Posted On: Friday - September 17th 2021 11:18AM MST
In Topics: Liberty/Libertarianism World Political Stupidity Kung Flu Stupidity
Commenter PeterIke brought up the fact that Denmark has almost completely backed off of, or opted out of, the Kung Flu PanicFest stupidity as of late. It's a small country, but that'd be a good start on the road back to sanity for the Western world, if other governments would follow this example. It looks now like this PanicFest is not really about fear of the virus, but power, so maybe not, on that one.
I'd forgotten about the comment till seeing an article about the latest from Denmark. Additionally, I'd wanted to write more about the sick heavy-handed Totalitarianism being practiced in Australia, using the excuse of the Kung Flu. One would think that there would be no contest here, as Denmark would trounce the living daylights out Australia in a Kung Flu Stupidity cage match. I'll argue that point a bit at the end of this post.
The picture above is of a recent concert in Denmark, showing a huge un-socially-distanced crowd apparently enjoying the show*. (OK, at least they're socially distanced compared to a mosh pit.) On the Foundation for Economic Education website, there is a pretty good article by its managing editor Jon Miltimore about the situation in Denmark - Denmark Says Move Over Sweden as Government Lifts All COVID Restrictions—Because of High Vaccination Rate? Yes, this author fixates on the vax as the solution to the PanicFest, but it's otherwise a pretty unbiased article that debunks even some of the vax rate numbers for the country.
He comes across pretty freedom "based" right here, after his first 2 arguments against vaccination number targets that are more of the iSteve-type arguments (as in small details that are still based on assumptions by the EXPERTS):
A third problem with vaccine targets is that they play into the notion that freedoms must be “won back” by collectively complying with the wishes of public health officials. This idea isn’t just wrong, but deeply dangerous.Wow, that Fauci quote at the end is really something - "I" can nudge this ..." and "I" went to 80, 85"! Man, the guy does act like he's the savior of the people, doesn't he?
From the very beginning of the pandemic, public health officials have violated civil liberties while promising these “temporary sacrifices” would be over once a particular goal was achieved. But the goal posts were always moving. We saw it with “15 Days to Slow the Spread,” President Biden’s call for “100 days of masks,” and Dr. Fauci’s previously mentioned floating vaccine target, which he openly admitted he’d adjust based on public polling.
“When newer surveys said 60 percent or more would take [the vaccine], I thought, ‘I can nudge this up a bit,’ so I went to 80, 85,” Fauci told the Times in December.
I'm not going to get into any details of the case counts, hospitalizations, and deaths FROM the Kung Flu in Denmark, with nice graphs with explanations. That's an exercise better left to a guy like E. H. Hail, illustrious Peak Stupidity commenter and well-known Kung Flu Panic-Analyst. This is just a comparison of the political situations between two countries. From the beginning of the FEE article:
The photo went viral a day after the New York Times reported Denmark had lifted its remaining coronavirus restrictions, “effectively declaring that the virus was no longer a ‘critical threat to society’ and allowing the country to get back to a semblance of prepandemic normal”—though face coverings are still required in airports.Well, airport terminals are pretty much medium-security prisons anyway, so you've got people with nothing better to do then enforce that - the TSA. Keep 'em employed. Infrastructure jobs!
People naturally responded differently to the photo. Some reacted positively.
“I think that's called freedom...not like Australia,” one reader responded.
Some said the Danes would pay for their recklessness.
“They’ll find out the hard way, like Singapore,” one person tweeted. ;["tweeted" or "sneered"? - Ed.]
I do tend to digress, haha. Good on the
Go back a few years, or back to this time . If you had thought Australia, a country formed by ex British convicts and assorted riff-raff, would be the place that reacted to the Kung Flu at the extreme end of Totalitarianism, they'd tell you "ya' had one too many Fosters, mate". We've all been watching with shock, except for our own Totalitarians. with glee, at the the LOCKDOWNs and mandates of all sorts set up over there. Season 3 of the PanicFest seems to have brought out the worst of this.
As I read and hear (from a friend with a relative there) about this, I can't help but remember "oh, yeah, the government there took the guns in the late 1990s." Well, I'm not saying exactly what would go on in America had we this same level of government coercion going on, but there would have to be some people with nothing much to lose who would start firing. It's one thing if the Totalitarians boil the frog slowly, as they have for other aspects of American life, traffic check points, the TSA, our version of the LOCKDOWNs (varying widely from State to State, as policy should, if it were Constitutional, that is!)** I don't know if the hard-core control in the two biggest provinces in Australia would fly here, without government losing its ass. I hope, anyway.
It's not that nobody is fighting back down under though. The video above shows just some of it, where the biggest protests are, in the two biggest cities of Sydney and Melbourne. The truckies (truckers) planned a strike for the end of this past August. From what I could dig up, there was action, but governments have been using their new powers of censorship to prevent the information from getting out, even blocking the cell phone service of truckies to prevent communication and coordination. I cannot tell from duckduckgo whether it's the media blockout (yeah, including duckduckgo) or a lack of anything major happening that has me not finding the information I wanted.
So, though beaten down hard in the first round, I would not say that our friends down under are licked. Here's a difference that I perceive between Denmark and Australian, though I haven't been to either in a long time: Coming from the English, genetically and culturally, the white Australians have a long history of standing up to the outrages of authority though still respecting the rule of law. They have been a very unified people till only recently, as the Chinese immigration is a fairly new thing.***
Denmark is one of the Socialist States of Europe, among a lot of them. I'm guessing the Danes are a unified people too, since their country has been one of the best in Western Europe in resisting the immigration invasion. (They are even returning some of them. Nice!)
There's something about the Socialist mindset, though, that says additional edicts and rules that are "good for everybody" must be followed and one can't argue about what's good for you. OK, you can argue, but the majority, or the edict rules, freedom be damned.
The Aussies have been under much greater tyranny, and it's getting worse, from this PanicFest, while the Danish have eased up completely. The Aussies are fighting back now though. Well, sure the Danish don't have to fight back, but, as the FEE article author explained well, the Danish government is easing up just due to the numbers. That means if the numbers (vaccinations, "cases", deaths, whatever) change for the worse, in the opinion of, well, the Danish government officials, then the situation could get more Totalitarian again. Which government is more afraid of the people?
The Peak Stupidity judges have ruled that there is no clear winner yet in the Australia v Denmark match-up. The Danes have it good now, but they have set no precedent as to how much tyranny they will take. The Australians are fighting back, but we have no idea have far that will go. I hope "VERY".
* which is fine and all, but Peak Stupidity still maintains that 99 % of good rock and pop was created in the English-speaking world.. OK, 99 Luft Balloons, I! GET! THAT! Oh, and Radar Love - BTW they were Dutch not Danish, but that mistake is easy to make.
