By the late 3rd century AD, the Roman Empire was a shadow of its former self. Beleaguered by mass migration and invasions across its frontiers, vast resources had been poured into fighting off the invaders, while at the same time, endless civil wars had created an ongoing crisis of leadership. Rampant inflation had destroyed the currency. The solution came in the form of a vastly more complex state under the emperor Diocletian (AD 284–305). A ballooning bureaucracy presided over a welter of new laws that, among others, tried to fix prices, lock workers into their occupations and prevent movement, while levying crippling taxes.
With an already huge proportion of the city of Rome’s population dependent on state benefits – something that harked back over 400 years to when the wealthy had stolen land from free peasants, recently returned from war service, who then fled to the city in search of work and security – self-reliance and resilience had long been sapped.
This, in essence, is the thesis of Doug Casey, a veteran speculator and investor, whose theory that “wokeism will be the downfall of America” is covered in the Mail:
He told Dailymail.com that there are now seven clear signs that he believes show that Western civilization is facing an end.
He said: “I’m unhappy about Western civilisation winding down, because it’s by far the best civilisation in world history.
“In fact, it’s the only civilisation in world history that even matters, quite frankly.”
Casey believes that there are important lessons to be found in the fall of the Roman Empire, which occurred after the Romans expanded not only by sea but also by land, leaving the Empire facing excessive taxation and inflation.
Casey identifies the destruction of free thought as a key sign of the impending doom, as well as the dedication of those who believe in the state to coercion:
One of the warning signs is that Casey believes that free thought is central to Western civilisation, but is currently being washed away.
Casey said: “Free thought, which is actually unique to the West, that’s being washed away by cancel culture and political correctness and thought crimes.
“Free thought is being washed away, followed by free speech.”
Casey said that other warning signs include the decline of free markets: the fall of Rome saw growth in the state.
He said: “People who believe in the state believe in coercion, and they believe the government has a right to direct these things. That’s on the upsurge as well.”
Numbers bear out Casey’s ideas: over the past 100 years, the cost of government has gone from just 5 to 10% of GDP to 40% and even 60% in countries like France and Italy, according to Cambridge research.
Casey said that there are many parallels to the fall of Rome, where power became more and more centralised, and former soldiers became the recipients of welfare.
The Punic Wars of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC were victories for Rome, won at enormous cost, but the consequences for ordinary farmers started the rot:
He said: “After wars, particularly the Punic Wars, the Yeoman farmers that went off to defend the interests of the Republic came home; their farms were in disrepair and bankrupt, so they’d have to move to the cities where they became recipients of welfare. There are a lot of parallels to that in the modern West.”
Casey identifies the destruction of rationality because it’s “too white”, and there are plenty of other consequences of that train of thought:
“A lot of these people in the world today hate progress because it leads naturally to inequality, because not everybody is as strong or as smart or as honest as other people, so they don’t like that – the idea of primacy that’s really been washed away. That’s the danger of this era of safe spaces.”
The erosion of the idea of property rights – in an era where everything from cars to smartphones are rented rather than owned – is another key sign, Casey warns.
He said: “You’ve heard this from the Davos people. You’ll own nothing, and you’ll be happy, and you’ll get a guaranteed annual income with three hots and a cot. So property rights are being washed away.”
Another sign is that cash is being abandoned.
Casey said: “Cash allows you to build wealth on your own, privately. And what seems to be on the runway are central bank digital currencies, CBDCs.
“If those are instituted, there will be zero privacy of what you own, what you buy, what you sell, everything will be known in a very powerful computer, especially with AI.
Power became more centralised and more Romans moved out of the Empire, leaving the Roman empire vulnerable to collapse.
Casey said: “It’s the second law of thermodynamics, everything winds down and becomes corrupt.”
Add on to that the collapse of the rule of law in the face of micro-regulations, and it’s hard to see what other direction Western civilisation is headed in. There is no end to doom-mongering these days, some of it absurdly negative, but Casey really does seem to have a point. The parallels are obvious. The sheer teetering complexity of Western civilisation has led to governments ceaselessly failing to deliver on ever more extravagant promises while presiding over enervated, demoralised and increasingly resourceless populations trapped by debt and incarcerated by laws that both crush and silence them. Free speech and free thought are becoming luxuries of the past.
Meanwhile, crime grows ever more out of control, the rich shore themselves up in enclaves and the state spends its time thinking of more taxes and more rules.
Worth reading in full.
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Simple. They are the type to believe the existing power structures are keeping them safe from harm. They have inate, unquestioning trust of authority. They are noncritical. They have been trained to comply by the very same authority.
I agree (but I don’t rule out mRNA brain damage).
Possible.
How would we be able to tell?
Yes it would be difficult, as only the already brain damaged would have bared their arms for the “poison death shots”.
Pfizer vaccine can damage brain cells and immune system, study suggests – The Conservative Woman
“Most of all, this study confirms that the introduction of mRNA vaccines was rushed without sufficient safety testing of long-term and broader spectrum secondary effects. It also confirms that the introduction of active genetic sequences into the human physiology can have serious effects on stability (homeostasis) and mutagenesis through reduced immune capability. Molecular and electrical pathways in the brain are tightly controlled, energised and protected through gene-based functions. Interference with gene function can have multiple unexpected outcomes as happened here to brain cells in vitro.
The study authors imply that there may be accelerated death of glial cells whose functions, listed at the start of this article, support crucial brain processes.
This study underlines how far removed the global Covid pandemic response has been from a precautionary approach. Our governments should take note. Launching novel genetic technologies in a hurry without adequate testing can result in uncontrolled serious adverse outcomes.”
Kind of proves what I have been thinking and saying for a long time now – there is something in these jabs which is dumbing down people’s ability to think, at all, never mind critically. Hence why the unjabbed still have all their faculties, but the jabbed do not.
Besides the highly suspect mRNA, there is also the graphene self-assembling microcircuitry, which is being found in all versions of the Covid poison death shots. No doubt too, there will be other nasties, as yet unknown and lurking in the Covid vaccine brews.
Yep – double whammy
If you believe this garbage, go and get an education.
Learn some things…such as
what is Graphene?
Do you know what a “micro-circuit” is? Answer no
Is Graphene a semiconductor ? Answer is no
How would such a “micro-circuit” be powered?
Either you lack of knowledge is so great that you don’t even understand how little you know, so you are the most gullible of people, or you are just out to do damage from the hiding place of your keyboard.
Same goes for the 22 idiots, who approve of your drivel.
Hi Tree. I too am sceptical (as always) about this graphene/micro circuitry thing.
But, to your question “How would such a micro-circuit be powered?” …
Tell me, do you know how an RFID chip is powered?
I’ve been startled by occasional oddities in the speech of people I know very well – oddities which were not present before their injections.
It’s as though there’s a sudden blank spot or crossing of wires. It takes the form of failure to remember things normally remembered, and failure to follow quite simple chains of logic which previously presented them with no difficulty at all. There’s also something harder to describe – a disconnectedness.
