Deadly effects of Shutdowns on Canadians

 Copied from the Facebook post of someone who goes by the name of “Problematic Voice”.

According to Statistics Canada, between April 2020 and 2021 there were 5,535 excess mortality deaths in Canada among Canadians in the age group of 0-64 years.

1,380 deaths in this age range were caused by Covid19. That accounts for 24.9% of them. 

4,155 deaths in this age range… or in fact 75.1% of them… were caused by “other factors”… to a large extent deaths caused by drug overdoses and alcohol intoxication. 

In other words, destroying jobs and access to social services en-masse drove more than 4,100 to despair and hopelessness which ended in deaths due to alcohol and drug use.

Or to put it more bluntly, lockdown and shutdown measures killed 3 times more Canadians between 0-64, than Covid.

We haven’t yet seen an official release of figures that I am aware of, for the number of suicide deaths for 2020… or what they will be in the years to come as inflation caused by what was a very clearly deliberate economic destruction becomes apparent. Many articles released have claimed that suicide deaths globally have went down in 2020… but are expected to rise in the years to come.

Another statistic I haven’t yet seen but would like to see, are the effects of delayed cancer treatments and surgeries and other medical procedures that were canceled in many parts of the country. 

One such area was Vancouver, which interestingly enough had a large scale field hospital set up at the Convention Centre to take in an overflow of Covid patients, which Alhamdullilah wasn’t used.

One could very well ask the question why, despite this space being available to take in Covid patients, were surgeries and other important medical operations denied to people who needed them. Clearly there was enough space for both them and Covid patients. 

Covid is no joke. It is a deadly disease and it has killed some 26,500 Canadians. An absolute majority of them were over the age of 64 and also in senior care settings.

Our government could have protected these people. 

Earlier in 2020 I recommended nationalizing these places of care and effectively quarantining the residents by hiring staff to live with them for months at a time and pay them quadruple or quintuple times their salary to make it worthwhile for them, as well as construct quarantine facilities to voluntarily move in others who were in the elderly or other vulnerable to Covid categories, and have all outside products delivered subjected to a strict process to make sure they were safe to consume and handle. This definitely would have cost millions if not billions of dollars… money instead that is being currently spent to try to dig people out of the aftermath of the economic implosion that was done in the last 17 months. 

An economic destruction that threw millions of people out of work and caused food insecurity to rise from 1 in 8 to 1 in 7 Canadians and which caused the mental health of our children and youth to take a beating like rarely ever before. An economic destruction that simultaneously also caused the wealth of some of the wealthiest people in this country to rise by several billion dollars.

This is one of the reasons why I and many others have claimed from the very beginning that the Shutdowns and Lockdowns are not about protecting public health. The results of the disastrous effects of these state actions are slowly becoming apparent with time.

Sources 

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210712/dq210712b-eng.htm

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/beta.ctvnews.ca/local/british-columbia/2021/4/12/1_5384837.html

https://www.coastreporter.net/bc-news/convention-centre-repurposed-as-covid-field-hospital-to-close-in-vancouver-3953302

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/beta.ctvnews.ca/national/canada/2020/9/30/1_5126247.html

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.bnnbloomberg.ca/grocery-bills-in-canada-to-rise-as-pandemic-impacts-play-out-1.1533332.amp.html

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5945851

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/nationalpost.com/news/postpandemic/suicide-deaths-have-declined-during-the-pandemic-but-experts-warn-the-toll-might-be-yet-to-come/wcm/be92a3f0-94ab-4d70-845a-a1cfc8ef5689/amp/

Unlike the other above mentioned sources from mostly neo-liberal mainstream media groups, the one below is from an organization that has a goal of opposing lockdowns and has what seems to be a politically conservative/right-wing orientation. I disagree with lots of their conclusions on other topics and am not promoting them, like I don’t promote the mainstream media.

I don’t want to claim that this makes it less biased than the sources cited above, because for anyone in 2021 Canada to claim that our media sources are unbiased and not pushing a narrative, is either ignorant to the point of incredulity or willfully choosing to ignore reality. 

However, due to its bias that runs in a direction that is separate from the bias that is presented by our mainstream media sources I am including it in its own category here: 

https://tnc.news/2021/07/18/lockdowns-killed-more-canadians-under-65-than-covid-19-statscan/

One in seven Canadians going hungry

 One in seven Canadians are reporting food insecurity- ie not having enough to eat- during this pandemic.

This is being caused by the Shutdowns, which throw millions of people in this country out of work. Our so-called “health experts” like “doctor” Teresa Tam and “doctor” Roussin and other “medical advisors” evidently are too stupid to realize that lack of sufficient nutrition can not only harm people’s health but also can be deadly. Either that, or they have less knowledge than the average child in middle school who by that age realizes that without having a job one can not earn money to pay for food. 

