Tracking Covid

 

Tracking Covid

 I started tracking Covid-19 cases and deaths in a spreadsheet in mid-March of 2020, just as it was beginning to spread.  I chose the Worldometer as a source of Covid statistics for the U.S. and the world, and the New York Times data for U.S. states, counties and cities, which dove-tailed with the Worldometer data. In addition to the overall U.S. and the world, I tracked locations of interest to my extended family, namely Dallas, Texas, Eastern New York State and Western Massachusetts.

 I am ending this process as of September 30, 2022, because Covid is pretty much under medical, (if on political) control, and some of the areas that I’ve been tracking hardly report numbers any more.  In retrospect, I probably should have written a routine to automate data transfer to my spreadsheets, rather cutting and pasting for about 10 minutes every day.  But, so be it.

 On March 12, 2020, there were 1,282 Covid case in the U.S., and 17 deaths.  On September 30, 2022, these numbers for the U.S. were 98,166,904 cases, and 1,084,282 deaths.

For the world, there were 129,800 Covid cases and 4,800 deaths on March 12, 2020, and 622,586,038 Covid cases and 6,547,878 deaths on September 30, 2022.

 Ray Gruszecki

September 30, 2022

China Covid and Fentanyl

 

China Covid and Fentanyl

 If I were a communist planner deep in the bowels of the Beijing Politburo’s Dirty Tricks Division, what could I do to bring China economically, materially and militarily equal to, or ahead of the West?  Also, how could I ensure that modern China pays back the West for the humiliating defeats of the opium wars of the 19^th century, the colonization of parts of China by the West, and the addiction of many ancestors in China to opium?

 All under the cloak of absolute secrecy, what if we weaponized a killer virus, ruthlessly controlled it within China, and ensured its release to the outside world?  That would allow China to sprint ahead of most of the rest of the world, particularly using our “Belt and Road Initiative” to acquire infrastructure throughout the world.

 As a further effort, and remembering our addicted ancestors in the 19^th century, suppose we develop a killer drug and export it to the world?  Illegal drug users would take it and die.  We can even make it look like candy for the western kids.  In truth, Fentanyl is now one of the leading causes of deaths in the U.S.

 https://www.foxnews.com/us/fentanyl-overdoses-leading-cause-death-adults

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/11/us/politics/overdose-deaths-fentanyl-meth.html

 Far fetched?  Maybe.  But anything is possible in this crazy world, particularly in secretive, Machiavellian, communist China, whose announced goal is to become the dominant power in this century.

 Is China furthering its goals while doing a little pay back for the 19^th century?

 Ray Gruszecki

September 27, 2022

Cesspools of Crime and Homelessness

 

Cesspools of Crime and Homelessness

 Beginning in the 1950’s with Kennedy and continuing in the 1980’s with Reagan, and at least partly justified by new ant-psychotic wonder drugs, we emptied out and closed our “warehousing” mental institutions and released the inmates into society.  The idealists posited  that these mentally unstable people would take or be given these new psychoactive drugs and adjust into normal society,  Some did, but many did not, without the structure of an inpatient facility, and these gravitated toward homelessness or the prisons, where their criminal education progressed.

 Also, over the years, inimical foreign countries emptied their prisons into the U.S.  Egregious examples are the Mariel boatlift from Cuba in 1980, and Venezuela’s recent reported release of prisoners into the U.S.

 And then along come extreme left D.A.’s and prosecutors in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, and funded by the likes of George Soros, who practice no bail, catch and release, for even the most heinous crimes.  This completes the “perfect storm” that has blighted our urban scene with democrat party run, feces infested tent cities that have become focal points for the massive crime wave afflicting our country.

 The most notorious of these Soros backed “woke” city and state prosecutors are Alvin Bragg of New York City, Larry Krasner of Philadelphia, Kim Foxx of Chicago, Chesa Boudin of San Francisco, and George Gascon of Los Angeles.

 Oh, the siren song of “social justice” rings in the background.  The mentally ill should not be warehoused in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” conditions, and our black and brown brothers should not be disproportionally harassed, arrested and jailed, even if their crimes are disproportionate.  Hence, the mentally ill living on feces infested streets, and “no bail”, “catch and release” criminals preying repeatedly on law-abiding society.

