COVID-19 Pandemic

[Risto the Great]

Great news, I was getting nervous but no need to stress now. Vaccines for 5-11 year olds are now approved in Australia. They will get a smaller dosage but more shots. I am so relieved! We already know the TGA is industry funded, meaning Pfizer simply needs to pay enough to be approved, but I thought ATAGI was going to reject the jabs based on the mounting evidence of myocarditis and other heart related illnesses (among other deadly side effects) in children.

The good news is that I wasn't disappointed in my beliefs. The bad news is that children will die for ZERO reason other than to make the likes of Pfizer richer. Oh, and digital ID tracking. We just have to look on the bright side I guess.

It's a funny old world when we can guarantee more children will die from a vaccine than from the purported illness that the vaccine was meant to protect them from. When I say funny, I mean absolutely evil.

There is probably a reason why people can't seem to be objective about these issues. It relates to a medical procedure called selling your arse to the highest bidder. Following are some conflicts of interest of people on the boards who are making these decisions. These are the people who may end up being charged with crimes against humanity (in Australia) in years to come:

https://pennybutler.com/conflicts-australia-covid/

Dr Katie ATTWELL
Member of Immunisation Coalition (01) , which is funded by vaccine manufacturers Pfizer, CSL/Seqirus, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi and Merck and Google (02).
Part of a team conducting an evaluation of the “I Immunise” campaign, funded through an unrestricted grant from vaccine manufacturer Sanofi-Pasteur (03)


Prof Kristine MACARTNEY
$65,330,038 in government grants covering 2020-2023.
She is also a member of the Advisory Committee on vaccines (ACV) of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Prof Kristine Macartney has also acted as an expert consultant to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

She was also one of the contributing authors of a peer-reviewed paper entitled “Constructing an ethical framework for priority allocation of pandemic vaccines.” Read paper here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.12.053

Prof Kristine Macartney was chosen to represent the government in the NSW Supreme Court hearings.

Director of National Centre for Immunisation Reseasrch & Surveillance (NCIRS) (04)
Presentation at “International Vaccine conference”, where travel was sponsored (05)
Ex-officio Member of ATAGI (06)
In 2018, member of ATAGI’s “Influenza Working Party” which prepares advice for ATAGI (07)
Member of ATAGI’s “Pertussis Working Party” which prepare advice on the epidemiology of pertussis and potential vaccination strategies in Australia (08)
Member of ATAGI’s “HPV working Party” which prepare advice on the epidemiology of HPV and potential vaccination strategies in Australia (09)
Member of ATAGI’s COVID-19 Working Group (10) which provides advice to the Minister for Health on the immunisation program for COVID-19 vaccines as they become available in Australia.


Prof Ian BARR
Member of Immunisation Coalition (11), which is funded by vaccine manufacturers Pfizer, CSL/Seqirus, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi and Merck and Google (12)
Deputy Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza at the Doherty Institute, where he has had over 35 years’ experience in biological research and development in academic institutions and at CSL on various topics such as vaccine development (13)
From 2015 to 2016 and in 2007, was on the Advisory Group of Experts for WHO Consultations on the Composition of Influenza Virus Vaccines (14)


Dr Tony BARTONE
Former President of the Australian Medical Association (15) (resigned late 2020 after 2 years).
Member of Immunisation Coalition (16), which is funded by vaccine manufacturers Pfizer, CSL/Seqirus, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi and Merck and Google (17).


A/Prof Christopher BLYTH
Investigator on a pneumonia/meningitis study in Papua New Guinea. Grant received by employer (The University of Western Australia) from Pfizer (18)
Co-Director of Wesfarmers Centre for Vaccines and Infectious Diseases; Telethon Kids (19), which is partnered with Johnson & Johnson, Roche, Pfizer, Novartis, GSK and Sanofi (20)
Co-Chair of ATAGI’s COVID-19 Working Group (21) which provides advice to the Minister for Health on the immunisation program for COVID-19 vaccines as they become available in Australia.
Co-Chair of Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI). (22)
Member of COVID-19 Vaccine & Treatments for Australia – Scientific & Industry Technical Advisory Board (23)


