DEEP SCRATCH

Author: flyagaric23

  • A Rub Or Tug Job A Day Keeps The Doctor Away

    Poet as early warning defence system?
    Don’t panic, I should listen to myself
    Heading into a new dark 3.0
    And out the otherside when a new dawn will break
    A rug or tug-job a day keeps the doctor away, in the meantime

    To repeat, make Bloomsday of doomsday
    Plant seeds and grow your own medicine
    Food fibre fuel and head-food
    Do your chemistry homework now
    Rice, coconut oil, turmeric, lemon juice, honey
    All naturally occurring medicines are your friends
    Re-introduce yourself to the produce

    I’m going through changes
    From complacent to intrigued to worried and back
    Know this fact, we all must act and spare a thought
    Self isolate and stop the wheels lower the probability
    Usually, I’m the one saying “just get over it, think yourself well”
    Here I’m increasingly considering FULL CAPS
    Not to get shouty with orders but please…
    TAKE EVERY PRECAUTION POSSIBLE TO PREVENT THE SPREAD

    Including a little research into the global picture
    Other countries and their response
    Either get to where I’m at with this: CANCEL EVERYTHING
    Or come up with a really good reason why not to?
    Based on what evidence and statistics?
    From what I can gather, we’re heading for a novelty wave
    A tsunami of novelty where things will mutate and change faster and faster
    Get your thoughts in order, make a mantra
    BE A CORONAVIRUS HERO

    Hard questions for me to answer
    Stop smoking immediately in the interest of others?
    Cancel work, gigs, meetings, social engagements for at least 3 months?
    Stock up on food that will sustain in event of lockdown?
    Keep talking and writing to myself or start sharing these questions.

    Dear Boris and Mr Hancock and Mr Trump
    Contain yourselves
    Consider the vulnerable, the at-risk when you speak
    Falling on deaf ears
    So forget about them and reel in your reality back home
    Isolate meditate contemplate
    Poetry and masturbation poetry and masturbation
    Stay awank, we need you

    Love, steve fly

  • Book of Corvid19 – Chapter Two – On Second Thoughts

    Book of Corvid 19 – Chapter Two  

    Test of faith test of chest breadth and math
    Did you see the cough graphs
    Off the scale, like Novichok
    Exponential growth like rice on a chessboard
    It’s the morbid corvid curving
    Carving marvel hero yearning
    What you learning, yet concerning
    Burning money heads turning tardis
    Lockdown or not to lock down?
    And look up world germ wordfare

    Fly Agaric 23 medicinal prose chemically
    Systemically microbially mobile and up your nose
    Infectious like a mile wide smile of Spike
    Skip public transport, walk write or bike
    Pull down thy vanity
    Incubate masturbate check your mate
    Be concerned and keep sanitation tea topped up
    Grow a tree, chop dub, carry water, sedate, it’s all good.

    With the gloves and masks keep your high tea fresh with flasks
    The elixir pixar pixel pixie tricky chunky tangy juice under tang me?
    If the virus came from Gaia, Pandora or Typhon
    Therein lies the salve, vaccine medicine cure
    Helena, Aphrodite, Prometheus or Athena?
    I can’t be sure and to be Frank, this is a rhyme lure
    A skewed dig in the typo-sphere
    Get up with it, get clear, be nurse medic and seer
    We need you now, put everything else down
    Think about it, where from and where to?

    Get hip to the gist of the virologist
    Make it CRISPR read a paper write your paper
    Leave gaps in the text where you don’t really know
    Be humble with uncertainty
    That’s why good scientists speak in the language of probability
    Perhaps maybe I guess who knows?
    Suspended judgement is the key, so it goes

    Like a Preacher Kush, one touch and you fall to the floor
    Or ass drunk crawling on the bar for one more
    Like hooter polluter shooting Putin up yer snooter
    You snooze while King Virus holds an Uzi to your snoozy
    Better get the facts and sit down for some snacks
    Pop open a ragbag of notes and hope the rhyme floats
    Yes totes, don’t be afraid to use post-it notes

    Wash your hands and squeegee your third eye
    It’s still the post-truth era and pie still up in the sky
    Ski with me through the valley of virology
    Micrology and Chemistry, anti-bacterial terpenes
    To grow corona resistant cannabis gardens

