Google/Gulag Blogger's faceless, unaccountable, cowardly censors. What are they afraid of?

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio/vlog version of this story, click here.]

Most if not all bullies are also cowards. They pick on the relatively powerless, knowing that they are unlikely to meet any significant resistance.

'Nothing to see here. Move along.'

Bully Blogger

Google Blogger has been showing itself to be a bully of late.

In the last few weeks, it has deleted two of my blog posts for what amounts to reasons unknown. Or 'just because'.

The first to be summarily done away with was 'The case for non-pharmaceutical defences against covid', originally published in November 2021. On 12 August last, Blogger emailed me to inform me that this story was now binned. An audio version of it is available at https://youtu.be/cOnUpPoUkjo.

Then on 02 September just gone another pandemic-era post, 'The vaccine vexers', originally published in September 2021, got the chop (audio version at https://youtu.be/Z8hRwiHfrTs).

Here's the text of that latest email Blogger sent to me, worded the same as the 12 August correspondence:

Hello,

As you may know, our community guidelines
(https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy) describe the boundaries for what we
allow – and don't allow – on Blogger. Your post entitled 'The vaccine
vexers' was flagged to us for review. We have determined that it violates
our guidelines and deleted the post, previously at
http://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-vaccine-vexers.html.

Why was your blog post deleted?

Your content has violated our misleading content policy. Please follow
the community guidelines link in this email to learn more.

If you believe that we made an error, you can request an appeal:
https://www.blogger.com/go/appeal-post?blogId=2732538313987233397&postId=7490742377544475627.
You may have the option to pursue your claims in court. If you have legal
questions or wish to examine legal options that may be available to you,
you may want to consult with your own legal counsel.

We encourage you to review the full content of your blog posts to make
sure that they are in line with our standards as additional violations
could result in termination of your blog.

For more information, please review the following resources:

Terms of Service: https://www.blogger.com/go/terms
Blogger community guidelines: https://blogger.com/go/contentpolicy

Senseless censorship

So my content has violated Blogger's 'misleading content policy.' Yet, Blogger doesn't tell me what it is that is misleading. It seems to think that by reading the community guidelines I'll find out why my content was deleted. I have read the community guidelines and they don't shed any light as to why these posts have been labelled 'misleading'. It's similar to the if-you-don't-know-what-you've-done-wrong treatment from an irate girlfriend.

Not agreeing with somebody's take on contentious issues in which there is still much ongoing debate is not the same as that take being misleading. Also, going into specifics of the content, which Google Blogger fails to do, it's a fact to say that some people have non-vaccine-acquired immunity, i.e. natural immunity, to covid-19 and therefore don't need the jab. To state otherwise is not only misleading but potentially deadly and it further erodes trust in public health.

Blogger avoids specifics because it simply wouldn't be able to win the argument. 'You are misleading because we say you are misleading', that's the approach. What's more, its guidelines are so general that they can be fitted to suit the platform's own perspective on every occasion.

This is the big problem for small fry such as me. Google Blogger can do and does what it wishes with content published on its platform and there's little we lightweight users can do to fight back, save for, as mentioned in the email, appealing the decision or taking legal action against the company. I've done the former but, unsurprisingly, have thus far received no reply, while the latter is something few modest bloggers could afford to contemplate.

It's like a country that has strict entry requirements for would-be visitors. We may think the requirements are unnecessarily restrictive but the country can set them as it sees fit.

In this case, Google Blogger is letting it be known that it is against science, rigorous debate, and free speech while it supports Big Pharma and censorship.

Who's really doing the misleading here? Bully Blogger, you can delete all my stories if you wish but all you'll be doing is revealing your autocratic aims. Welcome to Gulag Blogger.
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Listen to The Corrigan Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

Living with unsettled and unsettling questions

@wwaycorrigan

[For an audio version of this blog story click here.]

As we grow older, we tend to become more comfortable in ourselves and what we're about.

The "truth" is out there. But where?

Manifested positively, it means we're less impressionable, less open to malignant manipulation. Negatively, it can lead to pigheadedness, becoming stuck in our ways.

On the latter, one of the most difficult things to admit is that we were wrong. Of course, for many of today's most contentious issues, we're still trying to work out what exactly is right, what is the "truth".

Covid conflicts

For example, back in the height of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the majority view was that one was not only being reckless but also selfish in not wearing a facemask to help reduce contagion.

Any evidence produced proving the efficacy of such masks for this exact purpose had, at best, many holes in it.

The same just-do-it pressure was at play when the vaccines were introduced. 'Vaccines have saved lives in the past, the rapidly tested and rolled out covid jabs seem to do likewise, therefore we can safely order everybody to take them.' That was the mantra, again supported by data that weren't without blind spots.

Today, such a stance does not stand up to balanced scrutiny. Even the infallible Dr Anthony Fauci has at least hinted that these vaccines are not a silver bullet for all age cohorts. Yet, there are those who still appear unwilling to accept that some of us clearly have robust natural immunity against covid.

Prophets of doom

This has similarities with the narrative around the climate crisis, or climate emergency if you prefer. Many say the science — the science that points to doomsday outcomes, that is — is settled; no aspect of it can be refuted. It's unquestionable fact. Even implementing radical changes now may not be enough to avoid our extinction or at least close-to-apocalyptic times.

'Some climate crisis activists are akin to religious fundamentalists. Their belief system is the way, the truth and the life.'

It's all about what we must do to lessen the impending doom, which seems somewhat oxymoronic.

For the record, one place to start for a less alarmist take on climate change is with Bjorn Lomborg.

Yes, there are those who truly believe we are only decades away from our extinction and the measures we take now are simply delaying the inevitable.

Yet, others in positions of influence and power appear less convinced of this destruction discourse but benefit from keeping it top of mind, promoting a perpetual state of fear. 