Prof Robert BOOY
Medical Advisor of Meningococcal Australia (24), which has received funds from vaccine manufacturers GSK and Pfizer (25)
Was Head of Clinical Research at the National Centre for Immunisation Research & Surveillance 2005 to 2019 (26)
Previously Chair, currently Director and Scientific Advisory Member of the Immunisation Coalition (27) , which is funded by vaccine manufacturers Pfizer, CSL/Seqirus, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi and Merck and Google (28).
In 2009, Robert Booy was a co-author of an “Influenza Vaccine trial” which was funded by CSL (29)
He received funding from CSL, Roche, Sanofi Pasteur, GSK and Pfizer to conduct research or attend and present at scientific meetings (30)
Member of Friends of Science in Medicine (31), which supported “No Jab, No Pay” at the Senate Hearing in Nov 2015 (32)



A/Prof Julia BROTHERTON
Co-Author of the Department of Health’s report “Planning for human papillomavirus vaccines in Australia”. This is the report of a meeting convened by the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases on 12 December 2003, bringing together representatives from eight Australian research groups involved in HPV research, and vaccine manufacturers with HPV vaccine candidates. The meeting was supported by vaccine manufacturers CSL Pharmaceuticals and Glaxo SmithKline (33)


Prof Allen CHENG
Director of the Infection Prevention and Healthcare Epidemiology unit at Alfred Health (34), which has received payments from vaccine manufactureres Biocryst, George Clinical, Gilead, GSK and Merck (35), and has an appointment in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University (36).
Co-Chair of ATAGI. (37)
Member of the COVID-19 Vaccine & Treatments for Australia – Scientific & Industry Technical Advisory Group (38)
Co-Chair of ATAGI’s COVID-19 Working Group (39) which provides advice to the Minister for Health on the immunisation program for COVID-19 vaccines as they become available in Australia.
Deputy Chief Health Officer of Victoria (40) and influential on coronavirus policy.
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Advisory Committee on infectious diseases and biostatistics (41)
Site Investigator for a number of infectious disease studies via Alfred Health, which has received payments from vaccine manufacturers Biocryst, George Clinical, Gilead, GSK and Merck (42)
Chief Investigator for influenza surveillance (FluCAN Surveillance System) (43)
In 2018 Chair of the Influenza Working Party which prepares advice for ATAGI (44)
His team has recently received $1.7M from federal governments National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Refer to NHMRC section below for COI, towards research into how influenza virus infection results in severe illness and death in Australia (45)



Peter COSTELLO
Chairman of the Board of Guardians of the Future Fund (46), an Australian government investment fund, with over 2 billion dollars worth of shares in pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturers i.e. CSL, Johnson and Johnson, Pfizer, Novartis and Merck (47). The Future Funds investment in pharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturers has doubled from $1 billion to $2 billion during the coronavirus situation.
Non-Executive Chairman of Nine Entertainment Co. (48)
Nine Entertainment own newspapers “the Sydney Morning Herald” and “The Sun Herald” (49), who were/are instrumental in “anti-vax” labelling (50).



A/Prof Nigel CRAWFORD
Currently Director of Surveillance of Adverse Events Following Vaccination in the Community (SAEFVIC) at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (51), which has received funding from Vaccination and Immunisation Research Group from Novartis Vaccines, GSK and Sanofi (52) & (53)
In 2014 was appointed to ATAGI (54)
Member of ATAGI’s COVID-19 Working Group (55) which provides advice to the Minister for Health on the immunisation program for COVID-19 vaccines as they become available in Australia.
Previously Director of The Influenza Specialist Group (56), which received funding from vaccine manufacturers Abbott, GSK, Seqirus, Pfizer, Roche and Sanofi (57).



A/Prof Margie DANCHIN
Member of Immunisation Coalition (58), which is funded by vaccine manufacturers Pfizer, CSL/Seqirus, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi and Merck, and Google (59).
Group Leader of Vaccine Updake at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) (60)
She is also promoting COVID-19 vaccination amongst elderly and children (61).