** They were doing well with this frog-boiling process regarding guns to, for a while. Americans got wise on that one, at least.
*** The Chinese people want to get to a place with lots of White people, seeing as these societies were formed by people who stood up to authority and believe in the rule of law.
Comments:
Mr. Anon
Sunday - September 19th 2021 1:45PM MST
PS
@Ganderson
"Most of the guys I play hockey with are Branch Covidians- I’m not playing until we can play without masks, but some of the guys with glasses are complaining that their glassed fog up?"
That's how you know the masks are working - when they cause your glasses to fog up. Because that fog of aerosolized pathogen-laden water droplets known as exhalation only goes as far as the lenses on your glasses - not an inch beyond that.
Seriously, if you took Schlieren photographs of masked people walking through supermarkets you'd see their heads all surrounded by a cloud of exhaled aerosol-laden air - a cloud that persisted in the air while several other people walked through it.
The mask theater is such bulls**t.
@Ganderson
"Most of the guys I play hockey with are Branch Covidians- I’m not playing until we can play without masks, but some of the guys with glasses are complaining that their glassed fog up?"
That's how you know the masks are working - when they cause your glasses to fog up. Because that fog of aerosolized pathogen-laden water droplets known as exhalation only goes as far as the lenses on your glasses - not an inch beyond that.
Seriously, if you took Schlieren photographs of masked people walking through supermarkets you'd see their heads all surrounded by a cloud of exhaled aerosol-laden air - a cloud that persisted in the air while several other people walked through it.
The mask theater is such bulls**t.
A
Sunday - September 19th 2021 12:57PM MST
PS: Good afternoon Mr. Ganderson,
Fire Truck = Err fuck it
I can't imagine playing ice hockey with foggy glasses. Sounds pretty hazardous to me.
Sorry to hear you're surrounded by so many Branch Covidians and other true believers. It's interesting how the most highly educated often tend to be the most conformative. I don't think there is much you can do about it. Everyone pretty well picked their team early last year and it's nearly impossible to change anyone's mind. Unless the trend setting media starts pushing an anti-panic agenda, I'm afraid the pro-panickers are in it for the long haul.
Glad to hear you don't have to put a doggie face diaper on your lab. Labs are sweet dogs. If I were ever to get a dog, a lab would be one of the breeds from which I'd choose. I also like Border Collies and Pyrenees, even though the slobber and fur are a bit intense.
My wife mentioned the other day how covid simply does not exist in our local walmart. I'd estimate customer masking to be about 5%. Employees are supposed to, but most of them do so only half heartedly with many wearing them more like chin diapers. Most everyone around here is done with the charade. Even the Costco, which used to be a hard core pro masking zone, was almost mask free.
I hope sanity returns to your neighborhood soon. If not, the next time you need to get away and find a little normalcy you might want to visit North Georgia. Not many Covidians around here.
I hope you have a great rest of the weekend Mr. G.
☮
Fire Truck = Err fuck it
I can't imagine playing ice hockey with foggy glasses. Sounds pretty hazardous to me.
Sorry to hear you're surrounded by so many Branch Covidians and other true believers. It's interesting how the most highly educated often tend to be the most conformative. I don't think there is much you can do about it. Everyone pretty well picked their team early last year and it's nearly impossible to change anyone's mind. Unless the trend setting media starts pushing an anti-panic agenda, I'm afraid the pro-panickers are in it for the long haul.
Glad to hear you don't have to put a doggie face diaper on your lab. Labs are sweet dogs. If I were ever to get a dog, a lab would be one of the breeds from which I'd choose. I also like Border Collies and Pyrenees, even though the slobber and fur are a bit intense.
My wife mentioned the other day how covid simply does not exist in our local walmart. I'd estimate customer masking to be about 5%. Employees are supposed to, but most of them do so only half heartedly with many wearing them more like chin diapers. Most everyone around here is done with the charade. Even the Costco, which used to be a hard core pro masking zone, was almost mask free.
I hope sanity returns to your neighborhood soon. If not, the next time you need to get away and find a little normalcy you might want to visit North Georgia. Not many Covidians around here.
I hope you have a great rest of the weekend Mr. G.
☮
Adam Smith
Sunday - September 19th 2021 12:10PM MST
PS: Good afternoon Mr. Hail,
Thanks for the explanation of some of the political mechanics influencing PanicFest policies in Denmark, Germany and Norway. Also, thanks for the info about helmet laws and helmet culture making bicycling generally less safe.
It's something I've never really thought about, but intuitively it makes sense that a culture of bicycle safetyism really does not produce better outcomes. I've never worn a helmet on a bicycle and it always seemed silly to me (unless one were racing down a mountain or doing some amazing bicycle acrobatics in a halfpipe or something). I remember kids younger than me who were caught in the helmet craze and it always seemed weird how they wouldn't leave the house without their helmet if they planned on riding their bike. (Yet another generational divide.) I'd imagine that the same sorts of people who luv mask mandates are the same sorts of people who luv helmet laws.
I too would guess that most people who wear the face diaper (especially alone, outside, hiking, biking, etc.) do it because of social pressure to conform and not from fear of The Wuhan Apocalypse Virus. Masks are ineffective at slowing the spread of a respiratory virus, but they are also a powerful talisman among the believers. Interesting times.
Also, “Wuhan Apocalypse Virus” returns zero hits on the duck and google.
Looks like you have an original there. You might want to trademark it.
I hope you have a great evening.
☮
Thanks for the explanation of some of the political mechanics influencing PanicFest policies in Denmark, Germany and Norway. Also, thanks for the info about helmet laws and helmet culture making bicycling generally less safe.
It's something I've never really thought about, but intuitively it makes sense that a culture of bicycle safetyism really does not produce better outcomes. I've never worn a helmet on a bicycle and it always seemed silly to me (unless one were racing down a mountain or doing some amazing bicycle acrobatics in a halfpipe or something). I remember kids younger than me who were caught in the helmet craze and it always seemed weird how they wouldn't leave the house without their helmet if they planned on riding their bike. (Yet another generational divide.) I'd imagine that the same sorts of people who luv mask mandates are the same sorts of people who luv helmet laws.
I too would guess that most people who wear the face diaper (especially alone, outside, hiking, biking, etc.) do it because of social pressure to conform and not from fear of The Wuhan Apocalypse Virus. Masks are ineffective at slowing the spread of a respiratory virus, but they are also a powerful talisman among the believers. Interesting times.
Also, “Wuhan Apocalypse Virus” returns zero hits on the duck and google.
Looks like you have an original there. You might want to trademark it.