    Get smart and do the do due diligence dance
    Watch the graphs and do the maths
    We’re heading for pandemic panic
    Don’t just keep calm and carry on, full stop
    Cancel everything self isolate
    Work from home and work on your home
    Clear your head from the digisphere, claim your dome
    Make the space place nice and fruitful
    Work on yourself, check on the others

    Brothers and sisters, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters
    Now is the time to self actualize and be that change
    Show yourself as a force for good and be that warrior kingslayer
    Topple and slaughter King Corvid 19
    With foresight, more sight, the clock on the wall sight
    No unnecessary journey, why go anyhow
    Be with yourself and love yourself
    Wank yourself silly
    Eat right, talk true, be there, read and seed the new beginning
    The after-math once the peak is passed
    And the masks are off

    Hold news media and the government departments responsible
    And hold your friends, at a distance
    With long stretchy arms made of foam
    Either we all make it or nobody makes it
    A global village has a responsibility to itself, like the market
    Nothing alone
    Self regulate and keep toxic bonds and Ponzi schemes banished
    Power of immunity to replace missing community
    Unity in solidarity in sticking apart
    Social distancing becomes a challenge for the art.

  • Corona Cypher – First Thought Best Thought

    Corona Cypher – First Thought Best Thought

    Hi, in contrast to my blog yesterday, I’ve let my words fly in a first-thought best-thought cypher, to imagine a vaccination potion full of verbs and motion.

    Soul vaccination,
    All across the nation people been catchin’ honkypox (Honkypox)
    When you get the notion,
    Tower’s got the potion – you might look in to set yourself in motion.
    —Soul Vaccination, Tower Of Power (What Is Hip)

