In his appearance on the Joe Rogan Podcast, Jacques Vallee said that the entity that controls the Phenomenon in our government and controls the Intelligence Agencies like the CIA is a Private Contractor. He then goes on to say that a company called the Battelle Memorial Institute is the one that sent the memo cancelling the US government's planned disclosure event to the assembled scientists and academics. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battelle_Memorial_Institute https://www.battelle.org/ If you look into this company, they are a 501(c)(3) company that doesn't pay taxes, is not subject to FOIA requests, and has clearance under the Atomic Secrets Classification, not the State or Executive. This company has been around since the 20's and is appears to control every sector of science, defense, and society. They have their hands in: Chemical Demilitarization, High Hazards, Threat Assessment, Cyber tools, Microelectronics, Metallurgy, Advanced Robotics, Missile Defense Systems, Tactical Equipment, AI, Armored Vehicles, Forensic Genomics, Aviation, Aerospace, Ecology, Chemistry, Energy, Materials Science, Drug Delivery, Vaccines, In Vitro Tech, Bioweapons, Neurotechnology, Toxicology, Health, Military Health, Advanced Materials, and much much more. They own and control the Brookhaven National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, and the National Ecological Observatory Network. They developed the first nuclear fuel rods for nuclear reactors, numerous advances in metallurgy, algorithms and coatings used in the space programs, and an endless amount of other seemingly impossible discoveries. Does anyone know anything about this company? I thought that this revelation was the most shocking part of the Podcast and want to look into it.
Of course. Here is a walk-through of that part of their conversation with timestamps. https://open.spotify.com/episode/3cuW6TuyRnZxBNaQJeH2Ce?si=evK4Tv4rT86ptzyJq5iGgQ So Joe Rogan, Jacques Vallee, and James Fox were having an open and spirited conversation for hours. They started talking about the 1952 Washington DC UFO Incident, which is a very well documented UFO encounter that is featured in the movie The Phenomenon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1952_Washington,_D.C._UFO_incident 142:20- Jacques reveals that one of the Air-Force Pilots that intercepted the UFO over Washington DC was authorized to shoot at it. He did so and shot off a piece of metal from one of the discs. 142:55- Jacques says that the piece of metal was recovered, but then he re-thinks his answer. He says that he really shouldn't talk about it, but there was a piece of metal recovered from that craft. 144:32- Joe asks what happened to the piece of metal. Jacques says that maybe someday he will be able to reveal where the metal is to us, but not today. 144:49- Joe asks when he would be able to reveal this, and James Fox encourages Jacques to just do it now. To get it all out in the open. Joe asks why Jacques would wait. Jacques gets nervous and says he respects that some aspects of disclosure have to be managed in a certain way, obviously not sharing something that he knows. He says that it wouldn't “add to the story” to tell his secret and that there will never be one big disclosure. 145:51- Joe doesn't understand this answer and says “Isn't it about time?” Jacques really doesn't want to share the agency or company that has this metal now. 146:00- James Fox interjects and says “Jacques, you can answer his question indirectly by that MEMO, the cross-memo that you DID feature in the film. And who wrote it? He was a metallurgist, and what lab was he working at?” James is obviously trying to get Jacques to share the name of the group that has the metal without actually directly answering the question. Thus keeping Jacques out of trouble because he didn't really share classified information, he would just be answering the question with information that is already public in James Fox's documentary. 146:15- Jacques starts talking about 1952 and how it was a disaster for communication because of the Washington UFO's and that we wouldn't be able to employ a defense network. So we called together 5 of the top scientists and Nobel Prize winners who knew the nuclear secrets. They were brought together by the government to be read into the programs and discuss what exactly the government should do about all of this. One of these 5 people was J. Allen Hynek. 148:00- The outcome of these meetings was a classified recommendation to make up stories and plausible explanations for the Phenomenon to keep the public unaware of extra terrestrials and reduce the number of UFO reports coming in. 149:40- Jacques starts talking about years after this happened. In his own career, at one point he was working with J. Allen Hynek and came across a folder while he was reorganizing all of Hynek's files. Inside of this folder was a copy of an important Memo that had been written. 150:20- The memo was from someone unknown to an intelligence community director. It said that the government must end the scientific panel overseeing disclosure and the phenomenon because “We are not ready.” Jacques wondered who these people are that could dare stop a scientific panel like this, especially someone that was not part of the defense establishment. Who could talk to the CIA like this? The memo was stamped “Secret.” Hynek claimed that he had never seen it, and if he had that it would have changed everything since Hynek was on the disbanded panel. 151:47- Jacques then claims 2 things about this group that sent the memo. He claims that the Scientific Panel was not brought together by the Air Force as everyone had been told, it was brought together by some other entity around the intelligence community. The Air Force was a cover, and the scientists were never told that. 152:27- James Fox interjects to clarify Jacques' story for us. He says there was that massive sighting in 1952 over Washington DC and the Air Force had to do something. So the Air Force convened a panel of the smartest minds in America to decide how to deal with this, and it was called The Robertson Panel. The Robertson Panel was then told “Not to happen” by the memo that Jacques had found. This memo is basically an unknown government agency with more power and more influence in the system than the CIA. 153:00- Jacques Vallee drops a massive bomb on the conversation and declares that it wasn't even a government agency that overpowered the CIA on this. IT WAS A PRIVATE CONTRACTOR. It was a Contractor that had a “contract” to look at UFO's. 153:47- The Robertson Panel went on and ignored that memo. It concluded that it should discount all reports from the public and rely on instrumentation from the military. The overseers of the panel kept Project Bluebook going, but not the Robertson Panel. They kept Project Bluebook so that the public would have a place to write if they saw something, but it was a very low level thing. 154:25- Joe pushes back again about the recovered metal from the 1952 craft, and James Fox agrees that we should focus on that. They obviously want us to know who has this metal. 154:32- Jacques then takes us back to the Memo that he found again, refusing to budge from the subject. He then says that he also verified this memo in confidence with another person besides Hynek. 154:44- THIS IS IT! THIS IS WHERE JACQUES REVEALS WHO WROTE THE MEMO GIVING ORDERS TO THE CIA! He reveals that the memo came from an organization in Ohio called the BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE. He says this is the top organization on the analysis of metals. That they were the ones who invented Titanium Aluminide and some of the coatings and metals used in spy-planes like the SR-71. They were the experts on materials science, and they were also the experts on UFO's because they had a contract with the Air Force. Jacques says that the Battelle scientists wanted to shut down all public discussion on the topic and study the Phenomenon using statistical analysis. 156:08- James Fox interjects again and says that Joe's question was about who has the metal that was shot off a UFO in the 1952 Washington incident. He then says that the memo that told the CIA to disband the Robertson Panel was written by a metallurgist from the Battelle Memorial Institute. So if we had that metal in our possession, it would have been analyzed by that same metallurgist at the Battelle Memorial Institute. 156:30- Joe Rogan directly asks “Did they examine the metal?” Jacques says “I shouldn't talk about that.” He says that the memo is classified and he was never cleared to see it, so he shouldn't talk about it anymore. I had never heard of the Battelle Memorial Institute before, so I obviously looked into it after listening to this podcast. I was blown away to discover that the 501(c)(4) entity that doesn't pay taxes, is exempt from FOIA requests, and is under the classification authority of Atomic Secrets, thus outside the jurisdiction of Executive and State Secrets. I was blown away to discover that this “company” controls all of the major labs and science in America. They are involved in and control almost ever sector of science, defense, information, and robotics. I'm still digging, but this appears to be the entity I've been searching for my whole life. The one that is hiding in plain sight. The one that is outside government control. Outside the control of the President. That doesn't have tax information on it and that doesn't have to share it's secrets. The Pentagon can hide things there, and no Freedom of Information Act request will ever be able to uncover something hidden in the Battelle Memorial Institute. I am beyond fascinated.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ edit: added a couple more things to the OP Someone else posted this link about Battelle: https://archive.org/stream/BattelledocTopSecretWithOrcon.theWorldIsDividedInToThreeClassesOf/36258531-Battelledoc_djvu.txt Full disclosure I have not read this and don't know what's in it, aside from the Title which caught my eye. "The world is divided in to three classes of people: a very small group that makes things happen, a somewhat larger group that watches things happen, and the great multitude which never knows what happened." - Nicholas Murray Butler, J. P. Morgan and Company ... I just quickly skimmed it but the very last paragraph caught my eye.
Any individual who they perceive to be "too close to the truth" will be treated in the same manner. MJ-1 2 will go to any length to preserve and protect the ultimate secret. As we will see later, the characteristics of what this ultimate secret would turn out to be would change drastically, for it was something even MJ-1 2 could not predict -- actual contact with alien groups.
Newly discovered documents reveal that in the months immediately following the purported 1947 UFO crash at Roswell, secret government studies began on a material that was previously unknown to science. The "memory metal" that was studied precisely matches some of the debris material reported by several witnesses to the crash. Evidence shows that, under military direction, these unique metal studies were undertaken by a contracted laboratory that possessed advanced technical capabilities that the U.S. government itself did not have at the time. A former high-level scientist employed by the involved laboratory has offered a confession that he was tasked to study the crashed UFO material. Information provided by two U.S. Air Force Generals also offers direct support for this discovery. The laboratory contracted by Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to perform these studies was Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio. It has been credibly reported that Wright-Patterson Air Force Base was the very base where the Roswell UFO debris was flown after the crash.
putting estrogen in people through items we use everyday
So we all know there are conspiracies that range from the illuminati, to lizards taking over the world, to mole people living underground making french fries for an upcoming Earth Party. I have a conspiracy that i recently dug into, and im not sure how much of it is actually impactful on our bodies or lives, but ill put on my tin foil hat and share the information ive found so a discussion can be started. note to all: im not saying anything about anything, i just went through a few links i found interesting and came up with a crazy conclusion. i am not a doctor and im sure i got some information wrong. Firstly, is there a powerful group of people who try to control the general population? probably, but maybe not. if there was though, they definitely would be trying to alter and shape us in multiple ways, for multiple reasons. what if one of these ways is through giving us excess estrogen? Estrogen is possibly being put into our bodies via everyday items containing xenoestrogen. first, a little background info. what is estrogen? how does it effect the human body?
Estrogen, or oestrogen, is a category of sex hormone responsible for the development and regulation of the female reproductive system and secondary sex characteristics.
It is basically the hormone that makes women, women. okay, now regarding the conspiracy, recently i came across the rabbit hole of xenoestrogen https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenoestrogen . its basically a synthetic compound imitating estrogen. it can be found in common products that we use everyday. this is apparently everywhere. literally. xenoestrogen is found in BPA, phthalates, parabens, zeranol, insecticides, pesticides, and even the most widely used herbicide in the U.S. why is this important? we'll get back to that later. well first, what is BPA? sinply put, BPA is used to make certain types of plastics. plastics we use every day.
"BPA-based plastic is clear and tough, and is made into a variety of common consumer goods, such as plastic bottles including water bottles, food storage containers (commonly called "Tupperware"), baby bottles,[3] sports equipment, CDs, and DVDs." Epoxy resins derived from BPA are used to line water pipes, as coatings on the inside of many food and beverage cans, and in making thermal paper such as that used in sales receipts.[4] In 2015, an estimated 4 million tonnes of BPA-derived chemical were produced, making it one of the highest volume of chemicals produced worldwide.[5] BPA is a xenoestrogen, exhibiting estrogen-mimicking, hormone-like properties.[6] Although the effect is very weak, the pervasiveness of BPA-containing materials raises concerns. Since 2008, several governments have investigated its safety, which prompted some retailers to withdraw polycarbonate products. Since then, BPA-free plastics have been manufactured using alternative bisphenols such as bisphenol S and bisphenol F, but there is controversy around whether these are actually safer.[7]
BPA Health Effects >BPA's ability to mimic the effects of natural estrogen derive from the similarity of phenol groups on both BPA and estradiol, which enable this synthetic molecule to trigger estrogenic pathways in the body.[23] Typically phenol-containing molecules similar to BPA are known to exert weak estrogenic activities, thus it is also considered an endocrine disruptor (ED) and estrogenic chemical.[24] Xenoestrogens is another category the chemical BPA fits under because of its capability to interrupt the network that regulates the signals which control the reproductive development in humans and animals.[25]
BPA has been found to bind to both of the nuclear estrogen receptors (ERs), ERα and ERβ. It is 1000- to 2000-fold less potent than estradiol. BPA can both mimic the action of estrogen and antagonize estrogen, indicating that it is a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) or partial agonist of the ER. At high concentrations, BPA also binds to and acts as an antagonist of the androgen receptor (AR).