I hope you have a great evening.
☮
Moderator
Saturday - September 18th 2021 8:30PM MST
PS: Mr. Ganderson, I have a friend who is forced to (when anyone could report him anyway) to wear a face mask while driving a full-sized bus, and he complained to me about the same thing with glasses on. First of all, he's in a plexiglass cage of sorts, but also one doesn't have to be a graduate-level Statistician to understand the relative dangers there. They will kill people with this, or probably already have.
Hail
Saturday - September 18th 2021 7:29PM MST
PS
RE: GAnderson
"Which is more dangerous, whizzing around the ice blind or exposing oneself to the dread Covid?"
This reminds me of when you see people on bicycles or motorbikes WITH masks fully in place but WITHOUT any helmet. Ann oddball here and there is one thing, but if it's common then you know you're in a country/region/city with a hardcore Pro-Panic consensus, and/or a cowardly public barely worthy of the title of Free Man (is that more an "and" and not much of an "or"?).
This is not to push helmets---I have done a lot of around-town bicycling in recent years and don't wear a helmet (on the Dutch model) (i.e., not racing). All studies have proven that helmet laws AND helmet culture making bicycling less safe on the whole, which is highly counter-intuitive but the finding is robust and has been repeated many times since the 1990s or so.
There is probably some kind of theoretical personal benefit to wearing a helmet in controlled conditions, but the surprising finding is mass helmet wearing makes everyone less safe in aggregate. The mechanisms here are complicated, but when you look into them you realize there are tie-ins with the Corona-Panic and its mask-mandates and other mandates.
In any case, the cost-benefit ratio to making sure to have a mask on while riding a bicycle or motorbike is SO screwed up...
...that any Martian anthropologist, even a third-rate one, arriving fresh and observing such scenes, would understand masks as a religious symbol.
Wearing a mask while bicycling obviously presents a greater danger than non-masking by restricting air and obscuring view--same as for any sport like hockey or really any heavy physical activity. In the more extreme Pro-Panic places out there, and there are many, I imagine most of those who do masked bicycling do it solely on social pressure and don't fear The Wuhan Apocalypse Virus at all. They fear being seen without one, like some women fear being seen in public without makeup, or that supposedly common nightmare some people have of being seen in public having forgotten to put on pants that day and everyone laughing at them.
RE: GAnderson
"Which is more dangerous, whizzing around the ice blind or exposing oneself to the dread Covid?"
This reminds me of when you see people on bicycles or motorbikes WITH masks fully in place but WITHOUT any helmet. Ann oddball here and there is one thing, but if it's common then you know you're in a country/region/city with a hardcore Pro-Panic consensus, and/or a cowardly public barely worthy of the title of Free Man (is that more an "and" and not much of an "or"?).
This is not to push helmets---I have done a lot of around-town bicycling in recent years and don't wear a helmet (on the Dutch model) (i.e., not racing). All studies have proven that helmet laws AND helmet culture making bicycling less safe on the whole, which is highly counter-intuitive but the finding is robust and has been repeated many times since the 1990s or so.
There is probably some kind of theoretical personal benefit to wearing a helmet in controlled conditions, but the surprising finding is mass helmet wearing makes everyone less safe in aggregate. The mechanisms here are complicated, but when you look into them you realize there are tie-ins with the Corona-Panic and its mask-mandates and other mandates.
In any case, the cost-benefit ratio to making sure to have a mask on while riding a bicycle or motorbike is SO screwed up...
...that any Martian anthropologist, even a third-rate one, arriving fresh and observing such scenes, would understand masks as a religious symbol.
Wearing a mask while bicycling obviously presents a greater danger than non-masking by restricting air and obscuring view--same as for any sport like hockey or really any heavy physical activity. In the more extreme Pro-Panic places out there, and there are many, I imagine most of those who do masked bicycling do it solely on social pressure and don't fear The Wuhan Apocalypse Virus at all. They fear being seen without one, like some women fear being seen in public without makeup, or that supposedly common nightmare some people have of being seen in public having forgotten to put on pants that day and everyone laughing at them.
Ganderson
Saturday - September 18th 2021 6:59PM MST
PS
Mr. Smith- I was facetious about masking the dog; she’s a good natured lab, but I believe a mask would put her over the edge..
More scenes from the panic: I got in a shouting match with a guy in the locker room at my local globo-gym today- he told me to put my mask on, I told him to shove it, and I said, “ you know this is not the black plague, don’t you?” I used some words that share many or their letters with “ fire truck”.
Every day around here I see dozens of people walking along alone or as couples, outside, all masked up. I was in SW OH last weekend, and it was refreshing to see the lack of masking. Might be related to the fact that around here everyone is highly educated…
Most of the guys I play hockey with are Branch Covidians- I’m not playing until we can play without masks, but some of the guys with glasses are complaining that their glassed fog up? Which is more dangerous, whizzing around the ice blind or exposing oneself to the dread Covid? I know what my answer is.
The fact remains that a large % of the people around here do believe the Corona chan is the black death. Dunno what to do about it.
Mr. Smith- I was facetious about masking the dog; she’s a good natured lab, but I believe a mask would put her over the edge..
More scenes from the panic: I got in a shouting match with a guy in the locker room at my local globo-gym today- he told me to put my mask on, I told him to shove it, and I said, “ you know this is not the black plague, don’t you?” I used some words that share many or their letters with “ fire truck”.
Every day around here I see dozens of people walking along alone or as couples, outside, all masked up. I was in SW OH last weekend, and it was refreshing to see the lack of masking. Might be related to the fact that around here everyone is highly educated…
Most of the guys I play hockey with are Branch Covidians- I’m not playing until we can play without masks, but some of the guys with glasses are complaining that their glassed fog up? Which is more dangerous, whizzing around the ice blind or exposing oneself to the dread Covid? I know what my answer is.
The fact remains that a large % of the people around here do believe the Corona chan is the black death. Dunno what to do about it.
Hail
Saturday - September 18th 2021 6:27PM MST
PS
RE: Adam Smith, and Dieter Kief, and Alex Berenson (in absentia)
"Thanks for the Berenson substack article about Denmark. Nice to hear some countries have come to their senses. Maybe others will soon follow?"
There is generally a partial political explanation to the mysteries of why some places cling to the Pro-Panic side. Of course it is not all reducible to "Get Trump." Local political conditions all over can change the course including political calendars regarding election timing. This obviously affected the entire Corona-Panic's course in the USA itself but also applies elsewhere.
Denmark had its general election in June 2019 giving elected members a four-year mandate (i.e., the next election can be held as last as June 2023). Norway's election has just concluded this week. Germany's election, now likely to be won be parties of the Left (backed by the party directly descended from the East German Communist Party), is next weekend.
