{"id":207639,"date":"2020-05-22T06:25:54","date_gmt":"2020-05-22T06:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=207639"},"modified":"2020-05-24T07:27:49","modified_gmt":"2020-05-24T07:27:49","slug":"covid-19-has-replaced-osama-bin-laden-as-the-fall-guy-for-lost-liberties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=207639","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 Has Replaced Osama bin Laden as the Fall Guy for Lost Liberties"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Robert Bridge \u2013 Strategic Culture May 21, 2020<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-206871\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/social_distance.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/social_distance.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/social_distance-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The government and media have dumped at the doorstep of the coronavirus many of the political, economic and social afflictions that are now ravaging much of the global population. In reality, they need to point the finger at themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">As the mainstream media saturates the airwaves with a daily overdose of coronavirus fear porn, the majority of journalists have given their governments a free pass to enact any draconian measure they see fit. From the closure of public beaches to forbidding power boats on waterways, the insanity seems to have no limits or logic. And as the media would have us believe, it was the coronavirus that enacted these measures, as opposed to living, breathing, unthinking humans.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Anti lockdown Protest went well. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Antilockdown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Antilockdown<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/COVID19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#COVID19<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ArG1GDExnb\">pic.twitter.com\/ArG1GDExnb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Dave (@rundaverun93) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rundaverun93\/status\/1261709569925021697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 16, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">What dirty deeds does the new and improved villain of our times stand accused of? First and foremost, the coronavirus singlehandedly destroyed the global economy as only \u2018essential\u2019 businesses may continue to operate. Thus, thousands of small businesses have been ordered shuttered, de facto destroyed, while countless numbers of people around the world have been ordered to \u2018shelter-in-place\u2019 with dwindling financial reserves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Again, this wanton destruction of a large swath of the economy is not due to bad government decision-making, at least according to the media, but Covid-19.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">\u2018Jobless claims jump another 4.4 million \u2014 26 million Americans have lost their jobs to the coronavirus,\u2019 <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/jobless-claims-jump-another-44-million-25-million-americans-have-lost-their-jobs-to-the-coronavirus-2020-04-23\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>reported<\/strong><\/span><\/a> MarketWatch. \u2018It could take two years for the economy to recover from the coronavirus pandemic,\u2019 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/it-could-take-two-years-for-the-economy-to-recover-from-the-coronavirus-pandemic-137058\">screamed<\/a><\/strong><\/span> another headline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">What dirty deeds does the new and improved villain of our times stand accused of? First and foremost, the coronavirus singlehandedly destroyed the global economy as only \u2018essential\u2019 businesses may continue to operate. Thus, thousands of small businesses have been ordered shuttered, de facto destroyed, while countless numbers of people around the world have been ordered to \u2018shelter-in-place\u2019 with dwindling financial reserves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Again, this wanton destruction of a large swath of the economy is not due to bad government decision-making, at least according to the media, but Covid-19.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">\u2018Jobless claims jump another 4.4 million \u2014 26 million Americans have lost their jobs to the coronavirus,\u2019 <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.marketwatch.com\/story\/jobless-claims-jump-another-44-million-25-million-americans-have-lost-their-jobs-to-the-coronavirus-2020-04-23\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>reported<\/strong><\/span><\/a> MarketWatch. \u2018It could take two years for the economy to recover from the coronavirus pandemic,\u2019 <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/it-could-take-two-years-for-the-economy-to-recover-from-the-coronavirus-pandemic-137058\">screamed<\/a><\/strong><\/span> another headline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Perhaps it was also the coronavirus that decided that it would make perfect sense to keep abortion clinics and state-owned liquor stores open during the pandemic, while shutting down houses of worship and gun shops. Clearly, the coronavirus is an equitable and non-partisan distributor of pain and suffering!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">As was the case when battling the evil forces of terrorism (which has been strangely quiet lately, by the way), simply uttering \u2018coronavirus\u2019 has the same numbing effect as reciting the name \u2018Osama bin Laden.\u2019 It justifies every means to an end \u2013 up to and including the destruction of civil liberties \u2013 without the need for any public debate on the matter. This is reminiscent of the hysteria, complete with mysterious anthrax attacks, which accompanied passage of the PATRIOT Act, the freedom-killing legislation that was rammed through Congress in the weeks following the terrorist attacks of 9\/11 without a formal reading by lawmakers. And just like post-9\/11, when people question the draconian coronavirus measures they are vilified and accused of being \u2018conspiracy theorists\u2019 and even \u2018terrorists.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The result of millions of people struggling to survive without employment and amid \u2018shelter-in-place\u2019 orders is a huge spike in the number of deaths from alcohol, drugs and suicide.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">\u201cWe see very troubling signs across the nation,\u201d Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz, assistant secretary at Department of Health and Human Services and head of the\u00a0Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration,<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong> <a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/health\/2020\/05\/08\/coronavirus-pandemic-boosts-suicide-alcohol-drug-death-predictions\/3081706001\/\">told<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>USAToday. \u201cThere\u2019s more substance abuse, more overdoses, more domestic violence\u00a0and neglect and abuse of children.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">In other words, the death and destruction from the draconian measures enacted to defeat the coronavirus, which never came remotely close to being as deadly as the experts predicted it would be, will prove deadlier than the disease itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Nearly 5,000 people took part in a rally against <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/coronavirus?