Letter from Great Britain – 08-15-20

NOTE – If anyone would like an electronic copy of the complete book, I should be pleased to email a free PDF on request to: [email protected].

Before anything else, I thought you would like to know my doctor’s reply to my request for HCQ regarding treatment for Covid-19.  It seems that our NHS does not recommend it! Read copy of her email below:

From: PARKMP, Reception (PARK MEDICAL PRACTICE) [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 14 August 2020 15:01
To: [email protected]
Subject: Hydroxochloroquine Plus Zinc Plus Zithromax

Dear Mr Underwood

Many thanks for your email requesting Hydroxochloroquine PLus Zinc Plus Zithromax, I am afraid that I am not able to prescribe this for you given that it is not licensed for the prevention or treatment of Covid-19.

Best Wishes,

Dr Katie Binns

Sort of says it all, doesn’t it? My good friend in Oz has this to say about doctors these days:

“Off Label” prescribing has been a mainstay of medical practice forever. Any doctor who will not do so “because it has not been approved” is no longer practising medicine and is no longer working for the benefit of their patient.  They are simply following orders.

Medical practitioners should NEVER reduce themselves to such a situation. If so, a trained monkey could do the job.  You can send this comment back to her – as a comment from a senior doctor of 30 years clinical experience.   However, she has crossed the Rubicon. She is acting in her own interests not yours.”

I think we have done to death the ‘mask issue’ recently, so let’s move on to other pressing issues facing Britain today. But before we do that, here’s a final nail in the coffin of this interminable saga:  “The top medical experts in the world can’t decide if masks are helpful in reducing the spread of COVID-19 or just make things worse:” This is worth a read:

https://fee.org/articles/europes-top-health-officials-say-masks-arent-helpful-in-beating-covid-19/

The most important article I read this week was authored by Gail Tverberg at: https://ourfiniteworld.com/ about Covid-19 strategy and my colleague, the Editor, at: http://boomfinanceandeconomics.com/#/  agrees with me on the excellence of this article by Gail Tverberg. He has extensive experience in clinical medicine, medical research, finance and economics.  He will include it in the next edition of BOOM to be published tomorrow, Sunday 16 August 2020. I recommend it to my readers to track it down:

https://boomfinanceandeconomics.wordpress.com/

AND in the latest news: The national bird of Lebanon is the Phoenix!  Perhaps it’s all about synchronicity – perhaps it exists after all, and it is never about a ‘coincidence,’ that so many ‘false flag’ excuses claim?  And they label them conspiracy theories!  Well here’s mine about the latest grave explosion in Beirut:

My good friend of many years standing is an explosives expert and has viewed the videos.  He phoned to tell me about the origin of this dreadful catastrophe.  Ammonium Nitrate (NH4NO3) is a regular fertilizer and is not intrinsically explosive on its own even after years of storage.  It only becomes explosive if mixed with diesel fuel when it because unstable and dangerous; (a common terrorist bomb).

However, NH4NO3 can be detonated with a sufficiently large initial explosion like amatol or Semtex and C-4.  This may have been planted in the warehouse and detonated remotely (the first ‘black’ explosion) which then exploded the 2,750 tons of NH4NO3 – the second (white) explosion.  A missile is not ruled out.

In any event, as any explosives technician will know, the whole tragic result could not have been an accident and almost certainly was planned and executed by some unidentified person, persons or state actors. I will leave the reader to speculate (and conspire!).

NOW back to UK – Boris’s Bungles are getting much bigger with the tourist industry reeling under his instant 14 day quarantine regulations: “The travel industry has urged the government to rethink its 14-day quarantine policy for holidaymakers as rising coronavirus cases on the continent – including France and Greece – put more countries within the scope of this blunt approach.

Testing at airports and regional quarantine requirements are among alternatives put forward by tourism figures concerned by the impact the policy could have on an already battered sector.  France recorded its highest increase in cases since May on Friday; while countries emerging as preferred alternatives to Spain and France, such as Greece, have also experienced steep rises in the number of cases.”