Germany, Norway, and Denmark were all prime candidates for falling on the Anti-Panic side from the start.
Germany: Under the lame-duck Merkel and popular unprincipled demagogue Markus Soeder and the usual collection of Pro-Panic types, decided to embrace the Panic and authoritarianism---for whatever set of reasons you want to guess at.
Norway: The Norwegian prime minister herself (now ex-prime minister) vowed publicly in about June 2020 to never lock down again, admitted the lockdown over a flu virus was a mistake and all such future actions were immoral. But alas was unable to fully escape and defect to the Anti-Panic side, given (1) ongoing US pressure to Keep Up the Panic ("come on, stop embarrassing us, Sweden; We thought we were friends?"), (2) the fast approach of Norway's own election. To change policy and get hit with lots of "cases" would undoubtedly shift votes in the middle in some unpredictable way, and politicians don't like that.
The whole political system in a LOT of places became stuck to some extent in the Trap of the Demagogue, unable to escape one's own rhetoric even when one wants to. A dilemma. The only solution was to hold fast to the Anti-Panic banner from the start.
Denmark: They have had a much freer hand because their entire legislature had secure seats, and the safe bet is no one will remember the Great Flu Panic of 2020-22 by summer 2023.
I think this in part answers the question of "Why Denmark, Why Now," along with Denmark's preexisting strength of its domestic Anti-Panic contingent, more than Berenson's point about "the happy vaccine valley"--which I don't doubt is true, but that is too technical to be a motivator to break ranks with a still-strong-seeming international Pro-Panic Consensus now backed fully by the USA since they decided to ramp up the Pro-Panic rhetoric beginning in late July 2021 out of nowhere.
RE: Adam Smith, and Dieter Kief, and Alex Berenson (in absentia)
"Thanks for the Berenson substack article about Denmark. Nice to hear some countries have come to their senses. Maybe others will soon follow?"
There is generally a partial political explanation to the mysteries of why some places cling to the Pro-Panic side. Of course it is not all reducible to "Get Trump." Local political conditions all over can change the course including political calendars regarding election timing. This obviously affected the entire Corona-Panic's course in the USA itself but also applies elsewhere.
Denmark had its general election in June 2019 giving elected members a four-year mandate (i.e., the next election can be held as last as June 2023). Norway's election has just concluded this week. Germany's election, now likely to be won be parties of the Left (backed by the party directly descended from the East German Communist Party), is next weekend.
Germany, Norway, and Denmark were all prime candidates for falling on the Anti-Panic side from the start.
Germany: Under the lame-duck Merkel and popular unprincipled demagogue Markus Soeder and the usual collection of Pro-Panic types, decided to embrace the Panic and authoritarianism---for whatever set of reasons you want to guess at.
Norway: The Norwegian prime minister herself (now ex-prime minister) vowed publicly in about June 2020 to never lock down again, admitted the lockdown over a flu virus was a mistake and all such future actions were immoral. But alas was unable to fully escape and defect to the Anti-Panic side, given (1) ongoing US pressure to Keep Up the Panic ("come on, stop embarrassing us, Sweden; We thought we were friends?"), (2) the fast approach of Norway's own election. To change policy and get hit with lots of "cases" would undoubtedly shift votes in the middle in some unpredictable way, and politicians don't like that.
The whole political system in a LOT of places became stuck to some extent in the Trap of the Demagogue, unable to escape one's own rhetoric even when one wants to. A dilemma. The only solution was to hold fast to the Anti-Panic banner from the start.
Denmark: They have had a much freer hand because their entire legislature had secure seats, and the safe bet is no one will remember the Great Flu Panic of 2020-22 by summer 2023.
I think this in part answers the question of "Why Denmark, Why Now," along with Denmark's preexisting strength of its domestic Anti-Panic contingent, more than Berenson's point about "the happy vaccine valley"--which I don't doubt is true, but that is too technical to be a motivator to break ranks with a still-strong-seeming international Pro-Panic Consensus now backed fully by the USA since they decided to ramp up the Pro-Panic rhetoric beginning in late July 2021 out of nowhere.
Moderator
Saturday - September 18th 2021 3:44PM MST
PS: Mr. Smith and Mr. Kief, I just ctrl-c'd the link to the "Coddling ..." book cover on my computer. I think the problem was with my apple device before. I can use this to see all the links.
Dieter, thank you for the article. That sounds like it was a good day over there.
Dieter, thank you for the article. That sounds like it was a good day over there.
Adam Smith
Saturday - September 18th 2021 3:34PM MST
PS: Good evening Mr. Kief,
Thanks for the Berenson substack article about Denmark.
Nice to hear some countries have come to their senses. Maybe others will soon follow?
Altweibersommer, interesting phrase for a warm fall. Thanks.
Great to hear you enjoyed a beautiful day in the woods and that you found some tasty apples.
Nature is good for the soul.
Apple season just started here, but it sounds like the local apple houses have limited U-Pick apples available this year because of an unusually harsh freeze late this spring. I do know of a place where I can go hiking and pick some kieffer pears, though they may have been harmed by the frost too.(?) Maybe I'll get out this week and look.
Here's a link to that Eric Peters article and one from a little while back.
While he doesn't use the term safetyism in his latest article it is implied.
https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2021/09/15/how-speeding-led-to-needling/
https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2021/06/28/the-metastasis-of-the-safety-cult/
I'm going to enjoy my evening on the porch sipping a little wine while looking at the mountains.
I hope you have a great evening too Mr. Kief.
☮
Thanks for the Berenson substack article about Denmark.
Nice to hear some countries have come to their senses. Maybe others will soon follow?
Altweibersommer, interesting phrase for a warm fall. Thanks.
Great to hear you enjoyed a beautiful day in the woods and that you found some tasty apples.
Nature is good for the soul.
Apple season just started here, but it sounds like the local apple houses have limited U-Pick apples available this year because of an unusually harsh freeze late this spring. I do know of a place where I can go hiking and pick some kieffer pears, though they may have been harmed by the frost too.(?) Maybe I'll get out this week and look.
Here's a link to that Eric Peters article and one from a little while back.
While he doesn't use the term safetyism in his latest article it is implied.
https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2021/09/15/how-speeding-led-to-needling/
https://www.ericpetersautos.com/2021/06/28/the-metastasis-of-the-safety-cult/
I'm going to enjoy my evening on the porch sipping a little wine while looking at the mountains.
I hope you have a great evening too Mr. Kief.
