• Login
  • Register
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result

The Historical Significance of Humza Yousaf

by James Alexander
1 May 2024 11:00 AM

Humza Yousaf is gone after a year of rule. As usual, the resignation speech was an interesting document. I shall ignore all the insignificant reasons for his departure and notice only the significant utterances. One thing I should say is that, in general, the style was not as precious or pompous or rancorous as an equivalent speech in England would be. It is, of course, still flawed English (or Scottish). For instance: the sentence, “Let’s also acknowledge far too often, in our country hatred continues to rear its ugly head”, is quite funny, as if Yousaf is in the habit of acknowledging something far too often. (I can hear The Broons: “Och, Pa, dinnae acknowledge that agin: find summat else tae talk aboot.”)

In the speech he said the following:

People who looked like me were not in positions of political influence, let alone leading governments when I was younger. But we now live in a U.K. that has a British-Hindu prime minister, a Muslim mayor of London, a black Welsh first minister and for a little while longer, a Scots Asian first minister of this country. So for those who decry that multiculturalism has failed across the U.K., I would suggest that the evidence is quite to the contrary.

I find this sort of thing a bit odd. First of all, he gets his racial and his religious categories tangled up. The “people who looked like me” stuff is dull and old. Thomas Cromwell, son of a butcher, could have said the same thing: he probably did not have the high colour of an aristocrat. And eliding looking-like-something and believing-something is to go rather too fast, especially since, as we shall see, Yousaf is saying something rather important. I shall ignore the double negative. (Does he add ‘de-’ to ‘cry’ because he thinks it sounds more negative? ‘I cry’ but my enemies, ‘they decry’?) But let us go on, since he wants to add a bit of sermonising:

Each and every one of us must resist the temptation of populism at the expense of minorities.

This is very interesting. The word ‘populism’ is gradually becoming demonised: now classed together with ‘racism’, ‘fascism’, ‘imperialism’: when in fact it just means a-politics-of-appeal-to-the-people. (Populism is just what politicians do on a daily basis in a modern democracy. It is what you do, Yousaf.) I like and even admire the phrase, “the temptation of populism”: though I wonder why populism is inevitably opposed to minorities. It seems to me that one can also have a populism that involves a celebration of minorities: indeed, this is the populism of our age – even if it is not actually very popular below the level at which the political elites operate.

Yousaf of course throws in a slight reference to Gaza and the “horrific humanitarian catastrophe”: missing, apparently the fact (as reported by Peter Harris) that the war in Gaza has involved a rather low incidence of civilian deaths by usual standards (although he’s not alone in overlooking that, obviously). Then we get an admission of the way Scotland is stitched up by the political class:

We have an electoral system that is designed for no political party to have an overall majority. Devolution’s founding fathers and mothers, rightly in their wisdom, believed that no one loses out by politicians sharing wisdom, sharing counsel, sharing ideas.

Dubious reasoning (and odd prose, when read), but the trick is in the phrase “no one”. Aye, no politician loses out if they all have to share from the same plate. And that is about it. Fairly dignified. Not too bad. He adds that he is not willing to trade his principles, but this is just the standard cant of the retiring politician, whose clothes miraculously become whiter and hands cleaner as he is escorted out of the building.

What is the historical significance of Humza Yousaf? Well, he does get close to that significance, though he makes a mess of it by implying that his point is about race or culture. The historical significance of Humza Yousaf is that he was a Muslim. It amazed me that the press barely made mention of this in all his time as First Minister: though I am not exactly scouring the newspapers, I saw no serious analysis of it. For the last year England has been, in effect, ruled by a Hindu, while Scotland has been, in effect, ruled by a Muslim. This, by any standards, is remarkable: especially so, to anyone who knows any history.

The history is perhaps tedious for those of you who just want to focus on the present, but it is necessary. Our country was a church-state for over a thousand years. Indeed, for most of that time it was much more of a church than a state. Bede’s history, for instance, was of the English church. The formal influence of the Papacy of course complicated things, especially between the 12th and 16th Centuries, but some historians say that the English church was always relatively independent, even before the Reformation. From the Reformation until the early 19th Century everyone supposed that England was a church-state, and Scotland a kirk-state. Our equivalent of the French Revolution was delayed for a generation (1. because we were fighting the French, 2. because we had killed our king in 1649, and 3. because we had enjoyed a very different sort of revolution in 1688): but it occurred between 1828 and 1832 when we dismantled the church-state and erected, in its place – a mere state. For the first time, it was possible to imagine the establishment of a political order no longer dedicated to the truth of Christianity. It was no longer to be a requirement that all Members of Parliament be members of the Churches of England or Scotland or Ireland. John Keble declared that “National Apostasy” had taken place. Now it was possible for the state to believe something other than Christianity.