A positive end

It must be noted, I'm not saying that we should just carry on regardless. And many, particularly in the West, are at least trying to change what we now know have been harmful habits. 

Opting for cleaner, greener energy, engaging in practices that are more in harmony with the natural habitat, all of these should be pursued. (Heck, if more people lived like me we'd surely see a significant reduction in carbon emissions.)

The point is, by adopting the alarmist, hysterical approach, the chances of doing more harm than good increase. In fact, no real good may be done at all.

Indeed, some climate crisis activists are akin to religious fundamentalists — a tad ironic considering many of them are atheists who despise god-worshippers. Their belief system is the way, the truth and the life. Follow their path and we can have paradise on earth. Those who don't are wrong and hell bound.

Maybe they're right. However, in the same way that we can't say with 100 per cent certainty that there is no god, we can't know for sure what the planet will look like in the decades and centuries to come. Our changing of something in one area may lead to unexpected happenings in another, for good or for bad.

What can be said with certainty, though, is that our individual existence as we know it will end. We'll all face our "doom" at some stage.

So we may as well try to be as positive and proactive as possible while we're still living and breathing. Less of the hysterics, more helpfulness.
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Listen to The Corrigan Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

The Wrong Way "hits" of 2022

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog, together with the videos mentioned below, here.]

As an online content creator — no sniggering — seeing what kind of material attracts more clicks than others is both interesting and puzzling.

Room for growth: The numbers don't lie. 

And no, after over eleven years of blogging, I haven't discerned any real trend — not that I've been looking intently, I just like to write and record. An addiction, of sorts.

Faecal force

Nonetheless, what becomes (relatively) hot never ceases to perplex me. For example, a rather nondescript YouTube Shorts video — a shit show, quite literally — has garnered the most views (watch it at https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IaWB8pbrTNo) on my channel in 2022.

I started experimenting with YouTube Shorts this year — one has to react to the market and people's declining attention spans. I am, though, refusing to, um, kowtow to the Chinese by getting involved in TikTok.

As for my bread and butter of blogging, it could be said that this format reached its peak over a decade ago. My conservative/stubborn nature ensures I persevere with it, probably for worse, all things considered.

'The Bavaria beer employee deserves a bigger stage to showcase his silky skills.'

What's more, commenting on and writing about current affairs is even more of a challenge. People tend to prefer and trust — go figure — the established media on such matters. A relatively unknown blogger is usually dismissed: 'Who are you to make such a statement?'

Yet, and I would say this, this blog has most likely been closer to the truth on many contentious issues than some of the mainstream media groups.

Reach for the sewer

On that front, my most-read — or most-viewed, in any case — Google Blogger story published in 2022 is Lest we forget. On El Tiempo, Gachetá if you can tops the list for this year.

In terms of YouTube audio blog videos uploaded this year, the most viewed is Making ends meet in Colombia.

On The Corrigan Cast podcast, Covid-19, anti-vaxxers & immunity: My chat with Noel D. Walsh on Shannonside Northern Sound has had the most engagement.

Coming back to YouTube Shorts, while the faecal video has got the most views, there are two others that I think deserve even more exposure.

There's Police parking par excellence in Bogotá, (the police officers are actually sitting in the jeep in this video), while my favourite is Colombia's Got Talent (and some people dismiss this as "unskilled" labour!), which you can watch at https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cGmyECU4jK4. Give that man a bigger stage to showcase such silky skills!

Indeed, isn't that what many of us are looking for, a way to get greater reach and greater returns? The (shit) show goes on! Here's to a wonderful 2023!
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

'Death to dissenters. It's for your own good.'

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

I do find it somewhat perplexing — and occasionally amusing — how self-proclaimed freedom-loving liberals demand that others follow their path. At times, this is seen in a passive-aggressive manner. However, more frequently these days it's simply done aggressively; there's nothing passive about it whatsoever.

'That's my boy, Bart. Just comply. Life shall be easier then.'

It's no longer a case — as at least it seemed to be only a decade or so ago — of being open to alternative views when there is no conclusive evidence that one belief is the real truth, with all others simply wrong. No. The tone of this pugnacious proselytising wouldn't be out of place in the days of Europe's Reformation and subsequent Counter-Reformation.

Only EU can make the darkness bright

From an Irish perspective, more understandable as it is with its quite incestuous media and politics, we've seen it with Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic. I have tried, from afar, to provide a little bit of balance as regards the latter (see https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2022/01/covid-19-anti-vaxxers-immunity-my-chat.html).

With Brexit, OK, there is the old quip that Britain's, nay England's, difficulty is Ireland's opportunity. There is, after all, a long bloody history between the two islands (there's been much intermingling of a more peaceful variety, too). So, despite the better relations that have developed between them over the last couple of generations, many Irish still have a deep-rooted desire to see England fail.

Add in the fact that most of Ireland's agenda-setters naively see the European Union as a rock of rectitude and it's not surprising to find such a hostile attitude towards Brexit. (If I had to choose one over the other, seeing the direction of travel of the EU and playing the long game, I'd opt for Britain over a Europe dominated by France and Germany. For one, the traditional common law approach tends to defend the individual more so than civil law.)

Coming back to the pandemic and zooming out from Ireland to a global level, to go against the narrative of lockdowns being a necessary evil, that they were the 'only viable option', was akin to blasphemy. As early as March 2020 I questioned this wisdom in Coronavirus' collateral damage.

'These facemask fascists, rather than castigate others for not "complying", should stick a sock in it, quite literally.'

Some commentators who submissively went along with all this back then are now, however, trying to rewrite their own history.

Some, that is. Others, those who seem to think that covid-19 is the only threat to human life, appear to want to have indefinite lockdowns. 'Can't everybody just work from home?' Eh, no, they can't.

