Russia is the Virus

Posted on by Thor

“Russia is COVID-22, and the vaccine against it is weapons and sanctions.” This is paraphrasing what Ukrainian President Volodymyr  Zalensky said about Russia’s invasion of Europe. He called on the world and, above all, the most influential countries to ensure the defeat of tyranny.

“It is time to be one hundred percent influential. We can defeat tyranny. Indeed, every one of us – every one – is the leader of our time. We can reliably defend freedom. We can stop blackmail by a person who has no place on our list at all. If we are up to it, then we must do it. Because influence obliges us to do so,” he said in a video message to the Time 100 Gala distributed on the morning of June 9, 2022.

“The Russian army is shelling our cities with artillery and aircraft. The list of children killed by Russian strikes since February 24 already includes more than two hundred and sixty names. And when will this end? In fact, this is the key question. But why is there still no answer? Maybe we are missing something in our true strength? Maybe we are not using all the capacity of our influence and our leadership? And this is my question to the United States, both to the parties and to society; to both Democrats and Republicans; to the Congress and to the President,” Zelensky said, noting that he is “grateful to President Biden for uniting the free world when the Russian threat arose.”

“Hatred is a virus, and it’s even more deadly than COVID-19. It is spread through propaganda. Thanks to the impunity for murderers. Thanks to Russian oil, which is still on the global market. Thanks to money that is still flowing between the global financial system and Russian banks. Thanks to the big companies, which still believe that there is still not enough blood on the money from the Russian market,” he declared.

 

The Mosquito and the Elephant

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Drones are rewriting the rules of war. Ukraine is fighting the might of Russia using tiny drones. They act as small mosquitos which sight and help target the lumbering elephant like tanks.

Drone operators were drawn from an air reconnaissance unit, Aerorozvidka, which began eight years ago as a group of volunteer IT specialists and hobbyists designing their own machines that have evolved into an essential element in Ukraine’s successful David-and-Goliath resistance.

A special IT force of 30 soldiers on quad bikes is vital part of Ukraine’s defense, but has to crowdfund for supplies. Lieutenant Colonal Yaroslav Honchar, gave an account of the ambush near the town of Ivankiv that helped stop the vast, lumbering Russian offensive in its tracks.

He said the Ukrainian fighters on quad bikes were able to approach the advancing Russian column at night by riding through the forest on either side of the road. The Ukrainian soldiers were equipped with night vision goggles, sniper rifles, remotely detonated mines, drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras and others capable of dropping small 1.5kg bombs. “This one little unit in the night destroyed two or three vehicles at the head of this convoy, and after that it was stuck. They stayed there two more nights, and [destroyed] many vehicles,” Honchar said.

Online there is a huge amount of aerial combat footage published by the Ukrainians which underlines the importance of drones to their resistance. “The tank was key at one point,” said John Parachini, a Rand Corporation military researcher. “Now drones may be the more decisive weapons system.” Ukrainians are using about 1,000 drones in the war effort, a military officer estimated. Many are mere “toys,” he said, “but we have what we have.”

“Those shiny tanks are being set ablaze – Bayraktar – that’s the new craze,” go the lyrics of a popular Ukrainian song dedicated to a drone that has become one of many symbols of the nation’s resistance. The drones “are part of the Ukrainian social media campaign that is executed very well by the Ukrainian military and civilians,” he said. Videos of Bayraktar strikes went viral on social media and that is “a great morale booster … a great tactical victory.”

Drones are also being used to target Russian tanks which are then targeted by Javelin anti-tank missiles.

Bitch Slap

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President Joe Biden, while visiting Poland on March 26, 2022, said the Russian leader Putin ‘cannot remain in power.’ The White House press staff seem to be trying to soften the blow, by  clarifying that Biden was not calling for regime change in Russia. However, Biden’s unscripted comment is one that finally rings true. It is certainly a magnificent change from the former American president who licks Putin’s boots to this day.

On March 28, 2022 Biden said he was “not walking anything back” after his weekend remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin put the White House on defense. Biden said “I was expressing moral outrage, and I make no apologies for it.”

When pressed on whether his comments would effect diplomacy with Russia, Biden pushed the blame on Putin, noting that the Russian leader’s “escalatory efforts” are what “complicates things.” The president brushed off assumptions that his comments could be taken by Putin as an escalatory step.

“I don’t care what [Putin] thinks,” Biden said. “This is a guy who goes to the beat of his own drummer. And the idea that he is going to do something outrageous because I called him for what he was and what he’s doing, I think, is just not rational.”

Catholic priest Dwight Longenecker put it quite simply, “First we overlook evil. Then we permit evil, then we legalize evil, then we promote evil, then we celebrate evil, then we persecute those who still call it evil.”

Tip toeing to avoid upsetting a maniacal autocrat and setting up some sanctions is not enough. Lets face it, some take pleasure in the idea that a bully on the world stage should be bitch slapped.

What Virus?

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A pandemic becomes endemic largely when politicians no longer see any political gain from arguing about it and when the media gets tired of covering the carnage. Americans have become comfortable with about 1000 deaths a day.

Russia has 358,000 reported deaths due to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. That is likely a vast underestimate of the true number since Russia wants to project strength as it goes to war.  When discussing Russian deaths due to the war, a Russin military commentator said, “It’s almost a state secret,” the commentator asked not to be quoted by name. “We don’t know exactly [how many people have died] … at the given moment, it’s better to discuss other questions.” On March 21, 2022, The Russian defense ministry data showed 9,861 Russian soldiers had been killed in action. That is about 333 Russian deaths per day. On March 22, 2022 there were 472 death due to COVID-19 reported in Russia.