I’m speaking of people whose ages range from 30 to 85.
Maybe, but I think it is more that the jabbed have never used, or attempted to use, most of their faculties. #Homo Non Sapiens
And what do the MHRA have to say about this….Sweet FA!
So very hard to rule out as examples are everywhere.
Evidence of the vaccines’ self-assembling graphine oxide thingies interacting with 5G emissions?
I wish I were kidding.
Get an education.
Isn’t it time for your second booster. Don’t forget to take your 3rd in 3 months’ time.
Brilliant.
Also (in all seriousness), susceptibility to psycological propaganda?
Those executing the psycological operations are relentless, and not all folks who’ve succumb to the psyop are necessarily infantilised suckers or intellectual minnows. Just as anyone who has rejected officialdoms narrative isn’t neccessarily a nobel-level thinker or intellectual, as I’m sure my postings here demonstrate.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.03.02.482639v1
Decoding COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Immunometabolism in Central Nervous System: human brain normal glial and glioma cells by Raman imaging
Lodz University of Technology, Poland
“observed alterations in biochemical profiles upon incubation with COVID-19 mRNA in the specific organelles of the glial cells are similar to those we observe for brain cancer”
Seems pretty obvious to me.
They’re sheep and they do and think as authority tells them to.
Take a “vaccine” – they take a vaccine.
Hate Russia – they hate Russia.
I’ll be willing to bet the vaxxed are more likely to support BLM, will definitely believe the climate catastrophe story, more likely to use a wide range of pronouns. The whole lot.
Sheep will be sheep.
Yep – it is all 4 covid/Ukraine/net zero (Greta)/BLM – every woke thing under the sun
Baaaaaaaaaa!
They only see the threat, perceived or otherwise, that’s in front of them and have no regard for the consequences of dealing with that threat.
Safety whatever the cost…
Yeah, a sort of tunnel vision seems to be still in effect.
Think I can help here: “Look at how stupid the average man is – and then realise that 50% are stupider than that” (George Carlin).
But 56% compared to 59% doesn’t seem of much practical significance – or have I missed something?
The question wasn’t “Do you want the USA to go to war with Russia?” It was do you agree with establishing a NATO no-fly zone over the Ukraine. And the respondents were 59%, 34%, and 18% pro, respectively, among those who’d been spiked 3+, 2, or no times. The margin of error is cited as 3.1%. So the differences among the three groups are, if we make a number of assumptions of course, what would usually be considered “significant”.
I think you have to be very careful with questions like that. Other polls show clearly that the public have no idea what a no-fly zone actually is or means. For example if you ask people if they support a no-fly zone, lots will say yes. If you ask the exact same people if they support going to war with Russia, they’ll say no instead. The link no-fly zone = war, hasn’t been made in people’s minds, probably because they assume if there’s a different term to war it must be a different thing. The fact that one is basically a euphemism for another in the case where the enemy has a functioning (?) airforce, hasn’t cut through.
But equally it demonstrates how little knowledge people have and more worryingly, no interest in researching and finding out what the consequences are or why people are hesitant to agree to this before shouting from the top of every building that it should happen.
Well apart from just how stupid the stupids are not to understand that enforcing a No-fly zone which would involve shooting down Russian planes and killing Russians is an act of war, there is another factor.
The Western media have done a poor job reporting Russian military strategy/tactics… well to be fair they have only had 70 years or so… so that they can label what is happening as ‘failure’ because it does not latch the way USA et al operate.
The Russians, unlike NATO does not achieve air superiority using aircraft, it uses extensive, well coordinated anti-aircraft missiles.
It also does not, unlike NATO, use aircraft to support ground offensives, it uses artillery. So a No-fly zone would make little difference to Russian operations. It would however give Russian anti-aircraft operators target practice against NATO aircraft patrolling the No-fly zone.
After 2 years of this crap, it’s understandable that we might be ever so slightly sceptical of every claim made on the telly, or by so called influencers. What I can’t understand is how so many I know, who’ve done everything they’ve been told, aren’t questioning everything. So many triple boosted, who are on their 2nd or 3 rd bout of the Ro at the moment. At some point the penny has to drop!?
The penny mustn’t drop. It cannot drop. They are in too deep. Their colours are too firmly fixed at the top of the mast.
Painful (and mildly entertaining) to watch!
Nobody likes to admit they’re wrong.
I don’t like being wrong, but I have absolutely no problem admitting it if and once I’m convinced as such.
That’s because the likes of you and me are interested in establishing the truth, Paul.
Yes the madness continues. I can almost forgive the old frail, but still today I was watching students still masking up at shop entrances and bus stops. Later I was walking the dog in warm sunshine along an almost deserted canal towpath when a cyclist coming towards me slowed and said what a great day it was, this through his union flag mask. I replied that it would be even better if he took off his useless mask. He grunted something at me and cycled off apparently not too happy. I guess he was aged about 40 and clearly there is no hope for people like him, his real roll in life is simply to be cannon fodder for our heathen government.
Those masked types are everywhere here on the mid-Atlantic east coast. Question: are they virtue signaling their love for their fellow man and their superior knowledge of viral transmission? Or projecting their disdain for the mask free? Or, are they truly afraid, and hoping you’ll keep your distance?
If the penny hasn’t dropped by now, it never will. I think there is something of the Battered Wife Syndrome about it. Battered women cling to the belief their husband loves them really and is good deep down, but also feel too insecure to become independent and so trade-off the abuse for security.
Stockholm syndrome.
They might drop before the penny does!
Two words: Critical thinking!
or it could simply be the jabbed are far more likely to view MSM while the un jabbed are more likely to use other sources that are not locked into the mainstream.
I wasn’t believing a word of msm for the 20 years leading up to the plandemic so was well positioned to instinctively call bullshit on the whole enterprise as soon as they declared it!
I was trained by two deeply sceptical parents (how they would have loved DS), to believe nothing from the msm of any country, unless I had independent verification from different sources.
I was, nonetheless, shocked by how effective the bullshit was – despite the fact that Dad warned me never to underestimate the enemy.
My parents were the opposite, a law fearing member of the clergy.
I don’t know what it is that creates the sceptics – I’m just glad that something does, and wish there were more of us.
It took me a few weeks. I was on the side of Boris in the early days when he was talking about herd immunity, must’ve been the ‘libertarian’ in me.
The majority of the population never question anything. I can only assume that they have decided to live an ignorance is bliss type of life. However, to consider a war with Russia a good idea is the thinking of them clinically insane as is homing some refugees who you know nothing about.
You need specialist home insurance if you invite strangers to live in your home. Otherwise, if they leave the gas on and your house burns down, I doubt that there would be any compensation. This insurance will be charging higher premiums.
You would need to select your insurer carefully and let them know you have no idea who will be coming to live with you, no background checks possible.
Watching UK Column yesterday, and the question of housing refugees came up. Hold into your hats…apparently if have lodger or have people living at your house, or rent out any part of your house whilst you are still paying the mortgage on the property, the mortgage company needs to be informed. But now if you have Ukranians living with you, that condition has be dropped! What could possibly go wrong?