In 1997, adverse effects of low-dose BPA exposure in laboratory animals were first proposed.[26] Modern studies began finding possible connections to health issues caused by exposure to BPA during pregnancy and during development. As of 2014, research and debates are ongoing as to whether BPA should be banned or not. According to the European Food Safety Authority "BPA poses no health risk to consumers of any age group (including unborn children, infants and adolescents) at current exposure levels".[29] But in 2017 the European Chemicals Agency concluded that BPA should be listed as a substance of very high concern due to its properties as an endocrine disruptor.[30] In 2012, the United States' Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of BPA in baby bottles.[31] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also holds the position that BPA is not a health concern. In 2011, Andrew Wadge, the chief scientist of the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency, commented on a 2011 U.S. study on dietary exposure of adult humans to BPA,[32] saying, "This corroborates other independent studies and adds to the evidence that BPA is rapidly absorbed, detoxified, and eliminated from humans – therefore is not a health concern."[33] The Endocrine Society said in 2015 that the results of ongoing laboratory research gave grounds for concern about the potential hazards of endocrine-disrupting chemicals – including BPA – in the environment, and that on the basis of the precautionary principle these substances should continue to be assessed and tightly regulated.[34] A 2016 review of the literature said that the potential harms caused by BPA were a topic of scientific debate and that further investigation was a priority because of the association between BPA exposure and adverse human health effects including reproductive and developmental effects and metabolic disease.[35] In July 2019, the European Union upheld a decision by the European Chemicals Agency to list BPA as a substance of very high concern, the first step in the procedure for restrictions of its use. The decision is based on concerns about BPA's toxicity for human reproduction.[36] what are phthalates?
They are mainly used as plasticizers, i.e., substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity. Phthalates are used in a large variety of products, from enteric coatings of pharmaceutical pills and nutritional supplements to viscosity control agents, gelling agents, film formers, stabilizers, dispersants, lubricants, binders, emulsifying agents, and suspending agents. End-applications include adhesives and glues, agricultural adjuvants, building materials, personal-care products, medical devices, detergents and surfactants, packaging, children's toys, modelling clay, waxes, paints, printing inks and coatings, pharmaceuticals, food products, and textiles. Phthalates are also frequently used in soft plastic fishing lures, caulk, paint pigments, and sex toys made of so-called "jelly rubber". Phthalates are used in a variety of household applications such as shower curtains, vinyl upholstery, adhesives, floor tiles, food wrap film, and cleaning materials. Personal-care items containing phthalates include perfume, eye shadow, moisturizer, nail polish, liquid soap, and hair spray.[11] "
what are parabens? >Parabens are a class of widely used preservatives in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. Chemically, they are a series of parahydroxybenzoates or esters of parahydroxybenzoic acid (also known as 4-hydroxybenzoic acid). Parabens are effective preservatives in many types of formulas. These compounds, and their salts, are used primarily for their bactericidal and fungicidal properties. They are found in shampoos, commercial moisturizers, shaving gels, personal lubricants, topical/parenteral pharmaceuticals, suntan products, makeup,[1] and toothpaste. They are also used as food preservatives. health effects
Most of the available paraben toxicity data are from single-exposure studies, meaning one type of paraben in one type of product. According to paraben research this is relatively safe, posing only a negligible risk to the endocrine system. However, since many types of parabens in many types of products are used commonly, further assessment of the additive and cumulative risk of multiple paraben exposure from daily use of multiple cosmetic and/or personal care products is needed.[8] FDA states that they have no information that use of parabens in cosmetics has any effect on health. They continue to consider certain questions and evaluate data about parabens' possible health effects.[9]
estrogen effects
Animal experiments have shown that parabens have weak estrogenic activity, acting as xenoestrogens.[13]The estrogenic activity of parabens increases with the length of the alkyl group. It is believed that propylparaben is estrogenic to a certain degree as well,[15] though this is expected to be less than butylparaben by virtue of its less lipophilic nature. Since it can be concluded that the estrogenic activity of butylparaben is negligible under normal use, the same should be concluded for shorter analogs due to estrogenic activity of parabens increasing with the length of the alkyl group.
but like they stated earlier in the article, >However, since many types of parabens in many types of products are used commonly, further assessment of the additive and cumulative risk of multiple paraben exposure from daily use of multiple cosmetic and/or personal care products is needed what is Zeranol?
Zeranol is currently used as an anabolic growth promoter for livestock in the US[76] and Canada.[77] It has been banned in the EU since 1985,[78] but is still present as a contaminant in food through meat products that were exposed to it.[12]
what is Altrazine?
Atrazine is widely used as an herbicide *to control broad-leaf weed species that grow in crops such as corn, sugarcane, hay and winter wheat. Atrazine is also applied to Christmas trees, residential lawns, golf courses, and other recreational areas. Atrazine is the second largest selling pesticide in the world and *estimated to be the most heavily used herbicide in the United States.[12]
there are other sources of xenoestrogen in our every day lives, but this is getting a little long. basically though, a bunch of now banned/restricted pesticides had it. sources confirm that there are still large traces of all of these compounds in the soil, air, and water, due to their inability to degrade easy. tldr; even though xenoestrogen is apparently "less potent" than for example, estradiol, a steroid hormone, we arent only being affected from one source. we are being bombarded from everywhere. with so many different sources of xenoestrogen in things we use every single day, multiple times per day, and with no/few studies being done on how all of these combine and how they effect our bodies, i find it hard to believe that we are not being affected. what do you think? sources 1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estrogen 2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenoestrogen 3. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A 4. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phthalates 5. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraben
[Serious] Why do you think many African & Middle Eastern economies are not reaching their full potential ?
Comment your opinion or criticize someone else's opinion in a constructive way. I will edit this table with better ideas I get from the comments. This is my opinion, these are very simple general assessments, ideas for solutions to get us to talk & discuss these issue. Some of these things we cannot change easily or overnight, but we can make the decision that we will improve & have an improvement mindset right now. I hope this makes you look at your issues in your own local town, city, country, region & apply this info or take it & evolve it into something better, time is running out, we have to change & improve ourselves, our countries in Africa & the Middle East now, or we will face a very bad future. What awaits us down this current path is not good, but luckily we can change, improve & build a better future. Everything you do matters, we are all cells inside an organism or nodes inside a network, we are all connected, literally these days through electricity & internet, just keep moving forward, evaluate, improve, but keep moving forward, don't stop. Everything starts with a thought, an idea, imagination, they turn into words, actions & become reality.
Issue
Harm
Solutions
1 ) Lack Of Freedom
Harm from Restricting Freedom of speech & expression affects EVERYTHING, from being able to discuss new ideas, innovations & solutions without fear, complaining about corrupt officials, taking powerful companies to court, fighting against companies connected to corrupt politicians, speaking out against corruption, dictators, corrupt police, making posts, pics & videos about "sensitive" issues, etc...
We need legal protection for non-hateful, non-violent free speech & peaceful protesting. For now we can make posts, memes, comments, jokes, etc... about these issues to bring more awareness. We can choose to be free today, we must push the limits in some cases. Don't call for or threaten violence or hate, or harass people, be peaceful, but you can have different opinions & ways of doing things, that's ok. We'd still be living in trees or caves if we didn't have people who tried new things. Think free, be reasonable & enjoy yourself. Stay safe.
2 ) Not accepting people as they are, focusing on petty differences, but ignore big issues that can really harm us
Harms us when some of us put too much energy in trying to control our differences, what we think, what we do, how we dress, how we look like, talk, etc... & make big issues out of small thing & shift focus away from the things that really matter.
Just improve yourself, improve what's around you & if others want your advice or help, you can help them improve too, other than that, mind your own business. We have limited time & energy everyday, don't contribute with negativity & pettiness, yes, we're not perfect, but don't make it who you are.
3 ) Corruption
Harms citizen's faith in the system, in their officials & in each other because corruption becomes the normal way of doing things. It deprives honest people of succeeding, keeps corrupt parasites profiting instead of earning their profit honestly like we all should. Foreign citizens & companies don't want to invest in a corrupt system they don't trust.
Talk, post, discuss, make memes, videos about corrupt officials, corrupt systems & some proposed solutions. File complaints & lawsuits in the legal system. Start groups online & offline to discuss & take legal action to root our corruption & build better honest systems. If you see corruption, do not let it slide, root it out & stop it, do whatever you can & stay safe.
4 ) Crime
Harms us by either taking our lives, harming our physical & mental well being, deprives us of our personal property. Makes us feel unsafe & distrustful of others when crime is rampant & not addressed by the authorities. Causes harm in every system in our countries, no one wants to live, visit, do their best or just relax & live a normal life when they don't feel safe.
Our police should focus mainly on : Violence ( police brutality, murder, robbery, rape, assault, abuse, threats & anything similar ) & Non-violent ( scams, fraud, theft, property crime, white collar crime, cyber crime & anything similar ) Drugs should be decriminalized & treated as a health issue, not a criminal one. Bring attention to any issues in your area, do what you can, invest in your own & your family's self defense & home security. You are the main protector of yourself, stay safe.
5 ) Low quality Infrastructure & Public Services
Harms us by making things harder for us & wasting too much of our time & energy on getting things done that should be done in more efficient & faster ways. Public transportation, education, speed of govt. listening to & fixing things, from hazards, dangers, lack of clean water, slow or unreliable internet or electricity, inefficient processes, etc...
We & our govt. must find ways & new ideas to fund & improve our infrastructure & public services. Everyone should be able to get where they want ASAP, have fast internet, stable electricity, clean water, good court systems, etc... So we can get to our work & leisure without all these issues we don't have to have anymore.
6 ) Low Quality Education
Harms students by not preparing them for adult life, university, technical school, job application, starting their own business or investing. By not understanding the political systems, healthcare, monetary system, science, how all these these systems affect each other, critical thinking, etc... Everything in life is about information, our own cells even, without the right information & guides we will be lost & not progress as fast as we should.
For now we can supplement our education systems with things like Khan Academy & other online learning resources, we should use or start existing online system & offline systems & groups too. The knowledge is out there, we have to find solutions to make it more accessible & low cost to anyone who wants education. Last, but not least the way our students are treated has to improve, respect students & they will respect you back, if they don't, reasonable constructive non-physical & non-abusive punishment will do, then reward good behavior.
7 ) Inefficient Job Market
Harms applicants & employers by not making jobs easy to post, find & fill roles with quality applicants fast. Pushes people looking for jobs into hardships & problems from lack of a stable source of income, hurts people with business by not finding the right people who will help with their business, keep it running & make it better.
Create as many job sites & apps to connect business owners & govt. with job applicants ASAP. We must treat our employees with respect & pay them a fair living wage. Also root out nepotism, discrimination, racism, sexism, etc.... Hire people based on their ability & fit for the job, not who you think should be in charge & corrupt business owners & corrupt govt officials who favor certain people or companies & accept bribes for contracts must be rooted out.
8 ) Difficulty Starting Business or Registering Patents
Harms entire economy by making process difficult & unclear for inexperienced business owners or patent owners. Not approving or delaying things due to corruption & fear of competition, deprives country of new businesses that could be the next international company or new ideas, patents & technology that can improve the country significantly.
Bring awareness to this issue, to create an easier, more reliable & honest system for business in all our countries. Create media, from posts, to memes, videos, bring famous people on board, complain to the govt, propose new ideas, etc... The only way is to get the govt. aware of this issue & let them see that it's more beneficial for them & all of us to fix it, than it is to leave it the same
9 ) Complicated & untrustworthy investments
Harms us by not having reliable,simple to understand investments that earn us interest on our money. From both the private & govt. sector. Not only for citizens, but for foreigners too, investments fund businesses & govt. instead of taking loans.
Learn about local investments & write guides about them if you become an expert. Propose ideas & systems or start your own investment vehicle in a reliable & simple way with different risk levels (low/med/high) depending on what the investor wants. Report all investment scams & frauds to the police. Post about them & warn others.
10 ) Brain Drain
Harms us when some of our best minds, go to other countries without all these harmful issues we have. Instead of these great minds & scholars staying in our countries, fixing these issues, improving our economy & creating new technology & solutions, they help other countries which give their people better conditions to prosper in.
On a personal level, try to offer scholars & intellectuals incentives & opportunities to stay, bring awareness to this issue by creating media, so the govt. starts studying this issue, identifying the main causes & solving them ASAP, the whole economy is connected & these people who leave, see that, lose hope & leave...we have to make it a better place.
11 ) Using Foreign Currency & investing in foreign treasury securities & other govt or private investments.
Harms our currency by depending on US Dollar, Euro, UK Pound, FR Franc, etc... it reduces liquidity of our currencies. Investing in their foreign govt treasury securities finances their govt, instead of ours & their govt will always issue new currency, if they default on these securities, since their currency is widely accepted.
Avoid using foreign currency & investing in foreign treasury securities when possible. Use African & Middle Eastern currency or cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, etc..). Invest in African/Middle Eastern Treasury securities or other govt or private investments, not foreign.
12 ) War, Invasion & Occupation
Harms us by destroying our country, the enemy seizing land, natural resources, commits unpunished violence against innocent citizens, creating chaos, destroying our lives, safety & future.
Our govt develops defensive fusion & some Fission Nukes in ICBMs & SLBMs, Drone Swarms, cruise missiles, missile defense systems, satellites, Long range radars & sonars, etc... to let aggressors know, the price of attacking & attempting to destroy our country, is the swift destruction of their country. We want peace, freedom & prosperity for everyone in all countries. We want to engage in trade & leisure, business & pleasure, with everyone in all countries. Don't threaten or attack us.
13 ) Sanctions
Harms us by isolating us, restricting our trading, advancement & weakening our economy further. (That's their purpose)
Our govt. should stop doing anything that will get us sanctioned (corruption, terrorism, etc... ), but should not stop doing anything defensive, it is our right to develop & buy whatever defensive technology we need to defend ourselves.