Coincidentally, these pathetic clowns not only did not advise mask wearing until late March but one of them even came out on national tv to tell people not to wear them unless they are symptomatic. 

The people who making it these policies and the political leaders who enact them, are either clueless idiots or psychopaths who are actively trying to destroy us.

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/beta.ctvnews.ca/national/canada/2020/9/30/1_5126247.html

You don’t need to do this. You can and should get help.

This story is 6 years old, but I think really important to read and share.

Some people- for reasons very possibly beyond their control- struggle with really sick and twisted urges. Urges to rape, to torture, to molest, even to murder. To permanently scar if destroy the lives of kids. Whether caused by upbringing or some chemical imbalance in the brain or who knows what else, the science is still out on that.

These urges can be powerful and it is possible that with they may never go away.

However what isn’t inevitable is that they must be acted upon.

The man described in the article was well on his way to becoming a serial rapist if not a serial killer. He drove around in his car with pull ties, axes, and knives in his trunk, planning out the perfect murder. He even picked up a woman hitchhiker who, according to his own testimony, he intended to attack and murder but when she began talking to him he stopped himself and drove her home. She never realized how close she came to probably dying that night.

He knew that what he wanted to do was wrong, and struggled with depression and attempted suicide more than once.

He decided to do something. He checked himself into a Sexual Behaviour Clinic in Ottawa. He went for therapy, and learned to control these demons inside him.

Aside from his parents and the person he is currently dating, no one knows this side of him. Not even his employer, even though he has a job working with youth who are among the most at risk from people like him. And no one needs to know.

The clinic he went to works with people who are sexual offenders and tries to get them to reform. In my opinion, once a person has done something like a rape or murder they shouldn’t ever be released from prison and ideally should be put to death.

The really inspirational part though are people like this guy who check themselves in voluntarily, people who realize they have a real problem and who decide that they will GET HELP instead of harming another human being. People like that are in my view role models for the rest of us.

I don’t know who or how many people read my posts, but there is a possibility that one of you may have urges like this. Obsessions and wants and fantasies that you know are violent and wrong and that you know would traumatize or destroy another human being.

This doesn’t make you a bad person. This doesn’t make you despicable. This doesn’t make you evil.

It does mean however you probably need help.

It is possible to get help.

You don’t need to rape or to murder or to molest someone. You also don’t need to kill yourself. In fact, you shouldn’t do these things.

You don’t need to lose your freedom, your family, your job, your soul.

Help is out there and it’s your right and responsibility to get it.


https://globalnews.ca/news/1656981/i-thought-id-be-that-way-forever-how-do-you-treat-a-violent-sex-disorder/

Spanish Flu and Covid-19

I have seen this meme circulating pretty often online, with many of my friends- people who are good and kind and who want the best for humanity- posting it.

The argument basically is that lockdowns are necessary since the Spanish Flu- which did indeed kill millions around the globe- came in several waves and the second was most deadly. I guess the idea is that if the Lockdowns are maintained, less people will die.

However, this argument has a major flaw.

The Spanish Flu eventually disappeared, yes.
However, it did not disappear because of a vaccine. There was none developed. There wasn’t even a cure developed.

What happened is that hundreds of millions if not billions of people around the world got sick- and 20 million died- before eventually natural immunity was developed. A vaccine didn’t stop it. Neither did a medication. Natural immunity did.

Lockdowns didn’t ensure less people died. They only delayed the inevitable, because people in these regions eventually got the disease anyways from others.

That is also a “lesson of history”, and one that the meme did not point out.

Covid19 is a Coronavirus. The previous 2 deadly ones that circulated among human beings were SARS and MERS. There have been no vaccines or medications developed for them either.

The solution isn’t to follow a Swedish model and do more or less nothing and allow people to just catch it and die. No, I am not advocating this.

The solution in my view is to do what Taiwan and South Korea and Iceland are doing- mass testing, contact tracing, and quarantining of the sick... along with sensible social distancing that takes precautions but isn’t shutting down the entire economy. That is an approach that is clearly working both at keeping people alive, and at making sure they don’t get forced into poverty.

Putting entire nations under lockdowns and shut downs, and robbing hundreds of millions of people around the world of their jobs and the means to make a living for themselves and their families is not only destructive but it is also murderous. People in some parts of the world are already starving to death due to this. In other parts, they are getting evicted from their homes or having to skip meals in order to pay rent. There is a mental health crisis happening and there are suicides as people who can’t handle the pressure are breaking. Not only this, but after the Lockdowns come to an end, millions will have no jobs to go back to. This will only increase poverty and stress, and related deaths.