With the cost of energy, they need to be more generous!
But some of these Ukrainian women are hot. Remember seeing all the fruit pickers from Russia, Ukraine and eastern Europe. Was in Herefordshire with all the strawberry farms. You have to consider it from a sex starved red blooded male LOL.
I try my best but the Radio in the car is not DAB. As a Metalhead, there’s not much music that I enjoy on the Radio, so all I have is BBC4 and that virtue singling, loathsome little cretin Nicky Campbell on Five Live.
Russia says “unfriendly countries” must now pay fro gas and oil in rubles. So, EU/UK must either bust their own sanctions on the Russian Central Bank or collapse their own economies.
All seems designed to collapse economies. Where’ve I seen that before
What are you referring to? Venezuela and Zimbabwe are recent examples of deliberately collapsed economies.
I’m finding it hard to keep my jaw from dropping every time I hear on the radio that retail inflation in Britain will rise to 8% or 10% this year. It’s hard to believe that many believe that kind of statement. Maybe they should find themselves some internet pen-friends living in Venezuela or Zimbabwe.
Maybe Zimbabweans, having had a much lower standard of living, were psychologically better prepared to deal with collapse. How will Brits react? With soy-based timidity or pitchforks and guillotines?
Cost of petrol in Finland up 70% in the past year and half. Fact. 2.35 Euros/litre here.
A country bordering the largest oil producer in the world. Well done, The West.
Have you seen the difference in diesel price Morocco versus Algeria? I bet that border is BUSY!
You do realise that Russia stole the southern third of Finland just before WW2, and hasn’t given it back? What do you expect them to do – say thank you?
From the lows or the average? Don’t forget oil was negative at one point. I saw that if kept inine with inflation over 20 years petrol should be £2.50 a litre or some such, technically its still cheap.
But, but… they said inflation was transitory until a few of supply chain issues were ironed out.
You mean… they were lying to us? Again?
Well, I’m sure this is the last time they lie to us because deep down they’re good people who only want the best for us. I trust them…
It’s a shocking number for sure but when you decide to hand out money like sweeties at Halloween then what did they expect? Of course Russia , the pandemic are all causes of inflation but not excess money in the system according to the MSM.
My local hardware store has just received some gas cylinders that people use for BBQs. Last week price £28. This week’s price £48. They are seeing price increases every time they reorder an item but are unable to fully pass on the costs as people won’t pay it.
At least diesel is cheap in Venezuela. Have you seen the price of diesel in Zimbabwe, though?! THAT is a failed economy, right there!
I thought EU/UK, (USA and Canada for that matter) have already destroyed their economies.
No, Susan.
But credit where it is due.
They are trying their best, dammit!
Many don’t understand that a NATO no-fly zone over the Ukraine would mean war between the US and Russia. (And not within weeks either, but within hours.) Many among the “vaccinated” in particular are challenged by the notion of causation.
“But it’s so important to support Ukraine” is all I ever hear from them – they don’t seem to be able to say WHY it is so important
Because blue and yellow and Putin bad and Ukraine good, isn’t it?
You’ve been watching how a certain Mrs N Pelosi talks about it!
I don’t think she’s capable of that level of analysis..
She is good for tracking shares before any particular event it seems. Follow her and cash in.
Mrs N Pelosi seems to speak, albeit imperfectly, for the vaxxed among us.
I hear it’s because the Russian aggressors are inflicting suffering upon the innocent Ukrainians. School children in the US are being enlisted to show solidarity with the Ukraine people, to wear their colors, raise money for refugees, etc. It’s the same, well orchestrated, mass reaction playing out as we saw in March 2020 over COVID.
At least somebody told them there’s a war on. That’s more than the Russians get to hear.
a) Because since WW2 no one has taken over an entire sovereign state and been allowed to get away with it. b) Because it won’t stop at Ukraine. c) Because if there’s no answer to this, then it’s a green light for every militaristic government in the world. d) Because it’s very hard to watch a country like ours being trashed.
Most of our sheep have been trained to make decisions purely based upon emotions that they are instructed to feel by the media. They come to decisions like a chess player that thinks zero moves ahead.
I think you have hit the nail on the head TBP – it is a simple response to a diet of propaganda. But why can we see that it propaganda and the rest cannot? I keep asking this question because it completely mystifies me.
Everyone in government gets the risk. That’s why they chose not to do it.
By the way, a no fly zone was sustained over Iraq for many years without anyone calling it ‘war’.
Anyone who’d really made an effort to understand the Syrian civil war would not be quick to judge Russia in 2022. I was practically cheering for them when they went in to that country.
Well-informed and well-read people are likely to be equivocal about Ukraine and reluctant to trust the ‘vaccines.’
This edition of a Christian news show from Florida featured an article about Assad hosting a conference for Christians (in Damascas I believe) – saying he wanted to keep Christians in his country. If you go to 38 mins mark there is a reference etc what Assad has to say about Zelensky and Nazis.
https://www.trunews.com/stream/judgment-at-americas-door-as-nato-and-russia-gallop-toward-nuclear-war
There are ISIS ‘refugees’ amonst the Azov battalion forces. They use a distinctive single raised finger of the right hand as a salute.
The guy crouching on the front row, third from the right is one example.
Dud’s Army.
I suspect some of those fellows are desperately regretting some of their tattooing choices right about now.
Interesting thanks.
Some people think about the complexity of a situation and others think more simplistically. Those understanding that life and solutions are complex are less likely to have a rigid solution to any problem.
I would agree with your point but I’ll need a bit of time to think about it.
I’m no psychologist, but it seems to me that those persons expressing simultaneously an irrational trust in these shots and eagerness for war are manifesting their attachment to a death cult. I bet they love abortion and euthanasia too. Poor fools.
Yes!
No. I’m serious.
Comment amended. For some reason I read it completely back to front ! Long day.
I don’t know about it being a death cult but is most certainly a cult – and you have omitted the net zero Greta worshipping and the BLM agenda – all part and parcel of the same virtue signalling bandwagon, because that is all it is, a bandwagon, and to them it is soooo important to be on it.
I agree! To most among us it is crucially important to belong and be accepted. The old rugged individual once admired is a shunned character today.
I think there is a lot in that – they don’t like to be outsiders or to not belong with the crowd. Personally I can think of nothing worse.
Here’s another point, perhaps too obvious to make. These two overlapping groups (the vaccinated and the war enthusiasts) are watching tv news, listening to msm broadcasts, and reading the propaganda press. Their manipulated views will reflect the official narrative.
Highly likely – but why can’t they see that they are being manipulated?
Why can we see it but they can’t? That is what mystifies me.
Because they are tuned in. They aren’t thinking for themselves. They aren’t in the habit of thinking for themselves. They derive a sense of community and purpose from participating in the popular narrative. They dread not belonging. Those of us immune to the influence of propaganda find the meaning in life elsewhere. I think it was Londo M who said, a while back, that we are able to discern the truth (or at least detect the falsehoods) by the grace of God, whether we know it or not.