Such types also tend to be facemask fascists. 'I care about others, that's why I wear a facemask.' Wonderful. The snag here is that there is no conclusive evidence that a piece of cloth wrapped around one's mouth and nose is truly effective in reducing the spread of coronavirus.

Indeed, there are so many variables at play that any study showing a benefit in this regard comes with numerous caveats. (For a detailed breakdown of such studies carried out so far, see https://brownstone.org/articles/more-than-150-comparative-studies-and-articles-on-mask-ineffectiveness-and-harms/. Also, https://emilyburns.substack.com/p/no-masks-dont-help-keep-kids-in-school).

Thus, if people want to wear a facemask because it makes them feel safer or more virtuous, fine. However, this castigating of others who don't wear them, well, such facemask fascists should stick a sock in it, quite literally.

'A jab a day keeps Pfizer in play'

Then there are the covid-19 vaccines. Considering the number of breakthrough infections we've seen, this idea that prevails in significant quarters that an unvaccinated person is more of a risk to him/herself and society in general compared to a vaccinated person just doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

Personally, and so far it seems to be holding true, my immunity or whatever natural defences I have against covid may be stronger than that of many of those who have had multiple vaccines.

Yet, the covid-19 vaccine-mandate brigade continues to exert a significant influence across the globe. They insist that the benefits outweigh the risks in all cases, when there is strong evidence that suggests otherwise, particularly the lower down the age cohorts one goes. (For more on that, see https://brownstone.org/articles/are-the-covid-mrna-vaccines-safe/.)

Now, while not all who endorse compulsory vaccination and mask-wearing are woke, illiberal leftists, there does certainly appear to be a substantial crossover.

These attempts at control, to force submission and/or destroy the credibility of the dissenters match nicely with the woke ideology.

Such types talk of equality and freedom but on their highly prejudiced terms only. (I went into more detail on this in Drunk almost to death on the culture wars.)

Putting an optimistic spin on it, it would appear the ordinary Joe and Josephine don't really go along with those who follow a more militaristic line on the above and other similarly contentious issues.

The average, informed citizen seems to realise that these matters are more nuanced than they are often portrayed. It's not, so to put it, 'everything black, good; everything white, bad.'

The problem, particularly in the West, is that in the traditional media and politics — spheres that exert much influence of course — there's an over-representation of these illiberal liberals.

Thus, it's incumbent on those of us of a more balanced nature to push back at every opportunity. Death awaits us regardless, so we might as well go down putting up a fight.
_______________________________________________________________
Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

Lest we forget

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

Sitting unhidden in one of my barrio tiendas sipping on a litre of Poker beer, it dawned on me that less than a year ago such behaviour was officially prohibited and had been for the guts of 12 months.

Saving face: Colombians seem particularly keen on facemasks.

I'm not sure about you, but as things gradually return, for the most part anyway, to how they were pre-pandemic, I've nearly forgotten how absurd those "lockdown"/restricted-movement days were (it's good to have my various blog posts during the period as a reference point. See, for example, https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/03/coronavirus-collateral-damage.html and https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/06/coronavirus-auxiliary-killers.html. Here's hoping the internet's Ministry of Truth doesn't get at them).

Failed estate

This isn't to say that my tried-and-trusted Bogotá tiendas are devoid of signs of those crazy times. Clientele's wearing of facemasks under the chin is one rather inane reminder. There's also the odd sign to wash one's hands (a tad difficult in establishments without adequate facilities in this regard), to wear aforementioned masks and even notices to disinfect your footwear, a practice that was found early on to be rather ineffective in combatting contagion in most settings.

As for the facemasks, Colombians seem quite happy to wear them, anywhere and everywhere. Whatever about their efficacy in terms of reducing the spread of respiratory infections — the jury is still very much out — they may at least offer some protection from Bogotá's contaminated air. Although, when worn around the chin, it's unlikely they'll be of much help.

Nonetheless, it's good to have some reminders of what we've just gone through — as long as they're kept at a safe physical distance that is.

Of course, people still afflicted by coronavirus monomania will not only say that all draconian measures introduced were necessary but they are also likely to argue that they didn't go far enough nor last long enough.

Again, the evidence that strict lockdowns work in combatting a disease such as covid-19 is far from conclusive. And when viewed solely through the lens of Sars-CoV-2, one is guilty of inflicting other causes of pain and death on those who would otherwise be fine. It's a delicate balance, one that many countries appear to have got shockingly wrong.

"Those who have been most faithful to the creed, if they're not quite rewriting recent history their changing tack is explained as 'we weren't to know.' Really?"

As we begin to accept that we must learn to live with covid rather than stop living and as we move our focus onto the next global cause for concern, any proper, unbiased analysis of the last two years must critically examine the role of much of the media in unquestioningly following the official line.

A majority in the Fourth Estate, not for the first time and it certainly won't be for the last, decided to take refuge elsewhere.

A dubious narrative was established and followed with fervour. "The Science" — the one that promoted heavy-handed containment measures and has coerced people into taking covid vaccines even when it is clear that some have robust natural defences against the infection — became the true faith.

Signs of the time. Careful now ...

Those of us who dared ask fair and reasonable questions were blasted as heretics. We were selfish, content to needlessly let people die, so the attacks went. Very early on in this collective, dangerous insanity I called out what was for the most part nauseating, hypocritical virtue signalling (see https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/03/coronavirus-fallout-virtue-signalling.html).

We now have some of those who were most faithful to the creed backtracking. If they're not quite rewriting recent history their changing tack is explained as 'we weren't to know.' Really? They seemed utterly convinced of their righteousness at the time, trying to rubbish those of us who went against them.

