Thursday, 5 August 2021 — Wollongong, Australia

By Greg Canavan Editor, The Rum Rebellion

[5 min read]

Dear Reader,

The past 18 months have revealed deep divisions within Australian society, huge flaws in our political leadership, and weakness in our governance processes.

A long-running State of Emergency has suspended the constitution. You are no longer living under the freedoms that generations before us have taken for granted.

There are harsh restrictions on movement (between suburbs and state borders), and in Australia’s largest city, the government has denied tens of thousands of people the right to earn a living.

In Melbourne, the ‘lockdown’ might be over, but you cannot yet visit family because the State cannot track your movements.

It’s all for your own good, of course.

This brings me to an important philosophical point. Who is responsible for your wellbeing, the State, or you?

Different people have different views on this.

The classical Liberal view is that the State should have minimal involvement in our lives. Its role is to ensure that people’s basic rights are protected, and that people should take personal responsibility for their actions.

As Liberal thought progressed, it saw an expanded role for the State, which, among other things, involved looking after the elderly and vulnerable, and improving working conditions and wages.

No one would begrudge a civilized society’s attempts to ensure a level playing field and that all its citizens are looked after.

But as many predicted, at what point does the intrusion of the State end?

We are now at the point where health authorities in South Australia have forcibly removed hundreds of people (and their families) for attending a restaurant that ‘had cases’, and incarcerating them in a ‘medical quarantine’ facility.  

Again, it’s for your own good, or so we are told.

But there are always trade-offs. No risk, no reward, as the saying goes in the investment world. Except we’re not allowed to discuss trade-offs. We’re not allowed to discuss suicides and other collateral damage from the State’s totalitarian response to this health crisis.

The establishment media certainly aren’t discussing it on our behalf. The supposed fourth estate — meant to hold those in power to account — are now their mouthpiece.

So I thought I’d talk about some of the issues that you certainly won’t hear about in the droning, daily press conferences that solemnly tell us about ‘cases’, and what you can and can’t do.

I recently caught up with former (reformed) politician Cory Bernardi to chat about what the hell is going on in Australia right now.

Cory’s a champion of free speech and small government, among other things. He speaks to a lot of the issues that The Rum Rebellion is all about. As I wrote three years ago when I started this project:

‘The Rum Rebellion humbly seeks to be a voice for liberty-seeking citizens of Australia, guarding against both government encroachment in our lives and corporate chicanery.’

It is in this spirit that I chat with Cory. Please click on the image below to watch. I think you’ll really enjoy it.

If you like Cory’s stuff, you can sign up to his free weekly letter here. As he writes:

‘We all know that government isn't our friend.

‘The politicians care more about themselves than they do about us.

‘That's why we all need to cut through the political spin and understand what is really going on.’

Let’s start here…I hope you enjoy my chat with Cory Bernardi…

Regards,

Greg Canavan,
Editor, The Rum Rebellion

By Bill Bonner Editor, The Rum Rebellion

We love a good parade as much as the next guy.

And a good war.

The sound of the trumpet! The shine of the medals! The thrill of the ranks…marching to victory!

Out on the battlefield, the front-line troops give ‘em hell…while back at home; mum and dad follow the glorious fight on the wireless…proud of their sons and daughters…

And as long as the money keeps flowing…who cares what is really going on?

Career opportunity

‘War is the health of the state,’ as the writer Randolph Bourne put it.

Especially a war it can’t win…

And now, with ‘breakthrough infections’, new ‘variants’, and vaccinated people still getting sick…

Hey, like the War on Poverty, the War on Drugs, and the war in Afghanistan, the War on COVID-19 is turning out to be a career opportunity for the feds…

…and a real moneymaker for their main suppliers — the drug companies. Forbes reports:

‘Operation Warp Speed (OWS)—the U.S. government’s Covid-19 relief program—would dole out $22 billion to Big Pharma.

‘The amounts of money were the kinds of sums normally seen in the smaller defense budget line items, but were massive for a public health project—$2.5 billion to Moderna, $1.2 billion to AstraZeneca, half a billion dollars to Johnson & Johnson, and $1.6 billion to a small company called Novavax. Only Pfizer opted out of ponying up to the trough at first—it didn’t want to devote resources to coordinating with the US government on its work.