I tend to think it’s a consequence of behavioural adaptation; most people need to be followers.. if everyone thought the way sceptics think, no army would ever be raised, no belief system would ever be established and basically nothing would ever get done!
They probably also have a great respect for the “we love death” religion of peace
The “Butcher of Serbia” dies – she will now face justice she never faced in this life.
https://twitter.com/morphonios/status/1506703892364599301/photo/1
The Wicked Witch is Dead!
She also claimed the deaths of 500,000+ Iraqi civilians was a price worth paying.
Perhaps a campaign could be started: “Wear a face mask if you support Russia”.
Might be one way to get people to take them off?
Do what SAGE does. Fight fire with fire.
No, you have got that all wrong EF – the mask wearers are Ukraine supporters – the people who refuse to wear a mask would be on the Ruskies side of things (or if not that far, at the very least would not be Ukraine supporters or taking any kind of side for that matter)
The fact we’re not seeing blue and yellow face masks out on the high street must be disappointing to the satanic overlords..
Careful … you’ll give them ideas.
Honestly, I am amazed they haven’t already started doing that. Perhaps they would have trouble remembering which way up to wear it, as it may be a bit taxing on their remaining vaccine-addled brain cells.
And they would run the risk of appearing to show solidarity with Sweden, which is what they’ve been trying to avoid for two years.
https://www.amazon.com/Ukraine-Flag-Face-Washable-Covering/dp/B08GN3GJ7Y
loads came up on etsy too <facepalm>
aww rats.
Hey, I witnessed a brilliant bit of free market economics at a local Campervan exhibition last Friday (Gt Yorkshire Showground). See photo. The vendor was as Scouse as you like. Watched him on and off for about twenty minutes; he had a constant stream of customers. Hats off to the guy, managing to take the piss AND their money! “FOGOFF”
I was creasing up, didn’t dare stand too close, would have peed on his bonfire!
And they’re called Ukotini; they’re ticking all the boxes!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yyjLEdUjI0Q
These guys?
“Ukotini” is Zulu for “cotton”. Can’t figure the connection, tbh.
I have seen one. Homemade, though, I think.
Yes, I have one of those. It’s invisible though so you literally wouldn’t know I was wearing it.
Because I am not.
Look 11 people approving this are showing that they don’t understand what they agree to.
We need an underground, spread-it-like wildfire booklet of black humour. Sell it as an NFT. Then at least we can put in a bid on a seized yacht and hold a big party. Anyone who is prone to seasickness should forget about their problem and come anyway. Let’s party like it’s the end of the world!
Quiz question: who coined the phrase “black humour”?
(Unfortunately, this info is easily available in the Wikipedia article…)
That’s brilliant, EF. A bit like, “Is Islam right about women?”
Actually made me laugh.
But all the sceptics would die of confusion, since they hate masks and support Russia.
Fairly long article to explain that those most malleable are easiest to lead. It’s not rocket surgery.
There’s no point trying to correlate data like this. At least 90% of people worldwide are complete and utter fuckwits.
Yes, they are.
I don’t like to bring down my fellow man or woman or whatever, but judging by what I’ve observed this last two years, seen how general joined up thinking has left the building, and the eagerness to conform and comply, to the detriment of falling out with loved ones and friends, who dare to express an alternative opinion, I have to concur that I think you are right.
I’ve always seen being online as generating the same psychology as being in a car. Someone who is usually polite, mild-mannered and timid will develop Hulk-like aggression and biblical levels of vengefulness if they get cut up at the lights. In the car, they are detached and cocooned, outwith the reality of the real world and its consequences. They can go nuts without (usually) repercussions.
Similarly online – they’d never dream of harming someone they met in work or on the street, but they will happily destroy the career and life of someone via the internet if that person simply holds a different opinion to them on a trigger issue.
For the avatar mind, nuclear war with Russia is a concept detached from their reality. It is Call of Duty on a global scale. Yes bombs will fall, millions will die, cities will be razed – but not in their world, just in that one that exists out there on the web.
At least until their face is melting from radiation poisoning, then they might realise their oopsie.
“mild-mannered and timid will develop Hulk-like aggression and biblical levels of vengefulness if they get cut up at the lights. In the car, they are detached and cocooned, outwith the reality of the real world and its consequences.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgQ7LSs7ZqA
I’m not sure it’s just a distrust of the narrative, though that mite be a natural consiquence, it’s more that sceptics are more likely to research a given subject before declaring an opinion. Note the “don’t knows” are higher in the unvaccinated group too.
I think the US strategy has been to draw Russia into the conflict, and bog them down for years in it, a la Afghanistan. The fact the CIA has been training Ukranians in “insurgent” tactics since at least 2015 seems to back this view.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/cia-trained-ukrainian-paramilitaries-may-take-central-role-if-russia-invades-185258008.html
https://thegrayzone.com/2022/03/20/us-neo-nazi-ukraine-afghan-insurgency/
It seems this is the most profitable for the arms trade, with low political risk for either side of the isle, although the neo-cons, defense industry ‘think tanks’, and lobby groups are a large factor on boths sides.
This would also support the bigger globalist overview, ragarding a multi-polar (new) world order, wherby the UN becomes a defacto world government, bypassing democracy, with it’s agenda clearly in view. Clearly Putin & Xi are fully on board with this, it forwards the bigger agenda. It’s pretty safe to say the financiers behind it all are not dumb, they don’t give a shit about the little people, but they don’t want nuclear fallout wafting past their own noses.
Dick Cheney laid down the ground work in the 1990s as soon as the Soviet Union was dissolved. Russia was to be destroyed and divided into small pieces so it could never again ’cause trouble’.
I thought they planned that in late 40s or early 50s. Can’t remember the name of the operation but apparently JFK was appalled by the prospect.
Moderate your opinions, fools, the phantom downticker is on the prowl and means business!
Help is on the way. I’ve been doing lots of up-ticking …
Sorry cs, I just couldn’t resist an invitation like that! I promise I’ll never do it again!
I was asking for it.
As Tucker Carlson pointed out recently, and I enlarged on here at DS a couple of weeks back, we’ve seen three great moral panics sweeping the US sphere in the past two years, engulfing the gullible and the receptive in waves of emotionally manipulative propaganda, generating hysterical belief in essentially anti-rational ideas based upon key lies at the root of each one. These related to first covid, then BLM, and now the Ukraine.
Each issue is likely to appeal to slightly different demographics, but the common factor is gullibility and hence vulnerability to emotionally manipulative propaganda.
You can add climate alarmism, on a rather longer timescale.
The issue for us, imo, is why our society seems to have become so vulnerable to these manipulative mass panics, and how can we revert to a situation where there were controls and cultural and political “circuit breakers” that protected us from the worst effects of this kind of thing?
These panics and alarms have been different in nature since 9/11. The Y2K nonsense that preceded it caused nothing like the heightened emotional levels we see now. Reasonable disagreements were more common.