Matters proceeded slowly. Although Disraeli is famous for being a Jew, in fact he was a romantic if somewhat cynical convert to Anglicanism. Gladstone and Salisbury were stern and unbending Christians: though Gladstone of course capitulated to liberalism. Christianity mattered to Baldwin, Chamberlain and occasionally Churchill: also to many Labour leaders. Thatcher used Christian imagery, and Blair was the “Vicar of St Albion”, even if Alistair Campbell told everyone, including Blair, that New Labour “did not do God”. But it took almost two hundred years for the demise of the church-state to be crowned, so to speak, by a Hindu Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and a Muslim First Minister of Scotland – not to mention the Mayor of London, who is also Muslim. Modern Britain being what it is, I have seen barely any mention of this world-historically-significant sign of the times. One can only wonder what Alfred the Great, Edward the Confessor, Thomas Becket, Thomas More, Elizabeth I, John Milton, Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke and John Henry Newman would have thought about it. None of them was a populist: but they might have believed the matter worth some thought.

There is more. Is it not remarkable that while Christian politicians have tended in recent times to obfuscate their religion, our recent rulers have done the opposite? Rishi Sunak wears a red string bracelet of religious significance. He left a statue of Lord Ganesh to watch over Boris Johnson when the latter was using the office of No. 11. And he lit Diwali candles outside the door of No. 10. Meanwhile, Yousaf led his family in prayers in Bute House, the official residence of the First Minister, on the very day he arrived there, and posted pictures of this event online. Consider. How would it have been received if Thatcher had worn a pectoral cross? Or if Churchill had made a Chi Rho with his hand (as the saints do in Byzantine icons) rather than the ‘V’ sign? Or if Blair had ignored Campbell and ‘done God’ by posting pictures of himself leading his family in Holy Communion in the Cabinet Room?

I only ask. Perhaps this is an awkward question, since these things are not meant to matter nowadays. But is it not remarkable that Christian politicians are made to be embarrassed about their Christianity, whereas Hindu and Muslim politicians, so far from being intimidated by having minority status, feel free to advertise their faith, and even carry out religious rituals in places of political significance, and do so as if what they are doing is simply charming? I am not sure about the Hindu rituals, but it is possible that there are some Muslims around the world who looked at the images of prayer in Bute House and thought that some sort of religious sovereignty was being asserted.

In 1790 Edmund Burke in Reflections on the Revolution in France wrote that if Christianity is overthrown “we are apprehensive… that some uncouth, pernicious and degrading superstition, might take the place of it.” Now, you may not be Christian, and you may not care about Christianity, but I’ll wager you are now convinced that some uncouth, pernicious and degrading superstitions have taken over our country. There is a war going on, beneath all these emollient phrases about diversity and multiculturalism and minorities. The pernicious superstitions obviously include the NHS religion of ‘health and safety’, the Protestor religions of Black Lives Matter, Just Stop Oil and From The River To The Sea, and the Government religions of Lockdown, Net Zero and Open Borders. All of this forms an incoherent set of creeds, and I suppose it is apt that for a while we had a Hindu and a Muslim presiding over it. But has anyone thought about whether, if, in ridding ourselves of Christianity, we have really wanted to have a vast complex of secular religions imposed on us in its stead, which are then decorated by the rites and prayers of other ancient religions? Burke warned us. Perhaps it has taken us two hundred years to see what Burke saw in 1790.

The most significant thing that Humza Yousaf did as a politician was to lead his family in prayer at Bute House.

Dr. James Alexander is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at Bilkent University in Turkey.

Tags: BurkeDisraeliHumza YousafRishi Sunak

Donate

We depend on your donations to keep this site going. Please give what you can.

Donate Today

Comment on this Article

You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.

Sign Up
Previous Post

The End of ‘Progress’

Next Post

EV Battery Timebomb

Subscribe
Login
Notify of
Please log in to comment

To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.

Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.