    Patience patient paint that paradise
    Dr immuno’ flow help you throw the dice, thrice
    Who know what you think you know, let it go
    Let it flow, spring come lift the light plant and grow
    Wash em’ lift it up and push it up keep vibes up high
    Planet spinning on its axis, rapid climate renewal
    Quick death of toxic stock in fossil fuel?
    Banking crash human race nineteen meter dash
    French minister of culture cumming out with the rash
    Johnson and Trump eye the cash king, econo-money over people?
    Putin wins republican tory vote
    Billions of particles dormant in throat
    The vote spoiled crops and oats
    Stop the blame game, same game, stop the wheels
    Not with a bang but with a whimper
    Better get a woolly jumper, spring has sprung
    Equinox 2020 indoors tracking thought spores up walls
    Banish fears and move forward like new years
    Watch the fossil fuel weasels fight in their hole
    Watch the Eagle, the Bear, The Unicorn and Vulture
    Reach for the bowl, good for the soul and the journey
    Euthanasia king now fight kapow
    Hemp futures, plant a seed, that’s what we need
    Fight greed with surplus, forests mighty string
    Food fibre fuel, come on fool…I’ll be your mule
    Grow that hemp for victory
    To fight the king 19 viruses, microbial and global
    Use your head heart and irises
    Look, listen, shine glisten
    Now be that change, stay in range, set your sights
    Like Noah we move tongues to a new dark 3.0 cypher
    “Oh no…” but stand up and face the music, don’t go
    Be the forward thinking solutions oriented one
    Like, ride your bike
    Take a hike
    Don’t touch that rail, feed the poor and make them  strong
    Look after your prisoners,
    Hold your officials to their word
    Wash your hands, flush the turd
    Attention to word mind body
    You’re not going to die be strong, hold on buddy
    Here’s a hand not a head-in the sand
    Here’s a jazz solo, a new album, a brand new band
    Over air, sea and land, in hope you better understand
    Rhyme can unleash endorphins
    And endolphins swim with dolphins
    Prose vaccination for experimentation
    Try it, don’t buy it grow your own
    Put down that toilet roll put down your phone
    Wash your hands and put em’ in the air
    Wave em’ like you care
    Mash on son, mash on with compassion
    Get your grow on, go on
    Earth and humanity needs you and what you grew
    Make a new garden crew
    Do what you need to do to prevent flu
    Stay high, fly, CBDJ “Hi,”
    Feed your immune system with funny thoughts
    Play mind games and put out doubt with flames
    Quote facts and peer-reviewed names to reignite
    Each and every night unravel your talk tapes mi’ mates
    More toxic than J.P Morgan
    Monsanto and a five-year-old bag of rotten potato
    From the get-go King Virus by contamination
    Like the four horseman in the Tesco lasagna
    Animal traffick led to…
    Pick up the mic and go endemic to prevent panic
    With a goat, sceptre, and pot plandemic
    Slammdemic dem
    Murder virus sound
    Kill that virus sound
    Slamm Dem Pandem Mandem standin’ firm
    Throw water on it, fire, earth, blow it away?
    No gun or bomb can shoot this King dead
    Spreading like all memes trending at once, widespread dread
    All Ornette Coleman solo’s at once
    A William Gibson meets John le Carre’ finale’
    Humanity run off down the motorway like a headless Pangolin
    Mis-identified as link between animals and humans (My Bad!)
    News and gov still manglin’
    Vultures anglin’
    Life lines be danglin’
    Who’s who is handling?
    Ching Ming….CHING MING
    What good governance?
    Utterance, for a dollar, do a Johnson trap dance
    Pulling out while Cummings keeps on Cumming
    In Putin’s mouth
    Snivilization slouches further south
    No worries, it’ll soon come around
    Table turn around sounds fresh and loud
    Disperse to move the crowd, us discoronians stick apart
    Stay one meter away and claim your space
    Make your ritual space in that place
    Surround yourself with good omens
    Cleanse banish power up be here now
    Wash your hands and then touch your face
    Speak with sincerity, move with a trellis of lace, with grace
    Rhyme to climb into the head and bring relief
    Boost your immune system with some sexual relief
    No tissue, use a handkerchief
    Turn grief to a new leaf, good greaf?
    Sacrifice for greener futures
    That healthy planet for the young the dinosaurs refused?
    A death sentence for business
    The end of the dinosaur age is messy
    Goodbye T-Rex, goodbye Nessy
    Oil and fossil fuel industry made dust, past history
    Toxic debts and bonds fall like towers unwashed money
    Another bust boom bust boom!
    Evidence capitalist governmints made of sand-men
    Who do you trust?
    World market kept up by tent poles made of jelly and marzipan
    International unrestricted finance capitalism
    Pandemic running loose infecting humans for millennia, check it
    If Language is a virus from outer space so is money, burn it
    A Pangolin Bat broth dissolved trillions
    Gobble gobble gobble they earned it
    Hairs on the arms of billionaires and millionaires flare
    You can imagine them looking into space
    From a Yacht, that stare
    No blame, stop hating, we need to come together and stick apart
    And keep masterbating
    Wankers against the second come-king
    Our leader’s Russel Brand and Milley Ray Cirus
    You’re gonna need pliers to get me out of bed
    Stuck to the sheets by my leaky prik-stick spread
    Who’s the illest now?
    Beat the virus
    Go wireless and tell a tireless solo choir-less let’s go
    Don’t fight forces use them,
    Learn to love the illness and embrace darkness in fullness
    And shine light, illuminate, stimulate sexdrive
    To produce white blood cells
    Mind body speech, word sound power, wash pray spit and shower
    Cleanliness is next to holiness, be the pollen and the flower
    Dethrone King virus and lock it away in a tinder box.
    Not from terrorists but bats and pangolin
    Pang, pang, pang, pang, with a pang and with a whimper
    Solidarity with all in discomfort from hunger loneliness
    Suffering from Corvid19, heartbreak or regular flu
    My thoughts and virtual arms just dropped the mic to hug you
    Fight back with A G C and T
    It’s only about 8 Kilobytes, put em’ up,
    Language is the key, break the spell do it well, duck, weave, duck duck
    invocation not required, they’re all around touch taste sound smell
    On earth and inner neurological spaces, as in heaven as in hell
    Places to bottle up solutions and write new potions
    To kill the King Virus and bring hope to nations
    Yes we can figure out preventative medicine
    Starting with high dose sessions of psilocybin
    Stay high and happy, positive, keep vibing
    Calling all gods and goddesses worldwide and beyond
    From the Compton Length to Hubble’s Red-Shift
    Under mountain, glacier and pond
    Give us a hond’
    Every quantum super-computer and solid-state entity
    Each and every discarnate spirit, ghost, an angel hear me
    There’s no part of me that’s not of the gods, you neither
    What are the odds, really, what are they cuddlies?
    Who’s the patient zero breeder?
    May the researchers find luck and perspire little
    May the ancestor animal and insect spirits rise from this spittle
    And bring the entheogenic dimension of love to our eyes
    Love all the people, the plants and the flies
    Take rest on your low points, take flight on your highs
    Do art and dance, sing keep an eye out for all
    Up there on the ceiling and above the roof from the floors to the wall
    Keep death on a pale horse at bay
    The return of the King
    Who would want such a thing
    Who wears the crown of thorns
    What religious leader can end all wars
    Biological peacemaker or lifetaker?
    Poems dark turn toward scripture, tongues burn
    A crown of thorns corona
    The second coming of Christ, Koronagain
    Judgement Day Coronopalypse
    Convictions make convicts?
    If you wish to put it that way and let it past your lips?
    I say neigh, not on my watch, not tomorrow and not today
    Pick any scripture, any month, any day and fire away and say
    Any event from the last five years signifies end times
    Judgement day, the apocalypse
    World populist political surge and 2008 banking heist scourge
    Economic corporate fascist free-reign, acid rain, Bottcher con main
    Climate and environmental lies, deceit…
    Take your pick…from the familiar terrain, stay rational
    Don’t lose your nerve
    Just cuz’ Christ wore a crown of thorns
    And his mythical return to judge
    Humanity does not mean
    The Jesuspect Christereotype is guilty, does it?
    Cleanliness next to holiness
    From animal kingdom hunted and trafficked
    To near extinction by an appetite for meat and status, meat death
    Better get in touch with your immune system, direct line please
    Hello, hi, hello, can you hear me, this is…..
    Hello, hey, are you there, this…this is steve”
    As I said, take those magic mushrooms, get up, get out of bed
    Stand up be strong lead the way to health and fitness, break bread
    Get ready to fight and to encourage others
    Rhyme with reason be tough
    Be brave write it out, fears and cheers together
    The light and dark Escher effect
    What happened to bird flew and wine flu?
    Word flew, bird said, word stew, me brew tea brew
    The vaccine is at the bottom of the mushroom teacup
    With chunks of some Amanita or other?
    Use mushrooms for good god damn it
    Within the poison may lie the cure?
    I’ll smoke spliff an’ listen to Rob Smiff
    Love you, stay safe.

