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Distant proximity

By Food for thought

We smile at each other from a distance. Looking at one another while our bodies have to avoid each other at a distance.When did I last shake hands with someone? I try to remember, but I can’t.
On these days of new and still unfamiliar distance, most people also avoid eye contact. They move in strange serpentines so as not to offend other passers-by. To the lowered glances, ears are often closed as well. The spacial separation is amplified by an acoustic one. Headphones emphasize the hermetic inner space for many. A casual conversation could be infectious. Our life in the new zones of deliberately protected sterility. Our life in the séparée of an increasingly rigorously partitioned and publicly defended individual sphere. A life as if behind a protective screen. It is easy to imagine the protective clothing of medical emergency workers.

A blossom that folds and closes in a paradoxical impulse back to the bud. Maybe it got too much sun.

If humanity were a child, one might think, it would push back into the womb these days.
Whole societies are in shut down and locked in. If the sky is closing, one feels the abyss of comatose standstill and could easily confuse the momentary calm with an eternal one.

“Bunker mood”, observes media theorist Peter Weibel in the present day socium. A contagious phenomenon. Every one for himself among the many. These days, the term hermit has taken on a new meaning. Welcome to the new distance society …

Maybe we have been sitting too close to each other for far too long, and this is what we have now: a virus that forces us to retreat.

Assuming that humanity has actually crawled back into the womb these days. Sure, we know, a state like that won’t last. The child must be born, even if it is called humanity. A lot of things went wrong in his previous life. Or maybe things just got terribly complicated. The economy with its swaps and flops, its derivatives and bailouts that nobody understands anymore. From consumerism and capitalism to the climate crisis, from health care to redistribution – many people have ideas, nobody knows what works anymore. The system has decoupled itself from the people. This frustrates politicians who are supposed to make sustainable and systemically relevant decisions. And it depresses the technocrats who want to optimise systematically. Many people think that little of it succeeds. Capitalism continues to bloat. The world is getting hot flashes. Fire is rolling like a fever in some areas. In others, water eats the coasts. We mourned it, yet we kept taking off and flying. But now finally the planes stay on the ground. For this a virus has landed. It took this arrival in horror to make us pause.

The era of air travel and mass mobility will perhaps be remembered as the era of frenzied standstill. Now begins the era of the standstill of frenzy (Weibel). Airfields where no planes take off, orphaned highways and railway lines, roads so empty that you can picnic on them. A slowdown of life. The quiet cities seem like invitations to wander in them again. The air is better than ever these days.

Suppose not only individuals, but whole civilisations could be reborn. They rise, they fall, they perish, a new one comes into life. One thing is certain, no civilisation is born twice.
What’s obviously dying out: physical proximity. Students in overcrowded lecture halls, employees treading on each other’s toes in offices, shopping-hungry consumers pushing past each other in shopping malls, fans crowding together in stadiums and at festivals, parades with thousands of participants – all that is yesterday’s news. Prohibited in the present, feared in the future because potentially dangerous. Welcome to the new distance society …

Because proximity has become dangerous, we will set up in the distance.

“Only temporarily,” contradict the backward looking among the prophets.
I think they are wrong. After this coronavirus will be before the next and new one. Corona demonstrates that the mass accumulations of modernity offer too much proximity for viruses. They jump from one to the next, microscopic free-riders of mobility, travel by plane as fast as an arrow, hop across national borders and spread congenially continental.
The holiday society in particular has waged war against nature, claims Weibel. “The virus forces us to end this war.”
Hopefully the world will recover now. Hopefully it will also be beneficial for the people. And we’ll find ways to be close to each other even far away. That’s probably what rebirth is all about.

Enjoy the silence! Stay healthy!

Yours – Otmar Jenner

P.S. Just received an audio file via mail – allegedly a message from the Association of German Psychiatrists: “Since we are flooded with calls, we would like to inform you, dear fellow citizens, that it is absolutely normal in the time of quarantine that you start talking to the walls, plants and other things. Please call us only if they answer to you. Thank you.”