Laureate Prof Peter DOHERTY
The Doherty Institute for Infection & Immunity is named in honour of Patron, Laureate Professor Peter Doherty, winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize (62) , where Peter Doherty is still active in science and involved in large, grant-funded programs at both institutions, he commutes between St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis and the Doherty Institute where he now spends most of his time (63).
The Peter Doherty Institute is also in collaboration with Vaccine and Immunisation Research Group/Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (64) which has received funding from vaccine manufacturers GSK, Janssen, Merck, Novavax, Sanofi and Sequiris (65).
The Peter Doherty Institute have released their work on COVID-19 modelling to the general public. These models have been utilised by the Commonwealth Government in the public health response to COVID-19 (66).
Peter Doherty is a member of Friends of Science in Medicine (67), which supported “No Jab, No Pay” at the Senate Hearing in Nov 2015 (68)



A/Prof Katie FLANAGAN
Is affiliated to Monash University (69).
In the last 10 years has been involved in research projects awarded in excess of AU$30 million, includes grants from NHMRC and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (70).
Former member of Influenza Vaccine Advisory Board, travel paid for by vaccine manufacturers Sanofi and Seqirus (71)
Member of ATAGI’s COVID-19 Working Group (72) which provides advice to the Minister for Health on the immunisation program for COVID-19 vaccines as they become available in Australia.
Presenter at a number of conferences in clinical infectious diseases sponsored by vaccine manufacturer Pfizer (73)
Former member of a number of vaccine advisory boards for the influenza vaccine (74)



the list goes on ....

[Phoenix]

Each year the flu presents a higher risk to young children, both healthy young kids and those with underlining health issues, than covid ever has.

In Australia, (I believe) sadly one young child has died after a covid infection and apparently the child had pre-existing health issues.
Clearly on the historical data thus far, the flu is by magnitudes a greater risk to young children than covid is.

Throw in the relentless masking of children, the detrimental impact of school closures on educational, mental and social development, physical wellbeing and even eliminating the role of some schools acting as a safe haven for those children exposed to family violence and predatory adults.

You can clearly see that even children are being used as pawns in these mad public health orders that seem to only benefit self serving politicians and the vaccine makers who are rapidly gaining a reputation as the modern snake oil salesmen.

The level of coercion is unprecedented to increase vaccination rates.
Nothing is off the table...lockdowns, mandates, fines, job losses, exclusion from society, scaring the shit out of parents to make them believe that its unsafe for their children to attend school, the reinforcement of the fear-loop with the ad nauseam and perpetual updates of infections, deaths, vaccination rates and emerging variants...and now booster shots...what a fucking shit-show.

Like Jordan Peterson tweeted the other day:

"...a new variant is announced when pharmaceutical company share prices dip"

[Risto the Great]

Emergency pandemic laws activated by your saviour Dan. You're safe in Victoria my friends. Especially over Christmas. Nice ....

[Risto the Great]

You might be wondering what this has to do with covid. Hang in there friends.

Israel leads 10-country simulation of major cyberattack on world markets

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel...world-markets/

Israel led a 10-country, 10-day-long simulation of a major cyberattack on the world’s financial system by “sophisticated” players, with the goal of minimizing the damage to banks and financial markets, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday.

The Finance Ministry led the scenario with help from the Foreign Ministry, and said the “war game” was the first of its kind.

The exercise simulated several scenarios, including sensitive data surfacing on the dark web alongside fake news, leading to global financial chaos.

Participants included representatives from the US, UK, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Thailand, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The Finance Ministry’s chief economist, Shira Greenberg, headed the Israeli team. The exercise was “further evidence of Israel’s global leadership” in the field of financial cyber defense, she said.

“The unique and groundbreaking exercise held today showed the importance of coordinated global action by governments together with central banks in the face of financial cyber threats,” Greenberg said.

The simulation “featured several types of attacks that impacted global foreign exchange and bond markets, liquidity, integrity of data and transactions between importers and exporters,” Reuters reported.

Israeli officials said international cooperation was the only way to counter the threat of major cyberattacks.

“Attackers are 10 steps ahead of the defender,” said Micha Weis, financial cyber manager at the Finance Ministry.