25 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
MikeAustin
MikeAustin
4 years ago

Again, we see increases in deaths correlating with a vaccination programme. The temporary suppression of the immune system could be an explanation. However, we cannot be sure of the cause of death if we rely on the PCR test alone. And, if the deaths were covid-19 based, then the virus would need to be present and transmissible at each death.
In the UK, we saw a similar correlation, peaking a couple of weeks later than the customary seasonal peak. And the fatalities were predominantly the elderly (75+) in care homes. There would have been much safer environments there than in India. A suppresssed immune system would have been better shielded.
So it is looking to me that a more likely cause of death is a reaction to the ‘vaccine’ itself. For frail people, it is just too much. Something is unsafe. It seems not to be having such a serious effect on younger people, but ‘vaccine’ deaths currently total 973 and are running at 14 per day according to Yellow Card Reporting. And the government estimates that only 10% of serious adverse reactions (which I take to include death) are reported.

103
-6
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
4 years ago
Reply to  MikeAustin

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-said-probing-link-between-pfizer-shot-and-heart-problem-in-men-under-30/

Israel said probing link between Pfizer shot and heart problem in men under 30

14
0
Nottheonly1
Nottheonly1
4 years ago
Reply to  TheyLiveAndWeLockdown

Should it not read “in morons under 30”? Who the F under 30 is voluntarily allowing dreck to be injected into their body?

On the other hand it does look like a concerted collective attempt to make it into the Darwin Awards.

22
-2
LMS2
LMS2
4 years ago
Reply to  Nottheonly1

The Israeli government isn’t making it voluntary. They introduced the covid pass to allow vaccinated people some former freedoms. That tends to exert unnecessary pressure on people to conform.

14
0
BillRiceJr
BillRiceJr
4 years ago
Reply to  MikeAustin

I still wonder if the huge spike in hospitalizations and deaths from November through early February might have been caused, at least in part, by a reaction to so many more people (especially the older, more at-risk populations) getting their flu vaccines during this period. I of course don’t have any data to support this possibility and this probably isn’t/wasn’t a factor in these massive spikes … However, I also know that this would definitely qualify as an “off limits” study. That is, this represents a hypothesis that “science” and researchers cannot entertain.

Last edited 4 years ago by BillRiceJr
20
-3
Corinna
Corinna
4 years ago
Reply to  BillRiceJr

There is a thesis like this suggesting that is why the Bergamo area had it so badly in Italy – the elderly had just all been vaccinated against the flu!

8
-1
Samurai Jack
Samurai Jack
4 years ago
Reply to  BillRiceJr

Dr Zach Bush – Del Big Tree show

– should have taken people off statin based drugs, halted flu vaccines as they up regulate the ace2 receptors

3
0
Nottheonly1
Nottheonly1
4 years ago
Reply to  MikeAustin

Just listen to this woman and her problems – the same problems my daughter has in Florida with millions of other women all over the world. Just now making it massively into SM – without naming the cause, as this would lead immediately to blocking/removal of content. Strong nerves required.

https://rumble.com/vfz7rv-you-must-listen.html

8
-1
karenovirus
karenovirus
4 years ago

Repost since it’s topical.
This from the Times of India shows the most common causes of death in 2020.

A ‘Lakh’ is 100,000 apparently so there at #7 is TB with 450,000 deaths or 1,200 a day as Will Jones says in his main text.

By far the biggest killer is heart disease with 1 million and 540 thousand killed per year or 4,200 each day which has not unduly worried HMG or our domestic press in the past.

20210425_213530.jpg
45
0
MikeAustin
MikeAustin
4 years ago
Reply to  karenovirus

Yes, anything that puts a situation in context is worth reposting. Had the fatalities last March/April been put in context, we would not be in the current mess.

45
0
RickH
RickH
4 years ago
Reply to  MikeAustin

… which is the main reason I got engaged in looking at basic data for myself last April : the pushing of data without context in the MSM smelt to high heaven of propaganda.

Of course – we were right, but even a year ago, people were already brainwashed and would not look at the reality.

35
-2
Annie
Annie
4 years ago
Reply to  karenovirus

It’s never been illegal in Britain for people to die in India – until now.

60
0
Rowan
Rowan
4 years ago
Reply to  Annie

Despite the recent Billy Bunter nonsense, the UK government and its media hacks are for ever on the watch for new reasons to lock us down. India looks very promising to them.

27
0
Covidiot
Covidiot
4 years ago
Reply to  Rowan

Or simply to justify locking us down …

16
0
Rowan
Rowan
4 years ago
Reply to  Covidiot

Yes.

7
0
Brett_McS
Brett_McS
4 years ago

The mainstream media is the equivalent of side-bar click bait. Minus the positive messages about stay-at-home mums discovering amazing cures.

