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Endangered Humanity – Preliminary Reflections from the Marginalised and Endangered Worldviews Study Centre (MEWSC)
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Many countries introduced the requirement to wear masks in public spaces for containing SARS-CoV-2 making it commonplace in 2020. Up until now, there has been no comprehensive investigation as to the adverse health effects masks can cause. The aim was to find, test, evaluate and compile scientifically proven related side effects of wearing masks. For a quantitative evaluation, 44 mostly experimental studies were referenced, and for a substantive evaluation, 65 publications were found. The literature revealed relevant adverse effects of masks in numerous disciplines. In this paper, we refer to the psychological and physical deterioration as well as multiple symptoms described because of their consistent, recurrent and uniform presentation from different disciplines as a Mask-Induced Exhaustion Syndrome (MIES). We objectified evaluation evidenced changes in respiratory physiology of mask wearers with significant correlation of O2 drop and fatigue (p < 0.05), a clustered co-occurrence of respiratory impairment and O2 drop (67%), N95 mask and CO2 rise (82%), N95 mask and O2 drop (72%), N95 mask and headache (60%), respiratory impairment and temperature rise (88%), but also temperature rise and moisture (100%) under the masks. Extended mask-wearing by the general population could lead to relevant effects and consequences in many medical fields.
Background and Aims
The most restrictive non‐pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) for controlling the spread of COVID‐19 are mandatory stay‐at‐home and business closures. Given the consequences of these policies, it is important to assess their effects. We evaluate the effects on epidemic case growth of more restrictive NPIs (mrNPIs), above and beyond those of less restrictive NPIs (lrNPIs).
Methods
We first estimate COVID‐19 case growth in relation to any NPI implementation in subnational regions of 10 countries: England, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, and the US. Using first‐difference models with fixed effects, we isolate the effects of mrNPIs by subtracting the combined effects of lrNPIs and epidemic dynamics from all NPIs. We use case growth in Sweden and South Korea, two countries that did not implement mandatory stay‐at‐home and business closures, as comparison countries for the other 8 countries (16 total comparisons).
Results
Implementing any NPIs was associated with significant reductions in case growth in 9 out of 10 study countries, including South Korea and Sweden that implemented only lrNPIs (Spain had a non‐significant effect). After subtracting the epidemic and lrNPI effects, we find no clear, significant beneficial effect of mrNPIs on case growth in any country. In France, e.g., the effect of mrNPIs was +7% (95CI ‐5%‐19%) when compared with Sweden, and +13% (‐12%‐38%) when compared with South Korea (positive means pro‐contagion). The 95% confidence intervals excluded 30% declines in all 16 comparisons and 15% declines in 11/16 comparisons.
Conclusions
While small benefits cannot be excluded, we do not find significant benefits on case growth of more restrictive NPIs. Similar reductions in case growth may be achievable with less restrictive interventions.
A vile new mantra is on the lips of every public health official and politician in the global campaign to force universal masking on the general public: “there is a growing body of evidence”.
This propagandistic phrase is a vector designed to achieve five main goals:
- Give the false impression that a balance of evidence now proves that masks reduce the transmission of COVID-19
- Falsely assimilate commentary made in scientific venues with “evidence”
- Hide the fact that a decade’s worth of policy-grade evidence proves the opposite: that masks are ineffective with viral respiratory diseases
- Hide the fact that there is now direct observational proof that cloth masks do not prevent exhalation of clouds of suspended aerosol particles; above, below and through the masks
- Deter attention away from the considerable known harms and risks due to face masks, applied to entire populations
The said harms and risks include that a cloth mask becomes a culture medium for a large variety of bacterial pathogens, and a collector of viral pathogens; given the hot and humid environment and the constant source, where home fabrics are hydrophilic whereas medical masks are hydrophobic.
In short, I argue: op-eds are not “evidence”, irrelevance does not help, and more bias does not remove bias. Their mantra of “a growing body of evidence” is a self-serving contrivance that impedes good science and threatens public safety.
I prove that there is no policy-grade evidence to support forced masking on the general population, and that all the latest-decade’s policy-grade evidence points to the opposite: NOT recommending forced masking of the general population. Therefore, the politicians and health authorities are acting without legitimacy and recklessly.
"In the past few years indigenous knowledge has emerged as a significant resource in development discussions. This paper interrogates the concept of indigenous knowledge and the strategies its advocates advance to promote development. The paper suggests that the concept of indigenous knowledge,and its role in development, both are problematic issues as currently conceptualized. To productively engage indigenous knowledge in development, we must go beyond the dichotomy of indigenous vs. scientific and work towards greater autonomy for indigenous peoples."
What makes indigenous unique? Overview of Knowledge Systems among the World's Indigenous People
- B Brabec De Mori
BRABEC DE MORI, B. (2016): "What makes indigenous unique? Overview
of Knowledge Systems among the World's Indigenous People". In: Past-Future-2016: Seminar on the Protection of Aboriginal Wisdom; Proceedings.
Huailien: National Dong Hwa University, pp. 78 -85.
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SILLITOE, P. (1998): The Development of Indigenous Knowledge: A New
Applied Anthropology. In: Current Anthropology 39(2), pp. 223 -252.
Studie zu psychischen und psychovegetativen Beschwerden mit den aktuellen Mund-Nasenschutz-Verordnungen
- D Prousa
PROUSA, D. (2020). Studie zu psychischen und psychovegetativen Beschwerden
mit den aktuellen Mund-Nasenschutz-Verordnungen. PsychArchives.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.23668/PSYCHARCHIVES.3135
López Obrador says pandemic lockdowns are the tactic of dictators
- Mexico
Mexico: López Obrador says pandemic lockdowns are the tactic of dictators.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/02/mexico-lopez-obradorpandemic-lockdowns-dictatorship