In October, the National Cyber Directorate issued a general warning to Israeli businesses to be aware of potential cyberattacks, as the country faced an uptick in hacking attempts.

The warning came after an Israeli hospital faced a major ransomware cyberattack that crippled systems, and from which it could take several months to recover.

On Wednesday, Israel’s National Insurance Institute said that its website had been hacked, causing it to go offline for several hours.

In July, cybersecurity firm Check Point reported that Israeli institutions are targeted by about twice as many cyberattacks as is average in other countries around the world, particularly the country’s health sector, which experiences an average of 1,443 attacks a week.

The most targeted sectors around the world, including in Israel, are education and research, followed by government and security organizations, and then health institutions, Check Point said.

The report found that, on average, one in every 60 Israeli organizations or firms is targeted every week with ransomware attacks, an increase of 30 percent over the rate in 2020.

Last month, the Black Shadow hacking group released what it said was the full database of personal user information from the Atraf website, an Israeli LGBTQ dating service and nightlife index.

The group also uploaded personal medical information for patients of Israel’s Machon Mor medical institute, including medical records of some 290,000 patients.

The two attacks amounted to one of Israel’s largest-ever privacy breaches.

Black Shadow is a group of Iran-linked hackers who use cyberattacks for criminal ends, according to Hebrew media reports.

Surely the solution will be a global currency!

[Risto the Great]

Why Are The World Economic Forum (WEF) & Rockefeller Foundation (RF) So Intent On Implementing A Digital ID, Digital Currency & Social Credit Score System ?

https://twitter.com/RenShen888/statu...93449128370183

Stick with me till the end as I have some news hot off the press which will join up all the dots.

A few weeks back I said I would write a thread on a white paper on Digital currency put out by the World Economic Forum.

It was only when I was researching it that I realised that they had written 7 other ones before it. I started it and switched off after 5 pages.

It reminded me of trying to read Klaus Schwab’s Great Reset. Awful rubbish. Instead I have decided to try and put all the jigsaw pieces together to try and explain the bigger picture of what is happening.

I’m not going to go into the specifics of blockchain, crypto etc as frankly I’m not qualified to discuss them. I have however listened to hours of videos from three of the brightest women commenting on Digital IDs. Catherine Austin Fitts, Alison McDowell & Melissa Ciummei.

So what was the purpose of the v ? It is very obvious by now that it has nothing to do with health.

Apart from making vast sums of money for Pharma and their investors it has enabled the rollout of Covid/Vaccine passports.

Globally we are now seeing you can only get entry to locations by showing you’ve had the v and producing ID. The thing is they are not vaccine passports but data passports or participation passports.

All the coercion people have seen is so you can participate in society.

The vaccine has moved gradually down the age groups since the v was launched in January 2021 and we are now at the stage of children getting it. It is basically morphing into a Digital ID. This hasn’t just come about overnight.

How long has this been planned for.

In 2016, ID2020 was set up. Interesting name, considering when covid appeared. They say

“But doing digital ID right means protecting civil liberties and putting control over personal data back where it belongs...in the hands of the individual”

https://id2020.org/

What is interesting though is who the partners are for ID2020. The 4 main Alliance partners are Gavi - The Vaccine Alliance, Microsoft, Rockefeller Foundation (RF) & Accenture. All 4 are WEF members. Gavi has also been funded millions by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).

Now why would GAVI who are a vaccine alliance company have anything to do with a Digital ID company. That's pretty obvious by this stage. The v passport.

RF are also involved with the Commons Project Foundation which is a covid pass for travel.

https://thecommonsproject.org/

On their site they say

"We believe that everyone should enjoy the full benefit of technology and data while maintaining control over their digital lives. We believe that communities are stronger when data is open and can be shared for the benefit of all"

On July 9th 2020, The Commons Project, The World Economic Forum and The Rockefeller Foundation came together (see image below)

Interestingly the Commons Project website was registered in 2018 before Covid had entered the public consciousness.

https://thecommonsproject.org/commonpass

Fast forward to 27 Aug 2021 "The Digital Documentation of Covid-19 Certificates" was launched by the WHO (WEF member). The document was funded by BMGF and RF.