25
0
Annie
Annie
4 years ago
Reply to  Brett_McS

There’s always a bright spot. Every time I go to Conservative Woman, I see an ad for a miracle cure for earwax. Just what the country has been crying out for.

22
-3
Trish
Trish
4 years ago
Reply to  Annie

That ad pops up everywhere. It’s absolutely gross!

14
0
karenovirus
karenovirus
4 years ago
Reply to  Trish

Oh good, I was rather thinking it was just me !

12
0
FrankFisher
FrankFisher
4 years ago
Reply to  Brett_McS

I found one simple trick stopped a pandemic. I turned off the TV. Doctors hate me.

12
0
Annie
Annie
4 years ago

You’re right to point out, yet again, the corruption of language by Covid fanatics.
It isn’t entirely new, however. Years ago I saw a joke featuring an Irish minister: ‘Well now, if they say the figures are spiralling, isn’t that better than going straight up?’

62
-1
Igol
Igol
4 years ago

Based on the 1.3 billion people in India it means they have an IFR of 0.0003%, fantastic, has to be the best in the world.
We need to copy them and do away with the NHS totally (health care for the rich only) and also most of our public sanitation(what did Dr Snow know) and plough that money into our Space Programme.

36
0
Sarigan
Sarigan
4 years ago
Reply to  Igol

The IFR would be that if every one of the 1.3 billion had been infected. More context though:

culm.jpg
3
-1
karenovirus
karenovirus
4 years ago

‘The shortage of oxygen has nothing to do with covid . . . (But from) institutional and bureaucratic incompetence.’

Todays roundup (above) includes
“Wear masks even inside your own home”
Half of the article is an Indian government person explaining that there is no shortage of oxygen, the problem lies with distribution.

Last edited 4 years ago by karenovirus
26
0
alw
alw
4 years ago

“ Perspective on India <200,000 
In the EXACT time frame India has lost 809,000 people to Flu/Pneumonia (4X the deaths attributed to to COVID),they lost 537,00 to Diarrhoeal diseases,553,000 to tuberculosis.392,000 to traffic accidents, 283,000 suicides“

https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/country-health-profile/india

35
0
Trish
Trish
4 years ago
Reply to  alw

And then there’s the accidents with fire and exploding gas cylinders used for cooking!

15
0
alw
alw
4 years ago

“ 850 deaths out of 27,000 a day in India. And the pressure is for India to impose measures that will divert its limited resources from the expenditure on healthcare and sanitation that will actually preserve life, while depressing its economy and so starving its poor. “

(Source: https://threader.app/thread/1386740108351741954)

24
0
alw
alw
4 years ago

“Yes, 850 died of covid recently in a day, but 27,000 die every day in India”

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/seeing-the-invisible/yes-850-died-of-covid-recently-in-a-day-but-27000-die-every-day-in-india/

19
0
A Heretic
A Heretic
4 years ago
Reply to  alw

Far too much sense in that article. Had to be balanced by your usual bedwetter commenting:

It would be morally wrong, also insensitive, to compare Covid fatalities with deaths due to other causes, including old age, and downplay the seriousness of the threat.

The logic of this escapes me. Why would it be morally wrong and insensitive to compare old people dying of covid with old people dying of other things?

41
0
BJs Brain is Missing
BJs Brain is Missing
4 years ago

Life in the West is one great lie at the moment.The mainstream media is the chief liar. I look forward to its demise.

73
0
James Kreis
James Kreis
4 years ago
Reply to  BJs Brain is Missing

Indeed. In the meantime, I would suggest that the best source of impartial, honest reporting is UK Column News which deserves all our support.

Homepage | UKColumn

47
0
Dave Angel Eco Warrier
Dave Angel Eco Warrier
4 years ago
Reply to  BJs Brain is Missing

Unlikely, given how many people drink it all in.

7
0
BillRiceJr
BillRiceJr
4 years ago
Reply to  BJs Brain is Missing

Caitlin Johnstone just penned another provocative column. In this one she posits that the mainstream media is simply doing its intended job. And the “mainstream media” is not going anywhere (the role it plays is too important). That is, the journalists in these newsrooms will continue to practice “pack journalism,” which ensures that dubious narratives will continue to be perpetuated, protected and advanced.

It would be nice to think we could “drain the newsrooms” when we “drain the swamp” (the former is actually a prerequisite for the latter) … but this isn’t going to happen.

