Why the post Covid 19 world will likely be a petty, angry and nasty place.

https://youtu.be/yxZNFSk3jmw

The lock down will certainly end. That’s the easy peasy part. Rather the really hard nut to crack for politicians will be restoring some semblance of normality to the post Covid 19 social economic landscape. For many numbering in the millions here and everywhere else around the world. Life is unlikely to return to what it was again. As in my considered assessment many of the Draconian measures taken to deal with the Covid 19 pandemic has literally destroyed jobs along with extinguishing all hope of economic recovery for the foreseeable future.

It would be foolhardy for anyone to assume all these negative developments would not somehow affect the average mind adversely.

As when people go thru the emotional meat grinder of financial hardships and suffer. That sort of tautology only corrodes their trust in officialdom, robs them of their humanity and leaves them feeling angry, resentful and mistrustful of authority. Often prolonged periods of financial hardships can only breed cynicism and apathy. 

In the absence of a steady job to provide a stable income in the post Covid 19 world. The gradual realization of a once rational, efficient and reliable world so many lived, worked and played in will be shattered irrevocably.

My fear is blind anger and irrationality is bound to creep into the post covid 19 social economic landscape for many who may suddenly find themselves marginalized and disenfranchised further by the post Covid 19 economic new order – where the rich will grow richer while the poor have to settle for crumbs….and eventually the masses will look for someone to blame for the mess of the century.

Attitudes will harden along with xenophobia rearing it’s ugly multi hydra heads of racism, bigotry and simply the overpowering emotional need for millions to find explanations and some form of closure to account for their loss – wild and baseless conspiracy theories will spread like wild fire and consume all rational and level headed voices. Even now mind bending.conspiracy theories are cropping up in socialmedia. “How did Wuhan contain the outbreak so efficiently?” “The Chinese weaponized the virus to weaken our economies and subjugate us all!”

Against this chaotic dystopian landscape con man leaders are likely to play the masses for political gains. So much so, right or wrong, truth or lies will be so blurred that at the end, it matters little…all that counts is finding a scapegoat! It gives me very little pleasure to pen this sad entry and if there’s any redemption it’s probably the hope that my assessment for such a bleak post Covid 19 society will eventually turn out to be dead wrong!

 

EP 9990295919859 – Alsace

Is the lock down deadlier than catching COVID?

IS THE LOCK DOWN DEADLIER THAN CATCHING COVID 19?

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30460-8/fulltext

Could be….as I haven’t seen my neighbor for a while. And why is that so important? Because he could well be dead! I am serious. As since the lock down started my neighbor has been gorging himself on two million food Panda deliveries and washing it down with enough beer to fill a swimming pool. Coupled to that the perpetual drone of his TV  suggest he’s super glued to the idiot box…I don’t know how much my neighbor weighs in. Maybe the same category as Jabba the hutt of Star Wars…but since he’s hardly ever moves from his TV couch except to gorge on more more crisps and beer…maybe he now weighs a couple of metric tons more.

Late February this year, right before EU countries mandated various forms of lockdowns, The Lancet published a paper documenting the psychological impact of quarantine. The findings offer an intriguing insight into what is simmering in millions of households around the world.

In summary, and perhaps unsurprisingly what the Lancet report categorically concludes is being quarantined for prolonged period could well be MORE hazardous than catching COVID 19. As being locked down is very likely to exacerbate a wide range of symptoms of psychological stress and physical disorder, including restlessness, insomnia, stress, anxiety, anger, irritability, emotional exhaustion, depression, eating disorders and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Low mood and irritability specifically stand out as being very common, the study observes.