Centre fight

In any case, it's quite easy for them to shrug all this off now. Vaccine certs proudly in hand, life is pretty much back to normal. (More power to the countries that are doing away with jab passes — little by little, society appears to be taking a more reasonable, rounded approach to this. Let's not mention atrocious Australia, crazy Canada or nefarious New Zealand, though.)

Thus, some people tell me I should get over all this, 'hum a different tune'. For the most part, I am doing that.

However, the agents of coercion and control who were given a new lease of life with the arrival of the novel coronavirus continue to try to make life difficult for us "infidels". 'Just conform, goddamn it!'

Many appear quite happy to have the state overseeing more aspects of their lives, often falsely believing that it's for the greater good of society. It generally means a little less personal responsibility, too, so they'll acquiesce.

Yet, an all-powerful state with much of the media in tow, doing its best to silence — or cancel, if you will — dissenting voices, painting any opposition as conspiracy theorists and so refusing to engage with it, is not something to be endorsed.

It's why I won't simply let this go, not while we still have what is effectively nothing more than official opinion or debatable science being peddled as unquestionable fact.

As we've seen over the last couple of years and as history has repeatedly shown us, giving free rein to such forces rarely leads to positive outcomes.

The centre can hold for a little while longer. We have to be prepared, though, to battle hard to keep it together.
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

 

A reinvigorated fun police

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

And just like that, it's all over — kind of. Within a couple of days of each other, both England (just England initially that was, not the other UK nations) and, more shockingly, a heretofore extremely cautious — officially, anyway — Republic of Ireland announced that they were ending most of the coronavirus pandemic restrictions.

Thou shalt not pass without a covid-19 vaccine pass: The social credit system in action — comply or be ostracised.

Learning to live again

Of course, I don't (currently) reside in either jurisdiction but I was somewhat optimistic on hearing the news. I'm not, however, expecting a domino effect around the globe in the coming weeks.

It does, nonetheless, give one hope that other nations will start to accept that we have to learn to live with covid-19 rather than stubbornly and damagingly maintain a suppression strategy.

As has been said oft-times before on this blog, we're not talking about an indiscriminate killer here, despite the efforts of many governments and media groups to portray Sars-Cov-2 as such. This covid monomania comes at a price — not just economically but in lives lost as well — and that price is something we're set to live with for some time to come.

I wrote previously (see https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2021/09/rocking-in-fear-world.html) about the irrational fear that has been instilled in the masses over the last two years. 

Thus, for people to return to their pre-pandemic lives — as much as they want to, that is — it was always going to take more than just an address from our esteemed leaders simply telling us that it's all pretty much back to normal and "away with you".

What's more, all the various rules and recommendations aimed at saving lives have empowered what one could call a citizen's army of do-gooders and virtue-signallers. Well-intentioned they may be but, as is often the case in such affairs, they are potentially doing more harm than good — and most likely to themselves than to anyone else.

'"Recklessly" going against the doctrine puts us all in jeopardy. So, à la Novak Djokovic in authoritarian Australia, an example must be made of these apostates.'

You see, many of us at the receiving end of such unsolicited help to save ourselves and humanity at large can, to a certain extent, shrug it off. The preachers, on the other hand, are so worked up about it that it appears to consume them.  

In effect, they almost stop living because they become so concerned about avoiding death.

Pernicious pretenders

Raised as an Irish Catholic, I see something quite familiar here. The top brass who issue the orders largely ignore them in their private (and not-so-private) lives — vide the No. 10 Downing Street parties and Golfgate in Ireland — but the foot soldiers follow the commands with zeal.

In other words, the plebs are the ones who do the donkey work, pay the biggest price, yet they'll never see the green pastures, the promised land.

For these covid crusaders, the non-believers, the heathens, must equally — or, preferably, to a greater extent — suffer. In fact, it's those who question the gospel who are the problem. They must be brought into line.

"Recklessly" going against the doctrine puts us all in jeopardy. So, à la Novak Djokovic in authoritarian Australia, an example must be made of these apostates.

The Catholic Church — together with other such institutions — has done a great job at convincing folk through the ages that having fun in the here and now only leads one to the depths of hell. Not only is living fundamentally a struggle but you must also suffer whilst going through it. (I must say, these days I do move to a more ascetic beat — I'm certainly no party animal anyway — but I don't expect everyone to follow my lead. I'm happy for people to mix, mingle and live as they see fit as long as they don't inconvenience me too much.)

Where religion has lost its (often malignant) influence we have plenty of pernicious pretenders to step into the vacuum.

This coronavirus pandemic has given such fanatical forces a shot in the arm, literally and metaphorically. The fun police have been reinvigorated. The officers won't go away quietly.
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

 

Addicted to a prescribed life

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

Thanks to a means-tested health system and with my parents — seven children in tow — deemed too well off to receive government assistance, the idea of going to the doctor for the slightest — and not-so-slight — complaint was generally discouraged in the household of my youth.

Once you pop, you just can't stop. This is what most pharmaceutical companies want to be the case anyway.

Popping pills

Fair enough, by the time I, the youngest, started going to secondary school, our lot had improved quite a bit and would continue to do so through the Celtic Tiger years (until it all went belly up).

Nonetheless, due to the austerity that had prevailed before then, I'd learned that a trip to the general practitioner (GP) was considered an "exclusive" event. And one would have to show very good cause to gain entry. 

In any case, by about the age of 15, I'd started to match — to an extent — my father's trait where showing any momentary physical or mental infirmity was reprehensible.  

I do, though, recall those childhood days when being deemed sick enough to receive the sweet Calpol over-the-counter pain reliever was a joyous occasion.

Looking back on it now, it's as if the pharmaceutical company that produced that syrup did so with the idea of making it addictive in mind. Ludicrous thought, I know.

There were times, too, when I liked being on prescribed medication. I'm not sure why this was, but popping pills stored in a little plastic container with my name printed on it seemed kind of cool.

