Comme les lecteurs se souviendront de l’article précédent (ci-dessus), les épidémiologistes et pharmacologues japonais et taïwanais ont déterminé que le nouveau coronavirus pouvait provenir des États-Unis d’Amérique, car ce pays est le seul connu pour avoir les cinq types – dont tous les autres doivent avoir descendu. Wuhan en Chine ne possède qu’un seul de ces types, ce qui en fait une analogie comme une sorte de « branche » qui ne peut pas exister par elle-même mais doit être issue d’un « arbre ».

Le médecin taïwanais a noté qu’en août 2019, les États-Unis d’Amérique avaient une vague de pneumonies pulmonaires ou similaires, que les Américains imputaient au «vapotage» des cigarettes électroniques, mais dont, selon le scientifique, les symptômes et les conditions ne pouvaient pas être expliqués par e-cigarettes. Il a dit avoir écrit aux responsables états-uniens pour leur dire qu’il soupçonnait que ces décès étaient probablement dus au coronavirus. Il affirme que ses avertissements ont été ignorés.
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Immédiatement avant cela, le CDC a totalement fermé le principal laboratoire biologique de l’armée des Etats-Unis d’Amérique à Fort Detrick, Maryland, en raison de l’absence de garanties contre les fuites de pathogènes, émettant un ordre complet de «cesser et s’abstenir» à l’armée. C’est immédiatement après cet événement que l’épidémie de «e-cigarette» a éclaté.
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Source
Nous avons également infecté des citoyens japonais en septembre 2019, à Hawaï, des personnes qui n’étaient jamais allées en Chine, ces infections se produisant sur le sol des Etats-Unis d’Amérique bien avant l’épidémie de Wuhan, mais seulement peu de temps après la fermeture de Fort Detrick.
Ensuite, sur les réseaux sociaux chinois, un autre article est apparu, conscient de ce qui précède mais présentant plus de détails. Il a déclaré en partie que cinq athlètes « étrangers » ou autres membres du personnel en visite à Wuhan pour les Jeux militaires mondiaux (18-27 octobre 2019) ont été hospitalisés à Wuhan pour une infection indéterminée.
L’article explique plus clairement que la version Wuhan du virus n’aurait pu provenir que des États-Unis d’Amérique parce que c’est ce qu’ils appellent une « branche » qui n’aurait pas pu être créée en premier car elle n’aurait pas de « graine ». Il aurait dû s’agir d’une nouvelle variété issue du «tronc» d’origine, et ce tronc n’existe qu’aux États-Unis d’Amérique. (1)
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Il y a eu beaucoup de spéculations publiques selon lesquelles le coronavirus avait été délibérément transmis à la Chine mais, selon l’article chinois, une alternative moins sinistre est possible.
Si certains membres de l’équipe des Etats-Unis d’Amérique aux Jeux militaires mondiaux (18-27 octobre) avaient été infectés par le virus d’une épidémie accidentelle à Fort Detrick, il est possible qu’avec une longue période d’incubation initiale, leurs symptômes aient pu être mineurs, et ces personnes auraient facilement pu «visiter» la ville de Wuhan pendant leur séjour, infectant potentiellement des milliers de résidents locaux dans divers endroits, dont beaucoup se rendraient plus tard au marché des fruits de mer à partir duquel le virus se propagerait comme une traînée de poudre (comme il l’a fait) .

Commentaire: Oui, bien que la possibilité d’un élément sinistre demeure: les troupes des Etats-Unis d’Amérique sont systématiquement vaccinées avec Dieu seul sait quoi, certains d’entre eux comme des cobayes littéraux pour des vaccins de modification comportementale «de pointe» hautement expérimentaux contenant des virus génétiquement modifiés. Et si l’un de ces essais sur des troupes sélectionnées à Fort Detrick «tournait mal» dans le sens où il produisait le résultat contraire à ce qui était prévu (un virus injecté de vaccin qui était censé rendre les troupes plus conformes au respect des ordres), alors les chefs de projet ont paniqué quand ils ont réalisé ce que cela pourrait faire si elle sortait, ils ont donc verrouillé temporairement la base et mis les troupes en quarantaine. À leur insu, cependant, la quarantaine n’a pas fonctionné et le virus s’est propagé parmi les troupes des Etats-Unis d’Amérique, puis a finalement atteint Wuhan, en Chine (parmi de nombreux autres endroits). Ce n’est que lorsque le gouvernement chinois a remarqué son point chaud à Wuhan qu’ils ont identifié le virus, alertant les experts états-uniens en armes biologiques de leur cauchemar d’un virus GM «à l’état sauvage» rendant les gens moins contrôlables …

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[Cette situation fait paniquer également les membres du bureau politique du Parti communiste chinois qui sont désemparés, paniquent devant cette nouvelle maladie étrange dont ils ne connaissent pas l’origine, ce qui les pousse dans un premier temps à prendre des mesures préventives sur la circulation de l’information, pensant que le mal peut provenir aussi de leurs laboratoires, en attendant que les vérifications soient menées. – MIRASTNEWS].
Cela expliquerait également l’impossibilité pratique de localiser le légendaire «patient zéro» – qui dans ce cas n’a jamais été trouvé car il y en aurait eu beaucoup.
Ensuite, Daniel Lucey, expert en maladies infectieuses à l’Université de Georgetown à Washington, a déclaré dans un article dans Science Magazine que la première infection humaine avait été confirmée en novembre 2019 (pas à Wuhan), suggérant que le virus était originaire ailleurs puis s’était propagé aux marchés de fruits de mer. « Un groupe a mis l’origine du foyer dès le 18 septembre 2019 ». (2) (3)
Le marché des fruits de mer de Wuhan n’est peut-être pas à l’origine de la propagation d’un nouveau virus à l’échelle mondiale.
La description des premiers cas suggère que l’épidémie a commencé ailleurs.
L’article déclare:

« Alors que les cas confirmés d’un nouveau virus envahissent le monde à une vitesse inquiétante, tous les yeux se sont jusqu’à présent concentrés sur un marché de fruits de mer à Wuhan, en Chine, à l’origine de l’épidémie. Mais une description des premiers cas cliniques publiés dans The Lancet vendredi conteste cette hypothèse. »(4) (5)

Le document, rédigé par un groupe de chercheurs chinois de plusieurs institutions, fournit des détails sur les 41 premiers patients hospitalisés qui avaient confirmé des infections par ce qui a été surnommé le nouveau coronavirus 2019 (2019-nCoV).
Dans le premier cas, le patient est tombé malade le 1er décembre 2019 et n’avait aucun lien signalé avec le marché des fruits de mer, rapportent les auteurs. « Aucun lien épidémiologique n’a été trouvé entre le premier patient et les cas ultérieurs », précisent-ils. Leurs données montrent également qu’au total, 13 des 41 cas n’avaient aucun lien avec le marché. « C’est un grand nombre, 13, sans lien », explique Daniel Lucey … (6)

Commentaire: Juste là, cela devait venir d’ailleurs.

Des rapports antérieurs des autorités sanitaires chinoises et de l’Organisation mondiale de la santé avaient indiqué que le premier patient avait des symptômes le 8 décembre 2019 – et ces rapports indiquaient simplement que « la plupart » des cas étaient liés au marché des fruits de mer, qui a été fermé le 1er janvier (7).)
« Lucey dit que si les nouvelles données sont exactes, les premières infections humaines doivent avoir eu lieu en novembre 2019 – sinon plus tôt – car il y a un temps d’incubation entre l’infection et l’apparition des symptômes. Si c’est le cas, le virus pourrait se propager silencieusement entre les gens de Wuhan – et peut-être ailleurs – avant que le groupe de cas du désormais tristement célèbre Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market de la ville ne soit découvert fin décembre. « Le virus est entré dans ce marché avant de sortir de ce marché », affirme Lucey.
« La Chine doit avoir réalisé que l’épidémie n’est pas originaire de ce marché de fruits de mer de Wuhan Huanan », a déclaré Lucey à Science Insider. (8)
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Kristian Andersen est biologiste évolutionniste au Scripps Research Institute qui a analysé des séquences de 2019-nCoV pour essayer de clarifier son origine. Il a dit que le scénario était « entièrement plausible » de personnes infectées introduisant le virus sur le marché des fruits de mer de quelque part à l’extérieur. Selon l’article de Science,

« Andersen a publié son analyse de 27 génomes disponibles de 2019-nCoV le 25 janvier sur un site de recherche en virologie. Cela suggère qu’ils avaient un « ancêtre commun le plus récent » – c’est-à-dire une source commune – dès le 1er octobre 2019. » (9)

Il était intéressant de noter que Lucey a également noté que le MERS provenait à l’origine d’un patient en Arabie saoudite en juin 2012, mais des études ultérieures et plus approfondies l’ont fait remonter à une précédente épidémie hospitalière de pneumonie inexpliquée en Jordanie en avril de la même année. Lucey a déclaré qu’à partir d’échantillons stockés de personnes décédées en Jordanie, les autorités médicales ont confirmé qu’elles avaient été infectées par le virus MERS. (10)
Cela inciterait le public à faire preuve de prudence en acceptant le «récit standard officiel» que les médias occidentaux sont toujours si désireux de fournir – comme ils l’ont fait avec le SRAS, le MERS et le ZIKA, tous ces «récits officiels» ayant par la suite été prouvés avir eu tort.
Dans ce cas, les médias occidentaux ont inondé leurs pages pendant des mois sur le virus COVID-19 originaire du marché des fruits de mer de Wuhan, provoqué par des gens mangeant des chauves-souris et des animaux sauvages. Tout cela s’est avéré faux.
Non seulement le virus n’était pas originaire du marché des fruits de mer, il n’était pas du tout originaire de Wuhan, et il a maintenant été prouvé qu’il n’était pas originaire de Chine mais qu’il avait été importé en Chine d’un autre pays. Une partie de la preuve de cette affirmation est que les variétés génomiques du virus en Iran et en Italie ont été séquencées et déclarées comme ne faisant pas partie de la variété qui a infecté la Chine et doivent, par définition, provenir d’ailleurs.
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Il semblerait que la seule possibilité d’origine soit les États-Unis d’Amérique, car seul ce pays possède le «tronc d’arbre» ​​de toutes les variétés [5 types – MIRASTNEWS]. Et il peut donc être vrai que la source d’origine du virus COVID-19 était le laboratoire de guerre biologique de l’armée des Etats-Unis d’Amérique à Fort Detrick. Ce ne serait pas une surprise, étant donné que le CDC a complètement fermé Fort Detrick, mais aussi parce que, comme je l’ai dit dans un article précédent, entre 2005 et 2012, les États-Unis d’Amérique avaient connu 1 059 événements où des agents pathogènes avaient été soit volés, soit s’étaient échappés des laboratoires bio des Etats-Unis d’Amérique. – au cours des dix dernières années.

Larry Romanoff A propos de l’auteur Larry Romanoff est consultant en gestion et homme d’affaires à la retraite. Il a occupé des postes de direction dans des sociétés de conseil internationales et a été propriétaire d’une entreprise d’import-export internationale. Il a été professeur invité à l’Université Fudan de Shanghai, présentant des études de cas en affaires internationales à des classes EMBA supérieures. M. Romanoff vit à Shanghai et écrit actuellement une série de dix livres généralement liés à la Chine et à l’Occident. Il peut être contacté au: [[email protected].](mailto:[email protected]) Il contribue fréquemment à Global Research.

Notes
(1) mp.weixin.qq.com [Ed. note: Article no longer available]
(2) « New coronavirus threat galvanizes scientists », Science 31 Jan 2020: Vol. 367, Issue 6477, pp. 492-493
(3) « Wuhan seafood market may not be source of novel virus spreading globally », Science; Jon Cohen; Jan. 26, 2020
(4) « Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China30183-5/fulltext) » The Lancet, Prof Chaolin Huang, MD, et al, Volume 395, ISSUE 10223, P497-506,
(5) « Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China30183-5/fulltext) » The Lancet, Prof Chaolin Huang, MD, et al, Volume 395, ISSUE 10223, P497-506,
(6) « Experts explain the latest bulletin of unknown cause of viral pneumonia », Wuhan Municipal Health Commission (in Chinese)
(7) « Questions and answers on pneumonia epidemic of new coronavirus infection », Wuhan Municipal Health Commission (in Chinese)
(8) UPDATE Wuhan coronavirus – 2019-nCoV Q&A #6: An evidence-based hypothesis
(9) Clock and TMRCA based on 27 genomes
(10) « Novel coronavirus infections in Jordan, April 2012: epidemiological findings from a retrospectiveinvestigation », EMHJ, B. Hijawi, et al. [Ed note: PDF in Arabic]
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Commentaire: Cette analyse semble être sur la bonne voie. Les médias ont crié trop fort à propos de ce marché de Wuhan. Nous avons d’abord soupçonné un lien avec le seul biolab BSL-4 de Chine à Wuhan, mais cela semble en effet être une pure coïncidence.

• CDC suddenly shuts down US Army’s Fort Detrick bioweapons lab due to ‘lapses in safety’
• New Fort Detrick BioDefense laboratory may reflect a Bush germ war effort
• Pentagon Biological Weapons Program Never Ended: US Bio-labs Around The World
• Ethnic-Specific Weapons: Leaked Documents Reveal US Diplomats in Georgia Trafficking Human Blood And Pathogens For Pentagon Biowarfare Laboratory
• Research paper finds HIV like insertions in 2019-nCoV not found in any other coronavirus, « unlikely to be fortuitous in nature »
• Coronavirus Coverup: Vitamin C dramatic help against infection in China, South Korea — Why aren’t we being told?

Traduction : Jean de Dieu MOSSINGUE Économiste, Théoricien de la Relativité économique et sociétale, Expert hors classe en Analyse stratégique et en Intelligence économique et globale

MIRASTNEWS
Source : SOTT

Le coronavirus est-il une arme biologique?

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L’article du Washington Post opposé à une telle conclusion admet ce qui suit: Le laboratoire de Wuhan « faisait des recherches sur les coronavirus transmis par les chauves-souris ». Et « [un] rapport annuel du Département d’État publié l’année dernière a déclaré que la Chine s’était engagée » dans des activités biologiques avec des applications à double usage potentielles. » » Et qu’au moins un expert s’inquiétait des épidémies potentielles de ce laboratoire. Et que d’autres experts ont discuté de la possibilité que le coronavirus soit une arme biologique mais n’a trouvé aucune preuve.