To put it all in one sentence – man is simply not designed very well to go thru a lock down. And that realization is not surprising at all. As even I struggle in my own way with the lock down. As in my vocation as a planter it’s not possible to work from home…to amplify the sense of isolation and forlornness. My family is in Singapore and I haven’t watched TV for over thirty years! (don’t even know how to operate the remote control)…I past my days listening mostly to the BBC. I like the audio format as it allows me to occupy myself with other things. Recently I got jumped by a bunch of low lives muggers. Fought them off decently enough. But that left me with my hands all slashed and so I can’t do many things like take apart my car engine and put it back again or for that matter anything that requires me to strain myself….but fortunately I happen to be a prolific reader of books who reckons he can even write. So that I guess smoothens out the rough edges of being marooned in my own mind….there’s even a kernel of good news that should this lock down be drawn out longer.. I may even dedicate myself to writing another E-book. I don’t even know what the plot is…could well be another toe curling sappy love story, a thriller or maybe I will try my hand at a spot of comedy lashed with satire by writing about the sand box politics of a joining a small village lodge….I really have no idea. But whatever and however that story may unfurl. One thing is certain..Chapter 1. Will really have to begin by me paying a visit to my neighbor and offering him some sponge cake….like I said. I haven’t seen him for days and the hum of his TV seems to be drone on endlessly….maybe he’s dead!

Ah! There you have it! It’s going to be a whodunnit thriller after all!

EP 99038581000385

Herd Immunity

There’s an old Afrikaner idiom. It goes something like this….a little bit of blood and tears and you run and hide under mama’s bed. The underlying message in this seemingly benign folklore is very powerful. As what it suggest is that we should NEVER turn away from anything or anyone that has the power to disturb either our sense or sensibilities. Unfortunately for most Europeans with the exception of the Swedes and Norwegians, death seems to be a subject that they rather not deal it. And their allergy to inconvenient questions doesn’t mean they stand on a higher moral pedestal than those who are willing to do so…it simply means like the Afrikaner folklore. They have problems overcoming their fears when it comes to a little blood….and this underscores the crux of my point – it takes incredible courage, sagacity and intellect to be able to stare unblinkingly into that which is the sum of your fears….if one doesn’t have the courage to do so…perhaps one should have no business whatsoever to do with leadership and decision making that affects millions of lives. At least have the wisdom to bow out and as the Americans would say, leave it to the professionals…this is what the Brits should have done. But instead true to the spirit of the boy who ran under mama’s bed to cry. They lost their nerve and now many will have to pay for their lack of moral fiber.

EP 9903857800148

Part 2 of the corona tales – the exit strategy (if you can find it!)

What I really resent about the ongoing Covid 19 narrative is anyone who remotely suggest easing movement control or god forbid raise ‘herd immunity.’ As a suggested solution is automatically labelled Mengelian (Yes! Go look up that word. I dare you!)….which is a rather curious response to me. Only because that sort of thoughtless response automatically assumes that anyone proposing herd immunity in any shape or form is necessarily callous and blasé and possibly evil!

What however remains palpably callous bordering on gross negligence is when one sanctions mass quarantine measures at great cost of jobs and businesses without even bothering to consider whether such a nationnwide paralysing strategy would produce the pay outs. Or whether the effort would be socially or economically commensurated to justify such draconion moves….yes by all means. Do what it means to save lives…Only do it all with the full knowledge that what really makes the effort worthy or just a giant waste of time and money is only as good as what the exit strategy is likely to produce…..there’s a cautionary African limerick that goes something like this….tis easy to get yourself into a sweet hole…only be careful when you want to find the door out of this hole!

Well, we might all speculate till the end of time what and possibly who anonymous (fortunately!) poet really meant…but as nations thru out the world struggle to craft an exit strategy out of the labyrinth of the Coronavirus conundrum….what’s beginning to emerge slowly but surely is no one really has a clue on how to pull off a successful exit plan without ending up in square one just like snakes and ladders.

EP 990188384999748.A

The end HAS to be very near for the US inspired petrodollar hedge.

Oil is trading at a historical low never seen before since the invention of the internal combustion engine. This presages new economic challenges for the US. Because it’s economic well being is heavily weighted on petrol dollars. You don’t need a PhD in economics to understand the price mechanism of petrol dollars and how it plays such a preponderant role in the propping up the US economy. Generally the rule of thumb goes like this – for every US dollar in circulation in the US. There’s actually $999 that at any given time is locked into oil. And this allows the US treasury (FED) to leverage on petrol dollars as a sort of de facto reserve like gold or sovereign wealth fund. Now when the price of oil goes into negative territory. Then what happens is the petrol dollar economy suddenly runs the risk of collapsing and this means the FED can no longer pursue a strategy of printing money without running the real risk of hyperinflation or having to raise interest rates. That’s bc there’s nothing to act as a hedge or counter weight. This means the US will have to buy ALL the surplus crude including EU Brent Sweet just to stay in the game. China knows this only too well. Infact China needs cheap oil like a starving man needs bread…..but she’s still not buying. So this should prompt anyone who is genuinely interested in making serious money to ask WHY?