Canadian and American governments could have chosen to invest in developing mass tests. They chose not to. Instead, they chose to continue building weapons and pipelines. They also told us not to bother wearing face masks. Then, when this thing spread, they more or less shut down large sections of the economy, driving tens of millions of people into joblessness and poverty.
This isnt only happening in Canada and USA, it is also being replicated on a global scale.

https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.history.com/.amp/topics/world-war-i/1918-flu-pandemic

https://www.bcm.edu/departments/molecular-virology-and-microbiology/emerging-infections-and-biodefense/sars-virus

Allah SWT and justice – a short reflection

Reading the Quran, one can see many stories of entire nations that were destroyed by Allah SWT. The people of Noah pbuh. The people of Hud pbuh. The people of Lot pbuh. The people of Pharaoh who was opposed by Moses pbuh. Many others.

The destroyed nations all had one thing in common. They all rejected the messengers sent to them, and refused to worship Allah SWT. These messengers came to them, and called them out.

However, in most cases, they did something additional to preaching against the polytheism and lack of gratitude to their Creator that was running rampant in these places. Most of them also denounced the injustices and evils that were taking place in their societies. One thing that the rejectors (the word kafir in the Quran is often translated as “disbeliever” but it refers specifically to people who see the truth of Islam- something that every Prophet and messenger preached- but end up rejecting it anyways) of these nations had in common was arrogance.

When Noah pbuh preached the worship of the Almighty to his people, the notables sneered at him, saying “we see none who follow you, save the lowliest among us” (1). In other words, people whom that society saw as beneath them. Perhaps they were the poor. Perhaps the uneducated. Perhaps the slaves. The Quran doesn’t really clarify, and it isn’t our place to speculate. However, what is known is that among the very few there who followed Noah, it was the despised who did so.

The Ad people whom the prophet Hud pbuh came to, were notorious for their arrogance. They were asked by their prophet “Do you frivolously build on every high place a sign? And do you occupy castles, that haply you may ever abide?”(2) Though they were blessed cattle and children and gardens and springs, they were ungrateful to Allah SWT. They not were frivolous with their wealth, but would “strike as tyrants”(3). So they were not only consumed by pride and materialism, but would also attack other people.

While the people Lot pbuh are known to have been destroyed by Allah SWT to a large part for their same gender sexual intercourse (which, like male-female sexual intercourse outside of marriage, is condemned by Islaam as a sin), that isn’t the only reason they were called out by their prophet. They also would attack travelers and do them serious harm. Lot pbuh said unto them, “Truly you commit indecency such as none in the worlds committed before you. What! Do you come unto men, cut off the way and commit reprehensible deeds in your gatherings?”(4). What these “reprehensible deeds” were is unknown, but rape is implied given that they tried to forcefully commit sexual assault on the angels who came to get Lot pbuh and his family out of the city.

Pharaoh was one of the worst of the worst. In addition to proclaiming himself to be god, he also was perpetrating a policy of mass murder. In addition to enslaving the Israelite people in Egypt, Pharaoh also on at least two occasions (that the Quran tells us about), ordered their infant boys to be slaughtered. When Moses pbuh came to the Pharaoh, he called him out on his cruelty towards his oppressed people. In addition to being a mass murderer and a slaver, Pharaoh also was notoriously cruel towards anyone who disputed his arrogant proclamations of divinity. The sorcerers of his who decided to follow Moses pbuh were ordered to be put to death in a horrifying fashion. “I shall surely cut off your hands and feet on alternate sides, and I shall crucify you all!”(5) Unlike the nations of the previously mentioned prophets, Ancient Egypt was not destroyed but Pharaoh and his advisors and soldiers who went to pursue the Israelites, were.

These prophets- and all others- came with a message of monotheism. They called on the arrogant leaders of their time to turn to God. Even Pharaoh was called to submit, and given a chance at salvation. However, the prophets did not only address the lack of monotheistic belief that they witnessed in their surroundings. They also called out injustices. Slavery. Mass murder. Rape. Aggression. Arrogance. Very few people followed them, but more often than not it was the despised and persecuted and abused who did so.

A huge part of the submission to Allah SWT- something we are required to do if we are to have any chance of salvation- is not only praying and fasting and going on Pilgrimage, which are all extremely important and crucial things- but also just and decent treatment of other human beings. Those who are arrogant and abusive and oppressive towards the weak, are more often than not among those who end up rejecting God.

(1)11:26

(2) 26:128,129

(3) 26:130

(4) 29:28,29

7:125

Sorcerer martyrs

The ayahs in Surah Al-A’raf about the reversion and martyrdom of Pharaohs sorcerers hit me so hard when I read them today. 

Some of the greatest heroes of the story of Moses pbuh aren’t only him and Aaron pbuh and the Israelites who submitted to Allah SWT and the wife of the Pharaoh, but also these guys. 

They were sorcerers, literally worshipping devils and engaged in the dark arts. Their prestige came from helping an evil man convince everyone around him of his supposed divinity. Their entire lives were amassing riches by serving Shaitan. The furthest people one could imagine from any possible salvation. 