The “war on terror” encouraged and incited terror, and emboldened authoritarians. The hysteria about Iraq and the gullibility with regard to the existence of weapons of mass destruction and “that madman” Saddam were extraordinary.
Cruelties have abounded. Torture is fine (as long as the good guys are the torturers); fair trials of bad guys are completely unnecessary (even a bad idea, because it gives them a chance to share their badness); Guantanamo is a reasonable way to treat people you fear.
A dark night began.
Yes 9/11 is where I can trace my own scepticism to. I remember being a fresh faced Guardian reading young chap receiving a text message the day after from a dear friend expressing gentle scepticism about the supposed perpetrators and it was my
moment. Spent several years down that particular rabbit hole arriving at the conclusion that the official story was nonsense fiction; that lead to the invasion of Iraq, also a pack of lies, that lead to Libya, Syria and finally everyone’s favourite global health crisis. We live in a reality carefully constructed by arch criminals. As soon as you realise that, there’s no going back to normie world.
So that’s where your problems began.
Very easily explained. What largely separates unvaxxed and vaxxed are three traits – willingness to conform (need for peer approval), levels of naivety/trust, ability to assess risk. These three traits can be wrapped into a single measurement – level of common sense. Guardian readers will be at the very bottom of the well.
Absolutely the first trait is the most important in my opinion. I have absolutely no qualms disagreeing with a room full of my professional peers, and I often do. If I disagree, I will never change my mind unless persuaded by reason. It serves me quite well professionally and I think it is somewhat surprisingly seen by others as a positive trait, despite them cowardishly conforming whenever they have their own doubts. However, I am in a tiny minority and have only ever met a handful of others who lack this stupid animal instinct.
After being ‘red-pilled’ by Brexit, I’ve come to the firm conclusion that – besides death and taxes – there is one thing in life of which one can be absolutely 100% certain. . .
Namely, that when the unholy trinity of politicians (of all colours), so called ‘experts’ and the mainstream media are all signing from the same hymn sheet, then it’s time to smell one mighty big – as in ‘effing gargantuan – rat! Be it Brexit, Trump, the p(l)andemic, or Ukraine – they’re all in lockstep. Throughout all of the above, we’ve had global warming – or climate change – or whatever the latest term for it is. As far as I’m concerned, they lied to us about Brexit, they lied to us about Trump, they lied to us spectacularly about the p(l)andemic and they are lying to us about climate change. The trend is clear. Ergo, why on earth anyone believes a word they say about Russia and Ukraine is beyond me.
. . .PS
I forgot to say: I’m a ‘pureblood’!
They still trust the media, govts, and institutions.
Succinctly and perfectly put.
Some are easily brainwashed.
Others are critical thinkers.
Being against something because the media supports it is simply the mirror image of being for the things the media supports and no more free thinking. After having agreed with almost everything skeptical vis a vis covid, I find the belief the ukraine is acting at the behest of the elite in this war to be not very well supported.
Of course science and politics, at the core, should be very different domains. Science has better access to proof.
I don’t think that’s what’s being argued in the main. Most sceptics (the ones on here anyway) are simply resisting the calls to demonise Russia wholesale without contextualising the conflict or the role Western influences have had in fomenting and probably prolonging it.
“contextualising the conflict” is simply code for supporting the invasion.
Western politicians have repeatedly stressed their beef is with Putin, not Russians. Whereas in Russia, Putin has been feeding them for years with the notion that ‘the west’ is against everything Russian
Really? Do you watch a lot of Russian TV then?
You should read Suttons books, “The best enemy money can buy” He got kicked out of the Hoover Institute for exposing too much hard evidence, here’s an interview with him talking about his research
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTDvLmEBESY
“On the face of it this makes no sense. Why would the most Covid risk-averse be the most enthusiastic about a policy that would, as 79 foreign policy experts from across America’s political spectrum put it in an open letter recently, “would mean going to war with Russia”?”
It makes no sense only if you make the basic error of assuming that risk aversion is a root causative factor in taking the “vaccines”. Clearly, it is not. People became risk averse about covid because they believed the lies designed to make them fearful (but notably not about taking an experimental novel therapy).
Likewise, risk aversion has no root causative relation to views on the Ukraine. At most, again, it’s a manipulative mid-stage in the process of generating the moral panic, ignoring risks involved in confronting Russia but manufacturing largely dishonest “risks” in not confronting Russia, just as largely dishonest (ie hugely exaggerated) “risks from covid” were pushed on people while the real but unknown risks inherent in taking a novel therapy were suppressed.
The real root cause common to both is vulnerability to emotional manipulation, via fear or other sentimentalities, to peer pressure, and to authority.
And the best defence in either case is a sceptical and questioning attitude, generating resistance to manipulation by sentiment, by peer pressure or by authority. And courage to act on those attributes.
Beautifully and comprehensively put.
Many years ago, as a young teenager, I asked an uncle in the corporate world why companies bothered with advertising. All that money for what? He told me, “Because it works.”
When I told him that I didn’t believe a word they said because I knew they were trying to get my money by any means they could, he said that they knew it didn’t work on everybody.
I’d forgotten that, until I read your last sentences.
The “vaccinated”, as the DS likes to call them, were told by the government and the MSM that they needed to be injected by experimental gene therapy. So without further enquiry, they queued up to be jabbed three times and will do so again in a few weeks time.
The “vaccinated”, as the DS likes to call them, have been told that we need hate Russia and they’re even encouraged to go out to Ukraine to fight the Russians with their bare hands. And so the “vaccinated” do as they’re told and support warfare.
Maybe the gunge they’ve been injected with really does meddle with their brains?
Perhaps those volunteering to fight can go and jab the Russians with some of our surplus clot shot?
That stuff is pretty lethal.
It seems like the “sceptics”/vaccine refusers are overwhelmingly apologists for Putin.
It is quite a shameful position to adopt.
…
EXCLUSIVE: Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò Responds to Critics of His Positions Regarding COVID Tyranny and Ukraine
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/03/exclusive-archbishop-carlo-maria-vigano-responds-critics-positions-regarding-covid-tyranny-ukraine/
By Joe Hoft
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It all pivots between those for whom thinking things through is a necessity, and other people and who want to wish reality away and relax into a dream perfect world without the intrusion of reality. I’m sorry to say , but the Utopia version is a myth, the real version is just boringly real. So it goes.
We can have a perfect world if only we loved one another and grew radishes on our allotments and went to ‘Glasto’.
I agree with the assertion that political alignments and “establishment vs anti-establishment” views both play a big part.
However I think it’s also to do with “interventionist vs laissez faire” attitudes. Some people get all caught up on the idea that – regardless of the situation being discussed – we should “do something”.
Whether that thing makes any sense to do, or ends up being counter-productive, can end up being irrelevant to these people. They’re happy provided we’re “doing something”.
For others they appreciate that “just doing anything” might invoke the law of unintended consequences, and they see the value in being a little less knee-jerk reactionary.