☮
Dieter Kief
Saturday - September 18th 2021 1:52PM MST
PS
Good short article about the reasons for the Danish decision to end the pandemic-panic mode by Alex Berenso on substack:
https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/so-you-understand-whats-happening?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo0MjU1OTg3OSwicG9zdF9pZCI6NDEyNjA3MzIsIl8iOiJPbWxBKyIsImlhdCI6MTYzMTU0MzMxOSwiZXhwIjoxNjMxNTQ2OTE5LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMzYzMDgwIiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9._EHs9f5kJjwqKjEabEVNLBA6SNQR3l9mCcbKWqbjk5M
Mr. Smith - thanks for your kind words and the article you hinted at by Eric Peters about safetyism. I'll try to look it up. - I hope you have a nice weekend!
I've spent the day in the woods between the lake and the Black Forest - 800 m altitude, sun, christal clear air (great for taking pictures), soft breeze - indian summer (the summer of the old women in German). Apples are ripe - we found tasty apples.
Good short article about the reasons for the Danish decision to end the pandemic-panic mode by Alex Berenso on substack:
https://alexberenson.substack.com/p/so-you-understand-whats-happening?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo0MjU1OTg3OSwicG9zdF9pZCI6NDEyNjA3MzIsIl8iOiJPbWxBKyIsImlhdCI6MTYzMTU0MzMxOSwiZXhwIjoxNjMxNTQ2OTE5LCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMzYzMDgwIiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9._EHs9f5kJjwqKjEabEVNLBA6SNQR3l9mCcbKWqbjk5M
Mr. Smith - thanks for your kind words and the article you hinted at by Eric Peters about safetyism. I'll try to look it up. - I hope you have a nice weekend!
I've spent the day in the woods between the lake and the Black Forest - 800 m altitude, sun, christal clear air (great for taking pictures), soft breeze - indian summer (the summer of the old women in German). Apples are ripe - we found tasty apples.
Adam Smith
Saturday - September 18th 2021 11:58AM MST
PS: Clown world, the gift that keeps on giving...
https://fox59.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2020/02/GettyImages-1201780935.jpg
☮
https://fox59.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2020/02/GettyImages-1201780935.jpg
☮
Adam Smith
Saturday - September 18th 2021 10:48AM MST
PS: Good afternoon everyone...
Mr. Ganderson, The hardest part of 14 days to flatten the curve is the first 19 months. Please tell me that the moonbats don't make you mask your dog. (The true believers at the local Costco don't even mask anymore, though I did see one guy walking alone outside wearing the diaper on the way to Gainesville the other day.) There is no voting our way out of this. I hope you can go see your UMASS hockey this season.
Mr. Anon, that Leana Wen is an awful bitch. Her totalitarianism makes my blood boil.
From Ardern's WEF bio...
“Bachelor’s in Professional Communication, University of Waikato. Former Adviser, Office of then New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark; then worked in London for the British Cabinet Office. Also volunteered at a soup kitchen in New York. 2008, entered New Zealand’s Parliament at the age of 26; 2017, became the youngest-ever leader of the Labour Party. Blah, blah blah...”
Also volunteered at a soup kitchen in New York? I call
bullshit.
https://i.ibb.co/NT2Cmw1/Who-Wore-It-Better.jpg
Mr. Hail, if the Danish mask study concluded that diapers work the panickers would have used it like a cudgel. I'm sure it would have been published earlier and I imagine that CNN would have invited Dr. Bundgaard for frequent interviews. Thanks for the details.
Mr. Kief, Eric Peters wrote an article the other day saying that none of the insanity of the last year and a half would have been possible without the cult of safetyism. I think he's right.
“The distortions may make safetyism appealing – but safetyism may also encourage the distortions.”
Interesting observation. Thanks.
Mr. Moderator...
https://i.ibb.co/dQxTwJ7/The-Coddling-of-the-American-Mind.jpg
https://www.mediafire.com/file/2w4h4udsrv7din0/The_Coddling_of_the_American_Mind_by_Greg_Lukianoff.epub
(As usual, the .jpg is a hybrid .zip file.)
Mask hesitancy? I think there still would have been resistance to masking if the study went the other way. Some of us simply do not like wearing face diapers. They're unnatural. We're supposed to see each other's faces.
I really think what has been going on in Australia would not be possible if a) Australians were still armed and b) if aussie cops were not wearing masks. Psychologically speaking, many people lose their inhibitions while wearing a mask. Many are also more likely to follow orders, as if part of a faceless collective. I also think masking helped, at least partly, incite people to riot, burn, loot and murder last year. There were probably some good reasons that most jurisdictions had thou shall not mask in public statutes until last year. Criminals are empowered in a society where masking is not unusual.
I hope everyone has a great weekend.
☮
Mr. Ganderson, The hardest part of 14 days to flatten the curve is the first 19 months. Please tell me that the moonbats don't make you mask your dog. (The true believers at the local Costco don't even mask anymore, though I did see one guy walking alone outside wearing the diaper on the way to Gainesville the other day.) There is no voting our way out of this. I hope you can go see your UMASS hockey this season.
Mr. Anon, that Leana Wen is an awful bitch. Her totalitarianism makes my blood boil.
From Ardern's WEF bio...
“Bachelor’s in Professional Communication, University of Waikato. Former Adviser, Office of then New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark; then worked in London for the British Cabinet Office. Also volunteered at a soup kitchen in New York. 2008, entered New Zealand’s Parliament at the age of 26; 2017, became the youngest-ever leader of the Labour Party. Blah, blah blah...”
Also volunteered at a soup kitchen in New York? I call
bullshit.
https://i.ibb.co/NT2Cmw1/Who-Wore-It-Better.jpg
Mr. Hail, if the Danish mask study concluded that diapers work the panickers would have used it like a cudgel. I'm sure it would have been published earlier and I imagine that CNN would have invited Dr. Bundgaard for frequent interviews. Thanks for the details.
Mr. Kief, Eric Peters wrote an article the other day saying that none of the insanity of the last year and a half would have been possible without the cult of safetyism. I think he's right.
“The distortions may make safetyism appealing – but safetyism may also encourage the distortions.”
Interesting observation. Thanks.
Mr. Moderator...
https://i.ibb.co/dQxTwJ7/The-Coddling-of-the-American-Mind.jpg
https://www.mediafire.com/file/2w4h4udsrv7din0/The_Coddling_of_the_American_Mind_by_Greg_Lukianoff.epub
(As usual, the .jpg is a hybrid .zip file.)
Mask hesitancy? I think there still would have been resistance to masking if the study went the other way. Some of us simply do not like wearing face diapers. They're unnatural. We're supposed to see each other's faces.