  Some references on Mental Illness, Homelessness, Crime

 https://nypost.com/2021/12/16/how-george-soros-funded-progressive-das-behind-us-crime-surge/

 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25839642/

 https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/new-group-woke-prosecutors-dangerous-justice

 https://www.breitbart.com/border/2022/09/18/exclusive-venezuela-empties-prisons-sends-violent-criminals-to-u-s-says-dhs-report/

 https://nypost.com/2021/12/16/how-george-soros-funded-progressive-das-behind-us-crime-surge/

 https://1md.org/article/why-mental-health-crisis

 https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/25/us/defund-police-crime-spike/index.html

 https://www.kqed.org/news/11209729/did-the-emptying-of-mental-hospitals-contribute-to-homelessness-here

 https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/05/truth-about-deinstitutionalization/618986/

 https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/asylums/special/excerpt.html

 https://www.cchrint.org/2014/12/23/how-big-pharma-made-antipsychotics-everyday-drugs/

 Ray Gruszecki

September 26, 2022

Clean Energy and Clean Vehicles

 

Clean Energy and Clean Vehicles

 A lot has been discussed and written about replacing much of our energy use with renewable sources like solar and wind, and replacing our fossil fuel guzzling and polluting vehicles with battery powered electric vehicles.

 The starry-eyed among us propose building solar panels, windmills, EV’s and charging stations across the land, plugging our cars in, and “off we go”, paying little attention to the science, engineering and practicality of the issue.

 Here are some references that discuss energy production, electric vehicles and such, both pros and cons.

 A review of this material, which is both starry-eyed optimistic on the one hand, and negative and derogatory on the other, points out several issues.

 Comments on Sources of Power

-        Solar and Wind

-        Relying on solar and wind as the main source of power generation has been shown to be impractical with current technology and conditions.  Sun and wind are unreliable.  Also, solar panels are primarily made in China by slave labor.  Wind turbines are massive, expensive and elicit environmental concerns.  Sun and wind and tides make excellent supplements to other main power sources, and could comprise as much as 20-25% of a country’s power requirements in some locations.  However, they are not likely as a country’s main source of power.

-         -        Hydropower

-        The use of hydropower involves using the kinetic motion in water as it flows downstream, part of the normal water cycle of the Earth, to generate other forms of energy, most notably electricity. Dams use this property as a means of generating electricity. This form of hydropower is called hydroelectricity.  All countries take advantage of hydro generated power, with Brazil, Canada, China and France as major users.

-         -        Geothermal

-        The Earth generates a lot of heat while going about its normal business, in the form of subterranean steam and magma among others. The geothermal energy generated within the Earth's crust can be harnessed and transformed into other forms of energy, such as electricity.  Kenya, Iceland, Philippines, El Salvador and New Zealand produce as much as 30% of their electrical power from thermal sources.

-        -        Biomass

-        Biomass is not really a separate type of energy, so much as a specific type of fuel. It is generated from organic waste products, such as cornhusks, sewage, and grass clippings. This material contains residual energy, which can be released by burning it in biomass power plants. Since these waste products always exist, it is considered a renewable resource. Major countries producing energy from biomass are Germany, U.S., China, Japan.

-         -        Nuclear (fission) power generation makes use of the thermal energy produced when a uranium nucleus is split. This energy is used to produce high-temperature, high-pressure steam from water boiled inside the nuclear reactor. The steam then drives a turbine for generating electricity.  While nuclear processing and nuclear power plants produce radioactive wastes and the potentially for environmental disaster could be large, the advantages of nuclear power in generating large amounts of sustainable energy without polluting the atmosphere with toxic fumes and greenhouse gases outweighs the disadvantages of nuclear power.  Accidents at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima have poisoned public opinion about producing power using nuclear plants.  Many countries have nuclear reactors producing power.  France has adopted nuclear in a big way, while Germany has phased it out completely.

-         -        Fusion power is a proposed form of power generation that would generate electricity by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. In a fusion process, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a heavier nucleus, while releasing energy. Devices designed to harness this energy are known as fusion reactors. Research into fusion reactors began in the 1940s, but to date, no design has produced more fusion power output than the electrical power input.

-         Where does the Power Come From? - references

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/cost-to-charge-electric-vehicle-charging-station/?fbclid=IwAR2Vn_oOoUQxtIh4EipPHDyhHzdgCyvUz9_aviyytv6gzT4iC17HooxQM9w

 More about Power - references

https://www.motorbiscuit.com/how-to-turn-electric-vehicle-into-generator-for-home/

https://www.thoughtco.com/sources-of-power-production-2698916

https://www.worldbioenergy.org/uploads/201210%20WBA%20GBS%202020.pdf

https://www.soocial.com/bioenergy-statistics/

 Nuclear Fusion - referenxes

https://www.scienceabc.com/eyeopeners/why-arent-we-using-nuclear-fusion-to-generate-power-yet.html

https://www.vox.com/22801265/fusion-energy-electricity-power-climate-change-research-iter

  

Electric Vehicles

https://www.cars.com/electric-cars/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-upside-down-logic-of-electric-suvs-vehicles-co2-emissions-ford-subsidies-climate-change-auto-sector-11658524738?mod=e2fb&fbclid=IwAR1ixfWhfKTcyusnVOgvEyx8aos6KtAebqX6xoM6EBdCzXEARPnGG36QLw0

  

Batteries – Materials

-        The materials in electric car batteries include elements such as lithium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, graphite, and other metals and materials. These raw materials are processed and individual battery cells are made. There is a cooling system and electrical power management system added to regulate the battery.