The WHO, BMGF & RF were also at Event 201. Pre-Covid.

Just one big coincidence.

Back in 2O10 The Rockefeller Foundation in their document "Scenarios for the future of technology and International Development" had a scenario called lockstep where they spoke of Biometric IDs.

One of the goals of biometric IDs is surveillance. With regards to the use of technology they said

"shaped by governments dual desire to control and monitor their citizens"

What better way to control and monitor than by using a Digital ID

But where does the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) fit in. The fiat currency has failed like all before it & in order to keep the game going they need a new financial system. They need a financial reset.

With a fiat currency you have privacy. With a CBDC you have none.

In order to bring in a CBDC, you need a digital ID. In order to bring in a digital ID you need these passports that will all be combined with a social credit score system and a carbon credit system.

This is the goal of UN Agenda 2030

Vaccine passports to travel or access premises are the precursor to digital ID wallets. And this digital ID system gives the people in charge the ability to cut your access to funds, health care, travel, food, or anything else whenever they please.

They will have complete control over every aspect of your finances. They can dictate where in the economy that you can spend it. They can say that you can only spend it on essential goods. They can tell you which shops you can spend your money in.

That sounds incredibly far fetched doesn't it, except it isn't.

Here's why. On 19 Oct 2020 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) hosted a Zoom call with Kristalina Georgieva MD of IMF, Agustin Carstens General Manager, Bank of International Settlements.

The call was entitled "Cross-Border Payment—A Vision for the Future".

It is however what Carstens said at 24.37 that was most concerning.

https://youtu.be/mVmKN4DSu3g

"For example in cash, we don't know for example who is using $100 dollar bill today or who is using a 1,000 peso bill. The key difference with the CBDC is that the central bank will have absolute control on the rules and regulations that will determine the use of that......expression of central bank liability and also we will have the technology to enforce that”

If that doesn't frighten you nothing will. By central bank liability they are talking about your money. This is about absolute control of every transaction a person makes.

What Carstens is saying is they can't track people if they use cash hence the move to a Digital Currency.

The mechanics behind implementing a Digital Currency are so huge it's hard to fathom.

What you would need however is all the major banks on board. This is what the WEF have done. Barclays, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Banco Santander, Deutsche Bank etc.

There is practically no major bank missing from the list. The Rothschild family have interests in most banks.

On October 18th 2021 Boris Johnson invited 20 of the most powerful people on the planet along with Bill Gates to 10 Downing Street. They were all bankers and a digital currency was undoubtedly discussed. I detailed it all in this thread.

https://twitter.com/ThreadsIrish/sta...05073079599113

It doesn't end there however. Once a Digital ID is in place it is very simple to roll out a social credit score system.

In China it is already in place. What you buy, how you behave, is tracked and scored to show how responsible you are.

Good social credit scores mean you get rewarded with perks like cheap loans and travel deals but bad scores means public shame and worse. You may not be allowed to travel on planes or trains if you don't have the required points.


Artificial Intelligence and surveillance cameras will also become the order of the day just like the Rockefeller document predicted.

A more accurate name for the social credit score system would be a

"Citizen Monitoring and Control System"

However, things are moving at a rapid pace. According to Reuters (WEF member) on Dec 9th 2021 (last night) the IMF, World Bank, Bank of International Settlements (BIS) & 10 countries have just simulated a cyberattack on the global financial system. [See preceding post]

I wonder why. Anything to do with an incoming Digital Currency. You will remember Agustin Carstens from earlier talking of complete control of the monetary system. He works for BIS.

BIS were in attendance at the "war game" are also in the WEF.

With this latest cyberattack "war game" there are also potential similarities to the scenario in the Rockefeller document called "Hack Attack" where they talk of nation states losing control of public finances and states going bankrupt.

They do like to announce what’s coming. You will also remember no doubt in October 2019 Event 201 predicted the Covid outbreak 7 weeks later.

Fast forward to July 8, 2020 and the WEF hosted Cyber Polygon 2020 which was a month after they announced The Great Reset.