Yet when during the contest they were defeated by Allah SWTs Prophet, instead of stupidly clinging to their ways, they fell in prostration to the Creator whom they spent their whole lives ignorantly opposing. They didn’t try to excuse themselves, they didn’t try to find a loophole, they didn’t try to rationalize or minimize or defend their former bad habits. 

They submitted to God.

They not only gave up their evil ways. They also then faced this psychopathic tyrant who claimed himself to be divine. Whose megalomania caused him to order temples of himself to be built, and whose paranoia and cruelty caused him to order infants to be mass murdered. They probably knew very well what his reaction would be like. They submitted anyways.

Upon hearing his verdict and aware of the torturous death that was going to be their end on this planet, they maybe could have begged him to forgive them. Told him they made a mistake. Offered to try again. Or to just kill Moses and Aaron peace be upon them, on the spot.

They did none of that. They faced this psycho, and they told him exactly what he hated to hear. That this wasn’t any trick to steal his land, but instead that they realized who their real Lord is, and that they would turn to Him.

They then made their supplication to Allah SWT. Their final dua. Not for a miraculous escape. Not even for a more humane death. 

No. They made dua for patience and for the gift of dying as submitters. The gift of dying as Muslims.

How many of us have faith like that?

Surah al-A’raf, ayahs 118-126 (7:118-126)

Thus the truth came to pass, and whatsoever they did was shown to be false.

Then and there they were vanquished and turned back, humbled.

And the sorcerers were cast down prostrate.

They said “We believe in the Lord of the worlds,

The Lord of Moses and Aaron”.

Pharaoh said, “You believe in him before I grant you leave! This is surely a plot you have devised in the city, that you might expel its people therefrom. Soon you shall know.

I shall surely cut off your hands and feet on alternate sides; then I shall surely crucify you all!”

They said, “Truly we turn to our Lord”

You take vengeance upon us only because we believed in the signs of our Lord when they came unto us. Oh Lord, shower us with patience, and let us die as submitters.”

Book review of “The Young Turk’s Crime Against Humanity- The Armenian Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in the Ottoman Empire”

“The Young Turk’s Crime Against Humanity - the Armenian Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in the Ottoman Empire” by Turkish historian Taner Akçam, is a very detailed examination of documents issued by the Young Turk government during the First World War, which point to a systemic policy to deport and then murder vast numbers of Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire.
The telegrams and letters issued by government officials that gave orders for deportations, congratulated successes in “solving the Armenian problem” in areas where massacres and deportations succeeded in removing them, gave orders to deny assistance to starving Armenians interred in concentration camps, to distribute property left behind by those who were taken away, and to investigate and punish those who tried to help.
Outlined also is a very disturbing and disgusting practice in some areas of giving some Armenians the option of either converting to Islaam or being deported, and of children whose parents were murdered and were then made to convert and given away to families as young brides (girls) or farm labour (boys). Many other Armenian children were killed alongside their parents, in actions that sometimes included mass drownings. Many of those adults who were forcibly converted were later deported and killed anyway, as decisions were made in some areas to get rid of all Armenians including those who accepted Islaam.
To me as a Muslim this is probably the most infuriating, how these bandits twisted and attempted to use the religion of Allah SWT as a tool.

The book mostly cites on documents produced by the Young Turkish government, as well as their German allies who for the most part were horrified by what was happening. Cited also in a few places are reports by American missionaries and Armenian church leaders. The first two sources - ie Young Turk and German government reports- are most damning because they had no political opposition to the WW1 era Young Turk led Ottoman government and in contrast were working for it. It is less a narrative of what took place and more a painstaking examination to demonstrate the conclusion that this crime against humanity was a systemic policy.

It is a strong rebuke to the blatant lie peddled by the Turkish government that the Armenian genocide did not happen.

While well written, the book does have its blind spots. While mentioning that Muslim refugees were fleeing to the Ottoman Empire from the Balkans and Caucasus, Akçam does not point out the reason they were fleeing, which was massacres and genocides of Muslims that were at the same time and prior being perpetrated by European powers. Also glaringly omitted is the fact that while Armenians in the Ottoman Empire were often falsely accused of crimes and the actions of their armed groups exaggerated to justify a harsh and genocidal response, across the border in Russian occupied Caucasus, Armenian armed groups were indeed massacring and displacing Muslims.
In a way, Akçam’s work is very similar to that of Justin McCarthy. While both authors did a very thorough and in my view very well done job in documenting and bringing to light the suffering of millions of innocent people - Armenian and to a lesser and non-genocidal extent Greek Christians in the Ottoman Empire (Akçam) and Muslims of all nationalities and ethnicities in the Balkans and Caucasus (McClatchy)- both very disappointingly in my view chose to ignore or downplay the crimes that were being perpetrated by the other side.