The best we can hope for is that more “contrarian” sites like this one are created and find a significant audience.

Last edited 4 years ago by BillRiceJr
22
0
Freddy Boy
Freddy Boy
4 years ago
Reply to  BJs Brain is Missing

And me

2
0
NickR
NickR
4 years ago

Latest data shows the death rate in India is:

  • 7.5 x lower than Poland.
  • 3 x lower than France
  • 2 x lower than Germany
270421 Death rates in India Poland etc.jpg
22
0
Ganjan21
Ganjan21
4 years ago

Is it worth mentioning that the whole India thing is mainly a lie and a psy op? They have been using old photos of a gas leak from May 2020 where a few people were lying ill outside the building and they are using the same pictures for the lastest ‘Covid crisis’.

42
0
Smelly Melly
Smelly Melly
4 years ago

So if my calculations are correct Covid is responsible for 3% of the daily deaths in India. (850/27k x 100 = 3.1%). What ever happened to the 500000 we were told will die in the first wave.

19
0
realarthurdent
realarthurdent
4 years ago

I was looking on OurWorldInData at the India data.

Their vaccination programme really got going in volume on March 28th. Huge increase started on that day. Daily vaccinations went from about 400,000 to more than 4 million.

On March 29th, daily deaths in India were 271
Three weeks later they were 1761.

We have seen this coincidence in many countries now. Gibraltar, UK, Israel, Seychelles, now India. It’s starting to become a pattern.

31
0
RickH
RickH
4 years ago
Reply to  realarthurdent

It is certainly as likely as ‘the vaccine has cured us’ mythology. But I reckon we have to be careful of doing our own riff on confusing correlation and causation.

I won’t have a vaccine – and that possibility is one of the reasons – which is why I’ve reacted strongly against the endorsement here of the idea that ‘It’s OK for the vulnerable’.

Last edited 4 years ago by RickH
19
0
realarthurdent
realarthurdent
4 years ago
Reply to  RickH

Of course correlation is not causation. But as I mentioned, the fact that this has happened in multiple countries now makes it at least worthy of study.

What will be interesting to see is what happens if and when vaccination really gets going in a country where there is little or no live virus – e.g. NZ or Aus.

I suspect the issue here is rolling out a vaccination programme in places where there is still a lot of “live virus” around, and the combination of having both the virus and the vaccine sends many people over the edge.

If that is the case we should see fewer deaths in NZ and Aus.

14
0
RickH
RickH
4 years ago
Reply to  realarthurdent

“worthy of study”

I think I’ve implicitly agreed with that. What I’ve said is that at present., it is a credible hypothesis rather than a firmly established concept.

My caution derives simply from a recognition of the need to be scientifically precise and clearly distanced from the sort of fictional crap that the propaganda is using.

12
0
realarthurdent
realarthurdent
4 years ago
Reply to  RickH

Agreed.

4
0
Achilles_Heel
Achilles_Heel
4 years ago

I wonder if there’s an element of obesity mixed in here. Those who can afford any sort of hospitalisation in India are likely much more westernised and India has some of the fastest growing rates of obesity of any country.

15
0
Corinna
Corinna
4 years ago
Reply to  Achilles_Heel

Yes, Dr Aseem Malholtra recently highlighted this link. Indians are actually in very poor metabolic health and lacking in Vitamin D as they want to be as white as possible…

7
0
RickH
RickH
4 years ago

Thanks for that – although quoting data on ‘cases’ is questionable.

Somebody asked me about the situation in India, and I had to confess that I hadn’t looked for accurate information, although I knew that the MSM coverage woukd be diversionary propaganda. A quick look at Worldometer data (even with its inherent flaws) quickly showed how deaths in proportionate terms were wildly exaggerated – with India way below the UK, at about 118 of all countries.

The gap between the MSM and reality is now becoming more and more absurd. Decent reporting almost a vanished art.

29
0
BillRiceJr
BillRiceJr
4 years ago
Reply to  RickH

The “groupthink” in newsrooms on COVID topics approaches 100 percent. It’s thus almost impossible for these journalists to produce articles that would challenge the ‘conventional wisdom” on COVID topics. I have noted that the UK press produces more stories that might qualify as broaching “off limits” COVID topics than the U.S. press.

“Pack journalism” is a more ominous “disease” than COVID-19 imo.

17
0
RickH
RickH
4 years ago

Well summarised.

7
-2
BillRiceJr
BillRiceJr
4 years ago

I found this story from a Florida newspaper (picked up nationally by the Drudge Report) more confusing than illuminating. 