That's all changed now. For better or for worse, I do my best to avoid visiting the doctor or seeking pharmaceutical help.

OK, at almost 37 years of age, leading what I believe to be a largely healthy lifestyle and with no underlying conditions that I know of, there's nothing startling in the fact that I haven't felt the need for regular medical check-ups or medication.

'A vaccine's modus operandi is to induce or increase an organism's natural immunity mechanisms. Without them for certain potentially deadly diseases, the human body would simply be overwhelmed.'

Yes, it may not be the wisest move to be so reluctant to seek medical assistance should the need arise, but I'd like to think that my body would give me signs if there was something malignant at play that required outside help.

Also — and many of us have plenty of anecdotes to back this up — just because a medical practitioner gives one the all-clear doesn't mean that everything is fine.

What's more, when there is something untoward, some doctors have a tendency to automatically reach for their old reliable, the prescription: 'Pelt them with pills.'

A late aunt of mine used to uncontrollably, albeit mildly, shake. It was put down as just one symptom of various complications she had following a brain haemorrhage. 

It was subsequently discovered it was due to a chemical imbalance from the myriad of medications she was taking. Little wonder. I recall her handbag being like a portable pharmacy.

Body and mind over matter

This is not to say that I'm against all modern medicine and medical procedures. One risks severely reducing one's life expectancy in taking such a stance.

On that point, the argument could be made that my late sister would still be with us had she opted for chemotherapy to deal with her breast cancer rather than go an alternative route. We'll never know.

If you're not fully in agreement with whatever treatment you receive, there is a possibility it won't work. The mind is a powerful force after all. And we all do have to face death at some stage.

Then, of course, there are vaccines, perhaps the greatest medical discovery humankind has ever made.

A vaccine's modus operandi — important to mention in these times — is to induce or increase an organism's natural immunity mechanisms. Without vaccines for certain potentially deadly diseases, the human body would simply be overwhelmed.

One's organism could, in theory, fend off the likes of polio or yellow fever without the aid of a vaccine. Based on case fatality rates for those diseases, however, one would be taking a huge gamble adopting such an approach.  

With Sars-Cov-2, on the other hand, we've known from an early stage that many people have solid defences against the infection, an infection that kills quite discriminately i.e. the elderly and the obese have a far greater risk of severe illness and death.  

Thus, the need for covid-19 vaccines for all has always been questionable, particularly when there are some not-insignificant, genuine doubts hanging over these jabs. This push for compulsory vaccines appears to have more to do with exerting control than being for the greater good of public health.

While the great advancements in medical science have significantly increased our life expectancy, we must be aware of our limitations. We must also remain cognisant of the fact that sometimes the natural process is better left alone.

One doesn't need to be a scholar of history to know that human interference — even when done in good faith — doesn't always produce positive outcomes.
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

 

Covid-19, anti-vaxxers & immunity: My chat with Noel D. Walsh on Shannonside Northern Sound

@wwaycorrigan

Noel D. Walsh is in the Joe Finnegan Show hot seat on Shannonside Northern Sound and he chats to me about covid-19, vaccines and plans to return to Ireland for a long-overdue pint!

Listen to the interview via the YouTube video below or click on this link https://youtu.be/4_VaHniwBpw or visit https://anchor.fm/brendan-corrigan/episodes/Covid-19--anti-vaxxers--immunity-My-chat-with-Noel-D--Walsh-on-Shannonside-Northern-Sound-e1ckrjo. (The piece was recorded on Wednesday 05 January and broadcast on Friday 07 January 2022.)

Visit the Shannonside Northern Sound websites at https://www.shannonside.ie/ and https://www.northernsound.ie/.

 

One of Ireland's favourite regional radio stations!

Wrong Way's tops and flops of 2021

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

To borrow from John Lennon — and many others besides — another year is almost over and a new one is about to begin.

Peter Hitchens: always a hit (he's on the left, in case you're wondering!)

Hitchens hit

This is always an apt time for reflection, for taking stock of one's affairs, and for looking forward. I won't be alone in being happy to see the end of 2021. While both personally and in the world at large, things could get worse, there's also plenty of scope for them to get better.

The coronavirus pandemic yet again dominated the news agenda. And as much as I've tried to avoid dwelling on it, this has been rather difficult to do when containment measures directly affect one's life, whether one agrees with them or not.

Thus, of the 57 blog posts I have (so far) published here in 2021, 19 of them were related to the pandemic — to be honest, I thought that number would have been higher. The most-read one was The vaccine vexers — you can check out that "gem" at https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-vaccine-vexers.html, if you haven't already done so.

On the other end of the scale, the least-read post was 'Colombia's done OK, but prepare for a half-shut, half-open world for 2021' — Dr Bhattacharya. That was a teaser piece for my podcast/YouTube interview with Dr Jay Bhattacharya, co-author of the controversial Great Barrington Declaration. The YouTube interview itself got much more engagement. You can watch it at https://youtu.be/ZSb8VnG4nPs.

Mentioning my currently on-hold podcast (if anyone wants to sponsor its return, I'm all ears!), my interview with the controversial but always interesting English journalist, Peter Hitchens, has received the most views, https://youtu.be/Nuzm8OkYMyE. 

On the opposite end, my chat with Miami-based Colombian journalist Daniel Coronell didn't quite reach the same Hitchens heights, https://youtu.be/ZsWTBwGXRXY.

Staying on the podcast front, this year did see the launch of Get Inglés (https://caracol.com.co/getingles/) in association with Caracol Radio. Whisper it, but there may be more episodes to come.

'Making life much more difficult for the unvaccinated, some of whom appear to have better defences against covid than many vaccinated individuals, is nothing less than coercion.'

