Depending on how your lives have been affected by all the restrictions, July 2020 either feels like a lifetime ago or not. For Dr. Alan Black it is probably the former. This is because it took until June of this year for him to get an answer to a freedom of information request he submitted to the Department for Transport he submitted 11 months earlier. And no, it wasn’t because they were working from home…
The request? “Please can you provide me with the name and findings of the peer-reviewed study which led to the imposition of mandatory face coverings on public transport.”
The response? You guessed it, a refusal to comply. Worse still, when the Department finally did reply – having been forced to after Dr. Black complained to the Information Commissioners’ Office (ICO) – it admitted that it hadn’t bothered to undertake a study of the likely effect of mandatory masks on public transport when the measure was introduced on June 15th, 2020, and it still hasn’t bothered to this day.
The main issue here is not that the Government didn’t carry out any sort of cost-benefit analysis before imposing any of its restrictions – that’s not exactly newsworthy. The issue is the DfT’s heel-dragging. Dr. Black’s initial request was rejected by the Department for being “vexatious”. Well, I am not sure I can see anything vexatious about such a request. Neither did Dr. Black, which is why he persevered. He appealed the decision and asked for an internal review – and when that wasn’t successful he complained to the ICO.
Following the ICO’s intervention, the DfT claimed it didn’t respond to the request at the time because doing so would have caused “a disproportionate level of disruption” to the Department. That’s pretty weak. How about the disruption caused by issuing un-evidenced mask mandates on public transport?
The DfT’s response epitomises the Government’s reluctance to justify any of its Covid restrictions with hard evidence. Nowadays, anyone submitting an FOI request to a Government department not only has to wade through a forest of red tape, but as Dr. Black’s experience shows, Whitehall will use every trick in the book to conceal the fact that little or no thought went into the Government’s knee-jerk approach to managing the pandemic.
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I think we treat this sort of nonsense in those well-established Popperian terms. No equivocation – a failure to produce evidence means that a hypothesis is rejected.
Thus a non-response means that the ‘hypothesis’ that masking is supported can safely be rejected.
… and ignored.
Ah, yes, the good ol’ Null Hypothesis (a staple of my four years of Psych at uni). The Null Hypothesis stands if your experiment doesn’t produce statistically significant results. Absolutely basic – but not to Covid Hysterics.
The grand treasoner himself T Bliar thought FOI was a terrible mistake.
At least they Felt Safe. Sheesh….
Not sure this counts as news because they didn’t carry out cost-benefit analysis on any aspect of their response. Had they, they would have seen any small marginal benefit it reduced infections from masks on transport (if any) was offset by costs of masks, reduction in ridership, and other economic costs.
Beyond any other inquiry, I want the mask lie exposed. If we all work N95 masks, okay. But we didn’t and couldn’t financially or health wise (since they can’t be worn long). This must be exposed before we spend another $300b on placebos they may have inadvertently given people false confidence leading to serious illness.
There are N95-mandates in Germany. But they ignoring the usage instructions: The idea is to wear them indefinitely and also, to reuse them, at least a couple of times. IOW, that’s not meant to be effective, it’s just a placebo-measure as well.
I too was told that my request last August, for a health and safety report on wearing masks for long periods of time, was vexatious. I was due to go on a long train journey and later, a flight abroad. I asked my MP to intervene and, to give him his due, he did chase this up with the D of Transport. I received a standard response from the Dept. explaining the government’s position on mask wearing rules, of which I was already aware. That was not my question.
In the end, I resorted to:
a. Has the Department done a health and safety analysis for mask wearing for long periods of time- Yes or No?
b.If the answer is yes, may I please see a copy?
c. If the answer is no, why not?
Naturally, I received the same letter which I had previously received.
I wrote back to my MP to say that it was evident that no health and safety analysis had been carried out by this or any other government department, which was a shocking dereliction of duty.
Great work Margaret. We need more tenacious people like you and Dr. Alan Black.