P.S (2). Dear readers, English is not my mother tongue. If you find striking mistakes in the wording, please let me know (oj@otmarjenner.de).

#otmarjenner #corona #covid 19 #SARS-CoV-2 #energyhealing #healing #happiness #heal #healingvibes #energy #spirituality #meditation #spiritual #chakras #goodvibes #selflove #psychic #yoga #energybites #instagood #metaphysical #awakening #spiritualhealing #positiveenergy #energyhealer #consciousliving #consciousness #healingprocess #justhealing #compassion #forgiveness #guidance

Some Questions

By Food for thought

Questions provide often the best answers:

Question 1: Why is the coronavirus spreading from China at great speed throughout the world?
Question 2: Why are almost all western industrialised nations reducing their production while China is ramping up its own?
Question 3: Why did China report the new coronavirus and Covid-19 to the WHO when the government in Beijing otherwise suppresses bad news in the media?
Question 4: Why has the oil price fallen to a historic low since January, and the biggest beneficiaries of this are currently the Chinese?
Question 5: Why are giant metropolises such as Beijing (21 million), Shanghai (24 million) or Shenzhen (12 million) “spared” from spreading infection without further quarantine measures?
Question 6: Why does the Chinese president currently enjoy a higher reputation worldwide than before the coronacrisis?
Question 7: Why is the sentence “Follow the money if you want to understand why something is happening” indisputable in the times of corona?

Question 8: Why are China’s neighbouring countries or regions such as Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia or Myanmar hardly affected or at least not so excessively?
Question 9: Why does the country with the world’s largest domestic market benefit from the corona crisis?
Question 10: Why did the USA start a trade war with China and now appear as big losers due to the coronacrisis?
Question 11: Is the so-called Western world under threat of a hostile takeover by China?
Question 12: Is there a threat of war between China and the United States because the USA will not hand over its previous supremacy to the Chinese without a fight?

Questions over questions.

A 13th and 14st question also comes up: Why did decision-makers from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the World Economic Forum and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation meet in the morning of October 28, 2019 in New York for a “pandemic tabletop exercise that simulated a series of dramatic, scenario-based facilitated discussions, confronting difficult, true-to-life dilemmas associated with response to a hypothetical, but scientifically plausible, pandemic” (about two months before the corona outbreak in Wuhan)? Why does the played out disaster scenario (called “Event 201”) outlined a new type of corona virus, similar to the SARS pathogen, which is transmitted by bats, causes mild symptoms in most people and leads to a severe pandemic?

Any one of these questions is legitimate, I think. I’m aware that they point in one direction.

“But in the sum these questions assume the answer that the corona crisis is artificially made up,” comments a friend and journalist. “I don’t know if you have read the scientific publications on the genome of the new coronavirus for example. Nothing speaks for deliberate human intervention in the matter – except the understandable longing to find someone to blame for this devastating catastrophe.”

In fact, I have read several studies on the results of genome sequencing. I also think that no one has set this pandemic in motion in order to achieve a certain result. Rather, I believe that it is a coincidence of events which, taken together, make something very big. Big in the sense of terribly big. Big in the sense of an opportunity too. It is this coincidence of individual aspects which, in any case, produces this grave interaction and ongoing crisis.

The author Lothar Hirneise has already asked some of the questions on his blog. Yes, questions provide often the best answers. Currently also in connection with the novel coronavirus. Some of the questions mentioned already sound like answers. And the chain of questions seem to point to a common answer. As plausible as this may look at first sight, it is not proof of a deliberate influence on the matter. All the more carefully the questions mentioned should be questioned individually and as a whole.
In other words, I would like to have answers to the above questions. However, I’m afraid they are not as simple as some people would like.

Stay healthy!

Yours – Otmar Jenner

P.S. Dear readers, English is not my mother tongue. If you find any mistakes in the wording, please let me know (oj@otmarjenner.de).