Its a caste system. The people who continue to wear masks, who want to get vaccinated, who want to virtue signal over Ukraine; they WANT to do it. They want to be different to unvaxed, unmasked, Putin apologists because they are SUPERIOR. They support their fellow citizen, they are feeling, thinking, empathetic people; they want to be seen to be different to the ‘untouchables’. They know they are the chosen people, they wear their badges of allegiance with pride. They are typically reasonably affluent urban dwellers, either pubic employees or professionals. ( old ACORN classification B, C1 and C2)They are the same caste in all western countries.
What surprises me is that anyone is surprised.
Its the caste that got Trudeau reelected, will get Macron reelected, got Biden elected, and will elect Johnson’s replacement.
Why? Because this caste has the power of all media behind it 365/24/7 although they represent at most 30% of any country’s population.
you have nailed it Peyrole – you have just described one of my relatives
Incorrect. They are not superior, they just like to think they are. Equally they do not support their fellow citizens are feeling, thinking and empathetic people, they are just plain selfish
Erm, Maxine, I think everyone on here knows they are ‘incorrect’,but not them themselves.
Because nothing distracts from one bad decision like another bad decision.
Pretty obvious isn’t it? They actually swallow hook, line and sinker the trash printed in the NY Times, the lies spun on CNN, MSNBC, NBC etc. They still think the Government is trustworthy, they actually believe Biden won the election and they couldn’t believe that Anthony Fauci would actively want to kill a lot of them.
More fool them.
“Vaccine refusers”. I wonder why they don’t call them “vaccine free”?….
..
I don’t fit into this tribal clustering.
I was at the ultra-sceptical end of the spectrum throughout 2,years of the mainstream media’s pandemic narrative, but for obvious reasons I’m many orders of magnitude more sceptical of Putin’s Ukraine narrative.
Why would anyone believe the narrative of someone with no accountability, who has abolished free media, who imprisons sceptics and dissenters, and who is a psychopath?
You do realise that you could be describing Zelensky?
I’m frankly disappointed that Pfizer and the rest haven’t told us how safe and efficacious their “vaccines” are, in protecting against radiation sickness. I’m sure that they’re chock-full of goodies like iodine, as well as the other secret ingredients, and they will ensure that “vaccinated” humans will be able to live in harmony with the cockroaches that survive the nuclear holocaust; as the former morph into the latter.
Interesting that you should use the ultra-fascist terminology of ‘cockroaches’ to refer to those you disagree with / view as inferior – just as Mr Putin described those who challenge his regime inside Russia (including hugely courageous anti-war protesters) as ‘gnats’ flying into mouths to be spat out on the pavement.
You are presumably unacquainted with the saying that was common during the Cold War (in Britain, at any rate), that the only survivors of a nuclear holocaust would be the cockroaches; as in the insect, which was reputed to be the only living creature capable of withstanding such an event.
It has nothing to do with people, fascists or anything else.
You said that vaccinated people would morph into cockroaches.
I disagree with both the reasons given, though political alignment does, I think relate to what is going on here. This most significant factor here is I believe a more fundamental principle that also drives political alignment. And that is the notion that “something must be done” and the state and must fix anything (and everything) that is wrong in the world. If someone is holding a puzzle, it is a part of human nature that you want to grab it out of their hand and have a go yourself. That feeling occurs irrespective of if you actually know how to solve the puzzle. People start firing out “I’ve got an answer” hypotheses and wanting to test them out before knowing if they will actually work because, again, “something must be done.” I’m pretty sure if you test those who are politically aligned left, you will find they squirt out premature hypotheses all over the place without knowing if they will actually work and more than that, will seek to apply their hypothesis to all before reaching the more usual than not “oh crap, that isn’t working as I expected” moment. They think they are clever and that centralised authority (which is a proxy for “their kind of something must be done thinking”) can improve a situation, when most often, more regulation, more rules and more bureaucracy had little more sound foundation than that initial brain-fart of a hypothesis.
“Something must be done” thinking, together with an ill founded belief “I can think of an answer to fix this, so I like it when authority will also signal similar premature hypotheses” and an under appreciation of strategic consequences (due to being driven more by emotion) is I believe the root cause of the consonance between taking a vaccine and wanting to escalate with Russia. “Something must be done.”
People who refused the so-called vaccines have the ability to think critically for themselves. Those who just did as they were told by people they regarded as being in authority believed the propaganda and that the government would keep them safe.
The fundamental problem underlying all of this is that people do not accept that they are going to die one day. Organised religion used to mitigate this fact with the promise of a better after-life. Now that the popularity of organised religion is waning, people have a fear of death. Until we consciously accept that we will die one day, and therefore, as Carlos Castaneda has described it, learn to live with death at our shoulder, we can never be fully alive. Only when we have accepted that we will die one day can we truly live.
It is therefore no surprise that those who accepted the jabs would call for the government to keep them safe from an aggressor. No doubt the same bunch voted to Remain in the EU because they were frightened of change.
So.. having some some critical thinking on the subject of vaccines, what in the clinical trial data or subsequent real-world effectiveness trials can you share that supports your refusal to take them (and encourage others to also refuse)?
Please don’t quote any of the distorted nonsense published as articles on this site.
As a critical thinker, you must have read the detailed reports yourself.
The data speaks for itself or are you suggesting that Pfizer’s published trial data (replicated on the site and others), Moderna’s data (limited) that they have released on the kids trials, ONS and NHS data (replicated frequently on the site) not forgetting of course the original Diamond Princess data confirming how undeadly the virus is for the majority of people in the first place is all distorted nonsense. I assume by suggesting this that you are proposing that MODELLED data from models with known to be inaccurate and incorrect assumptions built in is valid and reliable and the only data to be believed
We all know you haven’t read any of this data yourself.
Ah hah! I did suspect a correlation with Brexit too. However, motives for Brexit were varied. Although it may include most vaccine sceptics, there are far more Brexit voters than sceptics.
The clearly highly organised pro-Russian mass murder and destruction (sorry, ‘Special Military Operation’) attempted takeover of this site is both deeply offensive and hilariously inept / obvious.
This is far from a definitive survey. Nevertheless a correlation between vaccine scepticism and opposition to helping Ukraine is not surprising.
People refuse vaccines for all kinds of reasons including fear of needles. I wouldn’t expect there to be a correlation there.
However, looking at the views expressed on this website there are many other overlaps with vaccine scepticism which might not seem obvious at first eg:
There’s probably a relatively high correlation with Trump supporters and QAnon, although it’s not been a topic I’ve come across.
From the outset, it wasn’t obvious this would happen. Many people can and do question covid strategies purely on the basis of medical evidence. But as far as this website goes, it feels like a majority of members also embrace at least some of the views listed above.
And there you go – the mantra in full swing.
Not vaccine hesitant at all and the MSM has lost trust of news given the proven lies told over the past couple of years, ditto own government.