La vidéo de Francis Boyle soutenant que le coronavirus est une arme biologique pointe vers trois articles de revues scientifiques. Le premier décrit le virus en termes que Boyle, mais pas les auteurs, considère comme un cadeau mort. Comment juger un non-expert?
Le deuxième article, dont l’un des auteurs est de l’Institut de Wuhan et dont l’un des bailleurs de fonds est la Chine, décrit le travail à l’Université de Caroline du Nord à Chapel Hill, que Boyle considère comme un travail agressif pour rendre un virus plus mortel, les auteurs ont clairement maintenir était défensive, mais était incontestablement « à double usage » comme la plupart de ces recherches semblent être inévitablement. Boyle pense que Wuhan a acquis cette recherche en finançant et en y participant grâce aux bons services de l’UNC qui a obtenu ses cellules mortelles de Fort Detrick.
Le troisième article a les mêmes liens avec Wuhan et la Chine que le second, mais vient d’Australie au lieu de Caroline du Nord.
Boyle pense que les chercheurs sur les armes biologiques en Australie et en Caroline du Nord ont fait un travail qui a contribué à la catastrophe actuelle, indépendamment de ce qu’ils auraient pu tenter, vouloir ou souhaiter. Je pense qu’il y a de nombreuses preuves que les chercheurs sur les armes biologiques du monde entier sont engagés dans un jeu mortel et contre-productif qui développe des armes au nom de l’essai pour les vaincre.
La preuve montre-t-elle que ce virus doit provenir d’un laboratoire et non de chauves-souris via d’autres animaux sans autre rôle humain que la destruction de l’habitat et une réponse des flics clés à l’épidémie? Je ne sais pas. Je pense que les preuves sont écrasantes à cet égard en ce qui concerne la maladie de Lyme. Je pense que oui aussi en ce qui concerne l’anthrax. Je n’ai pas vu de preuves aussi puissantes concernant le SIDA et je devrais les voir avant de sauter à cette conclusion.
Mais quelle est exactement la distinction entre un laboratoire qui acquiert une maladie des chauves-souris, l’étudie et la laisse accidentellement lâcher, par rapport à un laboratoire qui acquiert une maladie d’un autre laboratoire, la modifie pour l’aggraver au nom de la prévenir et la laisse accidentellement lâchée? Quand devient-il une arme biologique?
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Développer des armes biologiques afin de développer des vaccins pour les contrer se fait exactement de la même manière, que ce soit pour la défense ou l’offensive. Dans une attaque offensive, les vaccins sont nécessaires pour protéger les troupes attaquantes. Et le développement de ces armes est très difficile et coûteux. La source la plus probable d’armes biologiques dans une attaque terroriste est un laboratoire gouvernemental qui a développé des éléments pour la «défense». La source possible de toute maladie qui ressemble à une arme biologique est la même.
Bien sûr que non. Je n’ai pas la moindre expertise en la matière. Mais nous savons que les gouvernements travaillent sur les armes biologiques, et nous savons qu’ils ne veulent pas que cela soit discuté, et nous savons que les médias des entreprises et des États évitent les choses dont les gouvernements ne veulent pas discuter. Pourtant, les gens trouvent la décence dans certains cas pour faire mieux en essayant de survivre au coronavirus que ce que leurs gouvernements leur disent de faire. Peut-être que les gens peuvent aussi faire mieux que leurs gouvernements ne le souhaitent en recherchant les origines.
Il se pourrait que les États-Unis d’Amérique et la Chine aient raison de se blâmer mutuellement, et que l’internationalisme des universitaires, une telle force pour de bon dans d’autres contextes, crée beaucoup de blâmes à contourner.

David Swanson David Swanson est l’auteur de «When the World Outlawed War», «War Is A Lie» et «Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union». Il blogue sur http://davidswanson.org et http://warisacrime.org et travaille pour la ligne (plus …)

Traduction : MIRASTNEWS
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Source : Oped News

CORONA VIRUS-19 et CAPITALISME

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CoronaVirus-19 démolit l’argument de la droite contre le système de santé universel ainsi que contre l’idée que le capitalisme à lui seul fournit l’arrangement social et économique le plus efficace pour la liberté individuelle et la prospérité matérielle. Ainsi, il était presque surréaliste de constater que Bernie Sanders, par exemple, a à peine mentionné le problème du virus Corona dans sa campagne présidentielle basée sur les soins de santé universels comme l’un des principaux problèmes.

Le point le plus simple mais le plus profond que la pandémie Covid-19 démontre est que les riches ne peuvent pas être à l’abri de la contagion de la maladie par eux-mêmes et, du même coup, un pays riche ne peut pas être à l’abri de la destruction du puissant contagieux à moins que les pays pauvres ne soient également à l’abri de la propagation de la même maladie. Dans le monde qui rétrécit aujourd’hui, « America First » de Trump n’est pas seulement un slogan politique égoïste moralement inacceptable, mais une stratégie qui ne peut pas constituer un moyen viable de contenir la propagation d’une maladie féroce.
Peu de gens ont peut-être vu clairement le lien, mais avec le temps, suffisamment de gens auront vu le lien clairement pour générer une force politique imparable que Donald Trump ne peut pas maintenir.
Nathan Nahm

Nathan Nahm est un avocat retraité de New York.

Traduction : MIRASTNEWS
Source : Oped News

Complément d’informations

Fort Détrick manipule des germes dangereux, le laboratoire de l’armée des EUA s’est heurté à des problèmes de sécurité graves

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Fort Detrick est le principal centre de biodéfense militaire, des problèmes d’élimination des matières dangereuses sont survenus, signalés pour la première fois par le Frederick News-Post.

Selon le gouvernement et la CDC, les préoccupations concernaient des questions de sécurité dans ce laboratoire de germes militaire de premier plan qui faisait des recherche impliquant des microbes dangereux comme le virus Ebola. C’est la raison pour laquelle les recherches avaient été suspendues, selon un communiqué de l’Institut de recherche médicale des États-Unis d’Amérique sur les maladies infectieuses à Fort Detrick, dans le Maryland.
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Une porte-parole, Caree Vander Linden, avait déclaré dans une interview que la fermeture durerait des mois. Selon le communiqué, les Centers for Disease Control and Prevention avaient décidé d’émettre un « ordre de cesser et de s’abstenir » le mois précédent pour interrompre la recherche à Fort Detrick, car le centre n’avait pas « de systèmes suffisants en place pour décontaminer les eaux usées » de ses laboratoires les plus sécurisés.
Mme Vander Linden a ajouté qu’il n’y avait eu aucune menace pour la santé publique, aucune blessure pour les employés et aucune fuite de matières dangereuses à l’extérieur du laboratoire. Cependant, dans cette déclaration du C.D.C., il est opposé des «raisons de sécurité nationale» pour justifier la non-divulgation d’informations sur sa décision.
Cela laisse les citoyens des Etats-Unis et le reste du monde dans le flou total. Car avec ces genres d’accidents qui peuvent mettre la vie des personnes en danger, il est préférable d’être tout de suite clair et transparent en fournissant toute l’information nécessaire et suffisante permettant de cerner la totalité du problème, afin d’éviter toute sorte de suspicion immédiate ou future, surtout si l’on a rien à se reprocher.
L’institut est un centre de biodéfense qui développe plusieurs projets de recherches, il étudie des germes et des toxines dangereuses pouvant menacer la santé militaire ou publique, car tout accident pourrait créer des épidémies ou des pandémies. Les recherches sont menées pour le compte du Pentagone et d’autres agences gouvernementales, des universités et des sociétés pharmaceutiques qui paient les prestations. Il employait à peu près 900 salariés. Suite à ces problèmes, l’ancien directeur est allé en retraite et a été remplacé.
Les recherches ont été suspendues pour 67 toxines et germes appelés agents sélectifs, car selon le gouvernement, ils «pourraient constituer une menace grave pour la santé publique, animale ou végétale ou pour les produits animaux ou végétaux». Parmi ceux-ci on trouve les organismes à l’origine des maladies comme Ebola, la variole, l’anthrax, la peste et le poison ricine. On peut compter parmi ces germes le coronavirus dont les Etats-Unis détiennent 5 types.
Ces agents sélectionnés peuvent aussi être utilisés comme armes biologiques. Déjà en mai 2018, les tempêtes avaient inondé et ruiné une usine de stérilisation à la vapeur installée depuis des décennies. Elle était utilisée pour traiter les eaux usées de ses laboratoires, selon la déclaration de Mme Vander Linden.
L’interruption pendant plusieurs mois devait permettre à l’Institut de développer un nouveau système de décontamination utilisant des produits chimiques. Pour y parvenir, il a fallu modifier certaines procédures dans les laboratoires.
En juin 2019, le C.D.C. a inspecté le laboratoire et les inspecteurs auraient constaté que les nouvelles procédures n’étaient pas suivies de manière cohérente et des problèmes mécaniques avec le système de décontamination à base de produits chimiques, ainsi que des fuites à l’intérieur du laboratoire, selon Mme Vander Linden.
Les médias rapportent que des erreurs auraient été commises dans d’autres laboratoires gouvernementaux, notamment ceux des Centers for Disease Control et des National Institutes of Health. Par exemple, en 2009, la recherche à l’institut de Fort Detrick a été suspendue car elle stockait des agents pathogènes non répertoriés dans sa base de données.
Il a également eu comme employé le Dr Bruce E. Ivins, un microbiologiste qui était l’un des principaux suspects – mais qui n’a jamais été inculpé – dans les envois à l’anthrax en 2001 qui ont tué cinq personnes. Celui-ci est décédé en 2008 en se suicidant selon l’institut.

EDIT: Thank you all for your responses so far. You guys have given me an avenue to view the world through a lens other than the one I grew up with, and have made me suspect that I may actually be dealing with some level of classical conditioning. I'll keep responding to comments, but I've been missing work to do so thus far, so I'll get back to the thread later.
Thank you all again for your help so far; I look forward to continuing this discussion.
You guys rock.
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Let me preface this by saying that I want my mind changed. I’m only twenty-two years old, and the idea that over half of my life could be spent living in an Orwellian dystopia is honestly terrifying.
I’d also like to say that I’m not trying to offend anyone with my beliefs or opinions, I’m simply looking for answers. If you can, take everything in this post as a whole and not as individual points, as it’s not so much the individual points that are bothering me but the idea of the individual points being interconnected to form a grand plan.
With that said, I’m going to present as much information as I can in as coherent a way as possible. I’m not an “expert” on these things. I’m no David Icke, so you can be sure that I’m going to leave out certain bits of information that could be relevant to my argument, so I apologize in advance if my arguments are only half baked.
Let me give you an idea of where I’m coming from.
Growing up, my Mom was - and still is - extremely deep in the conspiracy theory world; everything from reptilians to the Earth being hollow. As far as she’s concerned, COVID-19 is just another stage of the rollout of a massive agenda that’s going to end in the entirety of humankind being hooked up to Artificial Intelligence.
My Dad, on the other hand, is on the other side of the spectrum. If he can’t find it on the mainstream news, it hasn’t happened and probably doesn’t exist. There are a couple of exceptions to that rule, but by and large, he goes off of what the media says, particularly CBC, The Guardian, and Al-Jazeera English. He is extremely logical, and if it can’t be logically explained and requires there to be massive assumptions made, he doesn’t buy it.
As for the rest of the family, they largely follow my Mom’s side of the story. One of my half-brothers in particular is very deep in conspiracy theories. He thinks Q-Anon is a crock of shite, but has very strong beliefs about COVID being a sham and part of a plan to dehumanize people. Same with 9/11, smartphone rollout, social media, etc. It doesn't help that he's incredibly intelligent, and is VERY capable of defending his viewpoints. I don't bother discussing these things with him anymore because it always ends with me feeling more stressed out.
I’ve been stuck in the middle of these differing opinions for my whole life. Generally, my parents get along, but there were times where their differences devolved into an endless back and forth that had my eight-year-old self hiding under the bed thinking that divorce was imminent.
I’ll start by listing reasons that I can think of for a global agenda NOT existing, and then will go over reasons for why I think an agenda COULD exist.
AGAINST:

1. INFIGHTING:

Looking at the world today and all of human history as a whole, the idea of a group of people from all over the world pulling the strings of global affairs is kind of absurd. People don’t get along, so the thought of something massive like a covert global takeover going to plan without the whole thing collapsing because of infighting is almost inconceivable.

1. WHISTLEBLOWERS:

If there is a plan to take over the world and brainwash the population, why hasn’t it been completely exposed? David Icke says that the people who do the rolling out of the agenda are too far down the chain of command for them to have any idea of what’s happening. He uses the analogy of a spider web: the spider at the center of the web is pulling the strings, while all the other parts of the web simply communicate with one another without knowing that the orders being issued are coming from the spider at the center. Again, I don’t see how SOMEBODY hasn’t found out about it yet and decided to blow the whistle.

1. EDWARD SNOWDEN:

Edward Snowden has said in the past that he hasn’t been able to find any evidence for conspiracies like chemtrails or UFO black sites existing, and if I understand him correctly, he had access to the databases of the CIA, the NSA, the FBI, and the military, and he didn’t find anything. Now he did say that these conspiracies may exist, but if they did they would have to be hidden insanely well. That could be the case, but I feel like it’s starting to get into Occam’s razor territory.

