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Rolla Peace News June 29, 2021 |
Dear Friends:Editor's note: Please consider writing for our newsletter. It's always very exciting to be able to publish submissions from our readers.In this newsletter is: 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 2. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Collapse: Florida and Gaza b) Cuba: Shipping Millions of Doses of Vaccine to Venezuela c) Jeffrey Sachs on SARS-CoV-2 Origins d) Afghanistan: Taliban Cake Walk 1. NOON VIGIL FOR PEACE: THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 We vigil for peace in front of the Rolla Post Office, THIS THURSDAY, JULY 1, FROM NOON TO 1:00 PM (and most subsequent Thursdays until Peace is established). Please join us this Thursday in saying NO WAR AGAINST PALESTINE or any other country. The temperature is predicted to be in the 70s. If you do not feel comfortable standing with us in front of the Post Office, please consider driving by and showing your support for our message by honking your horn and flashing a peace sign. Note 1: Since there are so few of us, generally 2 or 3, no need to cancel; but let's maintain social distancing. Note 2: In case of inclement weather, vigils may be canceled or terminated early. 2. THE MISFIT MATHEMATICIAN (Tom's column, http://tomsager.org) a) Collapse: Florida and Gaza b) Cuba: Shipping Millions of Doses of Vaccine to Venezuela c) Jeffrey Sachs on SARS-CoV-2 Origins d) Afghanistan: Taliban Cake Walk Collapse: Florida and Gaza 
One of the collapsed buildings in the photo above is from Gaza. It was destroyed by Israel with bombs that were made-in-the-USA. Israeli bombing killed and injured many and caused much damage to infrastructure in Gaza. The other photo is from Surfside, Florida. The dead have not yet been counted. The two photos look quite similar. Can you tell which is which? While the reasons for the Surfside, Florida collapse are, as yet, unknown, It appears likely that sea-level rise and subsidence, with ocean water attacking the foundations, would be at least a major contributing factor. Sea level rise and subsidence are both caused by global warming. So there you have it: War and Climate Change, the two greatest threats to modern “civilization.” Isn't it time to get serious about ending war and reversing climate change? Cuba: Shipping Millions of Doses of Vaccine to Venezuela Cuba's Abdala vaccine has completed all trials and was found to be 92% effective. Cuba has another vaccine, Soberana-2, in late trials. With two doses it has been found over 62% effective and may hit the 95% effective mark after the third dose is evaluated. This is an amazing feat for a small island nation of 11 million people, laboring under 60 years of US sanctions. Even more amazing: since the United States was a party to gain-of-function experiments that may have created the SARS-CoV-2 virus, US vaccine makers like Pfizer and Moderna could have had a “head start” in developing their vaccines. Without this head start, Cuba may even have beaten the US to having developed a successful vaccine for COVID-19. Before even completing its vaccination program at home, Cuba has completed the first shipment of Abdala vaccine to Venezuela, which is having difficulties providing for the health of its people because of US sanctions which, among other things, inhibit Venezuela's ability to participate in the international COVAX program. There is much that we in the United States could learn from Cuba. Perhaps, most importantly, we could learn how to share. Jeffrey Sachs on SARS-CoV-2 Origins Jeffrey Sachs, chair of the Lancet COVID-19 Commission, gives a short synopsis of the current state of knowledge concerning the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. I highly recommend this article, which contains many extremely important insights. Sachs points out that major hypotheses fall into two broad categories: natural origin and research-related origin; and there is no overwhelming evidence to choose one over the other. Sachs writes: So what can be said about those scientists who have“Those who have claimed that a natural origin is the only viable hypothesis overlook the extensive research activity that was underway in the field and in laboratories on SARS-like viruses, including in Wuhan, China, where the first outbreak was identified, and in the United States.” I would say that those scientists either deliberately lied to the public, or else they are lousy scientists. It's one thing to say, as I have done, that one favors a certain hypothesis or conjecture, it is quite another to declare that all who disagree are conspiracy theorists.“declared that there was overwhelming evidence that SARS-CoV-2 originated in wildlife and that alternative theories of a research-related release of the virus amounted to ‘conspiracy theories’.”? Sachs also notes that: In this case, gain of function refers to increasing the ability of a virus to infect a human host and spread among the human population.“We have learned that much of this work ... that was underway in the US, China, and elsewhere, both in collecting viral samples from the field and in studying their infectivity and pathogenicity (ability to cause disease) in the laboratory ... can be classified as ‘gain of function’ ... research.” In addition, Sachs remarks: So there it is! Finally! The first time I've seen someone of Sachs's stature use the words “deliberately release” or “bioweapons research” in writing about the COVID-19 pandemic.“the tools of genomic manipulation have advanced so rapidly that the potential to create new deadly pathogens in the laboratory and accidentally or even deliberately release them is a very serious concern. The world currently lacks adequate international and national safeguards and transparency on such dangerous work, and the risks are compounded by the secretive bioweapons research programs several governments sponsor that help to sustain it.” Since early 2020, I've argued that it is quite likely that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was intentionally released in China in an act of sabotage. (My reasoning is explained here.) It seems that others are beginning to at least discuss this conjecture seriously in public without the words, “conspiracy theory.” But, most importantly, Sachs notes that and“Neither the US nor Chinese authorities have yet been sufficiently forthcoming to date to enable researchers to advance our understanding of the origin of Yes, it's way past time for the United States and China to both come clean and open up their laboratories to international inspection. It is way past time that all such experimentation be open to public scrutiny. After millions of deaths and hundreds of millions sickened, the public has a right to know.“Many biosafety experts have long argued that such work ...requires much greater oversight, control, and scrutiny,” Note: The emphasis in red within the Jeffrey Sachs quotes is mine. Afghanistan: Taliban Cake Walk The 2001 invasion of Afghanistan by the United States and friends has been described as a “cakewalk.” Now we have a “cakewalk” in reverse, as district upon district falls to the Taliban as US and other foreign forces slink home. The Taliban may even be purposefully slowing their advance so as to allow US forces time to withdraw. Here's another wrinkle: China and Russia are apparently both concerned about a Taliban government in Afghanistan. After all, both have restive Muslim populations within their own borders. They may even be encouraging the US not to withdraw completely. I think that having successfully fought for 20 years to expel foreign invaders from almost 50 different countries, The Taliban would be unlikely to take orders from any foreign source. Once again, Afghanistan has earned the moniker, “Graveyard of Empires.” Rolla Peace News is distributed by email once a week on Tuesday evenings (except on rare occasions) and is posted on the web at http://tomsager.org (click on Rollaites for Peace: near the top of rightmost column). If you don't wish to get notices of peace events in the Rolla area, let me know and I'll take you off this list. If you want to be added to this list, let me know. Wage peace, Tom yushasager (at) yahoo.com |