    –Steve Fly Agaric 23.

    Some links…

    See Also:
    https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/antibiotics1968/40/6/40_6_904/_article/-char/ja/

    https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f685/c5844a712ce145a5366c97c42aee4c90deac.pdf

    https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/27/coronavirus-south-korea-cults-conservatives-china/

     

  • THOUGHTS: WHERE DO THEY GO?

    “If you let liars into the government, you put everybody at risk”–James O’ Brien, a few minutes ago on LBC talk radio, UK.

    Whenever I’m fortunate enough to catch one of my own thoughts and follow it, I try to imagine how such a similar thought may arise in others. You can save a lot of time by working to slow the avalanche of distracting thoughts using traditional methods, follow your breath, sit still, isolate your consciousness temporarily to recharge and repair. However, a lot of people consider meditation as pass/time for snowflakes, and need further nudging and poking to begin to recognize the importance of trying to follow their thoughts and questioning where they come from and where they go? And how often are you updating that data-set?

    A healthy mid/waypoint between Zen meditation and simply changing your mind about something revolves around the language that you use and how you use it. The introduction of a few modifications to a language can produce results similar to those gained from meditation, they can affect a new expanded awareness, from the individual psychological sense of self…to the ontological social-cultural sense of reality. Every time we hear, think and speak we are confronted with the paradox of Language vs. The Equation.

    The symbol systems we use to communicate our message and those we leave out are worthy of meditation. Meditation, to return to the theme, or some kinds of meditation…aim to reach beyond language and bridge the ideological gaps, to move towards experiencing things as they actually are: perpetually changing, decentralized, incomprehensible. And invoking compassion to fill the holes of what cannot be known.