1. MOTIVE:

I don’t see there is a motive for global domination. After all, what is there to truly be gained? Money? Power? Control? None of those seem like realistic motivators to want to enslave the entirety of humanity. All three of those things can be achieved right now without global domination. Additionally, none of those things exist in a vacuum, so if a world government controls all the wealth and the movements of every single person on the planet, what’s the point anymore? That said, I’m well aware that a good chunk of the people in positions of power are actually psychopaths, and perhaps for someone who has no regard for human life those three things are a big enough motivator.
FOR:

1. “COINCIDENCE”

With what’s happening in the world right now, it’s difficult for me to feel like nothing is going on behind the scenes and that it’s all just a “coincidence."
Surprisingly, many people aren’t aware of some of the things that go on behind closed doors and are only later made public.
Some of these things include the term “conspiracy theorist” being given negative connotations by the CIA as a means to counter and shut down discussion around the assassination of John F. Kennedy: https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/03/16/did-the-cia-invent-the-term-conspiracy-theory/
Or Operation Northwoods: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Northwoods
Or Operation Mockingbird: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mockingbird
Or Project MKUltra: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra
Or heck, even Steller Wind, which is almost textbook Orwellian: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/11/snowden-files-declaration-nsa-spying-case-confirming-authenticity-draft-inspector
Needless to say, I feel like the fact that some of these programs were even considered, let alone put into action raises a lot of red flags around the world’s government truly having the people’s best interests at heart. If a government is capable of killing or spying on its citizens for political reasons, what’s stopping them from doing far worse?
Outside of government specifically, what about all of the allegations regarding pedophilia? The number of powerful people that received donations and endorsements from Jeffery Epstein is staggering, and for what exactly? Nobody seems to know. Then there are the allegations that are being directed at people like Andrew Derschowitz and Prince Andrew. Watching the Prince’s interview with the BBC regarding the accusations being made by Virginia Roberts against him, coupled with how difficult he is being in regards to providing information regarding the case, makes me doubtless that she’s telling the truth. The Prince’s behavior reminds me of myself when I was trying to avoid getting in trouble with my parents.
Additionally, if Prince Andrew is implicated in pedophilia, that could mean that the rest of the Royal Family could be involved in shady business as well. There is the whole conspiracy around Princess Diana's death after all. It doesn’t take much looking to see all the pedophile rings that are being uncovered, including some that are masquerading as charitable organizations: https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/20/health/haiti-orphanages/index.html
https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/06/235859/nxivm-leader-keith-raniere-guilty-sex-cult-all-charges
Then there’s the number of people in Hollywood that are being ratted out as sexual predators; Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacy are the main ones that come to mind, but there are certainly others. Some of the statements made by Elijah Wood are pretty damning: https://variety.com/2016/film/news/elijah-wood-pedophilia-hollywood-problem-1201781021/https://variety.com/2016/film/news/elijah-wood-pedophilia-hollywood-problem-
Then there are the blatant satanic undertones in the music industry. It’s not hard to find multiple music videos that are explicitly satanic. The one that immediately comes to mind is the video for “LA Devotee” by Panic at the Disco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5dNcKTcnPA
Or the video for “Bon Appetit” by Katy Perry (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPI-mRFEIH0) which smacks of the “Spirit Cooking” dinners hosted by Marina Abramovic. She says she isn’t a Satanist, but I prefer to look at a person’s actions and not their words, and her art tells a different story.
If she is a Satanist, that makes me question why on earth she is so well connected with the rich and famous.
As a side note, Abramovic also took part in an art exhibition that was organized by Microsoft: https://newspunch.com/bill-gates-microsoft-cancel-marina-abramovic-campaign-after-people-flood-video-calling-her-out-satanist/
I feel that the claims that David Icke makes about there being a satanic cult pulling the strings from behind the scenes are only enforced by the content being produced by Hollywood and the music industry.
Moving onto the LGBTQ+ movement, I know I’m going to get crap for this but please try and be understanding. I have absolutely nothing against people who want to change their gender identity. I believe that a person has every right to do so and that they should be treated with general human decency and courtesy.
What I’m against is Sex Ed class being bumped down to kindergarten: https://www.king5.com/article/news/politics/state-politics/washington-state-sexual-education-bill-passes-senate/281-a5d8b98e-1487-4be5-b2fc-f638b4511230
Or little boys and girls being encouraged to wear clothing of the opposite sex: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8103957/boys-encouraged-explore-gender-dresses-australia-schools/
These are not issues that children should be getting exposed to. On average, a person’s brain doesn’t stop developing until they are age 25, so why on Earth do we think it’s a good idea to have children question their already extremely fragile self-identity? How can this NOT lead to kids becoming confused?
I’m going to say it again: I DO NOT THINK THAT A PERSON CHANGING THEIR SEXUAL IDENTITY IS SOMETHING THAT THEY SHOULD BE SHAMED AND OSTROCISED FOR. However, I do believe that the post-modernist relativism that is spreading around the world today like wildfire is only leading to destruction.
Camille Paglia was asked about her thoughts on the Transgender movement and she, a Gay woman herself, said that there is a pattern throughout history of transgender ‘mania’ being a precursor to societal collapse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8BRdwgPChQ
This is not, as I understand it, because transgenderism itself causes societal collapse, but because a lack of strong principles and belief in ultimate truth in favor of relativism leads to people losing their sense of morality and right and wrong, which in turn leads to anarchy, and finally to collapse.
I believe the emphasis placed on sex is less the CAUSE of the world's issues, and more just another SYMPTOM of larger issues.
Suffice to say, I believe it is easy to see how teaching kids to question their gender identity at an absurdly young age could be used as a control mechanism later in life. If someone doesn’t even know who they are as a person, how on Earth can they take an objective look at their circumstances?
Next on the list we’ve got the “Vaccine’s cause Autism” debate, which has become so toxic it’s almost impossible to have a reasonable discussion around it, which is why I hate to bring it up but it is relevant to COVID-19 so I feel like I have to.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently “debated” Andy Dershowitz on the safety of vaccines, though it was more of a discussion than a debate: https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/kennedy-jr-warns-parents-about-danger-of-using-largely-untested-covid-vaccines-on-kids
The video is quite long and there are a lot of points raised so I’m not going to get into them, but it seems that the majority of the points that RFKJ made are independently verifiable, such as vaccines not being tested against a true placebo, or how it is essentially impossible to sue a vaccine company for any form of injury caused to your child.
Then there’s the whole microchipping via vaccine thing which, while I haven’t seen any proof for, does seem possible as microchipping is becoming more and more commonplace, such as companies in Sweden having their employees microchipped as a sort of security pass or to replace credit cards: https://nypost.com/2019/07/14/swedish-people-are-getting-chip-implants-to-replace-cash-credit-cards/
It’s easy to see how microchipping could be used as a control mechanism. A chip that can track your location, your mood, your health, and then beam that information back to a private server, regardless of where your phone is.
It’s even easier to see how creating an autism epidemic could be used to control the population.
That leads rather nicely into COVID-19.
Firstly, I’d like to point out the amount of blatant censorship that has been going on. Moments after the previously mentioned “debate” was posted on Facebook, it was taken down. The same applies to a group of front line doctors who recently went to the senate and were censored: https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/censored-frontline-doctors-speak-out-we-want-to-help-people
It doesn’t make sense to me that the voices of credible people are silenced, simply because it goes against what the mainstream narrative is. Freedom of speech is a thing, isn’t it? It seems suspicious to me that the immediate response is not a reasoned argument, but censorship.
It also doesn’t make sense that Bill Gates, a college dropout, is given a larger platform than actual doctors who have gone through the schooling and know what they’re talking about. It seems like pure lunacy.
The thing that I think has me the most scared at the moment is this document by the company Onyx: https://onyxinc.ca/covid-19.html
It talks about an isolation facility that is being constructed to hold people who are suspected of having been exposed to COVID-19. It does say that where they will be transported depends on the results of an assessment, but the fact that it’s even being talked about is mind-boggling to me.
Yes, I believe COVID-19 exists, but I do not believe it is nearly as deadly as it has been made out to be, and I think that the actions that are being taken are over the top, to say the least.
The evidence for the efficacy of social distancing and masks also seems very spotty, so to make them mandatory in places like Calgary is shocking when they have the potential to do more harm to the people wearing them than good. While these do seem to be isolated incidents, people have died wearing masks, which I think calls their safety into question: https://nypost.com/2020/04/24/driver-crashes-car-after-passing-out-from-wearing-n95-mask/
https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-coronavirus-two-chinese-boys-die-face-masks-gym-class-20200507-ruyinz7czjbqde3tprx647q3dm-story.html
Then there’s the amount of hypocrisy and pure silliness. The British Columbian CDC recommended the use of “Glory Holes” as a means to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 while having sex: https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/canada-cdc-suggests-glory-holes-for-safe-sex-during-coronavirus-news.114699.html
You’re telling me that a bunch of serious adults wrote that guideline?
Or what about the inconsistency in standards? It’s fine to go and protest the police, but not to protest lockdown measures: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jun/3/public-health-experts-support-george-floyd-protest/
There’s also Agenda 21, which has almost become a buzzword thanks to the map created for it that shows human living space relegated to tiny little squares of land across the US, reminiscent of Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games”: https://americanpolicy.org/2017/10/04/agenda-21-agenda-2030-there-is-no-difference/
The last thing I’ll share is this video which my mother sent to me and prompted me to write this post as it kind of pushed me over the deep end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=66XGOpMXCQE&app=desktop
Finally, reason #2 for there being a global conspiracy:
WHISTLEBLOWERS:
While there hasn’t been a mainstream exposure of a plan to take over the world by a group of extremely powerful people, there are plenty of people who claim to have worked for a variety of powerful organizations that say that something is most definitely going on, and what they are saying is simply censored because it goes against the government agenda. Are they credible? Some of them seem to be, but that’s neither here nor there.
CLOSING
To close, I would like to say that I’m sick and tired of being stuck in the middle. I’m sick of being stuck in this conspiratorial soup that has done nothing but stress me out and make me feel miserable. I want my mind changed, but I also don’t want to stick my head in the sand. I want hard evidence against these things.
I’m not looking for someone to tear apart each of these points individually; I’m looking for someone to tear apart the whole idea. I don’t want to have a debate on the efficacy of vaccines, I want to know that vaccines aren’t part of a larger plan. I want to know that the way things are being handled right now is down to human stupidity and has nothing to do with a great big “spider” at the center of the web that’s pulling the strings. Thinking about this stuff has made me suicidal in the past and I don’t want that to happen again.
I’d also like to note that I don’t consider the sources for this information not being mainstream as an argument against the premise of there being a cult controlling the world, as the whole point of the argument is that the mainstream media is complicit in brainwashing the public.
I’m going to say it one last time: I’m not looking for an argument against each point, I’m looking for an argument as to why the idea of a secret society orchestrating all of these different things is illogical. Whether what I’ve said here turns out to be true or false doesn’t bother me half as much as the idea that they’re all intrinsically linked.
I do want to reiterate that I’m not trying to offend or attack anyone’s viewpoint. I’m simply looking for answers and some semblance of closure.
Thanks in advance, and stay safe out there.
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EDIT: Thank you all for your responses so far. Your responses have given me an avenue to view the world through a lens other than the one I grew up with and have made me suspect that I may actually be dealing with some level of classical conditioning. I'll keep responding to to comments, but I've been missing work to do so thus far, so I'll get back to it later.
Thank you all again for your help so far; I look forward to continuing this discussion.
You guys rock.

Hello to all of the capitalists, cocaine connoisseurs, ethnonationalists, and Oreo fans joining us today. Today we begin one of the biggest, most controversial, and most sonically diverse rates popheads has ever taken on. Notably, popheads voted to include a man amongst a sea of white pop girls, and also folklore is here.
Last year, as many have noted, was perhaps not the world’s best. However, what stayed good from January 1st until December 31st was the pop music (except for Justin Bieber’s Changes, but we can ignore that for now). Floods of beloved comebacks, surprise releases, and out-of-nowhere rises to acclaim pervaded the year, and made everything that much more bearable for us. Many of these albums were intended for the dance floor, but every one of them has provided a great sense of escapism during a year where most people needed exactly that. Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, and The Weeknd all released year defining, career reinvigorating albums that captivated the general public and pop fans alike. So my cohosts (the brilliant u/ignitethephoenix and u/hikkaru) and I want to invite you to celebrate them all in one place, and stage a friendly, not at all bloody competition to see which artist and what song comes out on top.
If you’re as fucking illiterate as I am and you’ve done a few of these rates already, you can start rating right here:
Spotify & Apple Music playlists
Pastebin Ballot
Submission Link

The Weeknd - After Hours

Spotify | Apple Music | Other
Released at the cusp of everything shutting down in North America in March (remember when things actually shut down to prevent COVID from spreading...fun times), After Hours is the fourth studio album and seventh project released by Abel Tesfaye, also known by his stage name The Weeknd. After Hours is a synth pop, new wave and r&b inspired record featuring the Weeknd’s signature writing style of themes such as turbulent relationships, loneliness, indulgence and self loathing. It blends what OG Weeknd fans love about him; the moody, somewhat toxic and dark lyrics with songs and elements that brought him newer fans; grand pop music with catchy melodies and soaring vocals. After Hours, although it contains grand radio friendly singles such as the #1 smash hit “Blinding Lights”, “In Your Eyes” and future number one hit “Save Your Tears”, this album very much follows a narrative from beginning to end. The Weeknd grapples with a lost relationship and how he in fact was probably the reason why it didn’t work out, as painful as it is to come to terms with. He copes and tries to distract himself, and yet he still can’t let his love go and wishes it could still work out. But eventually comes to realize that she is gone for good and he is alone again.
After Hours received many positive reviews when it came out, with many critics praising how it was his most fully realized project and consistent project yet. It also was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with 444,000 units sold, 10 songs charting within the top 40 of billboard at it debut and being the 4th best selling album of 2020 in the USA. And yet the album, as well as Blinding Lights, were controversially snubbed from the Grammys awards in 2021, which led to a lot of outrage from the internet and as well as the music community. Nonetheless, the Weeknd continued to push forward and embraced the success of this era through his multiple psychedelic and classic movie inspired music videos and also booking the largest music gig of the year with the Super Bowl LV HalfTime Show. - u/ignitethephoenix

1. Alone Again
2. Too Late (Music Video)
3. Hardest To Love
4. Scared To Live
5. Snowchild (Animated Video)
6. Escape From LA
7. Heartless (Music Video)
8. Faith
9. Blinding Lights (Music Video)
10. In Your Eyes (Music Video)
11. Save Your Tears (Music Video)
12. Repeat After Me (Interlude)
13. After Hours
14. Until I Bleed Out (Music Video)
15. Nothing Compares
16. Missed You
17. Final Lullaby

Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia

Spotify | Apple Music | Tidal
In 2019, Dua Lipa was a joke among pop music fans. Many liked a few of her songs, but because of her live performances and because of her perceived lack of a visual or sonic identity, she became a punching bag for stans of all kinds. She had immense pressure on her from fans and the music industry to overcome the sophomore slump, so she did the only thing she could do.
She did a full 180.
From the moment she dropped the first single, it became clear that this was not going to be another collection of disparate tracks like her debut: this was a true era. That only intensified as more singles were released and she began to perform them live. Even though the era had a bit of a damper on it towards the end due to the growing COVID-19 pandemic, Dua’s maskless antics, and the album leaking, Future Nostalgia still became one of the most critically acclaimed, commercially successful, and intensely stanned pop albums of the year. The album was exactly as streamlined, cohesive, and full of bops as everything had indicated. It yielded great success for Lipa as well: it debuted in the top 5 in both the US and UK, eventually hitting #1 in England, and yielded multiple top 10 singles around the world. It also established Dua Lipa as an undeniable pop force to be reckoned with, even outside of Europe.