I really think what has been going on in Australia would not be possible if a) Australians were still armed and b) if aussie cops were not wearing masks. Psychologically speaking, many people lose their inhibitions while wearing a mask. Many are also more likely to follow orders, as if part of a faceless collective. I also think masking helped, at least partly, incite people to riot, burn, loot and murder last year. There were probably some good reasons that most jurisdictions had thou shall not mask in public statutes until last year. Criminals are empowered in a society where masking is not unusual.
I hope everyone has a great weekend.
☮
Ganderson
Saturday - September 18th 2021 5:22AM MST
PS Jag vill flytta tilbacka till landet var mina farfar och farmor var födda.
Who would have thought Sweden would be more sensible than the good old USA?
Meanwhile the PTB in my moonbat town are gearing up for another round of restrictions: headline in the local fishwrap today was about the spike in “cases” among UMASS students- probably they’re going to prevent them from gathering before the football game today. I also think they’re going to try and reinstitute remote classes.
Amherst college has announced that they will allow spectators to their outdoor athletic events- but one has to be masked. Yes, masked, outside. Wonder if they’ll make me mask up my dog when I walk her through campus. No spectators will be allowed for indoor events so hockey and hoops are no-gos, for now at least. As of today national champs UMASS hockey is planning to open its season 2 October- let’s see if they allow fans.
More and more towns in Western MA are reinstituting indoor mask mandates, which is interesting (in a modern art sort of way) as we were told when the mandate was put into place that it would be reevaluated mid-September: BWAHAHAHAHA…
And, finally, the crowning turd in the waterpipe, to quote the great General Anthony Cecil Hogmany Melchett, is that Governor Charlie “Parker” (RINO, MA) is contemplating a vaccine passport system, and a return to a statewide mask mandate. He’s probably going to get primaried, and whoever takes his place will get killed by the Dem in the general and will make Parker/Baker look like Ronald Reagan. Remember folks: 19 months to flatten the curve.
I can’t see ever voting for Parker/Baker- let it all burn. The civ-nattery in me has been hard to exorcise: I liked the country I grew up in and I don’t want to believe that nation is gone forever, but… I increasingly side with those who say we’re not voting our way out of this.
Who would have thought Sweden would be more sensible than the good old USA?
Meanwhile the PTB in my moonbat town are gearing up for another round of restrictions: headline in the local fishwrap today was about the spike in “cases” among UMASS students- probably they’re going to prevent them from gathering before the football game today. I also think they’re going to try and reinstitute remote classes.
Amherst college has announced that they will allow spectators to their outdoor athletic events- but one has to be masked. Yes, masked, outside. Wonder if they’ll make me mask up my dog when I walk her through campus. No spectators will be allowed for indoor events so hockey and hoops are no-gos, for now at least. As of today national champs UMASS hockey is planning to open its season 2 October- let’s see if they allow fans.
More and more towns in Western MA are reinstituting indoor mask mandates, which is interesting (in a modern art sort of way) as we were told when the mandate was put into place that it would be reevaluated mid-September: BWAHAHAHAHA…
And, finally, the crowning turd in the waterpipe, to quote the great General Anthony Cecil Hogmany Melchett, is that Governor Charlie “Parker” (RINO, MA) is contemplating a vaccine passport system, and a return to a statewide mask mandate. He’s probably going to get primaried, and whoever takes his place will get killed by the Dem in the general and will make Parker/Baker look like Ronald Reagan. Remember folks: 19 months to flatten the curve.
I can’t see ever voting for Parker/Baker- let it all burn. The civ-nattery in me has been hard to exorcise: I liked the country I grew up in and I don’t want to believe that nation is gone forever, but… I increasingly side with those who say we’re not voting our way out of this.
Dieter Kief
Saturday - September 18th 2021 2:50AM MST
PS
JB Peterson asks people to accept hierarchies as part of a functionung modern life. Mathematics is based on hirarchies (8 bigger than 1 , two bigger than one, three than two... mathematics, engineering, (natural sciences and machines and engineering = based on hierarchical thinking).
II
Our values - and our laws: Based on hierarcies (the latter is for some people harder to grasp than No. I above)
III
Now comes Achmed E. Newman (feminization) in the disguise of JWv Goethe: (Old people)/ men make the rules (the laws), young folk/women want the exceptions (tend to circumvent the normative hierarchies/rules/laws) by being - authentic/ empathic/spontaneous... - by following their heart (=their feelings) (see my Steve Sailer quote in my last Grateful Dead comment). The left (and the zeitgeist) is very much into "feels" over reasons/reasoning. And empathy over analysis.
IV
The Danish Prime Minister (head of government) who declared that a) yes, Islam is a problem and immigration from islamic countries had to be restricted; and who declared b) just recently that immigrants will have to work for the support and money given to them and who now said c) that Denmark will end the CO-19 panic mode is - - - a leftist Afrikanist / Sociologist and Scoial Democrat - - - women: Mette Frederiksen.
V
Reality is at times more interesting than theory (that is the Hegelian (contradictionary (= dialectical...)!) part of my musings.
Vb (making V expicit)
I'd hold that all six parts of my post are right - even though they are not free from contradictions.
PS
Mr. Mod: the Swiss in Winterthur protest the vaccine passport-rule to enter retaurants by making picnics in front of restaurants on the square.
JB Peterson asks people to accept hierarchies as part of a functionung modern life. Mathematics is based on hirarchies (8 bigger than 1 , two bigger than one, three than two... mathematics, engineering, (natural sciences and machines and engineering = based on hierarchical thinking).
II
Our values - and our laws: Based on hierarcies (the latter is for some people harder to grasp than No. I above)
III
Now comes Achmed E. Newman (feminization) in the disguise of JWv Goethe: (Old people)/ men make the rules (the laws), young folk/women want the exceptions (tend to circumvent the normative hierarchies/rules/laws) by being - authentic/ empathic/spontaneous... - by following their heart (=their feelings) (see my Steve Sailer quote in my last Grateful Dead comment). The left (and the zeitgeist) is very much into "feels" over reasons/reasoning. And empathy over analysis.
IV
The Danish Prime Minister (head of government) who declared that a) yes, Islam is a problem and immigration from islamic countries had to be restricted; and who declared b) just recently that immigrants will have to work for the support and money given to them and who now said c) that Denmark will end the CO-19 panic mode is - - - a leftist Afrikanist / Sociologist and Scoial Democrat - - - women: Mette Frederiksen.
V
Reality is at times more interesting than theory (that is the Hegelian (contradictionary (= dialectical...)!) part of my musings.
Vb (making V expicit)
I'd hold that all six parts of my post are right - even though they are not free from contradictions.
PS
Mr. Mod: the Swiss in Winterthur protest the vaccine passport-rule to enter retaurants by making picnics in front of restaurants on the square.