Conspiracy theory is not a negative term, it relates to a theory which has developed in an attempt to explain what is happening. the WEF is not a conspiracy theory; the Rockefeller’s lockstep is not a conspiracy theory. Neither are several of the other global ‘elite’ clubs and what they have openly requested. The only question is whether or not they have sufficiently infiltrated Govts and are actively pushing their openly published agenda’s which do align. How can it be conspiracy if it is there and published?
Crisis actors – proven – or do you refuse to watch the video’s and look at photographs which have been published by MSM endeavouring to ‘prove’ events which have clearly not happened.
Distrust of western governments and MSM does not mean that we trust Putin, Assad et al. What a ridiculous thing to say. But equally ridiculous is trusting those that you have learned have lied to you. That is like staying with a lying, abusive partner because ‘they have changed’. THAT is what is ridiculous!
Go back and look how many of you condemn Putin. You will find it is not many.
Then try to explain why you have your point of view.
How about there are 2 sides to every story and if you are sufficiently grown up you can accept that you can have 2 bad men and don’t need to choose who is going to be the good guy and who is a bad guy
What about the 44million people I. Ukraine. Don’t let your support for Putin allow you to forget what he is doing to them
I’m really pushed to see what lies you think the UK government has made, to compare with Putin’s even in the last few weeks. Please don’t bring up WMD, we need something fresher than that.
The fact that there are international institutions doesn’t mean they control the world. There’s an international Tolkein society. It doesn’t worry me.
I see that you do support the crisis actor fantasy – one of the worst of all the conspiracy theories. I can’t imagine how gutting it is to be, say, a parent of one of the kids who died in the Columbine massacre – only to be accused of being a fake actor. It doesn’t get much worse than that.
Where have I said that Putin hasn’t told any lies? Where have I said that? They all lie. The biggest lies told by our Govt have been about covid. As I said above – lie several times why the hell should I believe you a third? Equally I never said that international institutions rule the world. Try reading what I write and then we can discuss rather than you endeavour to belittle and demean. I have pointed out that they have published agendas which Governments are following. They claim to have positioned people where they can influence governments and countries so it is not unreasonable to ask whether they have infiltrated and are influencing – READ WHAT I HAVE PUT RATHER THAN NOT READING AND ASSUMING!!! As for the crisis actors – seen them or are you doing an orwellian and trying to tell me that my eyes are deceiving me?
Crisis actors: zero evidence, never happened, not once.
The lies your government has told you…Boris lies all the time. He said he was building 40 new hospitals, he built none. He said Brexit would mean less red tape, it means more. He said he knew nothing about parties, he was at them personally. But these lies are not remotely on the scale of Putin’s total media control. To call the chaos that is western media Orwellian is to tremendously underestimate how scary controlled media can be. Putin has total control in plain sight, yet people on this website have nothing to say about it.
Indeed they will blame anyone except Putin. They get all their arguments from their peers here, so don’t actually know anything. The urge to conform to the group’s opinion is overwhelming to them.
So what specific lies have been told in UK about Covid?
Your analysis of the vast majority “sceptics” is spot on..
They feel compelled to object to any mainstream position, no matter what.
If the BBC covered the subject of gravity, they would suddenly believe it is a scam!
There is only one logical outcome which this research demonstrates and that is the difference between those who think and those who are happy to be told by their peers what to think.
I recall my dad frequently asking me if I would go and lie down in the middle of the road just because my friends were doing so when I was complaining that not being allowed to do something was unfair because everyone else was. Clearly, sadly, today, many people would go and lie down in the middle of the road because others have done so.
I don’t know what the answer is. How do we pull society back from this? It ties in with the other article in the Daily Sceptic today from David McGrogan where he highlights the increase in nihilism. They care not for others, only about themselves but worse, they claim to take the moral highground whilst doing so and that makes it especially dangerous, potent and difficult to overcome. Perhaps radical trials confirming their unethical behaviour is required. I don’t know. Its a sad state of affairs and to some point, adapting a nihilism perspective, I’m happy I am not 20 but sad that I am not 70
Should those living in Russia be encouraged to think independently and openly challenge the brutal assault on Ukraine if they wish to – or be threatened with 15 years in prison?
What a simplistic interpretation – you have swallowed the MSM propaganda whole.
It wasn’t an ‘interpretation’ but rather a question, which you are clearly unwilling to answer other than through a stock and cliched propagandist technique – ignore any challenges and instead smear the challenger, in this case through the now boringly repetitive allegation that they must all be brainwashed dupes.
So I’ll try again – should those living in Russia be encouraged to be sceptical (including toward their own so-called ‘MSN’), independently minded, and if they wish to openly protest against the vicious attack on Ukraine – or should these protesters be arrested (including for holding up blank placards), fined, sent to prison etc?
I didn’t smear you – I pointed out that your interpretation is simplistic. It is.
If I wanted to smear you I’d have followed up and said a simplistic solution is the product of a simple mind – and that you provide plenty of evidence of having one.
You’ll be much happier on the Guardian website.
Re ‘I didn’t smear you – I pointed out that your interpretation is simplistic. It is.’
Again, I didn’t offer up an ‘interpretation’ but rather responded to a post with a question:
‘Should those living in Russia be encouraged to think independently and openly challenge the brutal assault on Ukraine if they wish to – or be threatened with 15 years in prison?’
You ignored this completely (for obvious reasons) and instead indulged in one of these cliched propagandist claims about individuals whose points are to be ignored and dismissed ‘swallowing MSN propaganda whole’.
In other words you indulged in a personal smear instead of engaging with the content.
Re ‘If I wanted to smear you I’d have followed up and said a simplistic solution is the product of a simple mind – and that you provide plenty of evidence of having one.
You clearly hold to the fascistic belief that people should be judged, labelled, mocked and ignored because of perceived biological deficiencies (in this case allegations about low intelligence).
Re ‘You’ll be much happier on the Guardian website’
Thank you for the concern and advice, I try to be happy wherever I find myself!
You have nothing of interest to contribute to any conversation, repeating, as you do, BBC and Guardian propaganda; you are clearly incapable of independent thought.
How typical that you throw in the word ‘fascistic’. That is tediously predictable and indicative of a remarkably unimaginative intellect.
I expect you get a thrill seeing all the negative responses to your dull contributions, no doubt persuading yourself that you are getting under the skin of all the ‘right wing gammon’. Hardly – we’re laughing at your supposed intellectual superiority.
.. and still not a syllable in response to the post which you initially responded to:
‘‘Should those living in Russia be encouraged to think independently and openly challenge the brutal assault on Ukraine if they wish to – or be threatened with 15 years in prison?’
Third time of ignoral, third time for obvious reasons.
Re ‘How typical that you throw in the word ‘fascistic’.’
I didn’t ‘throw it in’ I argued that looking down upon and attacking people because of perceived biological deficiencies (in this case low intelligence, or having a ‘simple mind’) is fascistic – as it is.
Re ‘I expect you get a thrill seeing all the negative responses to you dull contributions, no doubt persuading yourself that you are getting under the skin of all the ‘right wing gammon’.