Looking ahead to 2022, while I intend to keep writing in some form or another — one can be rather stubborn in that regard — I'll endeavour to post less content about the pandemic, for my own sanity if nothing else.

Thus, allow me this blowout for now.

Raising's one ire-land

The coming 12 months should see me make a return to my native Ireland at some stage. It's been over three years since I last visited.

However, from the outside looking in — and at a safe distance of over 8000 km — the homeland appears rather lost and not terribly appealing. If the Irish Government told its citizens to lock themselves in a dark closet for a couple of weeks to avoid getting the cold, the majority would most likely do it.

To get the covid-19 vaccine or not to get it? That is the question.

It's almost as if people think that there were no dangerous infections floating around before this novel coronavirus and its various mutations came on the scene. 

It matters little to so many that the risk of death, nay severe infection, is minuscule for the majority of the planet. Any proportionality and rationality that had once existed — I think it did exist to some degree in any case — has been abandoned completely.

It does seem that some actually like this sense of crisis and resultant government control which they follow unquestioningly, 'doing our bit to save lives', when there's no strong evidence that this is actually being achieved.

Indeed, the argument could be made — and has been made — that it's doing the opposite. Prolonging the hardship and leading to more, what in normal times would have been, preventable-for-a-time deaths (shocking as this may be to some, but we weren't immortal before this spiky virus started plaguing us).

I've always said that to get anything close to a true picture of the deadliness or otherwise of Sars-CoV-2, excess deaths over the period of the pandemic and for a few years after need to be looked at.

Also, considering the covid monomania which has seen health services across the globe neglect other life-threatening conditions, all excess deaths cannot be attributed to covid-19.

Some will go in the category of being as a result of the disproportionate coronavirus-containment measures. That's if such analysis is done in a fair, thorough way. It's been easy to document covid-19 as the cause of death when it was but one of a number of conditions that led to one's demise.

Alongside all that, the widespread failure to accept that some people have what appears to be robust T-cell immunity to this particular infection has been extremely frustrating.

Making life much more difficult for the unvaccinated, some of whom appear to have better defences against covid than many vaccinated individuals, is nothing less than coercion. It's also wrong.

One can only hope that by this time next year we will have moved on from all this, that we will have learned to live with covid in a rational way. Right now, that seems like wishful thinking.

Yet, returning to Lennon, we can imagine a brighter future. I may be a dreamer, but I'm not the only one.
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

 

The Great Resignation

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

Much has been written about various "new normals" in our lives in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic. The enforced pause on people's modus operandi has led many to re-evaluate their situation.

An honest day's work. It's nice to do it every now and again.

Getting "Brexit" done

In high-income nations and those in the comfortable classes elsewhere — in a Colombian context, I'm probably still classified as comfortable, the low bar that it is — this moment of reflection has been particularly felt in the employment sphere, resulting in what has been termed the Great Resignation.

Those with any sort of financial wriggle room and who were heretofore merely going through the motions at their less-than-fulfilling jobs decided to take action as they dealt with stay-at-home orders and other radical restrictions.

'If I can't implement change during a large-scale disruptor event such as this, then I never will.' That, no doubt, has been the thinking.

Now,  it would be stretching it to call me a trailblazer, but I did take that leap of faith — leaving behind a relatively well-paid but unfulfilling job — before the coronavirus catalyst got to work on the rest of the restless.

In advance of finally deciding on the nuclear option, I had been trying to plot a more financially secure exit strategy, keeping in mind the adage 'It's easier to find a job when you're in a job.' But the few alternative full-time positions that presented themselves didn't set the heart racing.

'One may have no other choice but to rejoin the dreaded rat race, sooner rather than later.'

Nonetheless, rather than hold tight, I simply said I had to get my own "Brexit" done, that being Brendan's leaving of the marketing agency DDB.

Perhaps akin to the UK's Brexit, my thinking was — and remains (no, not that "remain") — that things will work out. 'Our fundamentals are solid, we'll find a way.'

However, as the former United States Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, once said of Great Britain, that it 'has lost an empire and not yet found a role', this could apply in my case here. Not, I hasten to add, that my professional career can in any way be equated to the power of the British Empire at its height.

There is no shortage of jobs. They're just not the right ones ...

Resigned to the rat race

The idea, however, of the world being my oyster as one might think it should be for a Western-born, single, childless individual, is certainly weaker today than it was ten years ago.

There are reasons somewhat outside of my control for that, chief amongst them these new normals, particularly the illogical, punitive measures against unvaccinated folk.

Then there's the fact that after a decade of having Colombia as my base and earning the weakening local currency, my global purchasing power is less today than it was in 2011.

Yet, putting a more positive spin on it, the post-pandemic world should present as many opportunities as it does challenges.

That's the hope in any case. (I can't say, though, and shocking as this may be to regular readers, that I'm entirely optimistic about the short- to medium-term future).

In line with the spirit of the Great Resignation — or at least my interpretation of it, sticking to the reasons why I resigned ahead of the pack, so to put it — my ideal is to work with people, not for them.

The "fiscal space", however, in which the Republic of Wrong Way has to realise those ambitions is disappearing rather rapidly. One may have no other choice but to rejoin the dreaded rat race, sooner rather than later. 'Back into line, you rascal of a rodent.'

That may actually be the true essence of the Great Resignation: resigned to one's insipid fate.
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".  

The case for non-pharmaceutical covid defences

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

When it comes to explaining my continued reluctance to get the Sars-CoV-2 vaccine to those who have no issue with it, it's like we're on a different plain, nay planet, altogether.

Where I see the figure six, they see a nine and vice versa, something to that effect.

Lining up for a jab to live life but not necessarily a jab to save lives.