This is very interesting from a geo economic analysis. Bc if China can successfully destroy the petrol dollar economy…it would literally spell the economic demise of the US as a superpower.

Trump & Clorox

THE CURIOUS CASE OF TRUMP SUGGESTING DRINKING CLOROX TO CURE COVID 19.

Unless you’re living in a cave with no internet connection. You would have certainly heard of Thursday night’s disastrous White house briefing. In which Trump suggested injecting disinfectant to treat patients suffering from COVID-19. Thereafter. Presumably realizing his monumental public relations melt down. The president promptly shuffled off stage and shortly thereafter the white house press corps announced that he would be scaling back future press briefings – which to me is definitely a bigger disaster than his recommendation to drink Clorox. As what this means is Trump would no longer be staging his daily stand up comedy show to entertain millions who have no other choice but to endure a laughterless and boring lock down.

While hardcore critics of Trump continue to insist he’s a psychopathic narcississ who regularly lives in his deluded world of make belief and half truths. I am not so sure about Trump being completely unhinged…only last week. During a conversation with a friend who speculated on his real motives behind his bizarre behaviour and comments. I reminded my friend that Trump’s Alma Mater just happens to be the same pedigree lineage that produced luminaries the likes of Warren Buffet and Elon Musk who all graduated from the very same.prestigious school Trump graduated from!… namely the Ivy League Wharton in Penn state. Which incidentally is about three times harder to get in than Yale or even Harvard and about fifteen times harder to gain entrance than Oxford or even Cambridge….so this begs the question. How the hell can an Ivy leaguer like Trump go around spouting red neck trailer trash narratives that puts him in the same ilk as folk who can’t even add or subtract without relying on their fingers and toes. This to me remains one of the most enduring mystery like the Bermuda triangle and the Yeti and whereabouts of Atlantis. Coupled to that how can a seemingly irredeemable idiot run a fortune 500 company! How is that even statistically possible!

Like I said. The man…Trump is definitely a walking Da Vinci code mystery. As it’s conceivable no one will ever successful fathom out how much of what he says and does is crafted or for that matter really him….and just in case you’re thinking this is all a big joke. Think again!

As the very same man who recently recommended everyone to chug down Clorox cocktail on live TV just happens to be the same individual who also has his fingers on all the colorful buttons to launch the entire US inventory of nuclear missiles….with these thoughts. Rest well and may I take this opportunity to wish all our Muslim readers thru out the world….Happy Ramadhan and may the spirit of peace and love and charity be with you always.

EP 990938581104849 – A

Bukowski

Who will pay for YOU staying at home while you pick on your big toe play perpetual games and get fat?

WHO WILL PAY FOR STAYING AT HOME AND GETTING FAT?

Just yesterday. A friend told me he was interested in buying a piece of land. It seems the landowner has fallen on hard times and is forced to sell ‘cheap’ due to the Covid pandemic….I told my friend to WAIT till the middle of next year and reassured him that only he would probably be able to shave off another 50% from the selling price!

My friend was understandably shocked! And this brings me to the point of this essay. Perhaps it is a good time to start thinking about how the government (and this even includes the backdoor variety) is going to repay the humongous debt of staying at home thru out this pandemic.
It’s cogent bc classical income tax won’t be able to cover that huge hole, not by itself! As when we look back at what we could have done and not one fine day against the backdrop of COVID-19 – it is conceivable no one in the cockpit of power (if there’s anyone there!) has really taken the trouble to crunch the numbers to really figure out – HOW or even WHO is going to pay for millions of obliterated jobs and business opportunities along with perhaps a tsunami of foreclosures and bankruptcies that is likely to follow in the wake of this historic pandemic.