I have a vague idea what that derogatory sectarian label is meant to mean, and can assure you that is not my perception of the basis of the highly coordinated and completely unsubtle pro-Putin / pro-Ukrainian invasion mass involvement in these boards.
Re ‘we’re laughing at your supposed intellectual superiority’
I am neither interested in nor make claims about my own or others’ ‘intellectual superiority’ (see previous comments about fascism), but am always glad to entertain!
They are not good at answering questions.
Translating….
The sceptical folk around hear only like the sound of an echo chamber. Anything else makes them anxious and prone to throwing abuse.
Sounds like a smear denied, the followed up with a smear.
No actual content to this comment. Just a standard slur.
Oh, PO, troll.
Another reasoned, rigorous and non-personally derogatory reply which fully addressed the content of the post…
Like you, he’s a tedious troll. You can PO, too.
I suggest that if you wish to try and order people to leave these boards you should contact Toby Young (the founder both of this site and the Free Speech Union) to see if he will make you a monitor with executive powers…
It’s the best they can do.
Hi Tree, I find it truly bizarre that a site that was set up (originally as Lockdown Sceptics) to challenge excessive state power re ordering people to wear masks and stay at home etc should now be being used as a platform to cheer on one state’s use of power to mass murder people in their own homes by blowing them to bits.
This clearly has nothing to do with the site’s ownership or basic outlook but rather comprises organised political and propagandist opportunism.
My own position is fundamentally anti-war and I wish for a peace settlement asap in Ukraine (and every other conflict zone).
But that anti-violence stance doesn’t prevent me from recognising one of the most naked acts of extreme military aggression – backed up by repeated threats from President Putin to incinerate billions of people via nuclear weapons if anyone intervenes – in modern history.
Of course they should and as for the ‘threatened with 15 years in prison’ which isn’t the first time this has been flung back as an ‘excuse’ – we have similar ridiculous laws here. a) the offences ‘rarely’ attract such sentences as they are maximums and b) its called standing up for what is right rather than swallowing the MSM and essentially following a ‘so long as I all right jack’ attitude
Re ‘we have similar ridiculous laws here’ – where is ‘here’, i.e. which country are you living in that threatens peaceful anti-war protesters with up to 15 years in prison?
Both the UK and Canada have ridiculous laws existing and planned which limit freedom of speech, right to protest etc and have been used as we have seen
So you spend your time moving between Britain and Canada (you did say ‘we’ and ‘here’ meaning where you were located).
In any case it is certainly true the the Trudeau regime introduced ridiculously draconian ‘Emergency Power’ laws in Canada (now thankfully rescinded) in response to the perfectly peaceable truckers protest – but even then there was no threat of up to 15 years imprisonment for simply non-violently challenging the government (over vaccine passports, lockdowns, foreign policy, or anything else).
Ditto the UK.
Unlike the Putin-led Russia
Answers to the headline:
(1) they have nothing to lose;
(2) they believe everythinb they see and hear on the BBC.
A) Why do you think people who have been vaccinated against coronavirus have ‘nothing to lose’?
B) Re ‘they believe everythinb they see and hear on the BBC.’
How many Canadians receive, never mind watch or listen to, the BBC?
C) Are there any issues over which people disagree with you that you wouldn’t claim makes them mindless, sponge-like dupes?
‘Why would the most Covid risk-averse be the most enthusiastic about a policy that would…’
A case of perception of risk and treating the State like a god – a god as perceived by our primitive ancestors who could protect them from all evil, as long as they worshipped and obeyed.
So when the god-State says everyone is equally at risk of mortality from CoVid, the Primitives in society (rather a lot of them) believe unquestioningly. When the god-State says it will protect them by providing a magic elixir, they believe. The Primitives perceive CoVid to be more of a threat than the unknown magic potion and trust their god.
So when the god-State orders them to fight a foe that is evil and this will bring them great reward, or if not the god-State’s displeasure, then the Primitives back their god and trust no harm can come to them.
They are of course childish, imbeciles.
Re ‘A case of perception of risk and treating the State like a god – a god as perceived by our primitive ancestors who could protect them from all evil, as long as they worshipped and obeyed.’
Does that wild, generalising and loaded allegation apply to Russia, and if not why.
Re ‘The Primitives back their god and trust no harm can come to them. They are of course childish, imbeciles’
Social-biological, imperialistic fascism in its most naked form.
Simple. The non-compliant free thinkers versus the compliant sheep.
‘The non-compliant free thinkers’
= people who agree with your positions.
‘the compliant sheep’
= anyone who disagrees with them, who must also be dehumanised into what is considered to be a particularly mindless animal.
= social-biological determinism, i.e. fascism.
Incidentally do you encourage ‘free-thinking’ in Russia, including the right of opposition to the onslaught (or ‘Special Military Action’) against Ukraine –
Or do you wish those who live there to be ‘compliant sheep’ (your terminology and concepts, not mine), to be arrested and fined, imprisoned etc if they step out of line?
So… What this article is actually saying is that vaccine refusers wish Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to go as well as possible for Russia.
or…
Intelligent socially responsible people think Putin should be opposed.
or…
Vaccine refusers ( AKA so-called “sceptics” ) feel obliged to oppose the mainstream narrative regardless of the issue.
I see the phantom downvoter is busy again – so annoying. If you disagree with what is being said, why not tell us, instead of just clicking.
Anyway, the above is an interesting study. I would also be interested in knowing how many vaccinated/pro war respondents are also keen users of social media. I would suggest a lot of them. Sites like Facebook (which I think generally displays the utmost stupidity of the human race) are a bit like a club of believers in this sort of thing – in order to be accepted on a lot of social media you need to be pro vaxx, pro war, anti brexit, believe totally in anthropogenic climate change and approve of thousands of illegal immigrants washing up on the Kent coast (if you don’t agree, keep jolly quiet about it!).
Incidentally, I heard someone the other day blame all the nasty side effects of the vaccine (especially brain and heart problems) on covid. People like this will never accept that vaccines may be dangerous. I just hope I live long enough ( because I think it may take a long time) for the truth about the vaccines to come out, because I would really enjoy watching people frantically reverse ferreting.
So you don’t like disapproval.
Interesting that you collate several issues and attribute them to your enemy.
“pro vaxx, pro war, anti brexit”
I am assuming that you wish to claim your team believes the opposite.
ant-vaxx, anti-war, pro-brexit
Problem is that you are mistaken on your war views. In justifying and supporting the Invasion of Ukraine, your anti-war claim is clearly false.
It’s just the extreme right-wing non-thinking nonsense.
My team? I don’t say anywhere what my thoughts on the war in Ukraine (and other matters) are, do I? I am making a comment about social media and the types of people I perceive to use it from my infrequent forays into our village site. What anti war claim have I made? I suggest you re-read my post, your comprehension of the written word is very poor.
Are you a regular Facebook or Twitter user? Do tell.
Bad news for you… You are using Social Media.
Yes, I don’t mind if the conversation is more intelligent, which usually it is on here.