In Ukraine the reported deaths due to COVID-19 have literally dropped to zero since the invasion by Russia since there is no working health care system to track the numbers. The only deaths being reported are those who are being shot and blown apart by Russian bombs. Prior to the invasion, Ukraine reported 112,000 deaths due to COVID-19.

BA.2 is ripping through Europe and now makes up about 30%  of the cases in America. It is 30% more infectious than Omicron. That makes BA.2 as infectious as the measles. Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, up to 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected.

Prior infection from Omicron has built up the immunity for those who were not vaccinated. It has inoculated many of the stupid and stubborn. About 75% of the American population has been previously infected or has been fully vaccinated. These people are about 85% protected against severe disease and hospitalization. The other 25% of Americans are highly vulnerable to the next wave coming in the following weeks. Anyone over 65 is is more vulnerable to hospitalization and possible death. Basically everyone will be exposed to BA.2 and 25% of Americans are vulnerable simply because they refused to get vaccinated. People will die needlessly based on a misguided choice. In Ukraine no one has a choice. The bombs are indiscriminate and can kill anyone at any time. Americans do not understand that level of uncertainty and many choose to ignore it.

Russian Spike

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In Russia the COVID-19 spike in cases shows no sign of letting up. The daily COVID-19 cases and deaths in Russia remain at their highest numbers of the pandemic as of November 3, 2021 as more regions announced they were extending existing restrictions in an effort to tame the country’s  surge of infections.

Russia’s state coronavirus task force reported 40,443 new confirmed cases from a day earlier. It was the fifth time in seven days that the country reported more than 40,000 infections. The task force also reported a daily record of 1,189 COVID-19 deaths. Some experts believe that those numbers a far under reported.

The United States is reporting over 76,000 daily cases with the downward trend now leveling off and going up again. On November 2, 2021 there were just over 1500 deaths in America. So if this were an arms race of COVID-19 cases and deaths, America is still winning.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered many Russians to stay off work between Oct. 30 and Nov. 7 2021. He authorized regional governments to extend the number of non-working days, if necessary. “One non-working week is not enough to break the chain of infection,” Tomsk governor Sergei Zhvachkin said. Many other regions are planning to extend the lockdown.

Russia has low vaccination rates, although the Sputnik V vaccine was the first in the world to be distributed. Put simply, Russian citizens do not trust the government since the vaccine did not undergo rigorous testing before it was offered to everyone. Russians also have lax public attitudes toward taking precautions. Less than 35% of Russia’s nearly 146 million people have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged Americans to avoid traveling to a new batch of countries, including Russia and Belgium, because of high levels of COVID-19. Russia had the third-highest number of coronaviruses cases in the world over the past 28 days – more than 917,300 cases, according to John Hopkins data.

 

Tip of the Iceberg

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The BMJ reported that as of May 3, 2021 official figures suggested that the Global deaths from covid-19 was 3.27 million. However a study from the University of Washington suggests that the pandemic’s true overall toll will reach 9.43 million deaths by September 2021. The report, based its conclusions on the past year’s deviations from expected overall mortality.

The report states that the virus is claiming about 33,000 lives a day around the world, more than twice reported figures. They estimated the true United States death toll at 905,289 compared with an official figure of 574,043.

In India the disparity between the official reported deaths to the horrors on the ground of hundreds of bodies floating down the Ganges river and crematoria unable to keep up with demand make it obvious that death numbers are far higher than reported. India is forecast to lose a further 842,000 people by September 2021.

Countries who are believed to have under reported Covid-19 deaths include Egypt, India, Mexico, and Russia. India’s death toll as of May 2021 was estimated as 654,395, which is 2.96 times the official figure. Mexico was attributed 617,127 deaths, 2.83 times the official figure. Egypt, was attributed 170,041 deaths, which is 12.6 times the official figure. Russia has the largest number of unreported deaths, they estimate, with a real death toll of 593,610, which is 5.43 times the official estimate. While some governments may attribute deaths in Covid patients to co-morbid conditions to keep their numbers low, the commonest reason for under reporting of Covid-19 deaths is inadequate testing.

Turkey and Brazil are often accused of under counting, but both were reporting more than half of their Covid-19 deaths. Many countries of central and eastern Europe were reporting only one death in three, a ratio also seen across sub-Saharan Africa. The worst under counts were found in the Caucuses and former Soviet republics.

Cyber Breach

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When rioters invaded the Capitol on January 6, 2021 they broke into chambers and offices of lawmakers gaining access to computers, laptops, zip drives for over two hours. US Attorney for DC, Michael Sherwin, stated “electronic items were stolen from senators’ offices, documents.” Senator, Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), reported that at least one laptop had been stolen. The cybersecurity consequences of this attack will take months to sort out.

Passwords, documents, access codes, and confidential or secret information may have been stolen. We also need to assume that some computers may have been compromised, with malware loaded onto them. This makes all information on the computers potentially accessible to foreign agents.

Likely only a few machines were compromised, but federal IT personnel must assume that all the digital devices at the Capitol have been compromised. From the moment lawmakers started re-using computers at 8PM that night, information could be compromised. Russia has conducted cyber attacks against the United States for some time. Though Capitol police seemed surprised by the attack, most news organizations and anyone paying attention to online chatter would have known about the impending violent insurrection. It would be quite easy to have a foreign agent sneak into the Capitol with rioters.

A scorched earth policy is the only way to guard against possible attack. All computers need to be replaced along with light switches drapes or any other place a bug might be planted. Malware doesn’t always trigger immediately so many machines could be Trojan horses waiting to invade and seize information.  The amount of work to clear the Capitol of the threat is staggering and of course tax payers will pay for it.