bidding.”

J “The cops also must decide if they are with the power or with the people.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at “Charlottesville . . . Chancellorsville? (August 14, 2017)” “Rerouting History (February 15, 2016)”, “The Confederate Flag: What Does It Mean To You? (July 6, 2015)”, “Celebrate Virginia’s ‘Celebrate Slavery Month’ (April 12, 2010)”, “King Daze (January 20, 2014)”, “Dixie Visited (September 17, 2012)”, “Brown Is The New Black (February 18, 2008)” and “Columbus And The Redskins (October 14, 2013)”.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

No justice, no peace

Remove the statues; end the idolatry

Smedley Butler Pentagon

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Archive for the Kleptocracy Category

[See “Why ‘Entitlement’ Cuts May Succeed” by Thomas Neuburger in “God’s Spies” on September 2, 2026.]

Bumper Stickers of the Week:

Is it social and is it secure?

Dolly Parton

Gloria Steinem

Bumper Sticker of the Week:

I wasn’t using my civil liberties anyway

. . .

. . .

J “They need to treat their employees far better than they have recently.”

. . .

J “And what about Delta . . . .”

. . .

K “And what about United . . . .”

J “The President of United Airlines should be banned from riding in the United Airlines corporate jet and should instead should be required to fly the friendly skies of United.”

. . .

J “And what about Frontier . . . .”

. . .

K “And what about Southwest . . . .”

. . .

K “And the money was used largely for stock buy backs that benefited the cabal. And were once illegal.”

. . .

J “And what about . . . .”

K “They all behave criminally and abhorrently.”

. . .

K “Katie bar the door, as they say. You know that possible revenue source is regularly discussed in the airline C-suite.”

[See the e-commentary at Mitt’s “Destructive Destruction”: The Bane of Capitalism (July 9, 2012) and Volkswagen (VW). The Bottom Half Of The German Engineering Class Must Go Somewhere. Boeing? (July 1, 2019).]

[See “There’s a wild theory that the price of Bitcoin is being propped up—and the academic who proved manipulation in 2017 suspects it may be happening again” by Shawn Tully behind a paywall at “fortune.com” and reprinted at “yahoo.com” dated February 2, 2023.]

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