Mr. Anon
Friday - September 17th 2021 11:18PM MST
PS
I've seen some Australians comment online that the government has largely sold out the country to China.
New Zealand is also becoming a prison-state. One reason I've seen given for that is a lot of the Davos-set have their bug-out homes there. I guess they want to make sure that thier safe-haven is firmly under their control.
The PM of New Zealand is Jacinda Ardern. And - well, golly - look where this harpy pops up:
https://www.weforum.org/people/jacinda-ardern
That awful bitch, Leanna Wenn, formerly of Planned Parenthood - the frequent CNN commenter who has described our fundmental rights as "privileges" - is also a friend of Klaus:
https://www.weforum.org/people/leana-wen
I've seen some Australians comment online that the government has largely sold out the country to China.
New Zealand is also becoming a prison-state. One reason I've seen given for that is a lot of the Davos-set have their bug-out homes there. I guess they want to make sure that thier safe-haven is firmly under their control.
The PM of New Zealand is Jacinda Ardern. And - well, golly - look where this harpy pops up:
https://www.weforum.org/people/jacinda-ardern
That awful bitch, Leanna Wenn, formerly of Planned Parenthood - the frequent CNN commenter who has described our fundmental rights as "privileges" - is also a friend of Klaus:
https://www.weforum.org/people/leana-wen
Mr. Anon
Friday - September 17th 2021 11:08PM MST
PS
"In Australia, they are really under the gun, nearly literally. That means that, IF a real backlash comes, it'll by a doozy and set the Totalitarians back a long way."
Australia is becoming a prison-state. State governments have effectively outlawed protests, even arresting people for attempting to organize protests online. The worst offender is Victoria's Premier, Dan Andrews, now also known as Kim Jong Dan. But all of Australia's Premiers are awful. Australians should start calling them all "Premier Ceaușescu".
Canada is descending into the same type of situation. And America - well, America seems to be well on its way too. When they told us that they were in a "New Normal" they didn't mention that this "New Normal" would actually be Dictatorship.
"In Australia, they are really under the gun, nearly literally. That means that, IF a real backlash comes, it'll by a doozy and set the Totalitarians back a long way."
Australia is becoming a prison-state. State governments have effectively outlawed protests, even arresting people for attempting to organize protests online. The worst offender is Victoria's Premier, Dan Andrews, now also known as Kim Jong Dan. But all of Australia's Premiers are awful. Australians should start calling them all "Premier Ceaușescu".
Canada is descending into the same type of situation. And America - well, America seems to be well on its way too. When they told us that they were in a "New Normal" they didn't mention that this "New Normal" would actually be Dictatorship.
Moderator
Friday - September 17th 2021 8:51PM MST
PS: Thanks for the detailed run-down on the (somewhat minimal) PanicFest in Denmark, Mr. Hail. I suppose Australia is as Socialist, and I'm not saying that makes a difference so much as the TYPE of people that develop each society, including government. If the study had been known to have gone the other way - of course, then it would have been published WIDELY), do you think there would still have been the resistance to masking?
In Australia, they are really under the gun, nearly literally. That means that, IF a real backlash comes, it'll by a doozy and set the Totalitarians back a long way.
In Australia, they are really under the gun, nearly literally. That means that, IF a real backlash comes, it'll by a doozy and set the Totalitarians back a long way.
Hail
Friday - September 17th 2021 7:22PM MST
PS
Expanded on Point (9) ("They have an ethnonational population [i.e. 'Danes'] reasonably stable for now at 5 million in a reasonably compact land area.")
The point of saying this is that the study with 20+ Danish epidemiologists and other experts can more easily become identified with the nation itself in such conditions.
In other words, there was not some kind of coup d'etat by Anti-Panic extremists in Denmark, but more like a straight-line from the work they were doing in spring-summer 2020 already to now, what appears for now to be the total victory of the Anti-Panic side in Denmark, just delayed a tragically long time.
The whole thing presents a different picture than the "Socialist vs. non-Socialist" semi-ironic distinction you make in the original entry here. They had a lot of people disobeying the silly rules from the start and probably would have ended the rules even earlier if not for pressure from the US.
There are ways it feels to me like a Soviet-era relationship in which Denmark is a restless satellite state of the major power (USA), waiting for the signal to continue its desire course.
Local conditions in Denmark in 2020 were still happy enough that they saw minimal, if any, falloff in births.
Expanded on Point (9) ("They have an ethnonational population [i.e. 'Danes'] reasonably stable for now at 5 million in a reasonably compact land area.")
The point of saying this is that the study with 20+ Danish epidemiologists and other experts can more easily become identified with the nation itself in such conditions.
In other words, there was not some kind of coup d'etat by Anti-Panic extremists in Denmark, but more like a straight-line from the work they were doing in spring-summer 2020 already to now, what appears for now to be the total victory of the Anti-Panic side in Denmark, just delayed a tragically long time.
The whole thing presents a different picture than the "Socialist vs. non-Socialist" semi-ironic distinction you make in the original entry here. They had a lot of people disobeying the silly rules from the start and probably would have ended the rules even earlier if not for pressure from the US.
There are ways it feels to me like a Soviet-era relationship in which Denmark is a restless satellite state of the major power (USA), waiting for the signal to continue its desire course.
Local conditions in Denmark in 2020 were still happy enough that they saw minimal, if any, falloff in births.
Hail
Friday - September 17th 2021 7:12PM MST
PS
Remember too that Denmark was the country that published that major study whose headline finding was "Masks Are Useless and Stupid, Idiots" (my summary), of which word was out by Aug 2020 and started becoming much-talked-about on the Anti-Panic side by Sept 2020.
That study was, famously to those who know the story, refused publication in the big English-language medical journals until the week after the media declared the US election for Biden.
The timeline on that study was, I think, this:
(1) Study conceived in spring 2020 during height of the original Corona-Panic when masking was controversial. Naturally they wanted to know, "Do masks work?" Curiously few studies like this were successfully carried out and published in the Corona-Panic era. But theirs was rolling along nicely starting in April 2020.
(2) Study underway in middle months of 2020. A randomized trial. Authors had done similar studies many hundreds of times between them.
(3) Study complete by around early August 2020 and ready to publish.
(4) Word leaked out of the paper and its alleged findings ("no statistically significant benefit of wearing a face mask"), but one prestige medical journal after another refused publication, week after week, August, September, October 2020 all passed, the paper did not appear. Why?
A handful of Anti-Panic voices asked at first, including the Anti-Panic stalwarts at Swiss Policy Research (recall the "A Swiss Doctor on Covid-19" series).