#otmarjenner #corona #covid 19 #SARS-CoV-2 #energyhealing #healing #happiness #heal #healingvibes #energy #spirituality #meditation #spiritual #chakras #goodvibes #selflove #psychic #yoga #energybites #instagood #metaphysical #awakening #spiritualhealing #positiveenergy #energyhealer #consciousliving #consciousness #healingprocess #justhealing #compassion #forgiveness #guidance

Science Fiction now

By Food for thought

Going out again with a mask. What is weird: almost 90 percent don’t wear one. The street is busier than yesterday. Going out to buy food is still permitted in Berlin at the moment. Even wandering around is allowed. Going out with your partner, child and dog as well. In order to help other people, you are also free to go out. Meeting a friend or girlfriend is also possible, but please keep a safe distance of 1.50 meters. However, the Berlin Senate had not yet been able to agree on penalties for violations.
I am meeting a friend. Like me he is wearing a face mask. Two hooded men greeting each other. What are we talking about? Sure, what’s going on in the world.
My friend is a journalist. He tells me about strange curfews in Colombia. The sexes are now only allowed to step outside separately. Men one day, women the next. In Morocco, the army monitors the curfew. Public places are controlled by soldiers. Even tanks are positioned. One person per housing unit is allowed to buy food. The measures in Jordan are even more drastic. A total curfew is in force. Under no circumstances is it permitted to leave the apartment. Food and beverages must be delivered. A similar order was temporarily issued in India. The President of the Philippines is said to have urged the forces of law and order in his country to use firearms when enforcing measures. Comparatively moderate: For about three weeks now, the inhabitants of Tenerife have only been allowed to leave their house or apartment every other day. And this only for shopping. Walks on the beach? Forbidden. Despite springtime with summery 20 degrees in the Canary Islands.

The world in solitary confinement. What do you think of our government’s measures, I ask my friend. Exaggerated or not?

My friend frowns. Of course he is aware of the different estimations even on the expert level in Germany. Some think that the measures are not yet strict enough. Others find them far too drastic and demand a loosening up.

“And you?” I ask.

“If the Chinese, Italian, Spanish, British, Israeli, Indian and German governments, even the former reluctant Americans and on the other hand the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and other dictatorial regimes, are in agreement – in other words, if participants who normally disagree on all other issues, but agree on the estimation of the danger posed by the new corona virus, then I would not doubt it now“, my friend answered.

What a sentence!

Time for science fiction: The ice on the polar caps is melting like the glaciers on Iceland and in the Himalayas. The sea level is rising. In the Maldives, Bangladesh and the Netherlands land is under threat. The mild winters in Europe can be survived wearing flip-flops. The summers are so hot that brains are boiling. In Australia, on the Iberian Peninsula and in California, stretches of land are going up in flames due to prolonged dryness. Even politics seems to be drying up these days. There’s a lot of talk and little decision making. A girl stands up and complains. She is heard. And not heard. Who’s in charge? More and more people are asking the same questions.

The imaginative among them sense a secret arrangement that is dragging the entire planet into an abyss. An alliance that is deliberately and shamelessly enriching itself at the public’s expense. A club that orchestrates and directs the global economy. Who creates needs and initiates dependencies. An octopus that eats anything that is digestible. And spreads growing poverty like dog poo across the globe as markers of its power.

The unimaginative people say it’s just a momentum called capitalism. It’s good because it means freedom. Sure, it’s not so good that astronomical sums are piling up in the bank accounts of very few people, and that there is a spooky ebb tide in the accounts of the vast majority. But that’s how democracy is organised these days: economically. Feel free. And enjoy the freedom to fiddle with your smartphone at any time. Or isn’t that your favourite companion and friend? And anyway, do you already have Netflix or AmazonPrime? What are you complaining about, you ungrateful human shame?