-         -        One of the biggest suppliers of raw cobalt is the Democratic Republic of Congo with around 60% of the world’s cobalt coming from here.

-         -        China dominates the Lithium-ion battery production as they produce about 65% of the world’s lithium-ion batteries as of February 2021.

-         -        A sodium-ion battery is being produced and many are very hopeful that it could replace the lithium-ion battery in electric cars.  Sodium-ion batteries are not the only new type of batteries that are currently being researched, but if a few different types of batteries can be produced that have similar results, powered in a similar way, and even recycled, then we may have a chance to never run out. If this is the case and we can properly spread out the use of these materials, we could have plenty of materials for years to come and in a perfect world maybe even never run out.

-         -        Right now, these batteries are not being recycled to their full potential and more research is being done to make the recycling of these batteries more viable but as of now this process is not refined and could cause some alarm if not handled correctly in the near future.

 Batteries - references:

https://gearandcylinder.com/what-materials-are-in-electric-car-batteries-here-are-the-facts/

https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/ev-batteries

https://www.cars.com/articles/your-guide-to-ev-batteries-premature-death-range-loss-and-preservation-446126/

 Ray Gruszecki

September 22, 2022

 

Indicting President Trump

 

Indicting President Trump

 This article is a scathing discussion (and condemnation) by Andy McCarthy, of President Trump’s complicity with classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, and also Trump’s efforts to prove fraud during the 2020 election.

 Andy McCarthy backed President Trump through the first impeachment but not through the “big steal” claims and the second impeachment.  Whatever his views and commentary about Trump, one cannot fault McCarthy’s legal credentials and acumen.  A brief bio:

 Andrew C. McCarthy III is an American columnist for National Review. He served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. A Republican, he led the 1995 terrorism prosecution against Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman and eleven others. The defendants were convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and planning a series of attacks against New York City landmarks.  He also contributed to the prosecutions of terrorists who bombed United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He resigned from the Justice Department in 2003.

 During the presidency of Barack Obama, McCarthy characterized Obama as a radical and a socialist, and authored a book alleging that Obama was advancing a "Sharia Agenda". He authored another book calling for Obama's impeachment. He defended false claims that the Affordable Care Act would lead to "death panels", and promoted a conspiracy theory that Bill Ayers, co-founder of the militant radical left-wing organization Weather Underground, had authored Obama's autobiography Dreams from My Father.

 During Donald Trump's presidency, McCarthy defended Trump before his first impeachment, but before his second impeachment, wrote that he had "committed an impeachable offense."

 This article is McCarthy’s view on what he posits are most likely valid legal reasons the DOJ has for indicting Trump about his mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.  McCarthy also elaborates on what he considers fraudulent claims by Trump about the stolen 2020 election.

 Missing from McCarthy’s discussion of the unsuccessful legal machinations by Trump lawyers to prove election fraud, is any mention of the anti-Trump media covering up and disparaging the news of Hunter Biden’s laptop and Joe Biden’s complicity, and the impact that this open knowledge would have had on key swing states.

 Let’s remember, if the news about Hunter’s laptop was not suppressed by the anti-Trump media just before the 2020 election, Joe Biden would never have been elected.  And all you have to do is look at the numbers.

 Biden won the electoral college in 2020 by 306 to 232, with 270 electoral votes necessary to win.  This included Arizona with 11 electoral votes with 10,457 winning popular votes; Georgia 10 electoral, 12,670 popular; Pennsylvania 20 electoral, 81,660 popular; Wisconsin 10 electoral, 20,682 popular.  These four states add up to 51 electoral votes, and would have given Trump a winning total of 283.  The total popular vote in the four states necessary to attain these 51 electoral votes would have been 125,469 out of the 18,360,000 total votes cast, or less than 7 tenths of one percent of the total votes cast in these states.