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#coronavirus<\/a> restrictions in <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Stuttgart?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Stuttgart<\/a> on Saturday, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Germany?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Germany<\/a>&#39;s largest such protest over the weekend.<\/p>\n<p>On March 11, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Merkel?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Merkel<\/a> said that the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/lockdown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#lockdown<\/a> measures were necessary in order &quot;to win time in the fight against the virus.&quot; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dP5egTNKBV\">pic.twitter.com\/dP5egTNKBV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Ruptly (@Ruptly) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Ruptly\/status\/1262150806414876672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 17, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">And the asinine regulations are not just being implemented in glorious nation America. Across the pond, Germans, for example, have watched in horror as their beloved Oktoberfest, the annual beer-drinking festival that brings in an estimated 1 billion dollars to the local economy, has been cancelled for the first time since World War II. That is something that not even Al Qaeda in its <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/worldnews\/europe\/germany\/6240254\/Oktoberfest-security-tightened-after-al-Qaeda-arrests.html\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>heyday<\/strong><\/span><\/a> could accomplish. Now it is all kaput as some 1,600 breweries in Germany are forced to lay off workers and slashed production as dire economic conditions<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong> <a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.strategic-culture.org\/news\/2020\/04\/20\/merkel-survives-coronapocalypse-but-eu-wont\/\">roll across<\/a><\/strong><\/span> the entire EU. Of course, all of this is the fault of the coronavirus.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SocialDistancing?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#SocialDistancing<\/a> for <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/pubs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#pubs<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/terras?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#terras<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/horeca?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#horeca<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/recycling?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#recycling<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/pool?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#pool<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/noodles?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#noodles<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Corona?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Corona<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/covid19?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#covid19<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bwY3ANOb2D\">pic.twitter.com\/bwY3ANOb2D<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Silke Conrad (@SilkeCo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SilkeCo\/status\/1261353869881348096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 15, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">And much like the post 9\/11 days, coronavirus has its own share of \u2018covidiots,\u2019 with people going to bizarre, even fascist lengths to enforce social-distancing guidelines. Back in the \u2018sane\u2019 days when the world was trembling at the mere sound of \u2018Osama,\u2019 some people actually<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong> <a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2003\/US\/02\/11\/emergency.supplies\/\">sealed their homes<\/a><\/strong><\/span> in plastic and duct tape to protect against an anthrax attack that never materialized. Today, masked drivers are literally <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ozarksfirst.com\/life-health\/coronavirus\/police-say-excessive-wearing-of-n95-mask-contributed-to-driver-passing-out-crashing-car\/\">passing out behind the wheel<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, inside of locked cars, due to a lack of oxygen, if not brains.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">But unfortunately, those aren\u2019t the sort of \u2018lawbreakers\u2019 that the <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=aR3uA2eLgbk\">\u2018<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Karen<\/strong><\/span>s\u2019<\/a> of our days will be snitching on, exactly as they were doing as we were trying to \u2018bend the curve\u2019 on terrorism. These days, members of the citizen Gestapo are peering through closed blinds, counting whether or not the neighbors have more than 10 people in their homes, which is enough to <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newshub.co.nz\/home\/new-zealand\/2020\/05\/coronavirus-parties-social-events-limited-to-10-people-under-alert-level-2.html\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>justify<\/strong><\/span><\/a> the police entering your home in New Zealand without a warrant. The dawn of this \u2018<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/news-and-politics\/2002\/07\/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-snitching-on-your-neighbors.html\">snitch state<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u2019 largely began in the aftermath of 9\/11 psychosis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Now that the world is staring down the double-barrel of yet another economic depression and all of its attendant symptoms, fear and hysteria continues to be in the driver\u2019s seat. Yet instead of being afraid of bad decisions by bad government officials, the same individuals who led the world on a wild goose chase known as the \u2018war on terror,\u2019 we continue to heed their advice, while believing that the coronavirus is responsible for the mayhem. It is not, no more than Osama bin Laden was \u2018responsible\u2019 for the destruction of our civil liberties post-9\/11. We did that all by ourselves through our passive consent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.strategic-culture.org\/news\/2020\/05\/21\/covid-19-has-replaced-osama-bin-laden-as-the-fall-guy-for-lost-liberties\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Much like the post 9\/11 days, coronavirus has its own share of \u2018covidiots,\u2019 with people going to bizarre, even fascist lengths to enforce social-distancing guidelines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61,105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-207639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-Commentary","category-coronavirus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=207639"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207639\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207643,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207639\/revisions\/207643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=207639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=207639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=207639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}