Who’s complaining these days? There are individual voices, right. There are also choirs from the right wing. And those on the left want something radically new for the future, but can’t agree on steps to achieve it. And then there are the ghosts of the political scenery. Scattered souls who have something clever in their minds and do it in a stupid way. Not to speak of the majority, sleeping in the seats of parliament. Parliaments seem to drown in their own insignificance. More and more voters stay away on election day. Why cast a vote if it has no impact?

Dreams of a fairer and therefore better world – buried after the economic crisis of 2008.

The planet is heating up, so is general dissatisfaction. But what is happening? Very little. Governments seem to have their hands tied. Who is still in charge, more and more people are wondering. If the corona virus wouldn’t have such horrific effects, some would call it a much-needed saviour.

And now a voice appears in this story after all. It belongs to a well-known economist and associate professor in Vienna, but he will be mentioned here just as Dr. H., to emphasise the fictional aspect of the whole story. I have to confess, that I like imaginative material, value unusual ideas (even if I find them possibly wrong) and like to rethink simplifying explanations of complicated facts, even if I may reject them afterwards – because this is quite simply the case, I would like to give Dr. H.’s remarks on the viral crisis some space here. At the same time I like to emphasise: in my opinion these remarks are pure science fiction.

“I think,” says Dr. H., “this is heading to a shutdown of our entire social, economic and legal system. We have to understand that economics and law, as well as education, political science and unfortunately ethics as normative sciences are not really sciences at all. They are sciences only by name. In reality they are ideological belief systems to which people in our society have been socialised and thus emotionally committed.“

Because the rimless glasses have slipped on the bridge of his nose, Dr. H. returns them to their original position with a reflex-like grip. “But now people behind the scenes are realising that these systems have reached the end of their usefulness.”

It could be assumed that alternative models have been prepared in the background during the last 20 years.

“Now, if you want to transfer a global civilisation into another social system, then you naturally need a cover story, a legend that the population believes, while remaining obedient and keeping calm at the same time.“

Dr. H. takes a short break. “This is what this pandemic is all about.”

To a certain extent par excellence, one would like to add ironically.

“Ideally one with just a few deaths. The few that do occur must of course be exaggerated, as happened in Italy. Where everyone who dies and is also a carrier of the virus is called a corona deaths, so you can turn the screw of fear. This is the only explanation for the trillions of dollars and euros that were already willingly destroyed as collateral damage in conjunction with a disease. Now you can ask, compared with spring flu, what is the difference?“

What’s the difference? The explanation of my friend comes to my mind.

Dr. H. raises his index finger, smiles: “But you can only judge this if you know the motive of those who are organising this from the background. I have the confidence that these are positive intentions. Because if they wanted something negative, such as enslaving the whole population, they wouldn’t have needed the current crisis, i.e. corona and economic shutdown, for that. They simply would have had to continue as they have done for the last twenty years. The negative goal of a bad world order could have been achieved without this so-called pandemic. But the fact that it has now arrived in this form, and that it has been dealt with globally, in coordination with practically all the major states on this planet, and that this scenario is being dealt with in such a coordinated way, indicates, in my view, that this is a very dramatic, fundamental and positive reorganisation of our social structure. And I am already very curious to see which proposals and models will be applied as a result.“

As I said: a short excursion into the realm of science fiction. Two years ago I published a novel (“The Oldest”) in this genre. A next one (“33”) will follow. But I actually heard the story I just told you, I didn’t make it up. There are strange fantasies circulating on the internet. I have thought about this one with pleasure.

The pictures of the moon landing, of the mourning for Lady Di and the planes crashing into the Twin Towers traveled around the world and got supreme attention. But the current worldwide reaction is a new dimension. For such an effect it would need aliens as common enemy and threat, I thought until recently. I was wrong. All it takes is a virus.

But yes, this is science fiction as I said before. Another friend, a physician, said to me this morning: “Have you heard? According to the Robert Koch Institute, the average age of Covid-19 death victims in Germany is 81 years. Does the virus make people statistically older than the normal average age? A long-live-virus, then?“

Sure, this is science fiction too.