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/aug/09/travel-industry-urges-uk-to-rethink-covid-19-quarantine-policy?  “Paul Charles, a travel consultant at the PC Agency and founder of the campaign group Quash Quarantine, pausing a planned legal action against the restrictions, said it was crucial the government learned from its mistakes with Spain and gave holidaymakers and the industry significant notice to allow consumers to rethink their plans.” UPDATE: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/13/netherlands-and-malta-set-added-england-quarantine-list-coronavirus

It looks like UK is back to being the “Sick Man of Europe” once again!  Britain’s economy has been officially declared in recession this week for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, as the coronavirus outbreak plunges the country into the deepest slump on record.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday showed that gross domestic product (GDP), the broadest measure of economic prosperity, fell in the three months to June by 20.4%.  UK GDP has fallen further than any other G7 nation in Q2 2020.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/12/uk-economy-covid-19-plunges

Confirmation of the Covid-19 recession this week will come as the government tries to strike a balance between relaxing lockdown restrictions to kick-start growth, while needing to prevent a severe second wave in infections. After four months of harsh controls, growing numbers of companies are coming under severe financial stress, with job losses steadily beginning to mount. Some localised restrictions are also being launched as infections rise.

The US and the eurozone have already been confirmed in recession as the global economy grapples with the sharpest downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. However, China, at the heart of the original outbreak, avoided recession after it returned to growth in the second quarter.

This will be a disaster for Britain!  “Central banks are stretched to the limit, trying to support the economy during the unprecedented COVID-19 recession. The Bank of England is now considering cutting its base rate to below zero. The bank has so far shied away from negative rates, not least because they are much harder to explain to the public and the banks, whose technology systems may not even be able to handle this change.

At 0.1%, the current base rate is already lower than it has ever been. The decision was made in March 2020 when the bank acted aggressively to ease the pain inflicted on the economy by the coronavirus pandemic.”

“There’s a risk that negative interest rates will hurt bank lending and financial stability. Hence, central banks normally avoid this territory – unless they are running out of firepower.  Negative rates can result in savers and investors hoarding cash. After all why would anyone put their savings in a bank if it means that it loses value compared to cash? If people hoard cash, banks will have less money to lend to firms and households. This cannot be a good thing for the economy.”

https://theconversation.com/bank-of-england-is-considering-negative-interest-rates

The underlined comment is wrong.  It is a general misconception that banks lend out customer deposits.  They DON’T do this!  Banks create money by making loans to willing borrowers in return for a promissory note. Read my book for a full explanation of how commercial banks operate: “Chapter 2 – Commercial Banks”.

This article from Chris Martenson this week says it all and is reflected in my book, “Chapter 13 – The New Emergent Economy”:

“Myself? I moved to the country, bought cows, chicken and pigs, and have a garden.  These things bring me joy and provide me with food security.  I’ve had more than half of my net worth stored in gold and silver for a long time now, because I knew that someday the Endgame would arrive.  We’re there now.  The Fed’s recent actions are nothing more and nothing less than a final looting operation”

https://www.peakprosperity.com/its-time-to-position-for-the-endgame/?utm_source=Peak+Prosperity+Newsletter&utm_campaign=fa3a562687-weekly-peak-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d77483a02b-fa3a562687-144268305

Now that summer is here in UK, for a short while at least, the migrants are taking advantage by crossing a glass-smooth English Channel over only 21 miles to get to the port of Dover, in Kent, from Calais, France.  Britain has always been a welcoming nation to those suffering from war, pestilence and poverty and especially during times of crisis, such as now.  But there are limits and it looks like we will be reaching them soon.

“A British YouTuber was arrested after he tried to live stream footage of boat migrants being loaded onto coaches in Dover before they are taken to be accommodated in hotels at taxpayer expense. 

A citizen reporter who goes by the name Active Patriot was recording the scene from a public car park when he was aggressively approached by police.  “I’m showing the world what is going on mate,” says the reporter, to which the officer responds,” I think the world knows.”  “Do they really? They don’t know what extent, though do they?” Active Patriot responds; read on:

https://summit.news/2020/08/07/british-man-arrested-for-filming-migrants-being-loaded-onto-coaches-in-dover/   And you think the American cops are bad?

Here in Britain there is little for which to be hopeful – there is no sign of any coordinated, underlying plan or deep thinking on how the UK will adapt, change and cope with the enormous challenges the Virus has triggered. Our unmatched ability in these gentle isles to “muddle through” is unlikely to help us this time around.