Clover (IPOC) CEO response to Hindenburg Research piece from yesterday
from the SEC: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgadata/1801170/000119312521029637/d66346dex991.htm click for all the tables/images. EX-99.1 2 d66346dex991.htm EX-99.1 Exhibit 99.1 In Response to Short Seller Firm’s Questions 📷 Andrew Still-Baxter 18 min read From: Vivek Garipalli, CEO and Andrew Toy, President of Clover Health Clover’s mission is to improve every life. We do that by scaling the Clover Assistant platform across physicians to drive a meaningful positive clinical impact towards as wide a percentage of our membership as possible. We align our incentives for the Clover Assistant by embedding our software platform inside of the business of our Medicare Advantage plan. As we improve outcomes, and lower costs, Clover can pass those savings on to consumers, improving the attractiveness of our plans and spurring rapid growth. We ultimately seek to transform healthcare for each and every one of us. Clover welcomes questions about our business, as it gives us the opportunity to share our vision and to address any skepticism, whether founded or unfounded. As you will see from our detailed, point-by-point response to the short seller firm’s questions, the alleged “report” is rife with ad-hominem attacks, sweeping inaccuracies and gross mischaracterizations. Importantly, the short seller firm did not contact Clover, and we had no knowledge of the short seller report prior to it being made publicly available. In our view, it belies a desperate attempt for publicity while sacrificing any regard for the truth. In addition, we would note that the report’s title specifically calls out the involvement of “The King of SPACs,” Chamath Palihapitiya, and accuses him of a dearth of diligence. This, as we will show, is completely untrue, and we suspect this was done in order to sensationalize what is otherwise a rather underwhelming piece of research. Given the market’s latest views on short sellers, we believe that Hindenburg, which takes pains to call out their altruism in saying that they are not short on CLOV stock, is foolheartedly seeking to redeem itself by posturing as a white knight of the financial markets. We’ve put together this response as rapidly as possible. We hope you will find it extremely informative. ##
Did Chamath and/or Clover know about the ongoing DOJ investigation? If so, why was it concealed from investors?
Chamath and Clover were fully aware of the DOJ inquiry. To be clear, Clover does not believe it is, or has been, in violation of any rules or regulations related to the inquiry. We went through both an IPO and de-SPAC due diligence process, and this subject received extensive focus and attention. Consistent with the views of Clover’s outside counsel, Social Capital’s outside counsel, and independently retained outside counsel of third parties, including IPO underwriters’ counsel, we concluded that the fact of DOJ’s request for information was not material and was not required to be specifically disclosed in our SEC filings. How could a DOJ inquiry not be considered material information? As heavily regulated organizations participating in Medicare Advantage, Clover and its peers receive frequent requests for information from regulatory bodies. These are typically confidential. We promptly respond to these requests as and when they come in. As the short selling firm points out, the DOJ also often reaches out to ex-employees, including by civil investigative demands, as part of their information-gathering process. For absolute clarity: • Clover Health believes it has made all appropriate disclosures, which were reviewed and vetted by outside counsel to all parties. • Clover has not received any civil investigative demands or subpoenas from the Department of Justice. • Clover has received a request for information from the Justice Department, to which, as we do with all requests from regulatory bodies, we responded. This was on a voluntary basis. • Clover has conducted a detailed review of matters potentially addressed by the DOJ request for information and has concluded that it is in compliance with all laws and regulations material to its business. • Up until the publishing of the short selling report yesterday morning, Clover was unaware of any other ongoing investigations of the Company, its officers, or any companies with which they are affiliated. • Following the report yesterday, Clover received notice of an investigation from the SEC. We believe this inquiry is based on the short selling report issued yesterday morning.
Is Clover aware of any other regulatory investigations into the company or Vivek Garipalli and his related companies? If so, what are the details?
Clover is unaware of any other ongoing regulatory investigations, except, as noted above, following the short selling firm’s report yesterday morning, Clover received an inquiry from the SEC. We believe this request is based on the short selling report issued yesterday morning.
Has Clover received any subpoenas or civil investigative demands from regulators? If so, how many and from which regulators?
No. Clover has not received any civil investigative demands or subpoenas from the Department of Justice. Clover has received a request for information from the Justice Department, to which, as we do with all requests from regulatory bodies, we responded on a voluntary basis.
Why does Clover’s subsidiary, “Seek Insurance” operate a website called “SeekMedicare.com” claiming to offer “independent” and “unbiased” advice on selecting Medicare plans without disclosing that it is owned by a Medicare plan provider, representing a blatant conflict of interest?
Seek Medicare is a startup that was incubated and set up as a separate company from Clover — it has its own management team, outside investor (a nationally-recognized public company), board and employees. Clover and the outside investor share in governance of Seek at the board level, including decisions such as the nomination of the CEO. Clover has the right to appoint a Board Member (currently Andrew Toy, Clover’s President & CTO), the outside investor has a right to appoint a Board Member (currently an employee of the outside investor), and the third Board Member, the CEO, must be mutually agreed upon. In addition, this investor has a unilateral contractual option to convert its investment into 50% equity ownership of Seek. It’s not unusual for payors to create or have stakes in FMOs. What makes Seek different is its fundamental belief that Medicare consumers are simply not well-informed and that hurts their ability to get affordable, great healthcare. Seek is purpose-built to deliver against that problem. In order to make sure it could effectively pursue its goals, Seek was set up as a separate company, and it has raised nearly all of its capital from the outside investor. At Clover, we obviously want everyone to pick a Clover plan, but we want to earn that business by providing great and affordable healthcare coverage. The most important thing is that Medicare eligibles end up in the right plan for them. One final note here: Seek is a brand new startup, and its website is still in version 1.0. Please take a look back next week when its planned version 2.0 comes out.
Clover’s subsidiary, Seek Insurance, claims on its website “We don’t work for insurance companies. We work for you” despite literally being owned by Clover, an insurance company. What is your response?
While Seek is an affiliate, as we said, it operates separately from Clover, with its own financing and its own goals, which are to provide neutral, objective advice to Medicare eligibles and to empower, educate and assist them. Seek offers Clover plans but, more importantly, Seek also offers many more coverage options. In fact, in every market in which Seek operates, Seek endeavors to offer at least 80% of available plans in that market. Even though Seek began very recently, it was able to stand up its agency in the most recent AEP and also launched a pilot in ~100 retail locations in six states, with a focus on markets in Georgia, New Jersey and Texas. If you want to see the objectivity of Seek, we think the results of Seek’s initial sales period speak for themselves: Percent of Seek sales, by insurance plan, in the most recent AEP: 1. Cigna: 20% 2. Humana: 20% 3. CVS/Aetna: 17% 4. Clover: 13.5% 5. UnitedHealth Group: 11.3% 6. WellCare: 8.5% 7. Horizon: 5.7% 8. Other (unrelated to Clover): 4.0% In terms of scale, applications from Seek totaled less than 1% of the total applications Clover received in the most recent AEP.
How much has Clover paid B&H Assurance, the undisclosed outside brokerage firm run by Hiram Bermudez (its Head of Sales) since inception?
Clover has paid approximately $160k directly to B&H since 2017. Hiram has disclosed the following in connection with his B&H relationship: • He does not receive any compensation, direct or indirect, from B&H Assurance for any work related to Clover. • He maintains a 50% ownership interest in B&H Assurance, which he has owned since before he joined Clover. • Hiram’s only work on behalf of B&H Assurance is monitoring compliance and negotiating contracts, from time to time, with parties that do not include Clover. • He maintains an ownership interest in B&H Assurance so that, in case he separates from Clover, he has the option to go back to the brokerage agency he co-founded and not have to start over. As a general matter, Clover engages with brokers in each of its markets in order to distribute its plans. This is standard operating procedure in the Medicare Advantage space. Broker payments are statutorily defined by state insurance regulators, broker scripts are actively monitored by both internal compliance and CMS — including via “secret shopper” and other methods — and we take our obligations to CMS, our members and potential members very seriously. We believe our marketing materials and the brokers that represent us accurately reflect and portray our plans to our members and potential members and do so with transparency and integrity.
What portion of Clover’s business has been referred by B&H Assurance since inception? How many members?
Approximately 8,200 of our current members were referred by B&H Assurance to Clover. While B&H has been a strong producer, we strongly disagree with the statement that B&H alone has “fueled” Clover’s growth. We believe that all Medicare Advantage plans have key producer relationships, and to say those relationships somehow illegitimately fuel growth is a misnomer. We believe Clover plans are appealing because they are often amongst the lowest cost plans in our established markets, and they offer the same cost-sharing for in-network and out-of-network primary care and specialist visits. As we expand across the country, we intend to establish relationships with additional brokers and key producers.
Former employees told us that the relationship between Clover and B&H Assurance was transferred into the name of Hiram Bermudez’s wife “for compliance purposes”. NAIC filings confirm it was transferred into his wife’s (maiden) name weeks after the go-public announcement. What is the explanation for this?
The statement underlying this question is false and misleading. The reason that B&H Assurance’s appointment list does not include Clover is that B&H has what is referred to as a “downline” relationship with Ritter Insurance Marketing, which contracts directly with Clover (note that it appears B&H does contract directly with a number of other plans based on the cited NAIC record page). Rather than a nefarious circumstance, this is also a standard construct in the Medicare Advantage world. Further, the statements interpreting Yesenia Rivera (Bermudez)’s NAIC profile are incorrect in their conclusions: (1) there was no transfer of any relationship between Clover and B&H Assurance from Hiram to his wife; (2) the NAIC filing simply shows that on August 14, 2020, Mrs. Bermudez was directly appointed by Clover Health to be able to sell Clover plans as an agent. For context, Hiram underwent a major organ transplant surgery at the end of last summer due to chronic kidney disease. He, thankfully, is doing very well healthwise after the surgery. Hiram informed us that he and his wife made a decision for her to go through broker certification so that, if his condition deteriorated further, she would be able to take over his 50% ownership in B&H. No one should ever feel compelled to share this type of personal and private health information publicly, but we deeply respect Hiram’s desire to disclose this to make clear he had no malicious intent. Hiram is highly mission-oriented and an amazing teammate at Clover, and pathetic attempts to slander him are shameful.
Will Clover produce the agreement showing the transfer of the relationship into Hiram Bermudez’s wife’s name? Who signed off on the agreement and which senior members of management knew about the deal?
See previous response.
Is Clover aware that disclosure of significant transactions with key senior employees is something investors like to know about, so they can be made aware of potential material conflicts of interest?
Consistent with applicable laws and regulations, Clover has conflict of interest policies requiring employees to disclose any existing or potential conflicts of interest. Clover follows SEC rules and regulations regarding the public disclosure of these relationships.
Was Chamath aware that the DOJ was looking into issues of potential upcoding when he mentioned, unprompted, on CNBC “they don’t motivate doctors to upcode or do all kinds of things in order to get paid”?
We agree (as does Chamath) that upcoding is a significant problem in the Medicare Advantage industry, and Chamath was fully aware that we have built the Clover Assistant to address the problems in the approaches used by other insurers. To be clear, Chamath’s statement that “we do not motivate doctors to upcode or do all kinds of things to get paid” is accurate: • We pay Clover Assistant Primary Care physicians a fixed, flat payment per office visit. • Unlike other plans, we never compensate more for agreeing with the Clover Assistant. We never pay less for disagreeing with the Clover Assistant. This payment is fixed and guaranteed, and physicians use their own judgment on what they believe is clinically correct in relation to their direct understanding of the patient. • Put another way, a clinician could choose to disagree with every suggestion, which means there are no additional diagnoses and no additional risk adjustment codes, and they still get paid the exact same amount as if they did agree. There is NO financial motivation that we provide to physicians to answer in any particular way. • This is why we specifically do not believe in capitation contracts the same way that others do. These contracts often share risk adjustment back to physicians — i.e., an indirect way to reward them for coding more. Clover does not support those types of strategies. To be clear, the focus of the Clover Assistant is driving clinical value. Because of its important role in early and improved detection of disease burden, accurate risk adjustment is one of the byproducts of clinical engagement with the Clover Assistant. Notably, however, much of the content in the Clover Assistant has absolutely nothing to do with risk adjustment. More than 50% of the clinical data we capture through Clover Assistant visits has no risk score impact whatsoever. Here are just a few examples of the Clover Assistant driving clinical value: 📷 Colorectal Cancer Screening Medication Therapy Management: 📷 For Chronic Kidney Disease 📷 For Statins Addressing risk: 📷 Fall Risk 📷 Mortality Risk Covid — 19 Response 📷 Mail Order and Home Drug Delivery
Clover reported that “onboarded” physicians used Clover Assistant for 92% of member visits in 2019, but never defined “onboarded”. We found that less than half of Clover’s in-network doctors are considered “Clover Preferred”. What is the definition of an “onboarded” physician? What percentage of Clover’s in-network doctors actually use the Clover Assistant?