1. Future Nostalgia
2. Don’t Start Now (Music Video)
3. Cool
4. Physical (Music Video)
5. Levitating
6. Pretty Please
7. Hallucinate (Animated Video)
8. Love Again
9. Break My Heart (Music Video)
10. Good In Bed
11. Boys Will Be Boys
12. Fever (with Angèle) (Music Video)

Lady Gaga - Chromatica

Spotify | Apple Music | Other
While Lady Gaga began her career with gay-approved electronic dancefloor bangers, she eventually decided to change it up and show off how versatile she really is. She teamed up with legend Tony Bennett for a jazz album in 2014, put on her pink cowboy hat in 2016, and delved into acting in 2018, but eventually she had no choice but to go back to her roots and return to the dancefloor after much begging and hoping from her fanbase. Enter the world of Chromatica, which was introduced with the leak release of Stupid Love, a triumphant electropop track produced by Bloodpop, who would go on to aid in the production of the entire album alongside acclaimed producers such as Madeon, Skrillex, Axwell, and Tchami, among others. As a whole, Chromatica dabbles into strong house influences, which compliment the lyrical theme of "dancing away the pain". Such theme is expressed clearly in the Ariana Grande collaboration Rain on Me, which earned Gaga yet another #1 hit - Ariana is joined by icon Elton John and trailblazing K-Pop group BLACKPINK in the album's vocal collaborations. Chromatica debuted on the Billboard 200 at #1, but unfortunately the album's promotional cycle was heavily impacted by world events and initially saw a delay in release date due to COVID-19. However, Gaga thankfully came through despite all that was against the album's success and Chromatica Oreos are now available at your local supermarket! - u/hikkaru

1. Chromatica I/ Alice
2. Stupid Love (Music Video)
3. Rain On Me (with Ariana Grande) [Music Video]
4. Free Woman
5. Fun Tonight
6. Chromatica II/ 911 (Music Video) [the two tracks combined bc you deserve it]
7. Plastic Doll
8. Sour Candy
9. Enigma
10. Replay
11. Chromatica III / Sine From Above (with Elton John)
12. 1000 Doves
13. Babylon
14. Love Me Right

NOTE: We have decided to include Target Exclusive Deluxe track Love Me Right. This song is not on streaming services, but we have provided a link to it here.

Taylor Swift - folklore

Spotify | Apple Music | Other
Taylor Swift shocked the world when, with no lead up whatsoever, she announced that she would be releasing her eighth studio album in 16 hours, a mere eleven months after her album Lover had released. The only album in this rate written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, folklore marked the first time where Swift lyrically downplayed her personal life in favor of fictional stories and imagined scenarios (in addition to a few distinctly personal songs). Instead of worrying about the pop trends, she went for a drastically different, indie-folk inspired sound, collaborating primarily with Aaron Dessner of The National, in addition to Jack Antonoff, Bon Iver, and William Bowry (aka her boyfriend Joe Alwyn, in his debut as a songwriter). This album marked the first time that Swift completely bucked all expectations, and as a result, it was heralded as her best album yet, one of the best albums of the year by many publications, and an album that was genuinely reflective of the time period it was made. The album and its lead single, “Cardigan”, peaked at #1 on their respective Billboard charts, and folklore eventually became one of the best selling albums of the year.

1. the 1
2. cardigan (Music Video)
3. the last great american dynasty
4. exile (feat. Bon Iver)
5. my tears ricochet
6. mirrorball
7. seven
8. august
9. this is me trying
10. illicit affairs
11. invisible string
12. mad woman
13. epiphany
14. betty
15. peace
16. hoax
17. the lakes

Bonus rate

All of these artists are extraordinarily prolific, and as a result, we’ve created an optional bonus rate to highlight a few loose songs from each of them. Ranging from loose singles, remixes, collaborations, certain “sellout tracks” that were actually bops, and whatever the fuck Macavity is, each of these songs provides more of a look into these artist’s recent output.
In Your Eyes (with Doja Cat) - Remix (Animated Video)
Blinding Lights (with Rosalía) - Remix
Hawai (with Maluma) - Remix (Music Video)
Over Now (with Calvin Harris) (Music Video)
cardigan (cabin in candlelight version)
betty (Live from the 2020 Academy of Country Music Awards)
Macavity (scene from the film because lol)
Love Story (Disco Line Remix)
The Cure
Heal Me
Why Did You Do That?
Hair Body Face
Levitating (feat. DaBaby) (Music Video)
Un Dia (with J Balvin, Tainy, & Bad Bunny) (Music Video)
Levitating (feat. Madonna and Missy Elliott) [The Blessed Madonna Remix] (Music Video)
Love is Religion (The Blessed Madonna Remix)
Reminders and Notes: You do not have to do this rate!!! This is completely optional, but it is way more fun if you do participate. But since this is not part of the main rate, you cannot give your 11 or your 0 to any of these songs. Save those for the main rate. Your favorite artist is going to need that extra point. Additionally, we have decided to include the Love Story Disco Line Remix, aka “that tiktok version of Love Story”. This remix is not on streaming services, but we have provided a YouTube link to the song.

Rules

Many people are already familiar with these rules, but since there may be some brand new raters, people who haven’t done rates in a while, and/or people who need a refresher, here they are, lightly plagiarized for your enjoyment:

• You have to listen to and rate every song. We will not accept any ballots with missing scores
• You have to give each song a score between 1 and 10. You are allowed to give up to one decimal place for each song (for example: a 7.5 will be accepted, as will a 5.7, but not a 6.67 or 3.1415926535897932384). If you use decimals, please use a period/dot ( . ) and not a comma ( , ).
• You may give one song in the rate an 11, and one song a 0. This should be reserved for your favorite and least favorite in the rate, to give it an extra boost in scoring. You do not have to, but again, it makes things more fun. NOTE: You only get one 11 and one 0 in the entire rate, NOT one 11 and one 0 per album. You cannot give any other scores above a 10 or below a 0.
• Your scores should not be considered confidential. We will share them with your username attached to them, and if your score sucks, we very well might publicly shame you for it (all in good fun). This is just to say: keeping your scores secret will not save you from my wrath.
• Use the prepared link/ballot HERE to send in your scores. If that link fails you for any reason, feel free to just privately message me (aka u/akanewasright) using the ballot format in THIS pastebin link
• If you want to change your scores for nearly any reason whatsoever, feel free to privately message me (once again, my username is u/akanewasright) and I will do so.
• If you want to spice things up, you can add a comment next to your score. If you wish to do so, please use the following format:

Scared To Live: 10 I personally hate being alive, so I can relate

• Anything variation from that format will not be accepted. Here are a few examples of what not to do:

Pretty Please: 0: Pretty please turn this song off
betty: OMG my lesbian queen deserves an 11
Replay: (4) Iyaz outsold

• Comments are not required at all, but they are highly encouraged and will make the eventual reveal much more fun.
• If you want to give an overall comment to the album, you can, using this format:

Album: Chromatica: Why yes, I am a home of sexual, why do you ask?

• Do not attempt to sabotage the rate scores. The hosts WILL NOT accept your scores if we have any suspicion that you are trying to mess with an artist’s or song’s scores. What we will do is privately make fun of you for trying to pull that shit. So please don't.

(The bolded words are reflective of common mistakes among first time raters. I'm not trying to be passive aggressive. That'll come after I get your scores)
Thank you so much for reading (for those of you who read any of that shit, I mean), and happy rating!