This experience from a writer in Bristol exemplifies our predicament: “I recently spent a weekday afternoon in the centre of Bristol, chasing the small comforts of retail therapy, and trying to do my bit for a few of my favourite shops. The experience was dreamlike, and unsettling: businesses smattered with hazard tape, half-deserted streets, and a rush hour that seemed to amount to little more than a few momentary traffic jams. Most of the city’s office workers, it seemed, were either furloughed or working at home. Normality – whatever that is – was nowhere to be seen; perhaps the most forlorn sight was that of empty buses adorned with faded adverts for films that came out before the pandemic.”

https://www.theguardian: back-to-work-britain  “Cries of “back to work!” sound as moronic as the old Tory exhortation to get on your bike and look for a job – not a meaningful answer to an unprecedented emergency, but yet another indication that the gap between rhetoric and reality is now so huge that it is starting to look downright absurd.”  • John Harris is a Guardian columnist

Britain reported a 20.4% Q2 decline in UK GDP… dwarfing the scale of slowdown in the US and Europe. In a superb article on Bloomberg, Marcus Ashworth contrasts the doom and gloom being expressed by the banks and business, with the rosy outlook from the Bank of England – which expects an 18% rebound in Q3!  I would love to have whatever Mr Bailey is smoking.  These ‘experts’ are so far out of touch it’s untrue!  The reality is not many workers are going to return to work any time soon.  Charles Hugh Smith below has the detail:

‘Dominoes’ – Charles Hugh Smith  “When 50% of all dining-out establishments close, that immediately causes equivalent losses in sectors that supplied those establishments with clean linens and uniforms, meats, vegetables, culinary supplies, accounting, advertising, marketing, consulting, specialty magazines, etc., in a nearly endless profusion of businesses dependent on the dining-out sector.  And then there are all the retail real estate landlords that depended on these establishments to pay high rents on costly commercial spaces, and those nearby businesses that depended on the foot traffic generated by concentrations of dining-out establishments.

            A less financialized, less debt and speculation-dependent economy would be more resilient, but a fully financialized, totally debt and speculation-dependent economy is terminal once leverage and debt stop expanding exponentially.”

http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-economy-is-mortally-wounded.

Now that UK has left EUROPE I will comment on relevant EU – UK events as they arise: 

“The EU is facing a crisis like never before. Even its own fanatic supporters are talking about an end game after recent concessions over a corona rescue plan have exposed how little grip Brussels has left. It’s all hidden in the small print.”

https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/08/07/no-confidence-eu-should-reinvent-itself-now-before-inevitable-rot-sets-in/

“Most EU countries have adopted hugely ambitious job retention programs that have saved, at least temporarily, tens of millions of jobs. Each government pays companies, who in turn pay employees between 60% and 84% of their monthly wage. In some cases, the workers work fewer hours for less pay; in others, they don’t work at all. The workers take a hit to their income but their jobs remain intact, at least for the duration of the program, giving their employers time and financial breathing space to reinvent themselves for the new economic reality that is quickly taking shape.

In Germany, the UK, France, Italy, and Spain, a combined 45 million workers were registered in furlough programs at the end of May  [and thus, not registered as unemployed]— compared to about 32 million Americans who are claiming unemployment benefits under state and federal programs. The initial duration of the programs differed significantly by country, from nine weeks in Italy to a year in Germany. But governments have begun to extend the duration of the programs.

In the UK, 9.6 million jobs have been furloughed. Under the UK program, businesses can claim 80% of a staff member’s regular monthly salary, up to a maximum of £2,500. The money must be passed on to the employee and can also be topped up by the employer.  But as in the other countries, furloughed workers don’t count as unemployed, and the official unemployment rate has barely budged:

With roughly one in four UK workers still furloughed — many in sectors with intense social interaction, such as food and accommodation — at a time that the number of job vacancies has collapsed to its lowest level since records began 20 years ago, it’s a massive gamble. The BoE believes that unemployment could almost double by the end of the year, to 7.5% from 3.9% today. That could prove to be optimistic. The OECD has warned that it’s likely to be closer to 11.7%, the highest level since 1984 when it reached 11.9%.

But I have projected that unemployment in UK will be at least 20% by Christmas and this is depression-level economic conditions, which are unlikely to improve for several years if all goes well.  Let’s hope we don’t get battered by any other ‘black swan’ events in the meantime.

When it comes to creating zombie companies, Europe is already in a league of its own”. – Wolf Richter has the full details: https://wolfstreet.com/2020/08/08/bite-the-bullet-or-extend-pretend-unemployment-v-furloughs-in-europe/

To be continued next week.

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Author: Austrian Peter

Peter J. Underwood is a retired international accountant and qualified humanistic counsellor living in Bruton, UK, with his wife, Yvonne. He pursued a career as an entrepreneur and business consultant, having founded several successful businesses in the UK and South Africa His latest Substack blog describes the African concept of Ubuntu - a system of localised community support using a gift economy model. View all posts by Austrian Peter