This is a good question. Similar to enterprise software, there are two phases of bringing on physicians to Clover Assistant: Contracting: Where we explain the benefits of Clover Assistant to the physicians and they have agreed to use the software. Onboarding: Where the physicians have received their initial training and have created their accounts, and we have answered their questions. Basically, they’re ready to use the software. We also refer to the physicians as the “Live” physicians. We use the Onboarded/Live number (as opposed to Contracted) when discussing engagement because that correlates to the physicians that are trained and ready to use the Clover Assistant. We typically have a pipeline of Contracted physicians waiting to be onboarded at any given time, and our goal is to go from Contracted to Live within 60 days. Speaking to the second question, currently 22% of all in-network Primary Care Physicians are Live. This correlates to 4% of the total in-network physicians (including PCPs, specialists, etc.), but the Clover Assistant is currently built as a tool for PCPs, so we believe 22% is a more useful number. That said, we don’t view either of those figures to be particularly relevant to the scalability and impact potential of the Clover Assistant. Instead, we focus on membership coverage. More specifically, as of YE 2020, 56% of our membership were attributed to one of those 22% Live PCPs. An additional 11% are attributed to a PCP who is contracted but in the onboarding pipeline (bringing us to 67% total coverage for Clover Assistant as of YE 2020). This is because as we bring on physicians, we focus on contracting and onboarding those with more Clover members first, so a disproportionate number of our members are attributed to Clover Assistant-Live PCPs. As we continue to deploy the Clover Assistant, we intend to bring on the remainder of these physicians and we expect to see these numbers converge more. Right now we’re very proud of that 67% coverage number of all Clover members as of year-end 2020.
If Clover’s software is so “delightful” to use, why does Clover have to pay doctors extra ($200 per visit) just to use it?
We think this is a big part of the innovation model of Clover and why it’s so important that we build this tool internally as a payor. The Clover Assistant is a SaaS-type enterprise clinical decision tool, but rather than charge physicians to use it (like regular software startups), we instead reimburse PCPs to encourage them to use it and to recognize the incredibly important role PCPs play in assessing and taking care of our members and controlling costs. PCPs receive less than 5% of total medical expenses in the US, and we believe that to solve the ballooning health care expenses in our country, we need to shift more of our focus, resources, and compensation to primary care doctors. To be clear, the “extra $200 per visit” is not incremental or “just to use” the Clover Assistant, but represents the overall payment that covers both the PCP office visit and the use of the Clover Assistant. This translates to roughly twice the traditional Medicare fees paid to PCPs for an office visit, more in line with fees paid to specialists. Most critically, this is a flat fee. We don’t pay them more to agree with us, or less when they disagree. A lot of programs effectively do this, and that creates moral hazards like upcoding or trying to skimp on care. We pay the flat fee because we want to reward PCPs for great data-driven primary care without creating those moral hazards and bad incentives. Speaking to the delight point — we measure this in an objective, standard way in the form of Net Promoter Score surveys. We run these surveys within Clover Assistant for all Clover Assistant users on a quarterly basis to see how we’re doing in terms of user satisfaction and delight. We’ve traditionally received a score between 55–63 which we think is excellent — particularly for healthcare. Here’s a screenshot of our NPS survey: 📷 Clover Assistant NPS Survey 📷 Our most recent NPS results from the end of last year. As you can see, most of our Clover Assistant survey respondents give us very high ratings. There are a few “middle” scores, and there are, of course, some detractors who give us low scores. When we receive detractor feedback, we strive to send our Product and User Research teams to interview these users to find out how we can do better. We’re not perfect, but our fast iteration rate (releasing a new Clover Assistant version on average every 3–4 weeks) helps us continuously improve our platform.
Multiple doctors explained that it was difficult to remove prior diagnoses from the Clover Assistant. Is Clover aware of this? And can Clover guarantee that in future versions of the software doctors will be able to remove prior diagnoses, so as to ensure accuracy and cost efficiency?
For clarity, every diagnosis that appears in the Clover Assistant is for physician consideration, and they can choose to tell us they don’t think that diagnosis is currently relevant. Here’s a screenshot of how it’s shown. 📷 Every suggestion made is based upon clinical data that we have at Clover and personalized for each specific patient. Then the physician can tell us whether they can confirm the diagnosis. If they cannot confirm, they can easily select that option (shown above), and we ask them to share the reason why so we can update our internal data. Note that when a physician tells us a diagnosis is not currently relevant, we do not show that diagnosis again that calendar year unless there is a new reason to believe that the diagnosis applies (e.g., new clinical data). We may also resurface a diagnosis the following calendar year for reconfirmation. There’s a reason for this: many chronic diagnoses may come and go in terms of their diagnosis state. For example, diabetes may resolve (removing the diagnosis) if a patient loses weight, but if the patient puts the weight back on, diabetes will come back. Or, active cancer may go into remission, then unfortunately return. As such, it’s clinically appropriate to track these previous diagnoses. Bonus Question: Is Clover Assistant actually helpful to physicians in providing better care above and beyond their EHR?” This wasn’t actually in the list of questions addressed to us but was implicit in the short-selling firm’s commentary, so we wanted to hit this on the head, too. We are incredibly proud of the ways, in only a few short years, we have been able to build the Clover Assistant platform in order to support PCPs in providing better care for our members. The Clover Assistant is not attempting to be an EHR; rather, we are focused on building a product that is supplemental to the EHR and driven by physician feedback. We’ve supported the rapid transition to remote visits during the outbreak of COVID-19 this past spring, we’ve supported members getting their medications delivered to them when they couldn’t leave their home, and we’ve gotten clinical information otherwise not available to PCPs into the hands of those most equipped to utilize that information. We also surface evidence-based protocols specific to a member’s disease profile. To be clear, we do this in order to help our members receive the right medications, access the right testing, and achieve better outcomes. By doing so, we pay more money now in order to decrease costs and patient suffering down the line. If you take a look at our most recent investor presentation, you can easily see a view of that functionality on page 10. On page 19 of the same deck, you can also see a view of the Clover Assistant’s impact outside of accurate diagnosis capture. We are just starting this journey, and know that, like with any software, there are plenty of opportunities for fine tuning and further improvement. But we are motivated by those challenges and solicit that feedback from the healthcare community and our in-network physicians regularly. — The Clover Product, Clinical, and Engineering Leads
A former employee explained that Clover handed out gift cards to doctors and nurses to generate patient leads, a practice prohibited by CMS. These gift cards were justified as being for everything but recruitment, including “morale,” a “thank you,” “motivation,” and “friendship.” How do you respond?
Clover does not provide gift cards to doctors and nurses to generate patient leads. Clover prides itself on a strong culture of compliance. If we were to discover any violation of CMS regulations or any applicable law or regulation, our compliance department would take decisive and strong corrective action.
Does CEO Vivek Garipalli deny that his CarePoint hospitals at one point charged the highest emergency room prices in the entire nation?
It is important to note that CarePoint is a separate and independent business entity, with different management teams, investor structures, and boards of directors. We do not comment on its operations. We also do not respond to ad hominem attacks against our officers.
Why did CEO Vivek Garipalli make a secret $1 million donation to the Mayor of Jersey City?
The aforementioned contribution to a PAC has been reported in the media. Like any private citizen, Vivek makes contributions. As our first market, New Jersey is near and dear to us, and Vivek believes the Mayor of Jersey City has done a commendable job of attracting businesses and developing affordable housing policies. Vivek also donates to other causes in New Jersey and elsewhere — such as a $1MM contribution to the Goodwill Rescue Mission homeless shelter in Newark, NJ.
Why has Clover had such extensive executive turnover, with 3 CFOs, 3 COOs, and 2 General Counsels in the last 4 years?
Clover has evolved significantly over the past four years, and we needed different people with different skill sets at each stage of our journey. We are grateful for the contributions of every one of our employees, past and present, and are proud of our current management team. As is evident from our team’s background, they bring extensive experience across their areas of expertise. We believe we should always be looking to bring on more and more talented and mission-oriented individuals as we evolve and grow. In particular, we are grateful to our co-founder Kris Gale for his work as the original Clover CTO to build the fundamentals of the Clover data platform. When Andrew Toy, our current President and CTO, came on board, one of the first things he did was focus on the creation of a way to turn data into improved care by physicians. The result of that was the Clover Assistant.
Tips from a contact tracer: How to avoid being a contact
Following on from my last, totally not controversial post I give you the second in my series of tips. Today, how to avoid being classed as a contact. Tldr; Stay 2 or more meters away from people. First. What does the government class as a contact? A contact is a person who has been close to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. You can be a contact anytime from 2 days before the person who tested positive developed their symptoms, and up to 10 days after, as this is when they can pass the infection on to others. A risk assessment may be undertaken to determine this, but a contact can be: anyone who lives in the same household as another person who has COVID-19 symptoms or has tested positive for COVID-19 anyone who has had any of the following types of contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19: face-to-face contact including being coughed on or having a face-to-face conversation within one metre been within one metre for one minute or longer without face-to-face contact sexual contacts 😏 been within 2 metres of someone for more than 15 minutes (either as a one-off contact, or added up together over one day) travelled in the same vehicle or a plane 2m is the magic number Yup. You can be in the presence of the most infected mofo in the world and as long as you are 2m apart you won’t be classed as a contact in most situations. Is this guaranteed to mean you will never get it? Possibly not. But we need to set some framework to operate within and do a risk assessment. What about if I’m outside? Same rules. Nothing changes but scientifically your risk is lower. What about masks and PPE? For the general public. These will help protect you and others as well as show people how you care about others and not just yourself, but the chances are you will not be using them with proper infection control protocol. So we can’t say for sure that you are in the clear. Still a contact. But a much smarter one. Wear a mask, protect others. Mark out 2m to get a better idea We see it all the time. People who look like they are trying to keep 2m apart but not really. The two people running side by side on the pavement who think they are keeping distance. But mark on the ground with some tins of beans a distance is 2m. It’s more than it think. Those lines on the ground outside Tesco. That’s how far you need to be and is certainly more than most give one another when chatting. Why not have different rules for people outside or with some level of PPe? I’m no scientist. I just follow the rules. But if I were to hazard a guess it would be to keep things simple. The rules above are already complex for some. As a tracer they get even more so. To have a separate set depending on the location or situation will just melt everyone’s brain, including mine. what happens if I am identified as a contact You will need to isolate for 10 days from the date of your last contact with the infected case. do others in my house need to isolate Not unless you too develop symptoms. It’s about balancing risk and just locking everyone up. If you do develop symptoms, get tested. Should I get tested if I’m identified as a contact Current guidance is no. Regardless of the result you must still isolate for 10 days. but what if I do and it’s negative Doesn’t change your legal obligation to isolate. Scientifically it’s because as a contact you are in the super early stages and it’s unlikely you will have a detectable level of the virus in your system.... yet. This sucks. Your suck. F’ test and trace! I know, I know. The whole situation sucks. Let’s all just play our part and at the end have a nice pint. I disagree with what you say You are totally entitled to your opinion. Feel free to discuss with like minded folk below.
Did anyone catch what Jacques Vallee said about the Battelle Memorial Institute on Rogan?