Once again, here's the link to send in scores

Emergency Pastebin ballot

Spotify & Apple Music playlist

*5 NIH/National Library of Medicine studies from 2004-2020 all finding verifiable health effects from wearing a face mask, including scientifically verified reduction is blood oxygen level: * https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29395560/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32590322/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15340662/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26579222/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31159777/
Cloth Mask Study
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4420971/
SOME of the mask studies on efficacy:
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.01.20049528v1
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.03.30.20047217v2
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2006372
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2749214
https://www.cmaj.ca/content/188/8/567
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5779801/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19216002/
https://aaqr.org/articles/aaqr-13-06-oa-0201.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4420971/
https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/65/11/1934/4068747
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bio/23/2/23_61/_pdf/-chaen
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01658736
https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/0195-6701(91)90148-2/pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2493952/pdf/annrcse01509-0009.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20200717141836/https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/04/commentary-masks-all-covid-19-not-based-sound-data
https://www.nap.edu/catalog/25776/rapid-expert-consultation-on-the-effectiveness-of-fabric-masks-for-the-covid-19-pandemic-april-8-2020
https://www.nap.edu/read/25776/chapte1#6
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/5/19-0994_article
https://academic.oup.com/annweh/article/54/7/789/202744
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6599448/
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-1342
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00392-020-01704-y
https://clinmedjournals.org/articles/jide/journal-of-infectious-diseases-and-epidemiology-jide-6-130.php?jid=jide
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1130147308702355
And Just In Case Your Still On The Fence,
Face masks make you stupid
Why face masks are a form of dehumanisation By Patrick Fagan
28 July, 2020
In Joost Meerloo’s analysis of false confessions and totalitarian regimes, The Rape of the Mind, he coins a phrase for the ‘dumbing down’ of critical resistance – menticide. “In the totalitarian regime,” he wrote, “the doubting, inquisitive, and imaginative mind has to be suppressed. The totalitarian slave is only allowed to memorise, to salivate when the bell rings.”
Face masks make you suggestible; they make you more likely to follow someone else’s direction and do things you wouldn’t otherwise do
Neolithic man had a similar problem dealing with his livestock. Homo sapiens’ success has relied not insignificantly on cattle – their dairy, meat, leather and manure. Yet the cow’s ancestor, the auroch, was quite a different beast. It was fast, aggressive and dangerous – hardly conducive to be corralled into predictable channels of behaviour. So, about 10,500 years ago, man started to deliberately breed the most docile aurochs for domestication.
The key word here is docile, which comes from the Latin docere, meaning “to teach” (as does, say, ‘doctorate’ and ‘document’). Being docile means being compliant and following commands, which means submitting to a system of thought.
Whereas animals, however, typically need to be bred to have a higher level of reasoning to be taught commands, human beings, already being quite smart, need to be dumbed down. You won’t disobey an order if you lack the cognitive ability to question it. This is particularly pertinent to the smooth running of a modern world system which relies on millions of individual souls, each with their own nuanced life history and perspective, thinking and acting in the same way.
The empirical literature has shown that compliance and suggestibility are negatively related to intelligence (e.g., Gudjonsson, 1991). In consumer psychology, there is even a technique called ‘disrupt-then-reframe’: bamboozle people first and they’ll be more likely to buy what you’re selling (Davis & Knowles, 1999). Ultimately, the common denominator for increasing suggestibility is switching off executive function in the prefrontal cortex – disabling the superego, the conscience, the internal monologue. Without Jiminy Cricket on his shoulder, Pinocchio would never have become a real boy – he would have always remained a puppet. Modern society is shot through with things that make us similarly dumb (literally, unable to speak).
The effect of television, for example, as Meerloo wrote, is to “catch the mind directly, giving people no time for calm, dialectical conversation with their own minds.” The mind-numbing, irrational effect of visual communication has been recognised throughout history. Not for nothing did religions talk about the word of God and forbid graven images. Unsurprisingly, empirical studies showing that watching television makes you stupid in both the short- and long-term (Hoang et al., 2016; Lillard & Peterson, 2011). This is to say nothing of pornography, which is now consumed by 98% of men but known to inhibit the part of the brain dealing with conscience and consciousness, the prefrontal cortex (Kuhn & Gallinat, 2014).
Moving from circuses to bread, alcohol, of course, reduces cognitive function in the short-term (Hindmarch & Sherwood, 1991). Even at moderate levels of consumption, it accelerates cognitive decline in older age (Topiwala et al., 2017). Junk food, likewise, makes it harder to think in the short-term (Barnes & Joyner, 2012) and harms cognitive ability in the long-term (Reichelt & Rank, 2017).
Fluoride has become something of a cliché of conspiracy theorists; being added to the public water supply in multiple countries around the world, ostensibly to reduce tooth decay. However, the evidence supporting the dental benefits of fluoridated water is poor, while many studies have shown it can damage tooth aesthetics via fluorosis (McDonagh et al., 2000). Many more studies have found that fluoridated water lowers the population’s intelligence (e.g., Borman & Fyfe, 2013; Green et al., 2019; Lu et al., 2000; Rocha-Amador et al., 2007; Wang et al., 2008).
Which brings us to face masks.
Face masks can now be added to the list of mandates that make you stupid. As if Piers Morgan feverishly promoting them weren’t evidence enough, here are the facts on why you absolutely, categorically should not wear a face mask. They make you suggestible; they make you more likely to follow someone else’s direction and do things you wouldn’t otherwise do. In short, they switch off your executive function – your conscience.
A great example comes from a study by Mathes and Guest (1976), who asked participants how willing they would be, and how much they would have to be paid, to carry a sign around the university cafeteria reading “masturbation is fun” (this being 1976, doing such a thing would be considered embarrassing; these days it will probably earn you a course credit!). The results showed that when people wore a mask, they were more likely to carry the sign and required less money to do so ($30 compared to $48, on average).
Meanwhile, Miller and Rowold (1979) presented Halloween trick-or-treaters with a bowl of chocolates and told them they were allowed to take only two each. When the children thought they weren’t being watched, they helped themselves. Children without a mask broke the rule, taking more chocolates, 37% of the time, compared to 62% for masked children. The authors concluded that masks “lead to lower restraints on behaviour”.
The effect has similarly been found online: the online disinhibition effect refers to the tendency for people to act antisocially when anonymous online (Suler, 2004). There is even an infamous trolling movement calling itself Anonymous and using a mask as its symbol.
The disinhibiting effects of wearing a mask are described by psychologists in terms of a suspension of the superego’s control mechanisms, allowing subconscious impulses to take over. Saigre (1989) wrote that masks ‘short-cut’ conscious defence systems and encourage “massive regression” to a more primitive state; Castle (1986) wrote that eighteenth century masquerades allowed mask-wearers to release their repressed hedonistic and sexual impulses; and Caillois (1962) similarly wrote about European masked carnivals involving libidinal activities including “indecencies, jostling, provocative laughter, exposed breasts, mimicking buffoonery, a permanent incitement to riot, feasting and excessive talk, noise and movement”. In the 12th Century, Pope Innocent III banned masks as part of his fight against immorality; and in 1845, New York State made it illegal for more than two people to wear masks in public, after farmers wore masks to attack their landlords.
From a neuroimaging perspective, masks are known to inhibit identity and impulse control – both associated with executive function in the prefrontal cortex (e.g., Glannon, 2005; Tacikowski, Berger & Ehrsson, 2017). In other words, masks silence the Jiminy Cricket in the brain.
It is little wonder that covering our mouths would ‘shut us up’ psychologically. Studies have shown that clothing has a powerful effect on how we think (or not), via a principal known as enclothed cognition: wearing a lab coat enhances cognitive function (Adam & Galinsky, 2012), wearing a nurse’s scrubs increases empathy (López-Pérez et al., 2016), and wearing counterfeit brands increases the likelihood of cheating in a test (Gino, Norton & Ariely, 2010). Similarly, in the world of body language, someone putting their hand over their mouth is a sign that they are listening intently: they are ready to receive information, not to question it.
While no studies have looked at the effect of masks on verbal reasoning, it is fairly safe to assume that priming a ‘shutting up’ would have a cognitive effect. For example, extraverts are less compliant than introverts (Cohen et al., 2004; Gudjonsson et al., 2004); the development of conscience in humans is heavily linked to that of language (e.g., Arbib, 2006); and inner speech is highly related to cognitive functions (Alderson-Day & Fernyhough, 2015). Crucially, verbal reasoning is strongly correlated with moral reasoning (e.g., Hayes, Gifford & Hayes, 1998): being unable to ‘speak’ makes one less able to deduce what is moral and immoral behaviour.
There is also a more basic reason masks might make you stupid: decreasing oxygen flow to the brain. Face veils reduce ventilatory function in the long-term (Alghadir, Aly & Zafar, 2012), and surgical masks may reduce blood oxygenation among surgeons (Beder et al., 2008): believe it or not, covering your mouth makes it harder to breathe. Reviewing the N95 face mask, a 2010 study (Roberge et al.) concluded that “carbon dioxide and oxygen levels were significantly above and below, respectively, the ambient workplace standards” inside the mask. A post-COVID study found that 81% of 128 previously-fit healthcare workers developed headaches as a result of wearing personal protective equipment (Ong et al., 2020).
Not only do face masks make it hard to breathe, but the evidence that they even work to stop the spread of coronavirus is limited at best. A popular brand of mask even carries a warning on its packaging that it “will not provide any protection against COVID-19”; as for preventing carriers from spreading the disease, a meta-analysis found, for example, that of eight randomised control trial studies, six found no difference in transmission rates between control and intervention groups (while one found that a combination of masks and handwashing is more effective than education alone, and the other found that N95 masks are more effective than standard surgical masks; bin-Reza et al., 2012). Non-surgical masks, such as scarfs and cloths, are almost useless (Rengasamy et al., 2010). Masks may even be unhealthy, causing a build-up of bacteria around the face (Zhiqing et al., 2018).
The fact that masks likely don’t even work brings us to the final reason that wearing one inculcates stupidity and compliance: through a bombardment of lies, contradictions, and confusion, the state overwhelms your ability to reason clearly.
As Theodore Dalrymple wrote, “In my study of communist societies, I came to the conclusion that the purpose of communist propaganda was not to persuade or convince, not to inform, but to humiliate; and therefore, the less it corresponded to reality the better. When people are forced to remain silent when they are being told the most obvious lies, or even worse when they are forced to repeat the lies themselves, they lose once and for all their sense of probity. To assent to obvious lies is in some small way to become evil oneself. One’s standing to resist anything is thus eroded, and even destroyed. A society of emasculated liars is easy to control.”
The point of face masks is not to protect humans, but to diminish humanity – to rob people of their ego, their identity, and their autonomy. Masks are worn by disposable horror movie villains and ignorable background dancers; they make people less-than-human.
Dehumanisation is rarely followed by anything good. Face masks are another worrying portent of what’s to come, alongside a seismic shift in mainstream discourse. In an analysis of the Rwandan genocide, one of the first linguistic predictors was the tendency to look backwards, to blame, and to focus on past wrongs and injustices (Donohue, 2012), which will sound familiar to anyone unfortunate enough to have read The BBC or The Guardian recently. Similarly, where the Tutsis were referred to as cockroaches by the Hutus, and the Nazis depicted the Jews as rats, Nancy Pelosi recently promised to “fumigate” President Trump out of the White House.
It is hard to predict how the wheel of life will revolve in the coming years, but all signs point to trouble. During the crisis years of a generational cycle, only one thing can be guaranteed: the importance of a clear mind. To that end, allow yourself the dignity, identity and Logos of being human – and never, ever wear a mask