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/coronavirus/fl-ne-south-florida-covid-hospitalizations-continue-20210424-jxuqa5zerfc2lfaturmabsbke4-story.html

The story purports to show/suggest that new variants have caused hospital admissions in Florida to rise. The article states that virus “variants” are much more prevalent in the 25-to-44 age cohort, but the story provides no specific data that provides the (absolute) number of 25 to 44-year-olds with COVID who are currently hospitalized. (The story does note, in general language, that those who have contracted the variants aren’t being hospitalized, or this seems to be implied).

To better support its conclusion, it would have been nice if the article’s author included information on actual hospitalization numbers by age cohorts.

The article does tell us that “As of Friday morning, about 3,500 people were hospitalized for COVID in Florida.”

This is good information, but it would also be good to know the age ranges of these 3,500 hospitalized patients and the actual numbers by age cohorts.

Of these 3,500 patients, how many are under the age of 45 (the age most susceptible to variants)? How many are over the age of 55 (the group most likely to have been vaccinated by now)? How many are older than 65?

I think this would be very relevant, and information readers would appreciate learning.

I think many readers would be interested in learning if older Florida citizens – even after most of them having by now gotten the vaccine – still make up the vast majority of COVID hospitalized patients.

It would also be interesting to learn what percentage of older hospitalized COVID patients have already received the vaccine.

I sent the author of the story an email, asking her if she could answer these questions. I’ll report back later if I receive these answers.

Last edited 4 years ago by BillRiceJr
14
0
BillRiceJr
BillRiceJr
4 years ago
Reply to  BillRiceJr

The above-linked story also states that 25 percent of Floridians have been “fully vaccinated.”

It also includes this quote from a doctor “…. we’ve done an amazing job vaccinating people over 65,” (the doctor) said.

We also learn from the story that “most” people who have been hospitalized (with or without “variants”) are people over 55 and we know that Florida has done an “amazing job” vaccinating people 65 and older … but still those being hospitalized appear to be disproportionately from older age cohorts. 

I would think by now that perhaps 80 to 90 percent of Floridians over the age of 65 have been vaccinated. If this age group STILL makes up the vast majority of hospitalized COVID patients, can we make logical conclusions that speak to the “effectiveness” fo the vaccines in preventing “severe” cases (those that lead to hospitalizations)?

It seems to me there might be some kind of journalism conspiracy to NOT report the ages of hospitalized COVID patients, and/or what percentage of these older hospitalized patients had already been vaccinated.

Is the point the author and authorities trying to make this: That older people are still being hospitalized from COVID at disproportionate rates … but this is (probably?) explained by “variants?” Maybe so, but I don’t find the evidence of this particularly convincing … at least from the incomplete statistics in this article.

10
0
Julian
Julian
4 years ago
Reply to  BillRiceJr

The lack of interest across govts, media and public health bodies in simply finding useful data to learn more about covid has been astonishing

You’d think that such a new, deadly threat would have people making every effort to understand it more, but that’s not been the case

14
0
chris c
chris c
4 years ago
Reply to  Julian

Yes!

Once the original “modelling” was produced, that is what has been and is still being followed. Facts are irrelevent.

Lots of excellent questions in the original article, yet who would look at vaccinations or air quality just for two

Last edited 4 years ago by chris c
1
0
BillRiceJr
BillRiceJr
4 years ago

Where are the journalists or editors in these newsrooms who would “call out” these inflammatory (and non-sensical) headlines? There are none. They all agree with these characterizations. … So nothing is going to change. In fact, things will only get worse.

17
0
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
4 years ago
Reply to  BillRiceJr

XR is establishment astroturf.

7
0
LePib
LePib
4 years ago

BBC Radio 4 news at 12 has just led with the headline ‘there are fears that deaths could be being under-reported and may be twice as high’ or words to that effect. Give. Me. Strength. .

20
0
Julian
Julian
4 years ago
Reply to  LePib

“there are fears that” = It suits our narrative for people to believe this is the case

19
0
Adamb
Adamb
4 years ago
Reply to  LePib

Even if they were twice as high they would still be unexceptional

15
-1
Freddy Boy
Freddy Boy
4 years ago
Reply to  LePib

Just heard that whilst on M40 🤦🏼‍♂️

7
0
Smelly Melly
Smelly Melly
4 years ago

My son informs me that there was a gas leak in India last year which killed a number of people and the video footage showing the covid bodies is from then. He also said that an Indian person who lived near one of the sites where there are supposed to be piles of covid victims bodies and he blogged there was nothing there.