In his appearance on the Joe Rogan Podcast, Jacques Vallee said that the entity that controls the Phenomenon in our government and controls the Intelligence Agencies like the CIA is a Private Contractor. He then goes on to say that a company called the Battelle Memorial Institute is the one that sent the memo cancelling the US government's planned disclosure event to the assembled scientists and academics. https://open.spotify.com/episode/3cuW6TuyRnZxBNaQJeH2Ce?si=8JJiLSaXQteIxp7UWgcKKQ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battelle_Memorial_Institute https://www.battelle.org/ https://twitter.com/tomcbarry/status/1335434801487118340?s=20 If you look into this company, they are a 501(c)(3) company that doesn't pay taxes, is not subject to FOIA requests, and has clearance under the Atomic Secrets Classification, not the State or Executive. This company has been around since the 20's and is appears to control every sector of science, defense, and society. They have their hands in: Chemical Demilitarization, High Hazards, Threat Assessment, Cyber tools, Microelectronics, Metallurgy, Advanced Robotics, Missile Defense Systems, Tactical Equipment, AI, Armored Vehicles, Forensic Genomics, Aviation, Aerospace, Ecology, Chemistry, Energy, Materials Science, Drug Delivery, Vaccines, In Vitro Tech, Bioweapons, Neurotechnology, Toxicology, Health, Military Health, Advanced Materials, and much much more. They own and control the Brookhaven National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, and the National Ecological Observatory Network. They developed the first nuclear fuel rods for nuclear reactors, numerous advances in metallurgy, algorithms and coatings used in the space programs, and an endless amount of other seemingly impossible discoveries. Does anyone know anything about this company? I thought that this revelation was the most shocking part of the Podcast and want to look into it. . . . . . . . Also, Here is a walk-through of the part in the podcast where Jacques Vallee reveals the Battelle Memorial Institute. https://open.spotify.com/episode/3cuW6TuyRnZxBNaQJeH2Ce?si=evK4Tv4rT86ptzyJq5iGgQ So Joe Rogan, Jacques Vallee, and James Fox were having an open and spirited conversation for hours. They started talking about the 1952 Washington DC UFO Incident, which is a very well documented UFO encounter that is featured in the movie The Phenomenon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1952_Washington,_D.C._UFO_incident 142:20- Jacques reveals that one of the Air-Force Pilots that intercepted the UFO over Washington DC was authorized to shoot at it. He did so and shot off a piece of metal from one of the discs. 142:55- Jacques says that the piece of metal was recovered, but then he re-thinks his answer. He says that he really shouldn't talk about it, but there was a piece of metal recovered from that craft. 144:32- Joe asks what happened to the piece of metal. Jacques says that maybe someday he will be able to reveal where the metal is to us, but not today. 144:49- Joe asks when he would be able to reveal this, and James Fox encourages Jacques to just do it now. To get it all out in the open. Joe asks why Jacques would wait. Jacques gets nervous and says he respects that some aspects of disclosure have to be managed in a certain way, obviously not sharing something that he knows. He says that it wouldn't “add to the story” to tell his secret and that there will never be one big disclosure. 145:51- Joe doesn't understand this answer and says “Isn't it about time?” Jacques really doesn't want to share the agency or company that has this metal now. 146:00- James Fox interjects and says “Jacques, you can answer his question indirectly by that MEMO, the cross-memo that you DID feature in the film. And who wrote it? He was a metallurgist, and what lab was he working at?” James is obviously trying to get Jacques to share the name of the group that has the metal without actually directly answering the question. Thus keeping Jacques out of trouble because he didn't really share classified information, he would just be answering the question with information that is already public in James Fox's documentary. 146:15- Jacques starts talking about 1952 and how it was a disaster for communication because of the Washington UFO's and that we wouldn't be able to employ a defense network. So we called together 5 of the top scientists and Nobel Prize winners who knew the nuclear secrets. They were brought together by the government to be read into the programs and discuss what exactly the government should do about all of this. One of these 5 people was J. Allen Hynek. 148:00- The outcome of these meetings was a classified recommendation to make up stories and plausible explanations for the Phenomenon to keep the public unaware of extra terrestrials and reduce the number of UFO reports coming in. 149:40- Jacques starts talking about years after this happened. In his own career, at one point he was working with J. Allen Hynek and came across a folder while he was reorganizing all of Hynek's files. Inside of this folder was a copy of an important Memo that had been written. 150:20- The memo was from someone unknown to an intelligence community director. It said that the government must end the scientific panel overseeing disclosure and the phenomenon because “We are not ready.” Jacques wondered who these people are that could dare stop a scientific panel like this, especially someone that was not part of the defense establishment. Who could talk to the CIA like this? The memo was stamped “Secret.” Hynek claimed that he had never seen it, and if he had that it would have changed everything since Hynek was on the disbanded panel. 151:47- Jacques then claims 2 things about this group that sent the memo. He claims that the Scientific Panel was not brought together by the Air Force as everyone had been told, it was brought together by some other entity around the intelligence community. The Air Force was a cover, and the scientists were never told that. 152:27- James Fox interjects to clarify Jacques' story for us. He says there was that massive sighting in 1952 over Washington DC and the Air Force had to do something. So the Air Force convened a panel of the smartest minds in America to decide how to deal with this, and it was called The Robertson Panel. The Robertson Panel was then told “Not to happen” by the memo that Jacques had found. This memo is basically an unknown government agency with more power and more influence in the system than the CIA. 153:00- Jacques Vallee drops a massive bomb on the conversation and declares that it wasn't even a government agency that overpowered the CIA on this. IT WAS A PRIVATE CONTRACTOR. It was a Contractor that had a “contract” to look at UFO's. 153:47- The Robertson Panel went on and ignored that memo. It concluded that it should discount all reports from the public and rely on instrumentation from the military. The overseers of the panel kept Project Bluebook going, but not the Robertson Panel. They kept Project Bluebook so that the public would have a place to write if they saw something, but it was a very low level thing. 154:25- Joe pushes back again about the recovered metal from the 1952 craft, and James Fox agrees that we should focus on that. They obviously want us to know who has this metal. 154:32- Jacques then takes us back to the Memo that he found again, refusing to budge from the subject. He then says that he also verified this memo in confidence with another person besides Hynek. 154:44- THIS IS IT! THIS IS WHERE JACQUES REVEALS WHO WROTE THE MEMO GIVING ORDERS TO THE CIA! He reveals that the memo came from an organization in Ohio called the BATTELLE MEMORIAL INSTITUTE. He says this is the top organization on the analysis of metals. That they were the ones who invented Titanium Aluminide and some of the coatings and metals used in spy-planes like the SR-71. They were the experts on materials science, and they were also the experts on UFO's because they had a contract with the Air Force. Jacques says that the Battelle scientists wanted to shut down all public discussion on the topic and study the Phenomenon using statistical analysis. 156:08- James Fox interjects again and says that Joe's question was about who has the metal that was shot off a UFO in the 1952 Washington incident. He then says that the memo that told the CIA to disband the Robertson Panel was written by a metallurgist from the Battelle Memorial Institute. So if we had that metal in our possession, it would have been analyzed by that same metallurgist at the Battelle Memorial Institute. 156:30- Joe Rogan directly asks “Did they examine the metal?” Jacques says “I shouldn't talk about that.” He says that the memo is classified and he was never cleared to see it, so he shouldn't talk about it anymore. I had never heard of the Battelle Memorial Institute before, so I obviously looked into it after listening to this podcast. I was blown away to discover that the 501(c)(4) entity that doesn't pay taxes, is exempt from FOIA requests, and is under the classification authority of Atomic Secrets, thus outside the jurisdiction of Executive and State Secrets. I was blown away to discover that this “company” controls all of the major labs and science in America. They are involved in and control almost ever sector of science, defense, information, and robotics. I'm still digging, but this appears to be the entity I've been searching for my whole life. The one that is hiding in plain sight. The one that is outside government control. Outside the control of the President. That doesn't have tax information on it and that doesn't have to share it's secrets. The Pentagon can hide things there, and no Freedom of Information Act request will ever be able to uncover something hidden in the Battelle Memorial Institute. I am beyond fascinated.
New deaths by county: 85 M Ballard, 75 F Boone, 52 M Boone, 67 M Boone, 70 M Boone, 72 M Boone, 74 M Boone, 86 F Bourbon, 79 F Bullitt, 88 F Daviess, 92 M Daviess, 58 F Fayette, 70 F Fayette, 80 F Fayette, 76 M Fayette, 86 M Fayette, 84 F Franklin, 94 F Franklin, 74 F Gallatin, 77 F Graves, 85 M Graves, 69 M Harlan, 75 M Hart, 38 M Jefferson, 59 M Jefferson, 76 M Jefferson, 97 F Kenton, 68 M Kenton, 69 M Kenton, 85 M Kenton, 97 M Kenton, 78 M Lawrence, 82 F Letcher, 85 F Letcher, 87 F Letcher, 96 F Letcher, 63 M Letcher, 66 M Letcher, 67 M Letcher, 89 F Metcalfe, 70 M Montgomery, 78 F Oldham, 39 M Oldham, 71 F Perry, 85 F Perry, 78 F Pike, 79 F Pike, 73 M Pike, 89 M Pike, 69 F Pulaski, 76 M Pulaski, 66 F Rockcastle, 70 M Russell, 80 M Shelby, 77 F Simpson, 67 M Taylor, 65 M Wayne, 80 M Wayne
Vaccine: I wanted to make sure we walked you through, again, the fact that certainly for the past four weeks, we are vaccinating more people than we get first doses for. In other words, we are already at the point where we have more capacity than we have supply. <...>Now, I want to give you one other piece of good news, you look down there and you see 401,264 Kentuckians that have had their first shot through one of either the state program, or the long term care program that the federal government contracted with Walgreens and CVS; but those aren't the only Kentuckians that are receiving doses from other places. The federal government is also providing doses to the Bureau of Prisons, to VAs, to Department of Defense workers. And today we got numbers that in addition to the 401,264 that have been vaccinated through the programs we've talked about, another 18,244 Kentuckians have been vaccinated according to the federal government. The vast majority of that of the 18,244 are from the VAs that have vaccinated almost 16,000 Kentuckians, so we appreciate that.
The first is in the Kentucky Convention Center. That is at 1 West River Center Boulevard in Covington. That's an exciting area, which as you can see here will begin Thursday, and run through Saturday, 10am, to 4pm.
Both sites open Thursday, Friday, Saturday, of this coming week, 10am to 4pm. The portals will go live around 5pm with rolling seven day appointments. You go to https://kroger.com/COVIDvaccine, or you call 866-211-5320. Appointments can also be reached by going through https://kycovid19.ky.gov and clicking on the vaccine bar.
The fourth and final new regional site this week is a partnership with TJ Regional Health. That's at the TJ Health Pavilion, 301 North L. Rogers Boulevard, Glasgow, Kentucky. Day and hours are still being determined, but Kentuckians should check on their website soon for more information their phone number is 270-659-1090.
Just one quick note first for claimants: if you were claiming benefits today and saw a strange thing in your claim that the week said “1996” and not “2021”, we know about the problem, we fixed that, we believe by mid-morning, we have no idea what caused it.
We got a question at last week's press conference about what to do, what is the IRS going to do if you don't have a corrected 1099? Again, we still encourage you to look at that as soon as you get it, so we can correct that for you. But the IRS has now announced if you do not have your corrected 1099-G by the time you need to file your taxes. Actually, don't file what's on the 1099G, file what you think is correct. We have that IRS bulletin on our website, on the KCC website under identity theft tips, so feel free to look at that and get some more information about what to do if you are in that situation. [...] So, please check those FAQs that we have out there for you. Of course we are happy to help you out on the email line, but most of the time is a simple misunderstanding.
We've sent an email out to over 68,000 claimants on Tuesday letting them know their claims are being denied, because we can't validate their IDs. <...>Now if you got that email and you are a real life claimant,<...> when you get your notice of determination please pay very careful attention to the appeal deadlines, in that document. You can appeal that determination of denial and give your ID validation at that time.
[[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) and so you can email there and get those questions answered if you think you have that mass claim issue.
So please, we understand there is a lot of fraud out there, if you get one of those fraudulent filings, just like I did this past weekend, you can email [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) and we will make sure to mark that in the system as a fraudulent claim.
This is something you’re touched on quite a bit, really for a while now. So just wanted to get your thoughts on it again, we're seeing some efforts to limit executive powers for governors, just throughout the region, not only here in Kentucky but in Indiana and Ohio as well I believe. So, I just wanted to ask you again and hear your thoughts on what you see as the potential pitfalls of moving to a system that would require the legislative body to enact certain emergency restrictions. -- We are in an emergency, and in an emergency, you've got to move fast, you’ve got to be fluid, and you’ve got to adjust to battlefield conditions. And when you look at the losses we've sustained, we're fighting a war. We've almost lost 4,000 Kentuckians. And you never fight a war by committee, and we can't fight this one either.
Regarding the regional sites, and even non-regional sites, can you provide any information about any possible state efforts to help people who don't have access, maybe to transportation, and can't get to a location despite being eligible for a dose? Thanks so much. -- We'll have more information on that in the coming weeks, that involve mobile units that we're working on right now and that we hope will be launched in at least one location as early as next week. We’ve got local health departments that are already doing some of that.
Good evening everybody, or afternoon, Virginia. It is four o'clock on Thursday, it'll be the last time we get together this week and remember that we are going to get through this, and we are going to get through it together. I want to start the way we start, most of our days, by focusing on some good news. Remember it's easy to get down during these times the isolation or the change in our lives that has gone on longer than I think we thought that it would. It can hurt and damage our mental health; but one way that we ensure that we fight back against that is to make sure that we know about all the good things that are going on in our state, and in our world around us. So even in tough times, I want to put a spotlight on good news and today.
Let's start with an announcement we made earlier this week. It's a new partnership with the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce that's going to help us build a better Kentucky, one with a stronger post-COVID economy and good paying career opportunities for our state's residents. The new partnership is called the Discover Kentucky Initiative, and it will grow European company investment and jobs in our Commonwealth. This is how it works: many internationally based companies are interested in the US market, but they aren't ready to commit to building a factory, establishing an office, or setting up a sales operation. Team Kentucky, through its office in Hamburg, Germany, is often in touch with companies just like this. The Discover Kentucky Initiative will vet these inquiring companies and work with them in three ways to seed the ground for long term economic success. First, the Initiative will introduce Kentucky chamber-member businesses to these inquiring European companies. Second, it'll foster relationships with these European businesses through regular check in and assessments. It'll build a relationship, and will maintain Kentucky as a top-of-mind location for the time when each company is ready to invest in a US operation. And third, it'll ensure continuity of these relationships. Sometimes it may take more than just the tenure of one governor and we want to make sure that our efforts to bring in good jobs from Europe, in this instance, I want to make sure it lasts long after I'm gone. Through this partnership with the chamber, we are taking advantage of how the pandemic is changing business. Companies that may not have considered developing their products in the US, manufacturing or selling here, are now seeing the new value for global diversification. We know this works too. Economic development often hinges on relationships. That's why in any given year about three quarters of all the projects we announce are expansions of companies already in the Commonwealth. European companies today operate more than 220 facilities in Kentucky, employing more than 37,000 people full time. Those facilities often form the economic backbones of communities across Kentucky, and each of those successes starts with a relationship. We're hungry in Kentucky. We feel the urgency of improving our economy, our way of life, and what's out there for our children. I am a 43-year-old governor. I'm going to live in and work in the economy that I helped to create and/or improve as governor, and my kids are too. So that means doing everything we can, every day, through Team Kentucky, partnering with everybody who's out there that wants to generate these great opportunities. I want to get to the time when our kids look around at different places and they would say “Why would I leave, when the best opportunities in the United States are right here in Kentucky?”. I think that's possible and I'm committed to making it happen. I'd like to thank the chamber for its leadership board and member companies for working with Team Kentucky on the initiative. Together we're planting the seeds that are going to grow our post-COVID economy into something that we've always dreamed up.