Stay healthy!

Yours – Otmar Jenner

P.S. Dear readers, English is not my mother tongue. If you find any mistakes in the wording, please let me know (oj@otmarjenner.de).

#otmarjenner #corona #covid 19 #SARS-CoV-2 #energyhealing #healing #happiness #heal #healingvibes #energy #spirituality #meditation #spiritual #chakras  #goodvibes #selflove #psychic #yoga #energybites #instagood #metaphysical #awakening #spiritualhealing #positiveenergy #energyhealer #consciousliving #consciousness #healingprocess #justhealing #compassion #forgiveness #guidance

What next? A review

By Food for thought

“A lot of people are nervous. A majority of them is even scared.” These are the sentences that I hear from psychotherapists and medical professionals during the last days.
We have dramatic disease rates in Europe. Lockdown in New York. What kind of wave is rolling towards us?

Some experts in virology and epidemiology (i.a. Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi, Professor of microbiology and infection epidemiology in Mainz) believe that we are increasingly suffering from draconian government measures. The worldwide reactions to Corona are exaggerated – if not undully.

Mathias Beiglböck, Philipp Grohs, Joachim Hermisson, Magnus Nordborg and Walter Schachermayer, almost all mathematicians at the University of Vienna, share an opposite view. They have recalculated the Covid-19 infection, morbidity and fatality rates and issued a statement on 30.3.2020 via the Austrian government website. The professors came to the following conclusion: If the corona epidemic continues to spread at an exponential rate, i.e. if one infected person infects at least one other person, the collapse of the Austrian health care system with tens of thousands of deaths is most likely to occur. The goal should be to reduce the infection rate significantly. “This will probably require way more stringent measures rather than those that currently in force.” Otherwise a shutdown of the Austrian health care system is to be expected in mid-April. However, the developments in the USA, especially in New York, give rise to the fear that the situation in some places will deteriorate even more rapidly.

How dangerous is Covid-19, the disease caused by an infection with the novel coronavirus Sars-CoV-2 really?

Reliable evidence is provided by epidemiological data from the cruise liner “Diamond Princess“. All of 3,711 passengers on board have ben tested. 697 were tested as corona-positive. 328 of those who were tested positive showed no symptoms. 2,071 passengers were between 0 and 69 years old. About 50 of them were tested positive, but had no symptoms. About 180 had symptoms. No one in this group died from Covid-19. 1,231 passengers were 70 and older. Seven of them died.
A cruise ship is a closed population. You live in a confined space. Stewarts, bartenders and other members of the crew are so-called superspreaders. If they are (unknowingly) infected, they can very quickly infect many other people. Despite the cramped conditions, only about 20% of the passengers were infected. This, however, in a very short time. About a half of the infected passengers showed no symptoms. The average age on the ship was 58 years. 33% were over 70, including the seven who died.

Dr. Timothy Russel, biologist and mathematician at the London School of Hygene & Tropical Medicine, calculated a case fatality ratio of 0.5%.
In contrast, the WHO assumes a case fatality rate of 3.4%.

Prof. Dr. med. Pietro Vernazza, Chief Physician for Infectiology at the Swiss Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen sees the governmental measures in most European countries similarly critical as the already mentioned Prof. Bhakdi from Mainz. The physician refers to a publication in the magazine Science. Epidemiologist Ruiyun Li (University of Beijing, Imperial College London) and colleagues had re-evaluated the medical emergency in China due to corona. The conclusion:
Around 85% (82-90%) of all infections occurred without anyone noticing the infection.
About 55% of those who were unnoticed have infected other people.