The theme of the Cyber Polygon 2020 exercise was “Digital pandemic: how to prevent a crisis and to reinforce cybersecurity on all levels.”

We now have another "war game" on a similar topic except this time it's to do with the global financial system.

Buckle up for 2022

Please let me know what seems far fetched here. Tell me how this is about a virus again.

[Risto the Great]

https://rairfoundation.com/alert-jap...ormed-consent/

Japan announces that public and private sectors can not discriminate against those who refuse the experimental mRNA gene therapy injections.

Japan is now labeling Covid “vaccines” to warn of dangerous and potentially deadly side effects such as myocarditis. In addition, the country is reaffirming its commitment to adverse event reporting requirements to ensure all possible side effects are documented.

These efforts from Japan’s health authority are in stark contrast to the deceptive measures taken by other countries to coerce citizens into taking the injection, downplaying side effects, and discouraging proper adverse event reporting.

Additionally, Japan is emphasizing informed consent and bodily autonomy. Until the coronavirus pandemic, the concept of “informed consent” was considered sacred to healthcare professionals in the West.

Japan is particularly raising concerns about the risks of myocarditis in young men injected with Pfizer or Moderna’s gene–therapy treatment. The country is enforcing a strict legal reporting requirement of side effects that must take place within 28 days of the injections.

Novel Additives: Descriptions Clarify
Three Covid-19 gene-therapy treatments are currently offered in Japan. They include the Pfizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty) and Takeda’s Moderna formulation. The product descriptions (here and here) state that “this product contains an additive that has never been used in a vaccine before.”

Furthermore, the pharmaceutical companies urge you to consult your doctor about the additive if you plan to be injected with it. In addition to the Pfizer and Moderna gene-therapies, Vaxzevria (formerly AstraZeneca) is also administered in Japan. However, Japan only recommends it to people 40-year-old and over. Reference is also made to the new type of additive in the Vaxzevria injections.

No Compulsory Vaccination Or Discrimination
Japan’s Ministry of Health of health website encourages citizens to receive the “vaccine”; however, they stress it is not mandatory,

Although we encourage all citizens to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, it is not compulsory or mandatory. Vaccination will be given only with the consent of the person to be vaccinated after the information provided.

In addition, the government recommends those who are considering taking the shot carefully consider both its effectiveness and side effects.

Please get vaccinated of your own decision, understanding both the effectiveness in preventing infectious diseases and the risk of side effects. No vaccination will be given without consent.

Furthermore, they stress that businesses do not force employees to receive the experimental gene therapy. Nor should employees discriminate against those who refuse the injections,

Please do not force anyone in your workplace or those who around you to be vaccinated, and do not discriminate against those who have not been vaccinated.

The government even links to a “Human Rights Advice,” including instructions for handling any complaints if individuals face “vaccine” discrimination at work.

Japan Breaks Ranks
Doctors worldwide have echoed Japan’s health authority warnings about the gene-therapies side effects. However, this kind of proper informed consent has cost many doctors in western nations their licenses to practice medicine. The government has accused these doctors of spreading ‘vaccine hesitancy.’

Furthermore, while Japan allows its citizens to choose whether to be injected with the experimental gene-therapies, other countries are forcing citizens to receive the jab. For example, in February 2022, Austria will mandate the injections. Citizens who refuse will face heavy fines and up to one year in prison.

I dare anyone to tell me Japan has it wrong.



In other news, Taiwan has banned mRNA vaccines for teenagers (younger children go without saying).

[Risto the Great]

Croatian MEP tearing the narrative apart:
https://twitter.com/SincicMEP/status...92642287063050

[kompir]

The beer virus episode as it stands right now (to me anyway) is best illustrated like this:

[Risto the Great]

The majority of the public is doing the plugging at the moment. Such is the psychological damage.

[kompir]

Originally Posted by Risto the Great

The majority of the public is doing the plugging at the moment. Such is the psychological damage.

They are Risto, however I contend that the "pluggers" are those that are desperate to maintain the illusion of their existences. Their entire lives have been built on lies, smoke and mirrors; mindless consumerism fueled by cheap credit.