‘In July, Pfizer signed a $1.95 billion deal to sell one hundred million doses of its two-shot vaccine to the United States, enough for fifty million people.’

It turned out to be a profitable move for Pfizer. The New York Times:

‘Pfizer Reaps Hundreds of Millions in Profits From Covid Vaccine’

‘The vaccine brought in $3.5 billion in revenue in the first three months of this year, nearly a quarter of its total revenue, Pfizer reported. The vaccine was, far and away, Pfizer’s biggest source of revenue.’

Federal case

When COVID-19 came to light, all over the world, authorities might have treated it like any other health challenge.

They might have alerted local officials…and warned vulnerable people to take cover.

Instead, for better or for worse, almost all of the major nations — save, perhaps, Sweden — made a federal case out of it.

They went to war.

They attempted to stop the virus…isolate it…to trace carriers…to block transmission…and to stifle its spread. The strategy seemed reasonable enough, if your aim was to treat it as an enemy.

But the virus must have broken the code. It seemed to know what the field marshals were up to. It changed its tactics.

Its new Delta variant is said to move quickly. It sneaks through our lines — even those of the veterans who are fully vaccinated.

And here’s the latest from the front, The Washington Post reporting:

‘Florida breaks record for new coronavirus cases as surge of infections rips through state

‘The data shows the severity of the surge in Florida, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak and now responsible for 1 in 5 new infections nationally. The previous peak in Florida had been on Jan. 7, when the state reported 19,334 cases, according to the CDC — before the widespread availability of coronavirus vaccinations. Florida has reported an average of 15,818 new cases a day over the past seven days, according to data compiled by The Washington Post.’

The best wars — from the feds’ point of view — are those where the enemy never gives up…but can’t win either.

Then, the conflict drags on for years.

The feds spend trillions…get battlefield promotions…and reward their friends with contracts (guaranteeing a rich retirement for the insiders as ‘consultants’ to their former suppliers).

Criminal victims

So far, there is still no conclusive evidence that going to war with the virus really pays off. The headlines are full of alarums.

But the death statistics show little connection between the war effort and the body count. Despite its sans souci approach, Sweden still has fewer deaths per 100,000 than the US, UK, France, or Italy.

Argentina is notable, with a higher fatality rate than any of them…and also the strictest control measures.

We spent nine months there last year. Roadblocks kept us from going anywhere. Everything was closed. The whole country was locked up…you needed a special permission to come in or go out.

And now, Argentina is leading the way to the future (we fear) by turning the victims into criminals. Yes, the gauchos are cracking down. Here’s a message received from friends:

‘Today’s Infobae newspaper says that 20 people are down with the Delta version of COVID-19 and that five others have been arrested for violating articles 202 and 205 of the Argentine Penal Code.

‘Article 202 of the Argentine Penal Code says [in an awkward translation]:

‘Shall be punished with seclusion or imprisonment for three to fifteen years a person who spreads a dangerous and contagious disease to others…

‘Article 205 of the Argentine Penal Code says:

‘Will be punished with imprisonment for six months to two years he who violates the measures adopted by the competent authorities for impeding the introduction or propaganda [it probably is supposed to say propagation] means “of an epidemic.”’

Found and fined

All over the world, as we reported last week, the warriors are running out of patience with the malingerers and peaceniks.

Far from giving up the war as a lost cause, they want a surge.

Here’s the latest from the Earth’s underside, The Daily Mail:

‘Australia uses helicopters and the ARMY to enforce its “Zero Covid” lockdown as thousands of police flood Sydney to enforce the rules and hand out $500 no-mask fines – with just 17% of adults vaccinated.

‘Sirens blared across the city and a draconian message was broadcast from the skies, as millions were told: “This is public health order—do not break rules—you will be found and fines issued.”’

Yes…COVID-19 appears to be here to stay…along with a long war against it.

And tomorrow, we look at yet another enemy…and another ‘transitory forever’ war.

Stay tuned…

Regards,

Bill Bonner,
For The Rum Rebellion