Vernazza wonders how this publication could “pass us by almost unnoticed” in the current agitation: “Actually, we have been suspecting this for a long time. Otherwise it would not have been possible to explain why the infection figures in China have dropped to zero after a few weeks. Because this cannot be explained with an immunity rate of less than 1% of the population (less than 100,000 people out of about 10 million have fallen ill in Wuhan). It wouldn’t even be surprising if further researches put the rate of silent infections even higher. This new and not surprising finding must quickly lead to an evidence-based correction of our measures.“
The Swiss expert demands: “Finally inform the population and speak plainly. This infection is mild for young people. Fear is not a good advisor. Most people have the idea of a terribly dangerous disease. Yes, it is true: In Italy, about one person in ten diagnosed dies. But as we now know from this publication in science, that’s more likely one in 1,000 infected people.”

Scientists (on the subject of virology / epidemiology) are divided on questioning the threat of corona. There is no doubt that economic experts are in agreement on the gravity of the matter.
But why do I write about it in my blog?

  1. Because balanced reporting is rare these days.
  2. Because I believe that uncertainty in the evaluation of the danger from Covid-19 should not be an invitation to act carelessly.
  3. And finally, because there is a country that has hardly any problems with new infections by Sars-CoV-2 so far: Japan

Despite certain historical issues, Chinese go on holiday in Japan in large numbers. This year in January 925,000 came to visit. Even in February there were 89,000 visitors from China in Japan. There is no evaluation how many of them were already infected. With an average age of 48.4, Japan’s population has the highest proportion of senior citizens (i.e. the risk group) in the world. Which is important in this context because (as figures from the cruise ship confirm) Covid-19 tends to spare the young and affect the elderly.
Why are the effects of the current pandemic in Japan (at least so far) less serious then?
Sure, Premier Abe has closed schools and cancelled events to slow down the spread. But restaurants and shops remained open. A much gentler response than in Europe.
So why haven’t many more people in Japan contracted a Covid-19-infection? What saved the Japanese health system from collapsing?
One reason is probably that little corona-testing has been done in Japan so far (with hope to save the Olympics – which didn’t work). But an important part of the answer can be seen in the following photo (a screenshot from the internet):

People in Japan wearing masks, DPA, Screenshot

People who wear masks to protect other people from possible infection. An everyday picture during the winter months in the metropolises of Japan. As soon as a wave of influenza threatens, many people leave their homes only wearing a mask. Because they protect others, they protect themselves.

Another photo in this context. Taken at Buckingham Palace on 11.3.2020. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s handshake and bow to the Queen. Her birthday is coming up. She will be 94 years old. Johnson, who in the meantime has contracted Covid-19, now governs from quarantine. The Queen should be fine. She’s weathered worse than this.

Boris Johnson’s handshake and bow to the Queen, 11.3.2020, Screenshot from the BBC-News-page

But all the current ignorance of power is, in my opinion, reflected in this photo. As a reminder: Covid-19 endangers old people more than young ones, especially very old people.
Despite contradictory news on the scale of the corona epidemic and appropriate crisis management: young people are invited to protect all old people as good as they can.

So first of all: Put on a protective mask, dear people, before you step out into the street! If you don’t have a mask, wrap a scarf or cloth around your nose and mouth. Something is still better than nothing!
Don’t run into other people in public places, for example in the supermarket or on the bus or subway! Avoid other people, no matter what age!
Observe the hygiene rules required by health authorities. This cannot be wrong in any case.

Indeed, I believe that the growing mindfulness creates a new way of living together. For now social distancing is necessary. As a result we will be much more ready for a new time of rapprochement and closeness.

Yours – Otmar Jenner

P.S. Dear readers, English is not my mother tongue. If you find serious mistakes in the wording of an article, please let me know (oj@otmarjenner.de).

#otmarjenner #corona #covid 19 #SARS-CoV-2 #energyhealing #healing #happiness #heal #healingvibes #energy #spirituality #meditation #spiritual #chakras  #goodvibes #selflove #psychic #yoga #energybites #instagood #metaphysical #awakening #spiritualhealing #positiveenergy #energyhealer #consciousliving #consciousness #healingprocess #justhealing #compassion #forgiveness #guidance

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