We find ourselves again in the grip of another lockdown, the 6th in Victoria, on the heels of 6 locally acquired cases. What this portends in the short term, if unanswered, purportedly justifies the deprivations of liberty entailed by home detention, business closure, remote schooling, and the like. But does it?
The initial claim that was used both here and overseas in order to justify lockdowns was that a short but sharp lockdown for 2-4 weeks was needed to stop the spread and prevent the hospital system from being overwhelmed by hospitalizations leading to operational collapse. This never eventuated even in countries that did not engage in lockdowns as a strategy. That is why the example of Sweden regarding COVID is anathema to proponents of lockdowns.
Sweden’s experience, as one of the few developed countries to eschew lockdowns, in terms of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths since Feb 2020 is well within the range of experience of those that did. And the worst of it can be blamed on the poor management earlier on of COVID in aged care, not on any failure to lockdown its people.
Sweden is the clearest lesson that lockdowns were never a necessary component in fending off national disaster. Public order and safety could be preserved within reason without the onerous and crippling deprivations of liberty imposed on the public. State and society could collaborate in their efforts to stave off ‘the spread’, protect vulnerable groups, and engage voluntarily in social distancing and other measures (remote work, effective hygiene, and the like) in ways that continued to respect the rights of its citizens in their pursuit of everyday goods.
Whereas, where we now find ourselves is in a never ending spiral of pointless goals (0 cases) and edicts. Having failed to achieve the impossible goal during a pandemic of 0 cases, the government, and having grown accustomed to emergency measures where no emergency exists beyond the recollection of its own failures, the government is effortlessly and gradually expanding from recurring temporary lockdowns to compulsorily requiring vaccinations as a prerequisite for returning to normal life; or should we say the ‘new normal’ life. To put it another way, the lockdowns will continue until morale improves.
Does this thing work?
Monty has put a do-dad on his page so all the various cat posts appear on his blog.
Hello? Is this working?
Well said
And as always, insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result. Australia and it’s Petit Hitlers are the poster children for this old heuristic.
I’ve had a long interest in the different approaches required to solve simple/complicated/complex/chaotic problems. Seems like the Idiots in Charge went for the worst possible option – EVERYBODY PANIC.
Trying to solve a mystery as if it were a puzzle guarantees failure. Colossal failure as it currently stands in Victoria.
Not only that, repeated failure has been redefined as best practice.
This might appear off-topic, but who knows how far Australia might be from this?
“The [U.S.] Senate’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill proposes a national test program that would allow the government to collect drivers’ data in order to charge them per-mile travel fees. The new revenue would help finance the Highway Trust Fund, which currently depends mostly on fuel taxes to support roads and mass transit across the country.
Under the proposal, the government would collect information about the miles that drivers travel from smartphone apps, another on-board device, automakers, insurance companies, gas stations, or other means. For now, the initiative would only be a test effort — the government would solicit volunteers who drive commercial and passenger vehicles — but the idea still raises concerns about the government tracking people’s private data.”
Source: https://theintercept.com/2021/08/05/infrastructure-bill-travel-data-cars-privacy/
Might the next step after this be having to seek the state’s permission to exceed a certain number of travel kilometres in a given period? Kill switches in cars so that if you transgress – something, anything – your means of independence/business might be shut off?
From LockDan to wheel lock?
(18 months ago I would have rolled my eyes at anyone who had written my last paragraph above. The speed of decay…)
Whoever imagined the Swedes would be more beholden to their civil liberties than Australians?
We’ve certainly learned a lot over the last 18 months.
You’re a fuckwit. Not a single government dollar…..you thought you’d get away with that, didn’t you?
Struth, you never did get around to demonstrating that those dirty train drivers get paid by governments to run on their lines.
Because they don’t. And they never have.
So, to answer your question: Yes I have.
Please post your evidence of governments (and any private companies administering State rail networks on a Governments’ behalf) paying all private freight operators narionwide to run on their lines as a general policy.
And incessantly calling me a communist throbber as a su stitute for actual argument like you did the first time doesn’t count.
Rex, I think it will be all travel for the proles that is restricted. Not just private motor vehicles.
How long until the state ‘strongly advises’ that all smurfs, I mean serfs, are to draw a toothy smile on their face mask, or a positive affirmation, like “I Love the CHO” ?
“The CHO is my Choice?”
Hmmm, I see a commercial opportunity here …
The lockdowns will continue until people remember what flaming torches and pitchforks are for. And we’re not there yet.
Keep up the good work, Dover, several new Cats with different formats is a bit tough for us old farts to get our heads around.
Even Michael Koziol says set a date
This is just funny. Worth 3 mins of your time.
NETHERLANDS PRIME MINISTER CAUGHT LYING
Watch as a new Dutch civil servant & politician, Gideon Van Meijeren, skillfully outs his Prime Minister regarding his connection to WEF’s Klaus Schwab, and his approval of the ‘Great Reset.’
https://thehighwire.com/videos/netherlands-prime-minister-caught-lying/
I want to recommend an unsettling video that many would label as a “conspiracy theory”. And indeed, the host blog is a religious society. However, it is a compendium of interviews and opinions of some of the worlds most eminent immunologists, virologists, epidemiologists, critical care physicians, microbiologists and others concerning the deadly dance we have begun, not only with Covid, but with the vaccines.You may recognise the names: Dr. John Ioannidis, Dr. Peter MacCollough, Dr. Beda Stadler, Dr. Geert Vanden Boisse, Dr. Sucharit Bhakdi, Dr. Kary Mullis, Dr Stehanie Seeff , Dr. Mike Yeoman, Dr. Damian Wojcik et al.
In the last 20months basic beliefs and accepted freedoms have been so totally undermined that we must SERIOUSLY attend to what is occurring.
Sorry – here is the link to the video!
https://www.countdowntothekingdom.com/following-the-experts/
Never ending lockdown it is
This is working much better, Dover.