UPDATE – 26 January 2021
COVID has been in Canada for one year now.
The strange case of the CEO in disguise to get vaccine for himself.
COVID-19 tax tips.
COVID-19 and the world of work – the International Labor Organization.
A breakdown of cases among healthcare workers.
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If you’re having trouble regulating life while working from home, the fake commute might be for you, have a look: https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/18/success/fake-commute-meaning-benefits-pandemic-wellness/index.html
“For the many who have been doing your part, you may be asking, what more can I do? Be the voice of support and encouragement for those who may be wavering in their resolve.” – Dr. Bonnie Henry.
Feel free to share this post, or copy and paste, in whole or any part of it.
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LOCAL:
· 82 cases among New West residents in the previous week.
· No new school exposures in New Westminster since that of the Queensborough Middle School on January 11th.
· Current outbreaks: Royal City Manor, declared Jan 21; Royal Columbian Hospital, declared Jan 20.
· The Rio Theatre in Vancouver has converted into a sports bar.
· The theatre is dealing with a full closure of movie theatres. But as restaurants and bars can remain open with safety protocols, the theatre is seeking other ways to do business. The move does show that the Rio cannot do business as a theatre right now, but can meet the safety requirements to operate as a sports bar.
· There are differences though. The theatre has to actually meet the requirements for a bar, such as taking orders from people’s seats rather than allowing a line-up at the concession.
· The move has stirred controversy, with some decrying the Rio as finding a loophole while the basic lay-out is still that of a theatre, with narrow entryways and tiny washrooms. Others welcome the move as innovative, a way for a theatre to survive during the closure.
Sources: CBC, Global News, Fraser Health
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PROVINCIAL:
· The strange case of the CEO in disguise.
· Vancouver couple Rod and Ekaterina Baker were fined $575 after sneaking into the Yukon to try to get the vaccine for themselves.
· The couple posed as local motel workers.
· The clinic at Beaver Creek normally has one nurse and a receptionist, but a team of six was flown in to do vaccinations. Beaver Creek was chosen because “of its remoteness, elderly and population, and limited access to health care,” said Chief Angela Demit of the White River First Nation in Beaver Creek.
· The story of the wealthy executive trying to get vaccine intended for remote elderly First Nations people has not gone over well.
· Rod Baker is the Chief Executive Officer of Great Canadian Gaming, since 2011, where he earns $900,000 per year as salary, but last year also made $45.9 million from company stock options.. The company announced his resignation yesterday. The gambling company cited it’s “core values.” Ekaterina Baker is an actor, but not apparently a good enough one to fool Yukon officials. The couple chartered a flight to the Yukon.
· “We had not been imagining that someone would go to this length to mislead or deceive.” John Streicker, Yukon’s Minister of Community Services.
· The manager of the 1202 Motor Inn, where the couple claimed to work, was also rather upset. “That’s a risk (serving travellers) that we take – not a risk that somebody enforces upon us because they are too ignorant.” Staff at the Beaver Creek clinic found the couple suspicious, and phoned the motel to check on their story. While at the clinic and pretending to live and work in town, the couple rather oddly asked if anyone could drive them to the airport afterwards.
· Story from the Globe and Mail: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-great-canadian-gaming-ceo-resigns-after-being-charged-in-yukon-ove?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Coronavirus%20Update&utm_content=2021-1-25_19&utm_term=Coronavirus%20Update:%20Great%20Canadian%20Gaming%20CEO%20resigns%20after%20alleged%20botched%20disguise%20as%20Yukon%20motel%20worker%20in%20attempt%20to%20get%20COVID-19%20vaccine&utm_campaign=newsletter&cu_id=czq7hF%2BueFDcmmCKozRUQ1bduJl6paGe
· Ekaterina Baker is known for acting in productions such as Chick Fight, Fatman, The Asset, and The Comeback Trail, and as producer of Big Gold Brick.
· IMDB page: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9698063/
· BC has adopted a four phase vaccination plan.
· Phase 1, December to February: Residents, staff, essential visitors with long-term care and assisted living; people waiting for long-term care; people in remote Indigenous communities and hospital workers caring for patients with COVID-19.
· Phase 2, February to March: Seniors over 80; Indigenous seniors over 65, Indigenous elders; more health-care workers; vulnerable populations and nursing-home staff.
· Phase 3, April to June: Members of the general public aged 60 to 79.
· Phase 4, July to September: Members of the general public aged 18 to 59.
· Premier John Horgan says the plan is based on those who get most sick, and those most likely to die, so priority goes to the elderly and vulnerable, and those who work around them.
· The Premier said multiple groups argued that they were front-line workers and so should get priority. But with vaccine supply limited, it didn’t seem to make sense to vaccinate people on the basis of their job, like being a front-line worker, ahead people ahead of seniors or those more likely to be hospitalized or to die. Health care workers are not only the most likely to be exposed, but they also work with and have direct contact with patients and the vulnerable.
· Here is a good article with the numbers and the rationale behind the priorities: https://www.newwestrecord.ca/local-news/opinion-elderly-should-get-covid-19-vaccine-before-bc-teachers-3291898
· The dates might vary, depending on supply.
· Covid cases in BC have plateaued to an average of 500 per day.
· Dr. Bonnie Henry said that the number is still dangerously high. “For the last few weeks, we have plateaued at 500 new cases. This is too many. We are at a precipice. The virus continues to circulate in our communities. We are at the threshold of where we were in late October and November when cases started to rise.”
· “Over the next two week, I believe we can bend our curve. Not just plateau, but bend it back down…. More than you’ve done before, stay home, stop social interactions.”
· B.C. will receive no new doses of vaccine over the next two weeks. It is not sure how much will be received in February.
· Over the past three days – Saturday, Sunday, Monday:
· 1,344 new cases. 618 of those in Fraser Health. 527 reported on Saturday, 472 on Sunday, 346 on Monday. 64,828 cases to date.
· 26 new deaths. 1,154 total.
· 4,392 active cases.
· 57,831 recovered.
· 11 outbreaks in long-term care declared over.
· 6 cases of the UK variant in BC, 3 cases of the South Africa variant. No community transmission of the UK variant, but the South Africa variant cases are not connected to travel and are being investigated. Dr. Henry: “I’m very concerned. I’m concerned that if those variants start to spread, it’s just going to make our job that much more difficult.”
· 119,850 doses of vaccine administered to date.
· New numbers for Tuesday:
· 14 new deaths. 1,168 total.
· 407 new cases. 65,234 total. (Comparison: a high of 911 cases happened for Nov 27).
· 313 hospitalized, 71 in intensive care. (A high of 381 were hospitalized on January 6th).
· 4,260 active cases.
· 6,450 in self-isolation.
· 58,352 recovered.
· 122,359 doses of vaccine administered to date. 4,105 are second doses.
· No new outbreaks, one outbreak declared over.
· Dr. Bonnie Henry: “For the many who have been doing your part, you may be asking, what more can I do? Be the voice of support and encouragement for those who may be wavering in their resolve.”
· New restriction may be necessary if the number begins to climb again.
· 4,850 cases among health care workers, from January 2020 to 15 January 2021. About 8% of cases.
· From January to December 17th 2020, care aides had the highest number of cases among healthcare workers at 1,193 or 24.6%. Nurses were second at 833 or 17.2%. Below are the ten highest number of cases by healthcare worker category.
· 1,193 – care aids.
· 833 – nurse.
· 304 – licensed practical nurse.
· 280 – administration.
· 177 – housekeeping.
· 156 – dental professional.
· 151 – physician.
· 149 – kitchen staff, dietary aid, food services.
· 91 – occupational therapist, physiotherapist, respiratory therapist.
· 75 – student.
· The document is here: http://www.bccdc.ca/Health-Info-Site/Documents/COVID_sitrep/COVID19_healthcare_workers_2021_01_15.pdf
· BC has has opened 3 clinics for people with longer term Covid symptoms.
· Located at St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver General, and the Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre in Surrey.
· Some people still have symptoms months after the start of the disease. Of patients who were hospitalized in BC, after three months half still had breathing issues. About 20% have permanent lung scarring.
· The St. Paul’s clinic already has 160 patients.
· Nanaimo Regional Hospital has had an outbreak.
· Two staff and a patient tested positive.
· Limited to the 4th Floor on the east wing.
· A homeless shelter in Surrey has had an outbreak.
· 2 staff and 24 clients test positive.
· The Surrey Emergency Response Centre was set up to make more shelter available to homeless people during the pandemic.
Sources: CBC, New Westminster Record, Globe and Mail, BC Centre for Disease Control.
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NATIONAL:
· Worked from home during Covid-19? Be sure to check out these tax tips: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/accountants-break-down-tips-for-working-from-home-expenses-1.5872477
· Covid has been in Canada for one year now, starting back on the 25th of January, 2020, with one case in Toronto.
· Long-terms care homes are particularly hard hit, and it continues to be so that care homes are getting outbreaks.
· From the CBC, “What we’re seeing in the long-term care facilities just demonstrates, unfortunately, years and years of neglect.” https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/covid-19-ontario-canada-first-case-one-year-1.5884630
· In those early days, the public was generally told in Canada that the risk was low, and that people should not wear masks, and emphasized into March that there was no community spread.
· In late February, community transmission was evidenced in the U.S., and people returning to Canada from the U.S. began to show Covid. The halt to non-essential travel, on the land border, came on March 20.
· Canada is considering more travel restrictions, says the Canadian government.
· 143 flights have arrived in Canada in past two weeks with confirmed Covid cases. Deputy Prime Minister Freeland has assured, “We are considering the issue very, very seriously.”
· In this story, you can see where Canadians are flying during the pandemic. There sure seems to be a lot of urgent need to travel to places that happen to be warm vacation spots: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/freeland-travel-restrictions-1.5887163
· There is an 8 p.m. curfew in Montreal, and that is hard on the city’s homeless people.
· Homeless people have seen a dramatic reduction in help since the pandemic began. Shelters have to have social distancing, if they are safe to open at all.
· The province has refused to exempt homeless people from the curfew. People who break the curfew are subject to fines that start at $1,000 and can go up to $6,000. Premier Legault says making an exception for homeless people could cause people to pretend to be homeless.
· Some shelters have been forced to close altogether, because they can’t meet the requirements.
· Story: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-homeless-covid-curfew-1.5880946
· 90 “adverse events following immunization,” 0.015% of the 601,901 doses administered as of January 9th 2021.
· 63 were non-serious, 0.010%. This includes things like a skin rash.
· 27 were serious, 0.004%. In Canada, this includes a wide range of symptoms from headache to nausea to anaphylaxis.
· Learn about the Canada Adverse Events Following Immunization Surveillance System (CAEFISS) here: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/immunization/canadian-adverse-events-following-immunization-surveillance-system-caefiss.html
· Here is where the numbers are updated every Friday (but not consistently): https://health-infobase.canada.ca/covid-19/vaccine-safety/#seriousNonSerious
· Manitoba is now requiring a 14 day quarantine for non-essential travel from other parts of Canada.
· The move is being made to attempt to prevent new variants of Covid-19 from entering the province.
· Applies to air and land travel.
· Includes Manitobans who are returning to the province from elsewhere.
Sources: CBC, Toronto Star, Public Health Canada
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INTERNATIONAL:
· The world is experiencing Covid-somnia – an epidemic of insomnia.
· Insomnia is now at one-quarter of the population in the UK, and at 40% in Italy and Greece.
· There is concern that this is affecting people’s health in other ways.
· Work productivity is also affected.
· A University of Ottawa study of health care workers in 55 countries and 190,000 people showed that depression, anxiety, and PTSD have all risen at least 15% since the start of the pandemic. Insomnia has risen by over 23%.
· People are advised to seek help, which many are not as people avoid medical services, or those services are unavailable. Seeking help is important, because sleep issues over time can become and ongoing sleep disorder. “Tele-health” now makes treatment more available despite the pandemic.
· Working and using screens in bed is a big part of it. The recommendation is to use your bed only as a place of sleep.
· Full article: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210121-the-coronasomnia-phenomenon-keeping-us-from-getting-sleep
· Vaccine delays are happening around the world.
· Canada is receiving zero doses this week.
· Health workers who were scheduled for vaccination were mostly notified by email of their cancellations.
· In Canada, 50% of doses will be delayed for up to four weeks, up to 400,000 doses delayed.
· Restoration of supply will happen in the European union before it happens in Canada. Pfizer explained this as differing contract deals but did not reveal details. Europe has also threatened to sue Pfizer for breach of contracts, and threatened to abandon Pfizer altogether as a supplier, perhaps in doing so catching the company’s attention.
· Pfizer and AstraZeneca say they will catch up to their commitments in the Spring. Pfizer says their delay is due to changing production systems, so a short-term shut down for a greater number of people vaccinated more rapidly overall. Pfizers says that they are upgrading to be able to produce 2 billion doses per year, from the current 1.3 billion. AstraZeneca has not given details.
· UPDATED: The Pfizer production facility in question is in Belgium. The European Union has threatened to ban exports of the vaccine if commitments to Europe are not met. The company is attempting to distribute the problem in the world somewhat equitably. If Europe followed through on the threat, that could mean delays for other countries would be longer, including Canada, which is served by the Belgium facility.
· The UK, having had Brexit and pulled out of the European Union, has realized that they, too, would be one of those outside countries. The UK, somewhat ironically, is now arguing against nationalism as government policy, referring to what they called “the dead end of vaccine nationalism.”
· The World Health Organization’s Covax program, to distribute vaccine around the world fairly to low-income countries, has not been affected, some good news in the mix. The Covax problem is still on schedule, as its vaccine supply is produced in India and South Korea. The program has also received a substantial boost, following US President Joe Biden’s decision to contribute $4 billion to the program.
· The CDC in the US says that allergic reactions to the vaccine are extremely rare.
· Out of 4 million given the Moderna vaccine, 10 had severe allergic reactions.
· Moderna – 2.5 per million doses have severe allergic reactions.
· Pfizer – 11.1 per million.
· Normal flu vaccine – 1.3 per million.
· Allergic reactions begin quickly, at a median of 7 and a half minutes, so people are able to be supported through it. The majority were known to have severe allergies in advance. In the US, all vaccination sites must have people trained in responding to anaphylaxis, or severe allergic reaction.
· Story: https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/22/health/moderna-severe-allergic-reactions-rare/index.html
· A doctor in Texas has been arrested for stealing vaccine.
· The doctor stole 9 doses to give to his friends and family, authorities allege.
· A man lived in the Chicago O’Hare airport for three months because he was afraid to fly. Story: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55702003
· Los Angeles has lifted its air quality limitations for cremations. An emergency order was issued so that crematoriums can catch up with the number of bodies. One person every eight minutes was dying from Covid every 8 minutes. The rate of death in LA county is double the norm from past years. 13,800 deaths in the city, 7,400 currently hospitalized, and 23% of those in intensive care.
· Over 200 incidents with plane passengers over the wearing of masks have been reported in the U.S.
· The behaviour has included refusal to wear masks once onboard, shouting abusively at flight attendants, and even physical assault.
· On Thursday, President Biden issued an executive order requiring the wearing of masks across transportation, a move welcomed by flight unions.
· The FAA, Federal Air Administration, has introduced fines up to $35,000 and potential jailing for abusing aircraft personnel, a move made in December after two flight attendants were assaulted.
· One person has been fined $15,000 after hitting the flight attendant, and grabbing her phone away from her while she was notifying the captain of the problem. Another passenger was fined $7,500, who when asked to wear a mask approached other passengers without a mask and sexually harassed a flight attendant.
· Some airlines are banning passengers from their flights who refuse to follow the rules. United Airlines has banned 615 people from flying on the airline since June, Delta Airlines has banned 700.
· There is a lot of news about variants of the virus.
· New variants have appeared in Britain, South Africa, and Brazil, all countries that have had high rates of Covid.
· So, what about vaccines? Scientists have actually expected that vaccines would still work against the variants. Moderna says that antibodies triggered by their vaccine works on new variants in lab test results. More study will be needed of people who actually have been vaccinated and who had the variant. The study so far was a small sample of eight people. Early results with the Pfizer vaccine also show that it works against variants.
· Moderna is also studying to see if there is a benefit of giving a third booster shot.
· Reports vary almost daily about if the variants are more deadly or not. The truth is that data is too limited and it is too early to really tell.
· Covid job losses have been four times worse than in the financial crisis in 2009.
· That’s according to a report by the International Labor Organization.
· The report estimates that 8.8% of the world’s work hours were eliminated. The ILO looks not only at those who have become unemployed, but those who have had reduced hours of work as well. That loss is equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs, or $3.7 trillion dollars of income.
· Press release: https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_766949/lang--en/index.htm
· Study: COVID-19 and the world of work. Seventh edition. https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/briefingnote/wcms_767028.pdf
· What’s the latest with the Tokyo Olympics?
· The government of Japan wants to go ahead with the Olympics that were delayed last summer.
· The Olympics are planned to start on July 23, and the Paralympics on August 24.
· The International Olympic Committee is currently planning on proceeding, but has not made a final decision. Efforts are underway to have Olympics that are Covid safe. That might mean no audiences, athletes restricted to their accommodation areas, and each sport would have to have protocols around training and competition areas.
· “We need the vaccine to come to Africa.” A note about Grandmothers in Zimbabwe. I encourage you to read this one: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55726054
Sources: BBC, Toronto Star, International Labor Organization, CNN, Los Angeles Times.
​
STATS (as of end of Monday)
CANADA
· 144 new deaths. 19,238 total.
· 5,628 new cases. 753,011 total.
· 1,222 fewer active. 62,446 total.
· 849 in critical care.
· 6,706 new recovered. 671,327 total.
USA
· 1,887 new deaths. 431,392 total.
· 152,244 new cases. 25,861,597 total.
· 9,812,845 active.
· 26,259 in critical care.
· 207,426 new recovered. 15,617,360 total.
WORLD
· 2,149,496 deaths.
· 100,286,772 cases.
· 72,315,474 recovered.
Sources: www.covid-19us.live/, https://www.covid-19canada.com/
​
Pandemic updates provided on a voluntary basis as a community service, on Tuesdays and Fridays unless circumstances do not allow (currently dealing with an injury that limits my typing).
To provide accurate and timely information, locally, provincially, nationally and internationally, all in one place.
Feel free to share.
With love and hope,
Jaimie McEvoy, City Councillor, New Westminster, B.C.

Hello /Vancouver,
For those looking forward to my Matchstick Coffee article, it’ll be released next week. After rereading my first piece on the Rio Theatre, comments asking for an update, and how well received Vancouver Candle Co article was, I squeezed out another Vancouver Drama Chronicle (VDC) for you this week.
Unlike my Chewies Oyster Bar Update, this is a kind of rewrite. I felt the first part of the Rio article was strong with its history, but everything post Save the Rio campaign wasn’t great in comparison. I will eventually do a Save the Rio dissection in the far future. Today I want to redeem myself and talk about the current controversy of the Rio Sports Bar.
TLDR: In November, province-wide health order shut down movie theatres. Weeks later, the Rio Theatre rebrands themselves as Rio Sports Bar and reopens to sidestep regulations. Critics condemn the bold strategy as carelessness, while supporters praise the Rio for adapting and challenging inconsistent rules set by the government.
TOO LONG, WANT TO READ:
The Last Days of the Rio Theatre – November 23rd, 2020
BC Government ordered the closure of movie theatres because of the rising cases of COVID-19. Similar to restaurant owners on New Year’s Eve, movie theatre operators were blindsided by the announcement. A two-week closure between November 24th and December 7th turned into weeks, and now months with a hopeful end date of February 5th, 2021. This became a nightmare for theatres because they missed the most profitable week of the year, Christmas.
These are the last days of the Rio Theatre:

• The last movie played at the Rio Theatre was the 2020 restoration version of the Japanese animated movie Akira.
• The Rio’s initial message regarding the November 23rd health order.
• November 27th, the Rio updates their marquee: “Arts & Culture closed. While bars are still open. Fuck that noise.”
• Owner, Corinne Lea writes an open letter to Dr. Bonnie Henry. In the letter Lea writes, she no longer believes in Dr. Henry.
• A few days later on December 2nd, a letter addressed to Adrian Dix & Bonnie Heny was posted. A more polished version of what Lea wrote on her Facebook.
• On December 8th, the Rio created a petition on Change.org: ”Treat Cinemas Fairly: BC Restaurants and Bars Are Open, Why Aren’t Cinemas?”. As of late January, it hasn’t hit the target of 10,000 signatures (7,741).
• January 8th, the shutdown on theatres extended until February 5th. Arts organizations are literally dying for their art..
• Corrine Lea accuses restaurant industry getting special treatment from the BC Government.
• On January 19th, the Rio Theatre says ”Screw the arts” and plan to re-open as the Rio Sports Bar. GO CANUCKS.

Before we jump into the Rio Sports Bar, I just want to say it makes sense the restaurant industry gets special treatment from the government during the pandemic. It’s not fair, but life rarely is.

• Accommodation & food services make up 7.5% of BC Employment, this also includes hotels but restaurants are large portion of the sector.
• Information, Culture, and Recreation make up 5.1% of BC Employment, this includes television, film, radio, publishers, video game developers, and arts centres. In comparison, movie theatres make up a tiny percentage of this group.
• The point is, the government is helping industries that employ the most people. I’m aware the Rio isn’t asking for bars/restaurants to close, just equal consideration.

Rio Sports Bar
With the announcement of the Rio becoming a sports bar, everyone wanted to know what the Ministry of Health would say. It only took them a day to give us a definitive, clear, and concise answer of… I don’t know, I guess that’s fine.
While I understand the Rio is doing this to bring up the inconsistencies in policy, when I reached out to them for a comment (a VDC first), they responded with “Because screening films/movies is currently prohibited” and a THUMBS UP EMOJI. Perhaps if I had the credentials of an actual investigative reporter from Vancouver is Awesome, I would’ve gotten a more articulate response (FORESHADOWING LOL).
The Rio advertised their new Sports Bar with the following:

• The Safest sports bar in town.
• Home of the biggest screen focused on SPORTS.
• Butter popcorn, grilled cheese, and alcohol!
• Free admission through reservations.
• Child friendly. (Takes me back to my local childhood when my dad would go to the local pub to get shitfaced. Spent our welfare checks on keno tickets while I watched from the stool next to him eating a grilled cheese sandwich.)

In the first article I stated the Rio Sports Bar is probably a shitty sports bar, and I still agree with that.