Just do it

'Is it that you're frightened of needles?', is a common, benign initial question. I'm not, although I have been known to get rather lightheaded after injections and I needed a little more recuperation time than the average person after the one and only occasion I gave blood (it hasn't deterred me from wishing to donate again, it's just Colombia doesn't want my blood now).  

'Oh, so you're afraid that the vaccine will do you more harm than good? You don't need to worry, it's practically 100 per cent safe.' On this front, I'm not really worried about potential nasty side effects, yet the idea that the vaccines are fully safe we know is not true.

What's more, the benefit-risk balance comes down more heavily on the latter side the younger one is. Covid-19 itself, on the other hand, is ageist, with the elderly facing a far greater risk of severe infection and death.  

'Ah, so you're one of those conspiracy theorists who think that the vaccine implants a microchip in your body or something like that.' No. As much as some might wish to label me thus, I don't believe that.

What I certainly do have is much less confidence in governments and leading civil servants that are directing public health across the globe. 

The 'trust the science' mantra, when that "science" is far from proven beyond reasonable doubt and has been shown to have more holes in it than the socks I currently have in my possession, only makes one more suspicious.

'In a Twitter exchange with the renowned US epidemiologist, Larry Brilliant, he accepted that natural immunity is a factor but said it was risky to rely on. For the vast majority of older people, that would seem true. For most younger folk, not so.'

Indeed, it's akin to the line from the Jim Carrey character in the classic comedy flick Dumb and Dumber, 'It's OK, I'm a limo driver.' At least he got his passenger to the airport unscathed, although — similar to this pandemic — with plenty of collateral damage along the way.

'So you're just a contrarian who doesn't want to be told what to do.' I'd be lying if I said this wasn't a factor but with good reason. It ties in with the above, our decision-makers' just-do-it-or-else approach, which not only fails to convince sceptics of the benefits of covid-19 vaccines for the entire population but also ensures a more entrenched position.

When one has been close to a highly contagious virus and suffered no adverse reaction, practically forcing said person to take an emergency-issued vaccine for 'one's own good and that of humanity at large', when the evidence that this is the case is questionable, to say the least, in what other way would any right-thinking individual respond than to refuse?

A not-so-'Brilliant' vaccine: data show that natural immunity may be better than the vaccine over time.

Surely public health bodies would serve humanity better by studying what exactly is at play in those of us who seem to have non-vaccine-acquired defences against covid-19.

Immune to rationality

Natural immunity — this shouldn't have to be stated but it appears many have to be reminded of it — is not an absurd concept. 

In a brief Twitter exchange a few months ago with the renowned US epidemiologist Larry Brilliant — a man who truly knows about tackling infections, unlike Bill Gates — he accepted that natural immunity is a factor but said it was risky to rely on.

For the vast majority of older people, that would seem true. For most younger folk, not so, as emerging data appear to show.  

With Colombia joining the list of countries that are effectively forcing the vaccine on people, the unvaccinated here are set to become social pariahs. One of the many worrying aspects of this is the number of so-called liberals all over the world who support such coercion.

It is understandable in some ways. The hypochondriacal masses have been bombarded with fear-inducing messages about the severity of covid-19 from governments and media for almost two years now. In such an environment disproportionate, irrational responses are not surprising.

I had hoped that as we see more breakthrough covid infections and data continue to show the limits of vaccine-acquired immunity, a realisation that some people already have what appear to be robust defences against this virus would be forthcoming. Alas, what we're getting is the opposite, doubling down on inoculation programmes.

One also has to wonder why there has been less of a focus on developing effective treatments when we've seen that the vaccine is far from a panacea.

It would seem to make sense to do so for a disease that's set to become endemic. Again, it just raises suspicions as to what forces are truly behind the mass-vaccination drive.

In this context, it's not quite a jab to save lives. It's more a case of 'get the jab or forget about living your life'. Don't ask questions, just do it.
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".  

Rocking in the fear world

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

Earlier this month, the UK's Daily Telegraph reported that accidents at London Tube stations have increased because some passengers are too afraid to hold onto the escalator handrails.

This is apparently due to fear of picking up the Sars-CoV-2 virus, or coronavirus as many simply call it. For the record, intoxication was also cited as a factor.

Careful now, coronavirus & Big Brother are watching you.

We must assume that those in the former category had no other choice but to use public transport to get to where they were going.

Fear play

Moreover, if they are so frightened of coming into contact with the coronavirus and thus potentially becoming ill with covid-19, it is perplexing how they managed to step outside and mix with the mad, morbid masses in the first instance. Think of all the dangers one encounters before entering the dungeon of disease that must be the London Tube.

Surely there are other, safer commute options? OK, I'm not au fait with the English capital, so perhaps it's not the case that the most efficient form of transport is by pushbike or on foot, as it is in many cities. 

Also, for health or other reasons cycling or walking what may be relatively long distances isn't an option for everybody (we're still waiting for these 15-minute cities).

That aside, congratulations are in order for the UK government, its public health body and malleable media. While they and their counterparts across the globe have got many things wrong during this pandemic — I've highlighted plenty of them previously — one can only applaud their remarkable success in instilling irrational fear about covid amongst the populace.

'No doubt there are many who hope I get my comeuppance for what they view as such an arrogant, indifferent stance.'

Judging by many people's reactions over the last 19 months or so, it's almost as if humanity had found the secret to immortality before our microscopic enemy from the East entered the global stage. Some seem so determined to avoid this virus that they'll actually harm themselves in other ways in the process.

There's no need here to once again repeat that covid-19 is a relatively mild infection for the majority — indeed, for some, it seems to cause no harm whatsoever — and that it is a very discriminate killer. One either knows this by now or simply refuses to accept the facts.

Fatal flaws

There are those who appear to want this to be an existential threat, one where we're all equally at risk. When one points out information to the contrary, he/she is accused of being heartless, of not caring enough, of wanting people to die.