    “Language is a virus from outer space.”–William S. Burroughs.

    In all seriousness and sincerity, we should all spend a moment to meditate on Coronavirus and where possible, try to follow our thoughts, our hopes and our fears. Try to track them to where they originate, where is the source of those thoughts and where are those thoughts going to…and now? This process of self-analysis and listening to your own head and heart, once in touch with your own mind-body system, can be shifted to cast judgement on others or external signals from…out there. Hopefully with compassion due to understanding the process you’ve just been through, like solidarity, not a choice but duty when faced with the incomprehensible, the uncertain and the indeterminate of a global pandemic turning endemic. We must search for that common ground between all human beings, such as to wish them a happy healthy life, for example. Wish well, wish hard, wish often. Practice practice practice.

    The global coronavirus brings complexity and chaos to the existing complexity/chaos/disorder inherent in subject-object duality, underlying most division and confusion around the world, the roots of disinformation? To repeat, never give up trying to understand that which you currently do not, experiment, research, measure, study, and in equal measure…both on yourself and on others…the internal and external infinite flux of beingness. Man, and women, is the measure of all things, somebody else said.

    To conclude: If you want to fight for your future and live in a healthy, well-informed community of self-owning ones, consider starting by following your own thoughts, where do they come from, where do they go? Then if your feeling brave, begin to use the same logic and reason, the same thought tools to break down the news headlines and the gossip down the pub and the WHO guidelines and each and every message communicated down to the very last pixel, or phoneme.

    “Free your mind and your ass will follow…”–Funkadelic.

    Thanks for reading, stay safe.
    Love all the people!

    –Steve Fly

    [DISCLAIMER: I make no claim to expertise in meditation or spiritual practises. I’m more of the “do what thou wilt to find compassion for others” persuasion. As we head into a spiritual and material crisis, I recommend a linguistic hazmat suit, neurolinguistic relativity and multi-model agnosticism to nudge us towards a compassionate, interconnected, co-operative global village.]

    http://www.hilaritaspress.com/

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzogchen

    https://www.wired.com/beyond-the-beyond/2020/03/journalists-toolbox-studying-coronavirus/

    A song I wrote called THOUGHTS, based up some of the above.

    Occupy by Dr Marshmallow Cubicle

     

     

  • JUGGLE PRACTICE IN SLOW MOTION

    I confess, it’s sloppy. With practice I hope to share a sharper video soon. Peace.

     

    At Hemp Story.
    Video by Gabs Castro.

  • Email To The Tribe (A Youtube Playlist Refresher)

    Email To The Tribe (A Youtube Playlist Refresher)

    Reblog…

    flyagaric23's avatarDEEP SCRATCH

    Email to the tribe is my research class into the tale of the tribe, paying tribute to the last great work of Dr Robert Anton Wilson.…

    –Steve Fly

    Fly On The Tale Of The Tribe: A Rollercoaster Ride With Robert Anton Wilson

    by Steven James Pratt

    Link: http://a.co/gOGNKyV

    View original post

  • JAMM PRO TEST MIXES (R.I.P Andy Weatherall)

    JAMM PRO TEST MIXES (R.I.P Andy Weatherall)

    I just got my hands on JAMM PRO. If you have an I-Pad, or can get your hands on one, I suggest you do the same. It’s fast to reward with fat and tasty grooves, and allows for total synthesis of all elements.

    Here’s the results of my first four mixes. Having too much fun, on a sad day.
    R.I.P Andy Weatherall!

    (Just scratching the surface, there’s soooo much to discover here)

    Check these links, get on it.

    Win £1000 for your Jamm Pro skills video

    Get out there,  mix it up.

    –Fly

  • Ninja Jamm Pro – Now You Know

    The team of beat headed boffins at Ninja Jamm have released their latest son, or daughter of Ninja Jamm (2012) called, Jamm Pro (2020). Previous upgrades to Ninja Jamm, have evolved the on-the-fly remix and performance APP, but the new JAMM  PRO is altogether a different beast. Fit for 2020, and full of all the bells and whistles required to launch the software once more, into the jam.