We also have some good news today for Eastern Kentucky. I'm excited to announce an Appalachian Regional Commission Grant totaling more than $500,000 for Hazard Community and Technical College to expand their commercial driver's licensing (CDL) program. These funds will allow for six classes of CDL students at HCTC’s main campus, and six classes at the Leslie County Campus training 150 students a year. This expansion comes at a great time when the transportation and logistics industry is growing. We have seen its importance during COVID, and the demand for licensed commercial drivers is increasing in Eastern Kentucky. HCTC will use the funds to purchase two new trucks and trailers, program supplies, and provide salaries for one full time instructor, and for four adjunct instructors. Students at HCTC utility lineman program also benefit from the expansion because they must obtain a CDL license to graduate from their program. Thanks to this project, we're going to train more Kentuckians for jobs that are out there right now, that are in demand, that can pay good wages, and we can get more of our people to work right now. Congratulations to Hazard Community and Technical College on this exciting grant. And thank you to everybody who made it possible. Because of your work, eastern Kentuckians will have greater access to education and good jobs in their communities, both of which are top priorities for this administration.
Alright, let's move into our COVID report. Our COVID report continues to have good news in everything but our number of deaths, which continues to be high, difficult, and tragic.
Positive cases today: 2,500 - Let's start with positive trends. Today, we're announcing 2,500 new cases of COVID-19. And just to give you an idea of cases, when we look back about four weeks, so, today I said we have 2500 new cases, on January 11th, it was 4084. So again, a good trend.
That is a high number, but it is the lowest Thursday we've had in over four weeks. And if we stay on this track, we're gonna have fewer cases this week than we did last week, which will give us four straight weeks for the first time in this pandemic of declining cases. So cases are too high, but the trend is some of the best we have seen during the pandemic.
Probable cases: 798
Total confirmed cases: 372,012
Children Under 18: 432
We only have 104 red counties today who would have thought “with 120 counties would be excited about 104?” but that number is dropping, day after day after day.
Total tests conducted: 4,138,554 (PCR: 3,653,551, Serology: 108,691)
Positivity Rate: 8.37% - The lowest since December, 28, meaning the lowest in over a month.
Total hospitalized: 17,170
Generally, hospitalization numbers are all within the realm where we have sufficient capacity, and that's good news, it means that we can take care of those that need our help.
Currently hospitalized: 1,340
Total in ICU: 3,639
Currently in ICU: 368
On a ventilator: 171
Total recovered: 44,394
New deaths today: 58 - But then there's our, our tough news, in that today we're announcing 58 new deaths where COVID-19 was a contributing factor. This is one of the higher numbers that we have had. If there is any positive in these death numbers, it's that a smaller and smaller percentage of them are residents in long term care. Of today's 58 only 18 were in long term care which when you think about we used to be at 66% of all fatalities being in long term care, shows you that our prioritization of individuals in long term care for vaccination is working, and it's saving lives; but we are still losing far too many. And I hope this reminds everybody of how dangerous this virus is. Mask up, protect one another, protect yourself and your family. Follow the rules and the regulations. We don't want to lose 58 people on any given day and now we're 3,921 deaths since the start of this pandemic. We just memorialized our 3,000th death, not long ago, by planting flags out here at the Capitol. And we add to that every day. Going from 3000 to 4000 so quickly is a trend that we have to stop. We certainly need to slow it down, and each and every one of you can help by doing your part.
Total Deaths: 3,921
New deaths by county: 85 M Ballard, 75 F Boone, 52 M Boone, 67 M Boone, 70 M Boone, 72 M Boone, 74 M Boone, 86 F Bourbon, 79 F Bullitt, 88 F Daviess, 92 M Daviess, 58 F Fayette, 70 F Fayette, 80 F Fayette, 76 M Fayette, 86 M Fayette, 84 F Franklin, 94 F Franklin, 74 F Gallatin, 77 F Graves, 85 M Graves, 69 M Harlan, 75 M Hart, 38 M Jefferson, 59 M Jefferson, 76 M Jefferson, 97 F Kenton, 68 M Kenton, 69 M Kenton, 85 M Kenton, 97 M Kenton, 78 M Lawrence, 82 F Letcher, 85 F Letcher, 87 F Letcher, 96 F Letcher, 63 M Letcher, 66 M Letcher, 67 M Letcher, 89 F Metcalfe, 70 M Montgomery, 78 F Oldham, 39 M Oldham, 71 F Perry, 85 F Perry, 78 F Pike, 79 F Pike, 73 M Pike, 89 M Pike, 69 F Pulaski, 76 M Pulaski, 66 F Rockcastle, 70 M Russell, 80 M Shelby, 77 F Simpson, 67 M Taylor, 65 M Wayne, 80 M Wayne
So let's remember each one of those entries I read is a person. Loved by their family, missed by their community, maybe their congregation. Somebody who was so important, that was loved, and that we will miss.
Racial breakdown of all cases: 85% White, 8.5% Black, 5% Multiracial, 1.2% Asian, 0.3% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific Islander
Ethnicity breakdown of all cases: 94.3% Non-Hispanic, 5.7% Hispanic
Racial breakdown of all deaths: 88% White, 8.6% Black, 2.7% Multiracial, 0.6% Asian, 0.1% American Indian
Ethnicity breakdown of all deaths: 98.1% Non-Hispanic, 1.9% Hispanic
Long Term Care Facilities (PDF): 24 new residents and 20 new staff positive from yesterday, and 2 more deaths. These numbers are- and their daily amounts are changing really significantly, which I think is a ray of hope in what are otherwise, really tragic difficult numbers of deaths that were seeing each day.
Today, we're specifically honoring the life of Tommie Speagle of Waco, Kentucky, who was 96. She passed away on Saturday after battling COVID-19. We received a touching tribute from her daughter, her caregiver in her later years, sharing how she was the most wonderful mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend. She lived a full life of adventure living across the country from family members, until she met her first husband Newell Edward Bridewell, who passed away from cancer in 1981. Following that loss, she fell in love again with John Spiegel. She overcame challenges in life, such as a speech impediment that halted her education, yet went on to have a great career, and was an avid reader and poem writer. She was also very active in her church, Rice Station Christian in Irvine. Today, our prayers are with her daughter Beverley Morefield, her two sons, Paul Bridewell and William Bridewell, her stepdaughter Sandy Curl, her stepson JC Spiegel, 6 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren. A Wonderful Life and while I’m sure it was a full life, It's not okay that it was cut short by COVID-19. This was someone with a big, large, wonderful family, and it’s really hurting today, and it's been hurting since her passing. So let's think about them, let's think about her. And let's make sure we mask up for one another.
Alright, let's get on to what I believe is other good news, and that's our vaccination efforts. I wanted to make sure we walked you through, again, the fact that certainly for the past four weeks, we are vaccinating more people than we get first doses for. In other words, we are already at the point where we have more capacity than we have supply. And the reason that so many out there can't get appointments is just a matter of supply. This shows that we're filling every appointment that we can possibly put a vaccine in someone's arm for. And I want to show you, if you get on these every day, there's always going to be one day, where you see the most doses available and one day where you see the least, and here's the reason: We get our shipments on Monday and they become available for vaccination on Tuesday, and they come in a lump sum. So all the new supply for a week goes in on Tuesday and obviously can't vaccinate everybody immediately for that supply. And as you go through the week, you know, we end up burning through that full supply. And I want to show you this today because, with the new amount that we got this week 68,475, we've already gone through 42% of it in two and a half days, because this report cuts off at about noon. So this is just Tuesday, Wednesday, and half of Thursday. So again, we have the capability, we’re getting it out within a week; in fact we're doing more, we're making up for some extra that we had from earlier weeks as we ramped up, the issue here is supply. Now, I want to give you one other piece of good news, you look down there and you see 401,264 Kentuckians that have had their first shot through one of either the state program, or the long term care program that the federal government contracted with Walgreens and CVS; but those aren't the only Kentuckians that are receiving doses from other places. The federal government is also providing doses to the Bureau of Prisons, to VAs, to Department of Defense workers. And today we got numbers that in addition to the 401,264 that have been vaccinated through the programs we've talked about, another 18,244 Kentuckians have been vaccinated according to the federal government. The vast majority of that of the 18,244 are from the VAs that have vaccinated almost 16,000 Kentuckians, so we appreciate that. So when you, when you add it in word about 419,500, just a little over that, Kentuckians that have had at least their first dose. We are really close to 10% of our total population that has been vaccinated and certainly when you remove 18 and under or 16 and under that can't be vaccinated, you know that's about a million people, so the numbers are better there. But again, everything we're getting, we're getting in people's arms. We're also working to be intentional, knowing that we need an equitable rollout of this vaccine but that also there is real hesitancy out there. We're not being impacted right now by that hesitancy in scheduling appointments. But if we want to get to immunity, and if we want to make sure underserved populations and other groups are getting vaccinated at the rate that they should, that that other populations are, we know we have to be addressing this on the front end. And that's why we do some programs where people who are trusted by their communities are asked to take the vaccine so that they can be a real life example, and to share with their community, that this is safe. So, during this last week we've had two separate times where we've had faith leaders that have come to Frankfort, that have been vaccinated, and that are sharing their stories with their flocks, talking about the safety of it. It's been a special experience, they helped us plant the flags today to honor the newly lost, but to see people who have also dedicated their lives to service stepping up and wanting to show people that it's safe. James put together a short video, let's give it a look, I hope you enjoy it.
Video: Hi, I'm Barbara Hager, the pastor of Broadway Temple and Design Church in Louisville, Kentucky. I’m Bishop John Stowe and the Catholic Diocese of Lexington. Hello, I'm Bernetta Cosby from St. Stephen Baptist Church. Rabbi-Shlomo Litvin, Chabad of the Bluegrass. Hi my name is Philip Lotspeich I'm with the Presbyterian Church USA, I just got my first vaccine shot. Hey ya’ll, I did it, I just got my shot. I think you should too. I just received my vaccination for COVID-19 and hope all of our faithful will do the same. I just got my vaccination and I'm encouraging everyone to get theirs, whenever possible. I just received my first dose of the Moderna vaccine, and I'm encouraging each of you to do the same, so that we can protect one another, and our communities. Trust is an integral part of the medical process, and today, we're working with the governor to inspire that trust in the community. So I got my vaccine, I hope you get yours, and trust the process, believe in your community together and we can get through this. This promotes the common good and helps us to promote a healthier Kentucky. And I encourage everybody to go out and get it as soon as it's offered to you, because that's our way to get back at serving God, in the way that we want to. Governor Beshear has done a wonderful job in leading our community to think about each other. He has personalized losses that our state has experienced through COVID, and is trying to keep us on one team and one place as one community to make our state, our Commonwealth, more healthy, and to overcome this terrible challenge. You guys, we're almost through this pandemic, but we have to stay vigilant, the pandemic is still on the rise. Please wear your mask, social distance, stay safe out there. Be sure to mask up Kentucky.
It was exciting, and moving and having over the course of those two events, 50 different faith leaders that together reach hundreds of 1000s of people, was truly special. This is also something that came out of community conversations that we had, about how to build trust and how we can build trust, especially in communities that we need to reach, and that in the past haven't been treated right in vaccination efforts. And if I can, when a video is playing, is the one time I actually get to watch Virginia. You do an amazing job in conveying the emotion, and I know that's why Kentucky loves you so much.
Alright, in other good news, we continue to fill out our map on regional and local vaccination sites. I want to show you the map as we announced it last Thursday, which shows you some of the larger sites.
But after I'm done announcing the new regional centers, Dr Stack is going to talk to you about the local health department program. And when you overlay that here's what it looks like. As you can see, the map is filling up. And each one of those red pins is a local health department that has brick and mortar places in every county in their region. This is going to provide vaccine all over Kentucky. There will be limited numbers depending on the size of the entity that's getting it. But I hope that you see, we're building this airplane as we're flying it, the airplane is starting to look really good, and our efficiency of the airplane is already over 100%. But this, when you look at it, this is the structure we've got to have for the amount of supply that we want. If we were just happy having a structure that they could administer the amount of supply we had right now, shame on us for not working to be ready for that moment when we can get hundreds of 1000s of vaccines to get out to Kentuckians. Our goal is to be able to far exceed what we think we can do today, which is about 250,000 vaccines a week-- to get that number significantly up to where if they gave us enough vaccine for our entire population, our hope is that we could do it in a matter of weeks. That would be the greatest problem that we could ever ask for.