“Vanden Bossche takes the current Israeli data and shows how the widespread vaccination rate is creating pressure on the virus to mutate into variants with higher levels of contagion. The unvaccinated group has been keeping the pressure down by defeating the virus and carrying natural immunity. However, as the unvaccinated population is increasingly made smaller, the pressure on the virus to mutate increases. Subsequently, these mutations stay at higher or more effective levels of infection”
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2021/09/25/geert-vanden-bossche-and-robert-malone-md-discuss-covid-19-scientific-investigation-the-viral-revolution-and-political-media/
There’s no material difference in the course of the overwhelming majority of Sars-CoV2 infection in both vaccinated and unvaccinated people: It’s going to be a harmless, respiratory infection people eventually become naturally immune to. As the virus will never enter the bloodstream in numbers, it won’t ever encounter antibodies simulated by vaccination.
Should have been stimulated instead of simulated.
Can we institute a defence against Vexatious Peremptory Mandates?
Please?
I’m sure this is old hat to mask veterans like most of you on here – but it’s worth posting just in case someone has missed it. The saying: ‘a picture paints a thousands words’ springs to mind when watching this simple visual debunking of the mask myth. Enjoy . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mb-p88ofho
Priceless and very funny if it were not so serious an issue, thanks.
“little or no thought went into the Government’s knee-jerk approach to managing the pandemic.”
Well, a lot of thought went into their campaign of terror, waged against the British People, with our money. Nothing knee-jerk about the psyops from Day 1 to now. Planned and executed very effectively.
Wasn’t it strike threats from the transport unions that caused the government to introduce masks on trains and buses? There was no analysis of any description.
No-one did any cost benefit analyses.
No-one actually looked at the science for any of it either — not for masks, social distancing, vaccines, nothing.
This whole debacle has been an exercise in politicians needing to show the people that they’re ‘doing something’, coupled with mass propaganda to tell the people that what they’re doing is the right thing.
We’ve not even begun to see the damage that this madness has caused.
“politicians needing to show the people that they’re ‘doing something’,” And in the process finding out how much easy power a pandemic gives you – spend money like water, lock people up, give fat contracts to your mates, not much criticism from the media or the opposition, tell people it’s all for their own good.
Because the Faucists were lying from the very start. Not madness, fraud and evil.
Well, well, well!!! I’ve been screaming this from the rooftops since last year! I wrote to my MP with the same request. He couldn’t provide a single scrap of evidence either, just somebody bollox about “having to follow other countries” and “its to make others (!) feel safe”! Well, they could shove their mask mandate sideways up their @rse! I haven’t worn a filth rag once, and I never ever will!
Nicely put HH and ditto on all. My MP (Ian Liddell-Grainger) didn’t even acknowledge receipt of any of my missives, each sent via email, 1st class post, and Special Delivery.
I don’t mean to be unkind but that picture sums the drone mentality we are up against. People, in their slave masks, obeying their slave slabs…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8BkzvP19v4
Humans – Well about 90% of them anyways.
Ha, ha it’s an excellent example isn’t it?
I wonder if my autistic traits are why I find it easier not to conform if I can’t see the logic behind it?
That’s actually very interesting. I’ve met quite a few people who have a form of autism, and they are the ones very much awake to what is going on!
Same.
Vexatious : “causing or tending to cause annoyance, frustration, or worry.” Perhaps it was, but, heck, what has the scum being causing for the rest of us!
“The DfT’s response epitomises the Government’s INABILITY to SUPPORT any of its Covid restrictions with hard evidence.”
delete
Presumably the same applies to the muzzle-mandates in shops, pubs, etc, too? And indeed to lockdowns and all the other rituals of the Covidian Cult.
Is this the first article by Will Phillips? If so, a good start.
Cost? Lots. Benefit? None.
And this is precisely why DS should have a “home” for FoI requests and responses – I am certain that there are many smoking guns revealed as per Dr Black – once again, DS, please enable folks to submit these responses for all to read.
It’s the cover up that is really telling. It’s dishonest and insulting. Not unusual though. The police are particularly secretive: they can never tell you anything “for operational reasons”. They have never been brought to heel so it’s no surprise to see others follow their example. I wouldn’t be surprised to see FOI disappear before long.
The Government didn’t bother doing any cost/benefit analysis because they were following an “agreed” plan to manage the plannedemic – or Orders, if you prefer.