 It is pretty obvious that these small popular voter margins would have easily been overcome, and Trump would have been re-elected president, if the truth about Hunter Biden’s laptop had not been suppressed by our dishonest politicians, mainstream media and big tech.  There’s no way of proving this, of course, - and no recourse in the courts at this point, and the FBI is still sitting on Hunter’s laptop, but the numbers don’t lie.  Perhaps the full extent of the 2020 election news suppression will be revealed once the Congress becomes honest again.

  https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/09/will-trump-be-indicted/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NR%20Daily%20Saturday%20New%202022-09-24&utm_term=NRDaily-Smart

 Ray Gruszecki

September 25, 2022

Religion in the U.S. – Pew Research

 

Religion in the U.S. – Pew Research

 In depth study by Pew Research on the future of religion in the U.S.

 It takes a few hours to absorb.

 “All the projections start from the current religious composition of the U.S. population, taking account of religious differences by age and sex. Then, they factor in birth rates and migration patterns. Most importantly, they incorporate varying rates of religious switching – movement into and out of broad categories of religious identity – to model what the U.S. religious landscape would look like if switching stayed at its recent pace, continued to speed up (as it has been doing since the 1990s), or suddenly halted.”

 “The decline of Christianity and the rise of the “nones” may have complex causes and far-reaching consequences for politics, family life and civil society. However, theories about the root causes of religious change and speculation about its societal impact are not the focus of this report. The main contribution of this study is to analyze recent trends and show how the U.S. religious landscape would shift if they continued.”

 “These projections indicate the U.S. might be following the path taken over the last 50 years by many countries in Western Europe that had overwhelming Christian majorities in the middle of the 20th century and no longer do. In Great Britain, for example, “nones” surpassed Christians to become the largest group in 2009, according to the British Social Attitudes Survey.5 In the Netherlands, disaffiliation accelerated in the 1970s, and 47% of adults now say they are Christian.”

 https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/09/13/modeling-the-future-of-religion-in-america/#h-scenario-assumptions-and-projection-results

  Ray Gruszecki

September 17, 2022

Anonymity and Privacy on the Web

 

Anonymity and Privacy on the Web

 Most “normal” computer users these days default to whatever “free” web browsers and search engines they are guided to by Microsoft or Google when they first set up their computers and networks. (or have their 12 year old grandkids set their computers up for them.).  This “normally results in the use of the Google or Edge web browser, and Google as a search engine.

 These “normal” users are now targets for big tech ads and tracking.  Every time a mouse is clicked using these “free” default programs, there is a “ka-ching” somewhere in the background, and with prolonged use, the big tech companies generate more information about these users than their parents ever knew, or that they knew about themselves.  All of this with the goal of selling them something.

 There are ways and alternatives of avoiding all of this intrusion of privacy.  Two quick and simple alternate means are to replace the Google web browser with the Brave browser, and to replace the Google search engine with Duck-Duck-Go, (I know, - strange name), both of which do not track users. These are easily downloaded and installed by regular users.  References are given below.

 If someone wants to go further and attain complete anonymity on the web, there are methods like Linux based TAILS, which accesses a computer from a flash drive and uses hacker techniques like the TOR browser to anonymously access the whole web, including the deep and dark web, and then leave the computer without a trace.  Again, references are given below for study and access to this methodology. CAUTION: THE DARK WEB CONTAINS SOME INFORATION OF DUBIOUS LEGALITY. 

 

 Two easily installed replacements which quickly and easily increase privacy on the web

 Brave Web Browser   https://brave.com/      (Instead of Google)

 Duck Duck Go Search Engine            https://duckduckgo.com/        (Instead of Google)

 

 All you ever wanted to know about really staying anonymous on the web, and accessing the whole web.

 TAILS – Great, easy to use system for staying anonymous on the web’

 Tails is an acronym for ” The Amnesic Incognito Live System”, you can run this OS from a DVD, USB memory stick or SD card.

 https://tails.boum.org/about/index.en.html

 https://www.techno360.in/tails-os/

 https://www.blackdown.org/linux-tails-review/

 https://cybersecurity.att.com/blogs/security-essentials/achieving-online-anonymity-using-tails-os

 https://www.level-up.cc/curriculum/safer-workspaces/tails/input/staying-anonymous-using-tails/

 

 TAILS includes the TOR browser, TOR search engine, TOR encryption and TOR Onion services. TOR in an acronym for The Onion Router

 https://torsearch.com/

 https://tor-browser.su/en/

 https://support.torproject.org/onionservices/

  

The Deep and Dark Web

 Please note: the Dark Web contains masses of information, and some information that you really do not want to know.  Nasty, illegal stuff that criminals use.  It’s there, and best left alone. 

 https://pixelprivacy.com/vpn/how-to-access-the-dark-web/

 You can’t access the Dark Web with a normal browser. Those who access the Dark Web do so via the TOR (The Onion Router) browser.  So, TAILS works just fine in accessing the Dark Web.

 Ray Gruszecki

September 8, 2022