    JAMM PRO has the dual purpose of being a live performance tool and a capable studio tool for recording and spicing up whatever patterns you might have lurking? And so much more yet to be discovered. It’s an innovation tool in itself. Keep that in mind. Never be afraid to try new things.

    JAMM PRO is exclusive to the I-Pad, and I imagine this is due to the massive expansion of functionality that would require a tooth-pick, or other such poker on a cell phone-sized touch surface. I’m biased, in that I picked up an I-pad exclusively for the purpose of running Ninja Jamm in 2012, and have always felt that the extra yard, or extra surface space of the I-pad suites the NJ APP.

    JP exploits every millimetre of space on the pad, bringing a full studio of delights to the user, just under the finger tip, toggles and sliders and touch-sensitive pads all over the shop. You can wiggle your pinky and make bass that’s stinky, to mean, the touch sensitive pads respond to the slightest of motion, as demonstrated in the video below.

    In typical, Coldcut style, you can input an array of audio data of your choice, from drum machines and other instruments to anything you can play through a microphone (Beatbox, Kazoo, the spoons?) plus MIDI capabilities.

    There are four channels with nine sequencers each (modulation, slice, pitch/reverse/drill and gate) and up to 64 patches, allowing a staggering 2,304 sequencers for each sound pack (Sound Set in Ninja Tune’s lingo). You can finally use your own samples as well, whether they’re from Sound Sets, external sources or straight from the iPad’s mic.–Here’s a review from ENDGADGET
    https://www.engadget.com/2020/02/13/ninja-tune-coldcut-jamm-pro/

    I’ve previously spent days creating my own custom tune packs for Ninja Jamm, thanks to the open source approach of the project, now, you can focus on the music and remix,  and input readymade files, hasstle free. I’ll be using it in conjunction with my turntables.

    JAM PRO is available for half-price, $9.99, for the first two weeks of sale. A bargain on top of a bargain if you ask me. I’ve used Ninja Jamm in a variety of settings, jamming with musicians, in the studio, composing, and within DJ sets (portable turntablsist take note) and it’s easily best interface for flipping the dopest beats and jamming new ideas on the move. Jam Pro opens up the trick-bag and hands over the goods. Do with it what you will. Make it new. Make it rock.

    #JammPro #NinjaJamm #NinjaTune #Coldcut

    GET THE APP HERE AT APPLE STORE:

    p.s You’ll see my work, as fly agaric 23, on the list of HOTTEST JAMS at
    NINJA JAMM. There’s sure to be some new hot slices on the way.
    https://www.ninjajamm.com/charts.php

    CHECK OUT MY NINJA JAMM PROJECTS
    HERE
    HERE
    HERE

  • Pangolin Didn’t Kill Itself: For World Pangolin Day 2020

    Pangolin Didn’t Kill Itself.

    Since news of the novel coronavirus spread late last year, I was struck by claims that the virus originated in snakes and/or bats. In my minds eye I quickly saw the image of a brew in a cauldron, “The eye of a newt and the toe of a frog etc..” This gut reaction led me to consider chemistry and microbiology based upon some folkloric themes.

    Snakes and bats have a wide and long history in folklore, and associated in popular culture with poison. Recent studies rebuked claims that Coronavirus was transferred to humans by snakes and/or bats, and instead proposed the missing link is a creature called the Pangolin, in Greek it roughly translates to Horny Scale, in Malay, “something that rolls up”. 

    Until this latest theory for the critter responsible for spreading the novel coronavirus to humans, I knew nothing of the Pangolin, and so discovered all manner research papers and physiological attributes that I would like to share (SEE BELOW) I’ve been disappointed with how news channels and organizations cover the outbreak and hope to share at least one fact that will inspire your own research, perhaps write of what you discovered. 

    My goal is to get to imagine you have a team of researchers in a laboratory. I don’t think it’s too far off the mark to look at the Pangolin and it’s place in genomic studies and its use in studying the immune system of mammals.  Plus it’s mention in folkloric traditions. Consider that Pangolin scales are in high demand around the world for their flesh and scales, for both eating and for medicine.