I do find this odd as, in public pronouncements in any case, I usually do gravitate towards the worst-case scenario. I tend to see the problems more easily than the solutions. With covid, when I say, 'Look, all things considered, it's not that bad, it could be much worse', I get shouted down.

No doubt there are many who hope I get my comeuppance for what they view as such an arrogant, indifferent stance. I hasten to add, I'm not indifferent to those who have experienced loss due to covid.

All I'm trying to do is to put it into its proper context alongside all the other deadly threats we face as a species, something that I believe has been damagingly lacking throughout the pandemic. Overly focusing on one problem allows others to foment. Covid monomania can cause as much harm as the infection itself.

Perhaps I am setting myself up for a fatal fall. Wandering about unvaccinated (see The vaccine vexers for my thoughts on that), living my life as normal as I possibly can in these straitened times — save for any long-distance travelling of note — trying not to let fear of death affect my daily interactions.

Maybe coronavirus is just waiting for its moment to pounce on this blasé being. Maybe.

If it is, it is. The alternative is locking myself away indefinitely until it's "safe" to venture out again. I know if I did that, I wouldn't be long bidding adieu to this world.

I want to live life my way, as much as I can, not simply spend my days trying to avoid death.
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

The vaccine vexers

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

'He dreamt that the whole world was condemned to a terrible new strange plague that had come to Europe from the depths of Asia ... Some new sorts of microbes were attacking the bodies of men, but these microbes were endowed with intelligence and will. Men attacked by them became at once mad and furious. But never had men considered themselves so intellectual and so completely in possession of the truth as these sufferers, never had they considered their decisions, their scientific conclusions, their moral convictions so infallible. Whole villages, whole towns and peoples went mad from the infection ... Each thought that he alone had the truth and was wretched looking at the others, beat himself on the breast, wept, and wrung his hands. They did not know how to judge and could not agree what to consider evil and what good; they did not know whom to blame, whom to justify.'

Thus dreamt Raskolnikov in Fyodor Dostoevsky's classic novel, Crime and Punishment. Published in 1866 and a dream in a work of fiction it may be, yet the passage could be used with some accuracy to describe human behaviour during this covid-19 pandemic.

Lifesaver. Or is it?

Pandemonium

Since the novel coronavirus arrived on the world stage, I've touched on pretty much all of the contentious issues. 

Namely, the collateral damage of wholesale lockdowns together with the certainty of those endorsing them that they actually work and are worth it, and the coercive mass vaccination drive that with each passing day leaves more questions than answers.

As the pandemic becomes endemic, it's that vaccine question that vexes the most. 

When I wrote The case against vaccine passports it was thought likely that getting a jab would mean one would carry less of a viral load if infected, thus helping to reduce contagion, while also becoming less ill. The latter appears to hold true for the elderly and vulnerable yet data are emerging showing that the former is not the case.

So, the vaccine pushers' argument that young, healthy individuals would be 'doing their bit for society' by being jabbed loses its weight. Basically, the vaccine may help to provide protection against severe covid-19 infection, particularly in the elderly, yet one is not protecting others by getting it.

However, judging by social media, many still seem to believe that in getting a jab they've helped save humanity. 

It's become common practice to publicly declare it, normally via updated profile pictures with colourful I-got-the-vaccine graphics. You'd swear they'd just discovered the cure for cancer.

These pietistic pronouncements are nauseating considering there is much we still don't know. They only serve to distance those with genuine questions that have yet to be satisfactorily answered. 

'One must be willing to change tack when new information dictates but even allowing for that our decision-makers have been suspiciously contradictory, within the myopic mindset that covid is practically the only mortal threat we face.'

Even worse is the palpable anger from some of those vaccinated directed at those who are not. It's baffling. You're protected, guys, so why the annoyance?

In fact, maybe all of us 'stupid folk' not pharmaceutically protected will die from covid soon, pruning humanity of much of its current asininity. You should be happy.

I must add, I'd rather see vaccines administered to those who would truly benefit from them, no matter where they are in the world, ahead of some young Sam or Samantha in a high-income country, with the finest medical care at their disposal.

The unaccountables

Just to be clear, I'm not anti-vax as a rule, despite being labelled thus by some people. I've had numerous inoculations throughout my life. It's simply that when it comes to the covid jab, I'm far from convinced of its benefits for somebody like me at this remove.

It also doesn't help that the leaders and public health officials now imploring, nay threatening us to get vaccinated have been anything but consistent throughout the pandemic.

OK, one must be willing to change tack when new information dictates but even allowing for that our decision-makers have been suspiciously contradictory, within the myopic mindset that covid is practically the only mortal threat we face.

That many have now lost any remaining trust they had had in them is not at all surprising.

This returns us nicely to that prescient passage in Crime and Punishment. Raskolnikov's dream concluded:

'The alarm bell was ringing all day long in the towns; men rushed together, but why they were summoned and who was summoning them no one knew ... Men met in groups, agreed on something, swore to keep together, but at once began on something quite different from what they had proposed. They accused one another, fought and killed each other ... The plague spread and moved further and further. Only a few men could be saved in the whole world. They were a pure chosen people, destined to found a new race and a new life, to renew and purify the earth, but no one had seen these men, no one had heard their words and their voices.'

For our 21st-Century, real-life pandemic, there were early hopes that we would come out of it cleaner and greener, renewed and purified, with more shared responsibility.

Alas, it looks like we'll only become more centrally controlled, less independent and with greater inequality.

In the same way that people both believe(d) and fear(ed) a god that we cannot see, Big Tech and its affiliates are now filling this  godless void.

Largely invisible, unaccountable masters, moulding the masses to fit into their utopia. Worryingly, most are marching merrily to the madness.
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Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".