• Single screen experience.
• They don’t know what sports to air, because they’re clueless.
• Theatre seating.
• The menu is lacking in bar cuisine.
• No Keno or Sports Better?
• Child friendly (So I can bring my child with me to get shitfaced and eat grilled cheese sandwiches).

A large reason why the Rio pulled this stunt was to prove movie theatres are as safe, or safer than sports bars.
Are they?
THE SAFEST SPORTS BAR?
Corinne Lea has talked about how safe movie theatres are compared to sports bars, with some solid reasoning. It must’ve come as a shock when inspectors didn’t give them a glowing review of their COVID-19 health and safety protocols. The inspectors called out 8 outstanding critical infractions.
The infractions revolved around:

• Patrons assigned seating by a host (Like a sports bar).
• Needing to serve customers at their seats (Like a sports bar).
• COVID-19 Safety Plan doesn’t contain maximum occupancy.
• Patrons not socially distanced.
• Patrons don’t remain seated while in establishment.

Rio wasn’t able to make the changes for opening day, but made adjustments in the next few days by hiring cocktail waitress.
Opening Day Programming
In some sort of symbolism that’s beyond my Dougy Daycare associates degree, the day Rio Sports Bar opened is the same day Corrine Lea received the Governor Generals Award on January 23, 2013. My millennial vocabulary wants to say this is ironic, but I don’t think it actually is.
With a fresh logo, sports focused attitude and newfound sports fans, the bar’s first sports screenings:

• Canucks vs Montreal Canadians in a horrific loss to the Canucks.
• UFC 257

MINDLESS SPECULATION TIME! – The Rio didn’t have legal rights to air UFC 257.

• The Rio probably paid the PPV price of $69.99 as if they were a cable/ESPN+ subscriber.
• A sports bar typically pays based on occupancy limits of the bar to air the PPV, back in 2012 it was about $750 USD for 50 people.
• I doubt they got the commercial rights, which can be a costly consequence.
• They’re also not listed on the UFC website for Bars.
• How does Dana White feel about this? That’s fucking illegal.

I’m probably wrong, but at least I’m admitting I’m speculating… unlike Vancouver is Awesome.
Vancouver Is Awesome: Failed Hit Piece
In this business of hard-hitting journalism such as the VDC, there are news articles made to destroy public opinion by presenting false information. Shortly after the opening of the Rio Sports Bar, Vancouver is Awesome released an article called ”Rio Theatre’s $375,000 arts grant could be in jeopardy.”
It’s all about the he said, she said bullshit, so we’ll start with the article itself which is an ”opinion” piece.

• For a long winded article (I’m one to talk) it speculates the Rio could lose a $375,000 grant issued by Vancouver’s city council because they switched to a Sports Bar. Let’s get something straight, nobody actually believes the Rio is an actual sports bar. I know what I said above about it being a shitty sports bar, but that’s kayfabe perdin.
• The Rio claimed Vancouver is Awesome did this out of spite because they declined the offer to advertise with the news organization.
• The Rio also claimed Vancouver is Awesome did not actually reach out to them for a comment on the news story.
• In defence, Bob Kronbauer writer of the article countered the Rio’s claims by saying he waited 12 hours for a response, and he did not know about the advertising offer because content/sales are different departments.
• In the end, Vancouver is Awesome took down the Facebook post about the article but left it up on the website.

I can only speak as an independent chaotic neutral journalist on this matter… but…

• I reached out to the Rio to comment on this article I’m writing, and they got back to me with one line & an emoji (mentioned above).
• As the only employee of the VDC, I run the sales & content departments. For future inquires, please message me on Reddit (Currently I only accept payment through Gamespot Stonks or Caesar Salads.).

Conclusion
As someone who is incredibly poor in chess (Currently on Beth age 10 on Chess.com), I believe I can see the future.

• I don’t think the Rio will suffer any negative repercussions outside of health violation fines (if any).
• I don’t think the Rio will change how the province operates with the arts & COVID-19.
• Joey Jay won’t wear a wig (Corinne Lea says they’re showing Drag Race this Friday, because drag is a sport, just not a contact sport).
• Edge will win the Royal Rumble. (I don’t know, I watch AEW over WWE but Rio is showing the Royal Rumble on Sunday.)

I’ve actually been to the Rio a few times, and enjoyed it. My personal opinion on this matter?

• I don’t care, I love it – This is providing /Vancouver with great comment content.
• I think Rio is the “bad guy” trying to skirt around COVID-19 health orders. It’s no different from people trying to loophole their way out feeling bad for going out to see friends. But it’s also on the government to enforce and close up the loophole.
• I can’t blame Rio, it’s a business, and it’s doing what they can to stay open and get some sort of revenue.

In the past few days on the subreddit we’ve heard people share their stories about their pandemic/quarantine lifestyle and how they’re getting sick of it. Bonnie Henry and the BC Government provided a framework for COVID-19 protocols with their restrictions, and it sucks some are trying to skirt around the spirit of these rules to see friends or run businesses. End of the day it’s on you to worry about yourself & family and determine the risk associated to going out. We don’t need to express our anger or frustration over some Karen who is eating grilled cheese at a random sports bar all day long. I wish the Rio well, and I hope they stay safe and have fun watching their sports.
If anything more comes up from the Rio being a ”Sports Bar”, I’ll update you all.
More Drama?

• #01 – Chewies & Skinny Bitches
• #01.5 – Chewies Oyster Bar Update.
• #02 – Rio Theatre – Never Say Die
• #03 – Vancouver Candle Co

Callaway Analysis:
Topgolf Acquisition
Topgolf was acquired in an all share purchase value at 2 Billion in October 2020.
Topgolf will issue 2 Billion worth of shares once the merger is approved in early 2021.
(69 Million shares or a 73% increase in float based on current levels)
Topgolf was in talks with multiple banks for an IPO in January 2020 valued at 4 Billion prior to the pandemic. https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/callaways-topgolf-acquisition-is-a-risky-bet-amid-the-pandemic-191136062.html
If top golf were to have been listed via IPO it could have easily fetched upwards of 6 Billion + with the recent IPO craze and explosion of growth in golf.
Callaway Golf landed Topgolf at a steal of a price with this 2 Billion dollar acquisition and the current stock price is undervalued based on this alone.
Callaway's market cap after merger will be 4.5 Billion assuming shares issued are based on today's price. ((94+69)*$28)
The combined company of Callaway and Topgolf is going for less than what Topgolf would of ipo'ed for alone.
Callaway all share transaction will prove beneficial for the company as it utilizes its cash for Topgolf expansion throughout 2021
Topgolf Breakdown
Topgolf's 2019 revenues exceeded $1.1 Billion
Topgolf has been growing at a annual Compound Growth Rate = 30%
http://press.topgolf.com/2020-10-27-Callaway-and-Topgolf-to-Combine-Creating-a-Global-Golf-and-Entertainment-Leader#:~:text=Topgolf%20generated%20approximately%20%241.1%20billion,compound%20annual%20rate%20since%202017.
There are currently 63 locations across the world, up from 51 in 2018
Top golf served over 23 million guests in 2019, with 50% of consumers identifying as non-golfers
Top Golf owns TopTracer - Top Tracer is a leading ball tracing technology that has been purchased and deployed by over 7,500 range bays in the last 3 years. Callaway is looking to install Top Tracer in over 8,000 bays in 2021 and 8,000 annually on a goforward basis.
World Golf Tour - Leading mobile golf game with over 28 million members as of 2019, helping to attract newcomers to the sport
Growth
Topgolf is in the early stages of its growth with more than ten years of planned unit growth opportunity in its U.S. venues business and just 2% addressable market penetration in international venues and 1% in the TopTracer Range business. The company has a proven ability to innovate to expand its addressable market and capture the potential of games and content on its interconnected platform.
New Topgolf Venues on the Horizon:
01/18/2021 - Lake Mary Florida http://press.topgolf.com/2021-01-18-Topgolf-Continues-Expanding-Footprint-in-Florida-with-latest-venue-opening-in-Lake-Mary-near-Orlando
01/13/2021 - Dubai http://press.topgolf.com/2021-01-13-Topgolf-Kicks-Off-2021-With-High-Profile-Venue-Opening-in-Dubai
01/06/2021 - Development plans for new Venues throughout Southeast Asia
http://press.topgolf.com/2021-01-06-Continued-Expansion-Topgolf-and-Franchise-Partner-Announce-Development-Plans-for-New-Venues-Throughout-Southeast-Asia
12/14/2020-Waco Open-Air Venue opening in Spring
http://press.topgolf.com/2020-12-14-Topgolf-Announces-Newest-Open-Air-Innovative-Venue-Set-to-Open-Next-Spring-in-Waco
11/18/2020 - Opening fourth Georgia Venue and Third Atlanta Venue in Spring 2021 http://press.topgolf.com/2020-11-18-Topgolf-Targets-Spring-2021-Opening-Date-for-Fourth-Georgia-Venue-Third-in-Atlanta
11/11/2020-Oberhausen Germany Venue opening in 2021 http://press.topgolf.com/2020-11-11-Global-Growth-Topgolf-Prepares-To-Break-Ground-On-New-Venue-In-Oberhausen-Germany
Topgolf 2021 Expansion
In the last 3 months 7 new venues have begun construction, which represents a 11% increase in total venues. Callaway has stated that they will look to expand rapidly with new Top Golf venues post merger. (Hence why they opted to do a share transaction rather then a mix to fund expansion) To put this in perspective, Top Golf only opened 9 venues in the 12 months prior to the merger. They have almost reached their prior years venue growth in the first 3 months post merger.
Top Golf is on track to open 20+ venues in the next 18 months which would represent a 31% increase in venues since merger. Many of these locations will be international, Asia, Dubai, Germany to capitalize on the untapped markets overseas.
Merger Synergies
Brands:
Callaway's products Ogio, TravisMathew and JackWolfskin brands will be promoted at Top golf locations and will strengthen Callaway's brands. There will be significant growth in merchandise sales and club sales as a result of this merger.
Used Clubs
Callaway buys back old sets of clubs from their customers, giving them a credit towards new sets of clubs, and sends/sells the old clubs to be used at Topgolf. This integration will significantly increase the bottom line of Topgolf as they no longer have to purchase clubs from third parties at a premium.
28 million guests that come through the doors each year will have a chance to test out used Callaway clubs. Over 50% of which are newcomers who will most likely opt to purchase the same used brand that they learned on/used at Topgolf. Existing golfers may look to switch their club set to Callaway if they see an improvement in their distance/accuracy. (any golfer knows that you always hit better at the driving range than on the course)
Overall Market Growth
The total number of rounds played in the US increased about 12 percent from 2019. This may not seem like a lot but considering that most courses were shut down until June, this growth in the late summefall was the largest growth since the Tiger Craze in 1996.
November Play Jumps 57% to Set New Record Rise for 2020 https://www.thengfq.com/covid-19/
October Play was up 32.2 percent over the same month in 2019.
That followed increases of approximately 14 percent in June, 20 percent in July, 21 percent in August and 26 percent in September.
NGF research shows the number of golfers ages 6 to 17 rose by as much as 20 percent this year. The number of newcomers is close to an all-time high, as is latent demand.
Juniors (6-17) and young adults (18-34) comprise about 35% of all on-course golfers
https://www.thengfq.com/2020/04/2020-golf-industry-report-available-to-members/
Growth in the market means more people buying clubs, and more golfers attending Topgolf during the offseason or their leisure.
Newcomer Growth and Callaway's Q4 Earnings
There has been an explosion in growth of newcomers golfing in 2020 thanks to the pandemic. Many of which went their first seasons using used clubs and hand me downs from friends. You can bet your mom’s Vicodin that Callaway is going to see a surge in their boxing day sales/black Friday sales as newcomers look to purchase new sets of clubs for their first time. In my group of friends alone we went from having 8 buddies in our regular golf group to over 30 thanks to the pandemic. The first thing most of them did after the golf season ended was purchase a new set of clubs. I am expecting a large beat for Q4 revenues with revenues of $380M+ which would represent a 22% increase from Q42019 and 16% revenue beat on estimates thanks to the influx of first year golfers looking to upgrade their used clubs.
Callaway's Future
Callaway has transformed from a small, profitable slow growing company to a large, high growth company and should be valued as such. The next couple years Callaway will be key as they continue to open new venues across the globe and integrate Callaway products in venues. Revenues will grow from $1.75 billion in 2020 to $3.5 Billion + in 2021, and expected annual revenue growth at 25%+ for the foreseeable future. If plans are executed properly and debt is managed Callaway is on track to exceed 7 Billion in Sales by 2025 as Topgolf continues to expand internationally as they currently only have 2% of the addressable market.
Price Target and Valuation
Price Target raise to $40 from Jefferies https://thefly.com/landingPageNews.php?id=3230379&headline=ELY-Callaway-Golf-price-target-raised-to--from--at-Jefferies
Price to Sales
2021 FY Revenue Forecast: $3.6B Topgolf 1.5B (30% CAGR) + Callaway 2.1B
= 28.95/(3,600,000,000/163,000,000)
ELY P/S = 1.31
GOLF P/S = 1.96
ELY P/S Fair Value = $43.31 (28.95*(1.96/1.31)
This P/S is compared to GOLF which has stagnant revenue growth at 3% YoY growth.
ELY should be valued at a much higher multiple thanks to its 30% CAGR which would label it as a “growth company and should be valued as such”. Growth companies have price to sales ratios ranging between 5-15. ELY price target in the $100-$300 range long term using these multiples. Short term it will climb to above $43 to be inline with its peers and will run to above $100 over the next year once Topgolf revenues are reflected.
Short Interest:
Callaway historically trades on low volume, averaging 1.6M shares traded daily in January. The current short interest is 19.34% of the float or roughly 16.77 million shares. With the recent climb from $24 to $29 over the past month 1.3 million share sold short covered and closed their position. As $ELY continues to climb and when earnings beats in February shorts will cover and send the price up faster thanks to its wide spreads and relatively low volume.
TLDR:
Callaway purchased Topgolf at a fraction of the price it would of IPO’ed for thanks to the pandemic. Topgolf acquisition is undervalued, bringing in CAGR at 30% year over year and will experience growth exceeding 50% in 2021 thanks to Callaway's aggressive venue expansion plans. There are multiple synergies that will benefit both companies as a result of this merger (used clubs, merchandise sales at Topgolf) Callaway will beat their upcoming earnings report thanks to the growth in new golfers during the year. Callaway will triple from these levels over the next couple years and is currently undervalued compared to its peers.
Position:
02/19/2021 30C’s + 02/19/2021 35C's for earnings play will roll them into long term calls after ER.
01/20/2023 40C Long Term play
We saw call prices rocket 50-100% on Tuesday when it rallied 5%, calls have come down since then and are ready to be loaded.