If the world economy is in the pink of heatlh, that question would hardly have the power to disturb. But oil is trading at ‘buy one barrel get one free!’ levels. As for the entire commodities market it’s shot as well and everything else in between seems to be languishing in the doldrums. Perhaps the perverse outcome of all this is that one day we will finally realize that to prescribe a cure for this pandemic we got so terribly fixated on that ONE and only goal and disregarded all others that we ended up solving ONE problem only to create a hundred other intractable problems that we could have done without.

As for the question – when is the best time to pick up bargains at rock bottom prices. It certainly isn’t this or even next month or this year either. Wait! Till the middle of next year. As that just around the time when the pain will heighten to unbearable levels…trust me. The best is yet to come.

As for the question WHO will pay? Well maybe if we think long and hard about this, we would finally realize it has to really get squeezed out from one unthinkable source…..YOU!

EP 9984900385801948 –

Things going thru my head.

The good thing is that, they didn’t go all the way to kill me. So what they really meant to do was to soften me up with fear.

I am scared. Well they cut my hands bad enough for me to just spend hours lying in darkness mulling over really evil thoughts.

I don’t want to ever go down that dark forlorn neighborhood of hate and revenge.

But I can’t help it. It’s as though I am sucked in and the walls are simply too smooth and slippery to hold on …like maybe the texture inside a shit pot. So I spend hours getting sucked into this tunnel of darkness where I just lie in darkness thinking about things I rather not think abt.

I know…I write slot abt strength and the will to power and all that, but suddenly, it all rings hollow.

Maybe I’ve got high on my own bullshit juice. In the way a two bit drug peddler gets hooked on his own shit… because from where I am lying down in the dark watching my thoughts swing in and out…it certainly looks like shit to me.

Why we write…

WHY WE WRITE?

The coronavirus has transformed life as we know it…perhaps even forever . Everything has run aground and stopped dead in its tracks….this atmosphere of stasis is climatic as it probably is oppressing..it’s like being submerged in thick and creamy custard. QOne can even taste it’s heaviness in the air… we’re imprisoned in our homes and the future feels unhinged like something broken.

Why even bother to write at a time like this?

For one, we are living through a historical moment in human history. If you didn’t know….every generation believes it’s special than the one that came before us…so we probably NEED to believe this is new. Or something the world has never seen before. But that’s not true…I’ve seen all this and much more…I seen prophecies of entire towns being rendered barren by pestilence and disease…seen wars that still leave a lingering smell of burning flesh in my mind….touched the crumbly remnants of the empire of the bones even…Why write you ask. Because the generation AFTER us will probably have to go thru what we went thru…think about in next hundred odd years in the future digital archeologist and historians may well sieve thru the acres of journals, essays, poems and musings that ordinary folk like you and me are creating now…desperate souls who are just chucking like a marooned man a message in a bottle and leaving it all to the caprice of the seas and winds to take it whereber it eventually washes up….Why write?……to bear witness to the storm of fears, hopes and joys that is the story of man….to stand in the very eye of the storm like the mythical Al Saphir…why write? Perhaps to help us make sense of a topsy turvy world and even kiss it all better..maybe that’s why one HAS to write.

Why Write – EP 99939002847001.

Getting back to my old self..

It’s embarrassing for me to write this…but I am afraid. I really got to get back into the man who will just brush off the dust and get right back again…he did come out that day when they trashed me. I could feel him canalling thru my veins like molten steel trying to so very hard to come out. When he did. He told them all – ‘I’ve find you all and do terrible things to you and those who are dearest to you.’ they trashed him. But he just laughed at them….he was there…the man of steel.

That’s when they backed off even though I was covered head to toe with blood…they were shit scared!

I just need to find him and snugly slide right into him with a click and I will no longer be afraid any more…

Long time no see

If you’re wondering why I haven’t been writing lately…I got jumped by six machete weilding gangstas…no, it didn’t go down well with me. They roughed me up bad. And I had to spend.time.in hospital….anyway nice to see u all again.