I haven’t personally seen any reported evidence as to whether this is true or not, other than taking my sons word for it. Can anybody corroborate this story?

11
0
James Kreis
James Kreis
4 years ago
Reply to  Smelly Melly

Someone posted this link elsewhere BTL

https://twitter.com/mrgeckouk/status/1386983340889280515

2
0
Nottheonly1
Nottheonly1
4 years ago

Appreciate the image to the article. For years (as an asthmatic person) I have been pointing to toxic air pollution being the greatest killer of them all. In 2019, ~4.5 million people died of respiratory failure due to particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micron. Also referred to as “Nano Particles” and their origin is absolutely not limited to volcanic eruptions, forest fires, burning oil fields and industrial pollution. The de-populaters add millions of tons of nano particular matter into the upper atmosphere.

The hypocrisy is the faking concern about the health of people regarding a non-existing ‘virus’, while the real culprit is knowingly not mentioned. To verify my assertion, please visit once more:

ventusky.com “Air Quality” tab “PM 2.5”

Use the “play” button to have predictions at three hour intervals. Look at India and find other places with high covid PM 2.5 fatalities.

9
0
Corinna
Corinna
4 years ago
Reply to  Nottheonly1

Totally agree! Air pollution is the killer not Covid. But given the lack of a vaccine to stop the transmission of air pollution, they will ignore it due to the ‘non-profitability’ of sorting this one out.

1
0
LMS2
LMS2
4 years ago

This article makes more sense than the propaganda from the MSM. It’s made zero sense for there to be a sudden massive surge of CV19 cases and deaths in India right now, but the air pollution, seasonality of respiratory infections at this time of year, a poor healthcare system, etc, makes more sense.

10
0
Less government
Less government
4 years ago

I believe that one reason India is actually doing much better than the media makes it out to be is the widespread use of Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin.
https://roundingtheearth.substack.com/p/the-chloroquine-wars-part-xvii

8
0
Norman
Norman
4 years ago

Given the wide misattribution of deaths in UK to Covid rather than the underlying conditions, I cannot think that India is any better at identifying Covid rather than pollution related effects as the cause of death. As the writer observes this is the time of year when pollution is at its worst, hence, possibly, the synchronicity of the disease around the country.

3
0
wantok87
wantok87
4 years ago

At last common sense. Where has the sensible journalism gone? Silly use of percentage increase when comparing vastly different populations and absence of infection mortality figures is scandalous. Where are our SAGE advisors to correct the errors?

2
0
DevonBlueBoy
DevonBlueBoy
4 years ago
Reply to  wantok87

Our SAGE advisors are so ignorant they couldn’t recognise an error if it smacked them between their eyes

1
0
SimCS
SimCS
4 years ago

The comment about air pollution is pertinent. In Delhi, the 2 largest components of air pollution are (1) road dust at ~35%, then (2) exhaust particulates, which are emitted from the mass fleet of very old diesel trucks and buses. Resurface the roads and properly maintain and renew the very old diesel fleet, and you will make a massive improvement to air quality. If there’s a case for masks there, it’s to protect against dust and particulates, NOT for the virus.

6
0
mojo
mojo
4 years ago

The real reason this totalitarian government wants to propagandise India, is so we go into yet another lockdown through project fear and hysteria. So far the SMEs have outsmarted the globalists and managed to maintain a presence on the internet. The government needs to create more furlough in order to completely bankrupt the country and destroy whatever is remaining of the entrepreneurial sector in order to bring in a ‘solution’. That solution is mandatory vaccination, universal income and population control.

Until the media start being honest and bringing this discussion to the fore instead of skirting round it, the country is heading for a total collapse.

7
0
Noumenon
Noumenon
4 years ago
Reply to  mojo

You can’t bankrupt a country.

0
0
FrankFisher
FrankFisher
4 years ago

That spike following vaccination programmes seems to be seen everywhere. Once you see the lines plotted side by side, you cannot unsee it.

6
0
DevonBlueBoy
DevonBlueBoy
4 years ago

Thanks to Professor Thakur for the context

1
0
mgordonjames
mgordonjames
4 years ago

Surge probably correlates to weeks of election rallies with Modi urging people to attend creating large crowds. Also a religious gathering up in the north where 3m people gathered.