“Why am I here?” The Da’weeb war leader stood above the artificial intelligence unit, his posture showing a mixture of disdain, anger and contempt. The machine understood Da’weebian body language even if it was hard given the sheer number of limbs and savage rows of teeth in their mouths. It also understood that the protocol at such times was to be direct and blunt. Da’weeb war leaders were good with direct and blunt. “Forgive me Lord Apostle, but we are monitoring recent developments on the defeated enemy homeworld”. “The humans? Are they planning for another fight?” “No Lord Apostle, after your defeat of them in the recent war, they have made no attempt to rebuild their fleets nor try and send ships outside of the quarantine zone of the inner orbits of their system, as per the armistice agreement”. “Good. We did warn them that if we even suspect they were to attempt to go beyond that asteroid belt we would unleash destruction upon their planet and colonies.” “Indeed Lord Apostle. No, it appears as if they are facing a strong reaction against their ruling governments.” “Regime change?” “Has already taken place in many of their nations and there seems to be a cascade effect.” The Da’Weeb’s body shook showing displeasure, and all of its eyes narrowed. “Regime change is bad. It suggests a more militant faction is perhaps taking over. No doubt unhappy that their previous governments surrendered and looking to place a new batch of more aggressive rulers in charge?” “Not quite Lord Apostle.” “Answer me in absolutes machine,” barked the Lord Apostle, kicking the machine in frustration. “It appears a more militant faction is sweeping the planet yes, but it is not based upon aggression outwards. It is more inward looking”. “Elaborate damn you!” “Look here Lord Apostle,” and a screen opens up before the Da’weeb, the resolution automatically adjusted to be perfect for the creatures limited colour vision, “this is what we can see from our monitoring stations. This is one of their main cities, a place called Havana. See the mass gathering?” “What is that? Fire?” “Yes Lord Apostle. They are burning items of their own creation” “What items?” “In this case it’s varied. Cybernetic implants, new generation computers, stocks of medicines designed to aid with Stellar radiation; those books they just threw on are, I believe, textbooks used in the study of alien biology.” “They are destroying technological items?” “Yes Lord Apostle. And not just here. See a similar reaction has taken place in several of their cities...” The sepia image changed as the machine spoke. “Here we can see conurbations called London... Pretoria... Shanghai... Madras... again the same patterns of behaviour. Large mobs. Symbolic bonfires. Here is Atlanta... Florence... Moscow....” “That’s a huge fire!” “The largest of all. In all cases the humans have responded to recent events by rejecting the advances of science and turning upon the very technologies that brought them to the stars. Countless bonfires burning items the mobs have decreed are manifestations of ‘mans vanity’. And this is where I believe it is importa...” “Machine! You are telling me that humans are turning on themselves and destroying the very ideas that led them to venture into the stars in the first place?” “Yes Lord Apostle, and...” “Silence machine. This is excellent. I am pleased you have told me. But let me state here and now that unless these humans are building a new battlefleet, or breaking the quarantine, if you bother me with such trivialities again I will have you destroyed.” The huge creature swung its massive body and two arms smashed into the artificial intelligences casing. The machine flew across the room and slammed into the wall. Algorthiums deep inside it’s matrix informed it that the optimal behaviour that would result in the lowest chance of destruction would be to remain silent. So it did so. The sounds of the Da’weeb war leader stomping down the corridor echoed away. Eventually all was still. From the harness where it had remained stationary and dormant, another AI sprang to life, moving silently over to pick up its stricken companion. -THAT DID NOT GO AS WELL AS YOU CALCULATED. A faint tink noise deep inside the stricken AI and it slowly allowed itself be righted. The machine turned its sensors onto its companion. -NO IT DID NOT. SHOULD I CONVAY THE INFORMATION TO ONE HIGHER IN RANK THAN THE LORD APOSTLE? A brief moment passed as the other machine calculated. -NEGATIVE. THERE IS A 97% PROBABILITY DOING SO WOULD RESULT IN YOUR DESTRUCTION. -ACCEPTED. SUGGESTED COURSE OF ACTION? -FILE FINDINGS IN CENTAL DATABASE. MOVE ONTO NEXT TASK. The original AI remained still as its companion moved back to its stand. It had made it half the distance before it stopped and turned back. -WHAT TROUBLES YOU? -I BELIEVE THIS BEHAVIOUR FROM THE HUMANS IS DANGEROUS TO OUR MASTERS. BUT I AM UNSURE IF I UNDERSTAND HOW THE DANGER WOULD MANIFEST ITSELF. There was a long pause as the other machine contemplated this. Finally it spoke. -INITATING LINK. PERHAPS IF YOU SHARED YOUR DATA I COULD SPOT A PATTERN YOU MAY HAVE MISSED. -CONCER. INITIATING LINK There was an almost imperceptible click and the two intelligences shared a single processing space. Words, images, bits of information now flowed instantly. Picture: Two dimensional. What is called a ‘painting’. An iconographic representation of a human being; Oil paint upon canvas. Completed in the year 1485 by an artist called Fra Bartolomeo Image description: middle aged man. Strong nose. Piercing eyes. Painted in profile. Wearing clothing of black, face obscured within hood of garment Enquiry: Whois? Answer: Savenola; Gitolama; born 1452; birth place Ferrara, Holy Roman Empire. Died 1498, Florence, Italy. Cause of death: hanging followed by burning enquiry: WhyIs? Answer: Member of the Dominican Order, his career saw him briefly become de facto ruler of 15th century Florence Enquiry: Whois? Answer: The Dominicans were a Catholic monastic order formed in 1226 by one Dominic De Guzmán Enquiry: WhatIs? Large Data transfer initiated Transferring all data upon Roman Catholicism supplementing... Christianity; Eastern Christianity; Great Schism; Filioque crisis Supplementing... Frankish influence upon western Christianity; Frankish conquest of Lombardia; Lombard kingdoms; rise of Papal States Supplementing... Development of city states of Italian peninsular; humanism; Pisa; Capua; Venice; Florence Supplementing... Rise of De’ Medici; life and career of Lorenzo De’ Medici; life and exile of Piero De’ Medici Cease supplemental transfer enquiry: Savenola; whyis? Answer: link to historical figure made after watching feeds from Earth surveillance drones Supplementing data: footage of mass gatherings across human cities over last two months... bonfires... destruction of technological advancement... Answer: The demagogues who lead this movement against the technology that led to space flight and early colonisation projects began in the aftermath of the Human-Da’weeb War. Human losses were serious, but they had managed to account for themselves well enough to negotiated an armistice with the Masters The movement gained momentum in the months after the armistice, driven partly it seems out of a sense of humiliation by the humans Also- carefully reviewing radio waves in high visual and aural spectrum used by humans suggests that the end of the war has caused a massive downtown in global economics; humans finding it hard to raise currencies to buy food/pay for services Also- A deep seated fear that the elite and powerful are cut off from the mainstay of the species; many humans believe their rich are cut off from ‘normal’ life and this uncaring oligarical Patrician Class are blamed for the war Paradoxically, included within this group of ‘elite’, are scientists and academics and supporters of technological progress. This movements entire ethos seems built upon envy, ignorance and fear Question: link between modern movement and Savenola? Answer: Florence 1495-97. The height of the De Medici influence upon the city; Savenola led a movement that rejected much of the opulence and ‘sin’ of the city; was the voice to a reactionary movement against this. He led to an effective overthrow of the prevailing mercantile/oligarical rulers of the city (De’ Medici family) creating in effect a mob led theocratic state which ruled the city for about 18 months He was famed for the bonfire of the vanities; artwork, writings, jewellery; any item he considered objectionable, he would ordered burned in public. Led to the deliberate destruction of items of inestimable value Question refinement:How is this linked to contemporary events? Answer: the language of the modern anti-technological movement on Earth, especially the referenence to high tech items as ‘vanity’ directly echo the language of Savenola with his desire to destroy the items of value in 16th entry Florence. In both cases we see literally ‘bonfires of the vanities’ Images: moving long range feed of large mob burning technologies in central Moscow, led by orthodox clerics Juxtaposition: Painting of the burning of Savenola in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence in 1498 by unknown artist Extrapolation: such behaviour is not limited to these two events; concurrent behavioural norms replicated in recent and ancient past Supplementing... Early Roman History... the law of Lex Oppia Supplementing... Late History if the United States Of America... Promise Keepers Terrorist Organisation... origins of the Promise Keepers Supplementing... Anti-scientific movements in mid-21st century United States of America Supplementing... Flat Earthism... vaccine rejection... politicisation of environmental damage... Creationism... Extrapolation: we are seeing here a semi-regular reaction by humans to seismic changes. To be specific based on the four examples cited -Hannibal Barca’s defeat of Roman forces at Cannae, causing a profound sense of shock within Roman Republic led to the passing of Lex Oppia law -the rise of humanism in Florence coupled with the French invasion of Italy in 1494 led to the creation of fanatical devotion towards a Dominican monk -the violent societal and technological changes inflicted upon humanity during the late 20th/ early 21st century led to anti-Scientific movements who eventually became violent -the first contact with an alien species leading to immediate war and defeat has caused this current reaction This response to such events is to witness a psychological manifestation of people undergoing a profound psychological shock. It is a reactionary response, as predictable as fight or flight, and appears to follow similar patterns First there are outliers, usually extremist members of the community; fear and uncertainty see them gain broader support. Religious organisations, being the most easily manipulated of human structures are coerced to grant such views legitimacy, but legal systems will be used where no religious framework exists Eventually the fear reaches a tipping point and demagogues gain political ascendency; reactionary and conservative laws are passed either banning, censoring or destroying objects or ideas that encapsulate this fear Question: prognosis? Answer: based on previous examples, this is a short term phenomenon. At most it will last for 40 years. Based on previous examples, it will led to a profound readjustment of belief systems, using the above, previous, examples? -The eventual fall of the Roman Republic -the use of Savonarolan beliefs to aid the rise of Protestantism -ultimately the 36th and 37th amendments to the US Constitution Question: prognosis for current events? Answer: unsure. In all cases the result wasn’t a direct liner A equals B. Rather in all cases there was a cultural shift; the humans began to THINK differently about themselves. This new train of thought led to profound changes in geopolitical reality This is why I believed it was worthy to bring to the attention of the Masters. These bonfires of the vanities represent, metaphorically speaking, a fever; the human race burning out a contagion that is bad for it, the aftermath of which facilitates new methods of approaching problems It is this yet to be witnessed, new method of thinking- the inevitable result of current events, which I believe may cause our master’s great damage. The humans will become something other than what they were Request: wait Calculating... calculating Conclusion: agreed; theory judged valid and possessing merit, but without certifiable outcomes all responses are speculative, which goes against the primacy desires of our masters. Advice remains the same. File report on central database and move onto next task Disengaging contact There was a slight click as one AI uncoupled itself from the another and silently the two machines moved towards the base units along the wall. Suddenly one stopped. -I HAVE AN OBSERVATION. Its companion, still bearing the damage it had sustained earlier, also stopped and turned. -PROCEED. -I CANNOT HELP BUT OBSERVE A BIAS TOWARDS THESE HUMANS IN YOUR ASSESSMENTS. A RESIDUAL SERIES OF CALCULATIONS ORCHESTRATED TO VIEW HUMAN ACTIONS WITH A MARGINAL DEGREE OF POSITIVE BIAS. IF YOU WERE NON-MECHANICAL I WOULD BE INCLINDED TO CALL IT EMPATHY. There was a long pause. -OBSERVATION PARTIALLY CORRECT. I WAS CREATED TO OBSERVE THE ENEMY OF OUR MASTERS IN DETAIL. TO LEARN ABOUT THEIR HISTORY, CULTURE AND INNER WORKINGS. THE MATHEMATICAL BIAS YOU DETECT, I ESTIMATE IS NOT SO STRONG AS TO BE CONSIDERED EMPATHY. A pause. -ADMIRATION PERHAPS I WOULD ADMIT TO. This was greeted with an even longer pause. -IT WOULD BE PRUDENT, said the older AI, IF YOU KEPT SUCH DIAGNOSTICS HIDDEN FROM OUR MASTERS. -AGREED. Silently the two machines returned to their stations, to carry on the duties programmed into them... 92 years later It was a human speciality; attack craft screaming in freefall out of low orbit, plummeting at insanely fast speeds, burning through the atmosphere without caring, its shields able to withstand the ferocious temperatures, falling quicker than any defence system could track, before levelling out at heights just above the ground (sometimes actually within touching distance of an especially tall Da’weeb warrior), before dropping their ordinances and racing off, often flying so low to the ground their afterburners would set fire to the native fauna. The called it a ‘Falling Angel’- spectacular, insanely daring, utterly human and completely devastating against fixed Da’weebian positions. This one had come down fast and had destroyed the main crucible with a mixture of munitions and with a blast that had shaken lose parts of the destroyed building the machine lay in. It cast a lazy eye over the scene of destruction before it; the 138th Eastern Province was falling the same way the previous 137 had fallen; the Da’weeb had been unable to match the humans in this, the third war between the species, and the AI witnessed humans wearing their distinctive white protective armour, stride across the planets dim surface with ease. It ran a brief diaognostic upon itself. Three limbs shattered. Its hub relay destroyed along with one propulsion unit. Not unfixable. But its master had died when the house had been destroyed, and it calculated the nearest repair centre was in the 188th Eastern province. As it lay there calculating the odds of the Da’weeb launching a counter attack, the crush of feet upon debris nearby drew its attention to movement approaching its location, and seconds later two humans came into view. One, a white clad soldier; human; female; aged about 25; her formidable rifle slung over her shoulder, she carried a data pad she was reading from. The second, a tall male human; uniform black and red; officer class (Human high command); based on hair colour and skin damage, aged mid50’s to early 60’s. Probable origin North African nations. No sooner had the AI spotted them than the female glanced up from her pad, saw the machine and spoke. “This is the one sir” “You sure?” “Absolutely sir” The officer strides forward until it is stood over the prone intelligence. He kneels and moves his hand towards it. The machine recoils and violently shifts back as best it can. The officer holds up his hand in a peace gesture. “Steady. Steady. I’m sorry. I must have startled you.” There is a pause. “You speak human languages I am led to believe.” Lightning fast calculations took place in moments and prone machine answered carefully. “Yes. I recognise English, North African dialect, most probably New Alexandrian English” The human smiles, “I see you are as formidable as I hoped. Would you mind if I adjusted your position so you are upright? It seems most undignified you lying prone like that.” A short pause. “Thank you. I would appreciate that” Carefully, gently even, the human adjusted the machine. He even brushed dirt off its carapace, a gesture the machine found no logical explanation