    The Pangolin is the ONLY scaled mammal in the animal Kingdom, it is noteworthy that it’s scales evolved due to high susceptibility to infection. The armour is a layer of protection when under attack or sleeping. The scales are made of keratin, which human nails and hair are also made, some have said that you can get health benefits by eating toe-nails. The religious-like, toxic belief that certain exotic animal parts will bring good luck, virility and other narcissistic benefits, is a big problem. Pangolin meat is very expensive, and not for the poor working cass.  

    Pangolin were not registered as being sold at the Wuhan market, yet witnesses have said that they were bought and sold there, and kept in unhygienic conditions, they are susceptible to infection.
    Do a quick search Pangolin + Scholar and browsethe articles. The Pangolin is the number ONE most trafficked critter in the global trade of illegal critters. A quick news search will turn up multiple stories of Pangolin busts on par with drug busts, in their estimated value. Who knew that the critter suspected of being the missing link between spreading the virus between animals and humans was also one of the most sought after critters on the black “exotic pet” market?

    To add insult to injury for the innocent anteater, their natural habitat is being destroyed, resulting in species of Pangolin classified critically endangered. This threat of extinction makes the black market thrive.
    In Zimbabwe, folk legend says that anybody who kills Pangolin will have bad luck, if only we would have enforced the laws protecting these critters from poaching earlier and kept in step with tribal wisdom.

    Although the breakout is sourced to Wuhan, and a specific market place, the bigger picture reveals a global network of players, traffickers, customers and middle-men who make up the supply and demand for Pangolin and other exotic animals. This paper reveals that Germany plays a large role in Pangolin smuggling operations. It seems the Germans have a taste for exotic pets and animals, and a worldwide customer base.

    This trafficking must stop immediately for the sake of all critter-kind and for the endangered species. Like trafficking in arms, drugs and sex, the traffick of Pangolin are responsible for a large part of the trouble around the planet today. The greedy don’t care if it’s guns, heroin, teenage-girls or lizards, deregulation helps them thrive.

    Studies show the mistreatment of the Pangolin leads to a higher probability of infection, which brings us back to black markets, illegal trafficking and inhumane treatment. The mucous of the Pangolin, and it’s very long tongue, and unique mouth muscles are worthy of study. Their insectivore diet of ants, termites and small worms are processed by the Pangolin, which lead to a deeper understanding of chemical symbiosis.

    I sincerely hope a cheap and easy to manufacture vaccine is discovered soon. If indeed, the Pangolin is the culprit, may they be treated with respect and may consideration be given to the link between pandemics and animal trafficking for profit.

    THE ROLE OF GERMANY IN THE ILLEGAL GLOBAL PANGOLIN TRADE
    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989419303233

    DID PANGOLINS SPREAD THE CHINESE CORONAVIRUS TO PEOPLE?
    https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00364-2

    PANGOLIN GENOMES AND THE EVOLUTION OF MAMMALIAN SCALES AND IMMUNITY.
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5052048/

    “As an evolutionary consequence of being covered by scales, it is plausible that the pangolin immune system evolved differently than in other mammals. For example, genes such as IFNE, a unique interferon exclusively expressed in skin epithelial cells and inner mucosa-protected tisssues (e.g., lung, intestines, and reproductive tissues), establish a first line of defense against pathogens in other placental mammals (Day et al. 2008; Ponten et al. 2008; Xi et al. 2012; Fung et al. 2013; Demers et al. 2014; Uhlen et al. 2015). Interferons (IFNs) are a cluster of highly conserved gene families that encode for cytokines expressed by host cells for communication between cells, leading to the activation of the immune system in the presence of pathogens (De Andrea et al. 2002; Fensterl and Sen 2009). Strikingly, the single copy intronless IFNE gene is pseudogenized in both pangolin species (confirmed by Sanger sequencing; sample size = 8) but is intact in 71 other mammalian species”

    TRADITIONAL-MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF PANGOLINS (MANIS SPS) AMONG THE AWORI PEOPLE, SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA.
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3179697/

    Here’s a useful guide on how to help, by way of deep learning.

    –Steve Fly

  • Radio Free Amsterdam Program Guide January 2020

    Radio Free Amsterdam Program Guide January 2020

    2020—01 January Program Guide

    www.radiofreeamsterdam.org