Note also Modi donated vaccines to 80 countries wanting to show that india is the pharmacy to the world, thus reducing application domestically.

0
-2
richlyon
richlyon
4 years ago

The current modest rise is neither a mystery, nor unexplained. “Winter seasonal” respiratory infections regularly occur in regions that have no “cold” spell, and always rise at this time of year in the tropics as they swing from the receding northern northern hemisphere winter to the approaching southern hemisphere winter. This was noticed by Hope-Simpson way back in the 1980s. The modest rise last year also lagged our epidemic peak last year by 5 months. Data and graphs here: https://richardlyon.substack.com/p/a-summer-third-wave

2
0
mariathena
mariathena
4 years ago

A couple of months ago, we were reading about how India is successfully treating Covid with Ivermectin , which is abundantly produced and used in India for parasitic infections anyway. What happened then? did they stop using Ivermectin because the WHO opined that it is not a Covid treatment drug ?

1
0
chrisifiles77
chrisifiles77
4 years ago
Reply to  mariathena

Absolutely true..I heard a doctor explain this last night..The Vaccine was rolled out and they were limiting the amount of ivermectin intake..not sure it was banned completely but there’s a connection.
besides,why would cases go up as soon as they began vaccinating millions?

0
0
chrisifiles77
chrisifiles77
4 years ago

Simple question is this>> The vaccines were rolled out end Dec-early January.then cases flew up by February. Well,well. Also I heard a doctor explain this last night..Since Vaccines was rolled out they stopped using Ivermectin. were limiting their intake..not sure it was banned completely but there’s a connection.
besides,why would cases go up as soon as they began vaccinating millions?
Around October of last year,there was one part of India where deaths from covid was was very low,that was the part of India which were trusting in the Ivermectin and some also HCQ..both were being taken and the so-called pandemic was under control

Last edited 4 years ago by chrisifiles77
0
0
chrisifiles77
chrisifiles77
4 years ago

Ivermectin & hcq was abandoned when the vaccines were introduced..simple answer. Vaccines were clearly also increasing the cases and deaths

0
-1

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

DONATE

PODCAST

In Episode 35 of the Sceptic: Andrew Doyle on Labour’s Grooming Gang Shame, Andrew Orlowski on the India-UK Trade Deal and Canada’s Ignored Covid Vaccine Injuries

by Richard Eldred
9 May 2025
4

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editor’s Picks

BBC Quietly Edits Question Time After Wrongly ‘Correcting’ Richard Tice on Key Net Zero Claim

9 May 2025
by Will Jones

Hugely Influential Covid Vaccine Study Claiming the Jabs Saved Millions of Lives Torn to Shreds in Medical Journal

10 May 2025
by Dr Raphael Lataster

News Round-Up

10 May 2025
by Toby Young

Electric Car Bursts into Flames on Driveway and Engulfs £550,000 Family Home

9 May 2025
by Will Jones

Ed Miliband’s Housing Energy Plan Will Decimate the Rental Market and Send Rents Spiralling

10 May 2025
by Ben Pile

News Round-Up

55

Teenage Girl Banned by the Football Association For Asking Transgender Opponent “Are You a Man?” Wins Appeal With Help of Free Speech Union

21

Hugely Influential Covid Vaccine Study Claiming the Jabs Saved Millions of Lives Torn to Shreds in Medical Journal

20

Ed Miliband’s Housing Energy Plan Will Decimate the Rental Market and Send Rents Spiralling

14

What Does David Lammy Mean by a State?

27

Hugely Influential Covid Vaccine Study Claiming the Jabs Saved Millions of Lives Torn to Shreds in Medical Journal

10 May 2025
by Dr Raphael Lataster

Reflections on Empire, Papacy and States

10 May 2025
by James Alexander

Ed Miliband’s Housing Energy Plan Will Decimate the Rental Market and Send Rents Spiralling

10 May 2025
by Ben Pile

Nature Paper Claims to Pin Liability for ‘Climate Damages’ on Oil Companies

9 May 2025
by Tilak Doshi

What Does David Lammy Mean by a State?

9 May 2025
by James Alexander

POSTS BY DATE

May 2024
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Apr   Jun »

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union
  • Home
  • About us
  • Donate
  • Privacy Policy

Facebook

  • X

Instagram

RSS

Subscribe to our newsletter

© Skeptics Ltd.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In

© Skeptics Ltd.

wpDiscuz
You are going to send email to

Move Comment
Perfecty
Do you wish to receive notifications of new articles?
Notifications preferences