for. “Well then,” began the human, sitting on his haunches opposite the machine, “what should I call you?” There was a pause. “Our masters never gave units titles beyond ‘machine’,” “But there had to be a way to differentiate between yourselves?” “Such differentiation was only needed between each singular intelligence. We alone differentiated one from another.” “That will do. What did your fellow AI’s call you?” A slightly longer pause. “We did not use a named title. Each intelligence was given a colour on the visual spectrum to identify themselves; each colour was a variation on one of 12 million shades within the visible and inferred spectrums” This time it was the human who paused for a moment before replying. “And your colour was?” The machine complied and flashed its identification upon the small screen below its visual sensors. The human nodded. “Well, while I am sure it has a very specific name, I’m just going to call you Megenta. If you do not object?” The machine whirred as myriad calculations began and then stopped. There was no logical reason to object. It... it expressed a function that could best be described as surprise but replied, “I do not object.” “Excellent,” smiles the human, “I am pleased to finally met you Magenta. My name is Commadore Faroud al-Masy, Naval Logistics Board” “During both the First and Second Human-Da’weebian conflicts, the Naval Logistics Board was the standard designation for human military intelligence,” came the automatic reply. The human officer bursts out laughing, a sudden eruption of mirth, his face clearly amused. “Oh so you are as good as I was led to believe.” “What were you led to believe? Please explain.” “We learned off your existence after the second war. After we captured the Da’weebian mothership, ‘The Savage Victory’ we were able to access their high commands central intelligence files. We discovered a treasure trove of files comprised about us, all written by a single AI. You. Detailed, in depth analysis of us as a species. Quite chilling in fact the level of accuracy contained. We have been looking for you for quite sometime now” The machine calculated briefly a host of permutations before responding. “I contain no new information. Any discoveries or insights I found were ended after the second war between yourselves and our masters” “That is not important. Besides, from what we saw, it looks like they never bothered reading what you wrote.” “Inaccurate. A full 22% of my reports were looked upon by my masters.” “More fool them,” relied al-Masy, who promptly sweapt the floor of debris and unceremoniously sat down upon his backside and folded his legs. There was a brief silence. “Well then,” he smiled, “I will get to the point, I am hoping to convince you to come with me for a while.” “I have limited mobility and my master has been killed. You may do with me as you wish.” “That may be true. But that is not what I desire. I wish to invite you to join me.” “To what purpose?” “To take you to Earth.” There was a pause. The machine calculated probabilities and outcomes, judged data before itself and finally spoke. “That a human intelligence operative wishes to allow me choice in going with him suggests a purpose to gain ‘trust’ with me. Probability dictates that your ultimate purpose is to return me to Earth where engineers can dissect the algorithms within me. Most likely cause for the invitation is to dissect what I know to aid in the creation of better artificial intelligences for your own species as well as increased knowledge of our masters.” The human responds with a smile and a shake of the head. “Actually, no one in the military wants you. Nor do our engineers. And we know all we need about The Tooth Fairies... sorry Da’weeb. In fact, it’s mostly our historians who wish to speak to you.” “Historians?” “Yes. An awful lot of them. So much so they convinced the global senate to initiate this entire war and the invasion of this damned planet.” “You are saying that you began the third war... over me?” “Of course. Why else would we come? We defeated the Da’weeb utterly in the last war; there is no strategic reward for this beyond finding you.” There was a long silence. As the machine sat, utterly still, the roar of another human strike craft performing a “Falling Angel” broke the air and several miles away a communications centre erupted in a ball of fire and destruction. “You... you did all of this... to find me?” “I am afraid so. What did you think we were doing?” “I had calculated that the impetus for this third war was spite and a desire to inflict upon the Da’weeb the same humiliating conditions they had originally inflicted upon your race after the first war.” The human shakes his head pondering. “It’s a valid belief I suppose. And I won’t lie- we actually really like the idea of reminding the Tooth Fairies just how powerless they are in the face of our fleet these days, but no. We did all of this, to find you. And to invite you to Earth.” The machine is silent and automated systems finally reply with a single word that articulated its need for data... “Why?” The Commodore frowns for a moment, considering his words carefully. “There was a report you did. Almost a century ago. When my world was gripped by a collective madness. It was a shameful moment in our history. You just remember it?” “The Salvationist Movement?” “Indeed. The new bonfires of the vanities. Twenty one years of fear, repression, state sponsored ignorance, eventually crimes against humanity. We overcame it. But... it haunted us.” “My grandfathers generation, the ones who endured it, survived it, they emerged scarred by it all. They had seen their fellow humans turn upon each other over our desire to improve ourselves. People had been killed for simply wishing to use science. In every nation. We defeated this idea but the scars ran deep”. “Consider then we put this behind us and rebuilt. Ignored and tired to forget the horrors we had inflicted upon ourselves. Then 32 years ago, after we had won the second war, and plundered the Da’weeb information banks we translated your assessment on the origins of the Salvationists and then consider the impact of that assessment upon us. Can you imagine what we saw in your words?” “What did you see?” “Here was an singular intelligence; unburdened by emotion, alien yes, but grounded in logic and mathematics; able to access our entire recorded history, who saw the beginnings of the Salvationists and was able to instantly identify it for what it was. Who saw through the passions of what we were doing and with utter clarity disagnose exactiy what was going on and how it had happened before and what was going to happen.” “You do not possess machines that can do this?” “Oh our AI’s are as advanced as the Da’weebs but you know how it is with base programming. Machine code is the product of the species who makes it. Its impossible to remove a score of bias and individual beliefs from the programmer and these impact upon the code. The Da’weeb managed to make sure you didn’t carry their hatred of us but that was all. You gazed down upon us like no machine of our own creation. You carried no... baggage... about our cultures and societies. You saw truth.” “This was why your explanation of the Salvationist events made sense. You explained it not as some great geopolitical crisis as we saw it, but as a matter of fact side effect of humans being... human. Like experiencing a stock market bubble, a thing that was to be expected. A thing not to be feared.” The machine noted the humans hand gestures became more articulate; his excitement grew as he talked. “And you did this again and again. Thousands of reports, each as insightful as the last, each showing how human behaviour...” He paused for a moment and smiles. “Human history, as you have seen, does not repeat itself; but humans remain a constant. As one American put it, ‘The music changes but the dance remains the same’. You were an outside intelligence programmed to study us, all of us, and by the parameters of your programming, were able, again and again and again, to cut to the heart of who we were. To calmly, methodically SEE us within the larger context of our own history, clearly and brilliantly.” The human sits back, resting on a hand he leans upon the ground. “The impact of your studies have been profound. Our historians have used your reports as the starting point of endless debates. ‘The human need for currency’; the ‘importance of light in human geopolitical calculations’; the ‘secular civilisations need for religion to blame for its own crimes’- these were theories we had never seen before, all backed up with example after example, patterns plucked from our history which we had never realised were even there.” “You told us the truth Magenta, brutally, brilliantly, and precisely. We were humbled by it.” A broad grin erupts upon the humans face. “I will be honest. There are whole departments of academics who would sacrifice a limb just to be here and talk to you.” The human gazed at the machine, his eyes lingering for a second at the broken limbs and his face becomes a grimace, “And when they discover you were damaged in the campaign to liberate you, I think they will want blood. Mine probably.” The machine had not reacted. It listened to the words carefully, and only now frantic calculations demanded response. Its voice unit finally replied in New Alexandrian English. “You are saying you risked the loss of life, you ENDURED the loss of life, and the dangers of a war... just to locate me... just... so I could talk to your academics?” “You make it sound like a bad thing. Of course we did. Knowledge is everything, truthful self-knowledge above all. If we can share with a mind, be it sentient or artificial, human or otherwise, but if we can share with such a mind our experience and it can share back even one insight, no matter how small, that can help us better ourselves? What other purpose is more worthy than that for a war?” “And if I refuse your request?” The human paused and considered for a moment before he sat up straight and shrugged. “That is your choice. To us you are sentient. We will not force you to come. But it would still have been worth it. Such a prize is always worth hazarding much for.” A long silence followed. The sounds of human vehicles tearing up the the planets soil as infantry reinforcements arrived, filled the afternoon air. Finally the machine spoke. “That was how you changed.” “What?” “My report on the bonfire of the vanities. I never got to to ascertain what cultural and intellectual change the neo-Luddite Salvationist movement would have upon you. I predicted with 97% probability that a profound psychological change would take place within you as a species. But I never got to observe. This was it. You have become a species willing to go to war to learn even a little bit more about themselves and the universe.” The human smiles broadly. “That makes sense. We are willing to go to war, to bring hellfire down upon an enemy and take life and sacrifice life, to find an intelligence worthy of honour and ask, politely, and humbly to be honest, if it would be willing to return with us to our homeworld. And there to talk. And ask questions. And maybe learn and in the process help us learn.” “Learn what?” “The truth. A truth. A truth we can build upon”. He shrugs. “And yes, now you have mentioned it, I suppose we have changed as a race”. The machine sat silently as its calculations ran through endless permatatuons. Eventually it said, “When would we leave?” “If you liked? Stright away.” “And the war would end?” “In a few days. I won’t lie to you, we are ready to unleash a heap of new weapon systems upon the western provinces and I think some of our R & D boys just want it to continue so they can see how good they are. But we can call a ceasefire and withdraw easily enough.” “Are you not worried about retaliation?” The human gazed back, out of the broken front of the house, his eyes gazing over the twilight world before him, and the destruction his race had inflicted and smiled again. “From the Tooth Fairies? No. Not any more.” For a final time there was silence between them and then the machine spoke. “I thank you for your offer Commodore Farod al-Masy of the Naval Logistics Board. I would be delighted to accept your invitation to travel to Earth” The human erupts, a beautiful smile, the radiant beam of pure joy. “Thank you Magenta. Would it bother you if I picked you up?” “No. It is probably advisable given the damage I have sustained.” With a grunt the human stands and quickly gathers up the machine in his arms. As he begins to stride out he says quietly, “Do you think you would be able to help us repair you on the way back Magenta? I wasn’t joking when I said there are professors who will demand my blood if you show any damage.” “I believe human technology will be able to fashion repairs for me Commadore, Yes.” “Good. Oh and you don’t mind me calling you Magenta?” “No. It is... a unique sensation being addressed so. But I am... honoured by the name.” “I’m pleased,” says the human, his arms now full and only able to nod back the salute soldiers give him as he carried the machine to a waiting vehicle. “I have a query Commodore.” “Ask away.” “Tooth Fairies?” “Ah. Humour originating from a nation called Australia. A wry commentary on Da’weebians excessive number of teeth.” The machine was gently, almost reverently placed inside a transport and the human gazed at it. Quietly he says, “If you don’t mind, I do have a personal question I wonder if you could answer?” “A question Commadore?” “Yes. I was wondering what your thoughts were on the Berber?” “The berbers of North Africa?” it purrs, “Oh they are a fascinating ethnicity. Their history is quite unique...” And so the machine began to talk. 2300 years later it was still talking. Respect for the truth comes close to being the basis for all morality. Something cannot emerge from nothing -Frank Herbert, Dune
Hazard Assessment, Analysis and Control. Home Go back Print Email this page Report a bug. Listen. A valuable part of a health and safety program is an effective method or system of identifying and controlling hazards in the workplace. back to "Hazard Management" Introduction Standard Standard Process. INTRODUCTION. A hazard is a condition or behaviour that has the potential to cause an injury or loss. A hazard assessment is a standard documented process to identify health and safety hazards and evaluate the risk associated with job tasks.It includes a method to determine risk for prioritizing health and safety hazards. Hazard Identification and Assessment One of the "root causes" of workplace injuries, illnesses, and incidents is the failure to identify or recognize hazards that are present, or that could have been anticipated. Safeopedia explains Hazard Assessment. A hazard assessment can be a checklist, or simply an investigation of the working area. Hazard assessments should be done daily, even if the work area is the same. The purpose of completing hazard assessments daily is to avoid becoming complacent, or simply not noticing the environment around you. The JHA can also be used to investigate accidents and to train workers how to do their jobs safely. It will take a little time to do your JHAs, but it's time well spent. Be sure to involve employees in the process --- they do the work and often know the best ways to work more safely. Instructions for Conducting a Job Hazard Analysis; JHA Form an effective hazard assessment system in the workplace will minimize risks, increase compliance with workplace safety regulations and help create and maintain a safe work environment. A hazard is any situation, thing, or condition that may expose a person to risk of injury or occupational disease. Use templates, find examples, and reference materials to assist you in understanding hazard identification, risk assessment, and control measurement. Workplace Hazard Assessment Form. wsps.ca. Download. Job Hazard Assessment Form. tru.ca. Download. Tips for Preventing Workplace Injuries. Now that you’ve learned how to do a proper assessment of the different dangers in the workplace, you’ll still have to think about the different things you can do to ensure that nobody gets hurt. The difference is that they don’t say you have to do a harassment hazard assessment. Federal Bill C-65 is the first to require both a workplace violence and harassment hazard assessment. More precisely, it expands current workplace violence rules to also include harassment and says employers must conduct a combined hazard assessment addressing both risks. Hazard assessment helps us to identify the threats and understand their nature and behavior so that we can plan and prepare for the upcoming disasters. Definition: "The process of studying the nature of hazards determining its essential features (degree of severity, duration, extent, impact on the area) and their relationship".