DALLAS

• D'Andra Simmons on Her Shaman, Kary Brittingham Drama and Tiffany Moon's Breakout Start (ET exclusive)

"Dallas girls are sugar and spice, but I'm still working on nice," D'Andra Simmons coos at the top of every episode of The Real Housewives of Dallas' fifth season. Well, she doesn't so much coo it as much as she huskily declares it, even surprising herself with the gravelly tone of her delivery.
"I don't know what happened," she admits to ET of the line read that made viewers rewind and listen again when the season 5 taglines first dropped. "I didn't even know my voice was that low, that register, so it was a shock to me, too. I had several reads of that line and that's the one they chose. It certainly surprised people!"
The unexpected timbre in D'Andra’s voice is in line with what the Hard Night, Good Morning founder says season 5 is all about for her: showing a side of herself the viewers never got to see in her three prior seasons. It seems to be working, as each week social media floods with comments like, "Am I likingD'Andra this season?!" and "Where has this D'Andra been?"
There are a few factors at play here, but one in particular stands out: This is D'Andra’s first season without LeeAnne Locken, a force of a woman who drove the drama on RHOD since its inception, much of it in a push-and-pull game with D'Andra. She departed the series at the end of season 4.
"It definitely freed me up," D'Andra admits of LeeAnne's exit. "People think I'm angry and severe, and that's really not who I am. … I get to talk about other things than, you know, LeeAnne and I not getting along, which is great and I think that’s exciting."
LeeAnne and D'Andra faced off on everything from being the group's "queen bee" to gossip about personal financial matters, infidelity and more over the course of seasons 2, 3 and 4. They engaged in screaming matches, social media warfare, ego-bruising pranks and even one near-physical altercation.
"I think the way I handled some of the situations with LeeAnne, if I look back ... I would've handled them differently," D'Andra adds. "I would've come [and said], 'You hurt my feelings when you talked away the situation with my finances, because I was trying to save my business…' instead of being so angry, but I was just in a state of shock back then. But you learn throughout this process how to be a better person and my goal was trying to be less reactionary."
Today, D'Andra says she has no relationship with her one-time bridesmaid; but she also harbors no ill will toward LeeAnne.
"I never negate the contributions that she made to the show," D'Andra says. "She was a very big part of the show, but we do not see eye to eye on several things and I think for me … the social media got so out of hand, that I just can’t go back to a friendship when things were said about me that were complete lies."
"It put me in a lot of pain for several years," she continues. "I was in a puddle of tears at times, 'cause I just couldn't believe the stuff I was reading. It's not who I was at all, and it hurt me so much, that it's hard to -- it's not that I can't forgive, because I have to forgive. But it's just, why go back and take a chance? You know, learn a lesson, and I wish her well. I'm so glad that she and [her husband Rich Emberlin] are happy and she's got other things she’s doing in her life, just happy for all of her endeavors."
In LeeAnne's "place," so to speak this season, is Dr. Tiffany Moon, D'Andra’s pal who joined the cast of RHOD as season 5's only new full-time Housewife. Within minutes of appearing on screen, Tiffany won over viewers… but the same can’t be said of the cast, who have taken issue with Tiffany's "bossy" style in her first few episodes.
"I really don’t know what the issue is," D’Andra says of the women not taking to Tiffany immediately (and now, some engaging in Twitter fights with their new co-star during episode airings).
"I think that she has had a huge splash, and I think that's a part of it," D'Andra surmises. "Whereas I look it, big win! People are paying attention to RHOD! This is amazing! No, it’s, like, great. We’ve got this new Housewife that’s bringing all this attention, people are really noticing our franchise and they're seeing what we can bring to the table, and for me I’m thinking this is the best thing ever. I keep calling, 'Oh my god, girl! You are winning! You are doing great! Thank you so much!' And you know, I can understand where people would think maybe there's a little jealousy or little bit, you know, 'Not what they expected,' I guess? I don’t know. Women are weird."
There's also always a learning curve for newbies on these shows. D'Andra experienced that herself stepping into season 2.
"We're talking four years, or five years of a franchise -- I've been on four -- that we have kinda cemented ourselves to a certain way that we are and we have a new person coming in, and they wanna do things a different way, shake it up, people don't like change," D'Andra notes. "That's the big lesson, I think people don’t like change."
If "the blogs," as the Housewives say, are to be believed, Tiffany wasn't supposed to be the only new star-holder in season 5. Jen Davis, who is credited as a "friend of" the cast this year, was reportedly brought on as a fulltime Housewife before having to take a step back for personal reasons. That change may have left some drama on the cutting room floor. Early hearsay about filming suggested the season kicked off with D'Andra and Jen in a major feud, but that footage seems to be MIA.
"If you didn't see it, it didn't happen! Let's put it that way," D'Andra offers when pressed on the subject. "If you didn’t see it, it wasn't there. Now, we're in a pretty good place, and I think Jen is a very unique person. She's fun. She’s funny, and she brings a lot, as well. She's got a lot of big issues that she’s dealing with in her personal life, so I think maybe that was why Tiffany sort of eclipsed her at the time, with regards to the show."
Even if her battle with Jen got cut, D'Andra still has plenty to deal with this season, especially when it comes to Kary Brittingham. Kary joined the show as D'Andra's friend in season 4, but something changed about their relationship during the hiatus ahead of season 5. Kary came into season 5 swinging, taking dig after dig at D'Andra, calling her a hypochondriac and selfish, among other things.
"I am still confused about that, to be honest," D'Andra confesses. "I didn't understand that Kary had such deep-seeded opinions and feelings about our friendship until I started watching the season. I mean, I knew we were fighting a lot on, you know, during filming, but I never, ever would've thought that she would've called me selfish or that I wasn't a good friend, or any of the things she’s saying about me, and it really hurt my feelings and I’ve really tried to get to the bottom of it with her, and you'll see that kinda unpack and unfold."
Kary and D'Andra spent a lot of the off-season together, traveling to trunk shows in Texas to sell their wares -- D'Andra has a skincare line and health supplement company, while Kary sells jewelry. All that time together, in close quarters (between carpooling and sharing hotel rooms) seemed to do a number of their friendship. Then, throw in the pandemic.
"Kary probably had a much more difficult time than I did during quarantine, because she's a very social person, whereas I am happy to be at home with my dogs and my husband and my books, and I can stay at home for months and not have a problem," D'Andra remarks. "Kary has to be out and has to be doing things and has to be going to dinners and she’s just, it’s not OK for her to be isolated."
To D'Andra, Kary was like a wind-up toy wound so tight from staying at home, that when cameras went up and group events started, she spun a bit out of control.
"There's a bee in her bonnet, as we like to say in the South, and I don't know what set it off!" D'Andra quips. She turned to her shaman, Darrin Davis, for guidance in healing her friendship with Kary, which will lead to an emotional exchange between the two women later this season. As teased in the trailer, D'Andra tells Kary, "I may not be the type of friend that you expect, but I’m doing the best I can."
"After hearing a lot about what she's going through and the different struggles she's had, I thought maybe I should be a little more compassionate or a little more understanding, and that’s really my journey this year, anyway," D'Andra explains. Her shaman is also helping D'Andra navigate her complicated feelings surrounding her strained relationship with her step-mother and half-brother, with whom she fell out over a disagreement over her late father's estate years ago. D'Andra says viewers will have to stay tuned to see how that journey goes, playing coy over whether her estranged family will appear on screen.
It's safe to assume Shaman Darrin will pop up again, though, especially after his first appearance in season 2 left many fans wondering, why is he sucking snot out of D'Andra’s nose?
"He was not sucking anything out of my nose!" D'Andra clarifies. "It is so funny that people think he was sucking. So, when you do rapé, you have this instrument, usually whoever administers it, and you put [the rapé] in the end of the instrument and then you blow. So, he was blowing, it's an Amazonian sacred tobacco, into my nose. And so, it gives you sort of a euphoric, light feeling. It makes you relaxed and calm down, and de-stress and it's a very nice, kinda, mmmm zen moment."
"Who would want to suck a booger?!" she then asks, noting that a sound-effect seemed to be added to the final clip of the tobacco exchange. "Ew! God, no! No, no, no, no, no! Uh uh! I wouldn’t even go to my ENT for that."
It's just another example of the "different D’Andra" viewers will continue to see this season, even if friendship drama takes over at some points.
"I'm fighting with everybody at different times," D'Andra teases, "but it's not so focused on this one friendship. Therefore, I can focus on other aspects of my life and I can share those aspects, and I think that’s a real refreshing and lighter version of me this year, but also you’re gonna see a more vulnerable, definitely more vulnerable side than you've ever seen before."

• Kameron Westcott's Valentine's Day Guide Proves Pink Gifts Are Bigger in Texas (E! exclusive)

NEW YORK

• Ramona Singer spotted in St. Barts amid ‘RHONY’ COVID-19 production break (Page Six exclusive)

"Ramona Singer has angered “Real Housewives of New York” insiders after jetting off to St. Barts — while the show’s shut down because a cast member tested positive for COVID-19.
As Page Six first reported, production was halted for two weeks, beginning in the middle of January. And with just days left before it could begin again, insiders are abuzz that Singer could be putting the whole thing at risk again by taking the impromptu vacation.
“It’s very stupid,” a production source sniffed of her trip, “Likely she’ll have to quarantine for a while when she gets back.”
It even appears that Singer might be trying to cover her tracks. The reality star, 64, has posted several pictures of herself in her New York City apartment to Instagram in the last couple of days, despite multiple insiders confirmed to Page Six on Tuesday she’s actually sunning herself on the island paradise.
One source spotted her at Le Petite Plage on Saturday night, and has also seen her out and about several times over the past five days after she flew over to the island from St. Maarten.
“She is telling people on the island that she is keeping it as secret due to her contract with Bravo, yet she is taking pictures with people on the island and flew in on a public plane,” the source added.
But, Bravo insiders told us that the network won’t have a problem with her jaunt, so long as she follows CDC guidelines — which say that she’ll have to quarantine for seven days after returning from the island, because it’s considered a “high risk” destination.
Meanwhile, New York State requires travelers going out of state to be tested within three days of their departure from their destination, a three-day quarantine after traveling and a negative COVID-19 test on day four of their quarantine to return to their daily lives.
A cast trip to Lake Placid was previously canceled because of the show shut down and now we’re told that producers were planning on replacing it — with a trip to Singer’s place in Southampton, New York. Production was also scaled back in October after a crew member tested positive.
It’s unclear when filming will resume, though we’re told the trip is scheduled for the second week of February. Singer could be in the clear to go in front of cameras if she leaves the island sooner rather than later and routinely tests negative.
Singer has previously been criticized for her travel amid the coronavirus pandemic, with co-star Leah McSweeney taking to her Instagram in June to slam her for going back and forth between Florida and New York. Singer told us at the time that she took necessary precautions to ensure her safety and the safety of others.
She also stated that she tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies in July.
Meanwhile, show insiders are so on edge about COVID further interfering with filming that cast member LuAnn de Lesseps was forced to defend herself after being snapped maskless at a party last week. She told Page Six, ““I took the mask off for some photos. Knowing everyone had tested negative, I felt comfortable doing that.”
Singer did not immediately get back to us."

• Ramona Singer Studies For Her New York Real Estate Test (Ramona Singer Instagram/Bravo)

SALT LAKE CITY

• Jen Shah Talks About the ‘Unexpected, Explosive’ Reunion That Lasted Over 12 Hours (Showbiz CheatSheet exclusive)

"The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City‘s “Queen Bee and MVP” Jen Shah made waves during season 1 of the Bravo series. With the reunion special coming up, Showbiz Cheat Sheet spoke with Shah over the phone about what she called the “unexpected” and “explosive” episode.
“Girl, you know, we were there for a long time,” Shah started. “I left there at 11:30 PM after we were done [filming] — I arrived at 7 AM.” Shah said it was a long day, but one that might come off as “unexpected” to some fans.
“I think the reunion is going to fall in line with season 1 — very unexpected [and] explosive,” Shah revealed. “Fans are going to be very surprised. I think a lot of truth [will] come out in the reunion.”
In Shah’s opinion, some viewers have labeled each of the housewives a certain way, but the reunion will shift those perspectives.
“[Fans] label [the housewives] how they think that they are,” she explained. “I think the reunion is going to shed more light on that and probably change a lot of opinions.”
After the drama following Shah in season 1, she mentioned how there were moments of healing in the reunion.
“I can speak personally, for myself,” Shah shared. “Absolutely [there were healing moments].”
As for the other women of RHOSLC, Shah said: “They ain’t healed up yet. They need Mary Cosby to come bless them or something.”
In addition to those moments, Shah said she and her fellow housewives ended up wearing Andy Cohen out while filming the reunion.
“Andy was even like — I think he went live that night from the reunion because we were wearing him out,” Shah laughed. “He was like, ‘Salt Lake City girls are crazy. Why am I still here?'”
ATLANTA

• Porsha Williams shows off her curves in a neon green bathing suit (Page Six Star Snaps)
• Kandi Burruss new S13 confessional look (realhousewivesfranchise Instagram)

MIAMI

• Larsa Pippen’s visit to Doc Antle zoo prompts PETA to take action (Page Six)

NEW JERSEY

• Teresa Giudice’s Boyfriend Luis ‘Louie’ Ruelas Says He’s ‘Grateful’ for Her on Family Trip: She’s ‘Amazing’ (Louie Ruelas Instagram/US Weekly)

ORANGE COUNTY

• Tamra Judge Adds Dramatic Black Walls to Her Covenant Hills Home (Tamra Judge Instagram/Bravo)