(5) The study became tied to Denmark in almost national-image terms, because its twenty+ co-authors were all Danish medical experts of some kind (lead author: Henning Bundgaard), and so few quality studies of these kinds were being done (for some reason...it was as if the Pro-Panic side did not want to know...).
(6) Lead author Dr Henning Bundgaard is NOT some wacko, crackpot, Science Denier fanatic, angry Trump-juice-gulper, or deranged horse-paste-gobbler (sorry, I am not up-to-date on latest slurs against Anti-People people).
Dr Bundgaard (b.1961) has been a decades-long medical researcher and practitioner, with over 200 published papers to his name.
The study is air-tight by science journal standards and he was puzzled why none of the journals would publish it, until about a week after the US election when it finally surfaced.
(7) Despite a nominal mask requirement (until the phase-out began in June 2021), even at peak mask wearing only around 60% of Danes wore them according to one survey, which was I think self-reported. This is much higher than Sweden (which had no requirement).
(8) Point-7 means there was a major Anti-Panic component of the general population from the start. And their own medical experts were willing already near Peak Panic in spring 2020 to push forward with a potential close-the-book study on masks, if it found no benefit. (There is a reason no known culture in history has evolved a mask-wearing habit to fight flu viruses.)
(9) Something on Denmark to remember: They have an ethnonational population (i.e. "Danes") reasonably stable for now at 5 million in a reasonably compact land area.
(Reasonably stable population, but majorly aging, and higher-average age cancels out lower births since the late 1970s; so long-run it is under significant downward pressure, certainly headed below 4 million by some time in midcentury).
(10) The strong domestic Anti-Panic component of the general population tag-teamed with their own national medical experts to slay the Beast, successfully, without ever falling into the demagogue's trap.
(11) Now that Norway's election is over, I fully expect them to quietly also slay their own domestic Corona-Panic beast, or what is left of it. Norway had much lower mask-wearing rates than even Denmark, closer to Sweden's, but it also had a fixed-date election coming up (Sept 14, 2021).
Remember too that Denmark was the country that published that major study whose headline finding was "Masks Are Useless and Stupid, Idiots" (my summary), of which word was out by Aug 2020 and started becoming much-talked-about on the Anti-Panic side by Sept 2020.
That study was, famously to those who know the story, refused publication in the big English-language medical journals until the week after the media declared the US election for Biden.
The timeline on that study was, I think, this:
(1) Study conceived in spring 2020 during height of the original Corona-Panic when masking was controversial. Naturally they wanted to know, "Do masks work?" Curiously few studies like this were successfully carried out and published in the Corona-Panic era. But theirs was rolling along nicely starting in April 2020.
(2) Study underway in middle months of 2020. A randomized trial. Authors had done similar studies many hundreds of times between them.
(3) Study complete by around early August 2020 and ready to publish.
(4) Word leaked out of the paper and its alleged findings ("no statistically significant benefit of wearing a face mask"), but one prestige medical journal after another refused publication, week after week, August, September, October 2020 all passed, the paper did not appear. Why?
A handful of Anti-Panic voices asked at first, including the Anti-Panic stalwarts at Swiss Policy Research (recall the "A Swiss Doctor on Covid-19" series).
(5) The study became tied to Denmark in almost national-image terms, because its twenty+ co-authors were all Danish medical experts of some kind (lead author: Henning Bundgaard), and so few quality studies of these kinds were being done (for some reason...it was as if the Pro-Panic side did not want to know...).
(6) Lead author Dr Henning Bundgaard is NOT some wacko, crackpot, Science Denier fanatic, angry Trump-juice-gulper, or deranged horse-paste-gobbler (sorry, I am not up-to-date on latest slurs against Anti-People people).
Dr Bundgaard (b.1961) has been a decades-long medical researcher and practitioner, with over 200 published papers to his name.
The study is air-tight by science journal standards and he was puzzled why none of the journals would publish it, until about a week after the US election when it finally surfaced.
(7) Despite a nominal mask requirement (until the phase-out began in June 2021), even at peak mask wearing only around 60% of Danes wore them according to one survey, which was I think self-reported. This is much higher than Sweden (which had no requirement).
(8) Point-7 means there was a major Anti-Panic component of the general population from the start. And their own medical experts were willing already near Peak Panic in spring 2020 to push forward with a potential close-the-book study on masks, if it found no benefit. (There is a reason no known culture in history has evolved a mask-wearing habit to fight flu viruses.)
(9) Something on Denmark to remember: They have an ethnonational population (i.e. "Danes") reasonably stable for now at 5 million in a reasonably compact land area.
(Reasonably stable population, but majorly aging, and higher-average age cancels out lower births since the late 1970s; so long-run it is under significant downward pressure, certainly headed below 4 million by some time in midcentury).
(10) The strong domestic Anti-Panic component of the general population tag-teamed with their own national medical experts to slay the Beast, successfully, without ever falling into the demagogue's trap.
(11) Now that Norway's election is over, I fully expect them to quietly also slay their own domestic Corona-Panic beast, or what is left of it. Norway had much lower mask-wearing rates than even Denmark, closer to Sweden's, but it also had a fixed-date election coming up (Sept 14, 2021).
Moderator
Friday - September 17th 2021 6:43PM MST
PS: I'm sorry, Dieter. These text boxes are not very good for links. I doubt it's your fault (because I've seen this before), but I couldn't use either the one from the Swiss restaurant and the one from your 2nd comment. Are you saying you are required to have that vaccine-passport while dining outside, as in on the restaurant's property? Or, do you mean these protesters are staying just outside their properties
Maybe you can get me another link somehow.
I've heard of "The Coddling of the American Mind." I'll try to get that one. Thanks.
Maybe you can get me another link somehow.
I've heard of "The Coddling of the American Mind." I'll try to get that one. Thanks.
Dieter Kief
Friday - September 17th 2021 1:25PM MST
PS
I tend to think that our public sphere in the West is over-emotionalized (Peak Stupidity's Mr. Mod. has written about this phenomenon too lately calling it feminization) and not least thus prone to panic - the Covid panic too).
Steve Stewart-Williams@SteveStuWill·16. Sep.
Safetyism-inspired beliefs (e.g., emotional pain is dangerous) are associated with cognitive distortions known to cause depression and anxiety (e.g., emotional reasoning). The distortions may make safetyism appealing – but safetyism may also encourage the distortions.https://publish.twitter.com/?
query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FSteveStuWill%2Fstatus%2F1438299935019986947&widget=Tweet
He refers to Haidt/Lukianoff: The coddling of the American mind - a great book btw.
I tend to think that our public sphere in the West is over-emotionalized (Peak Stupidity's Mr. Mod. has written about this phenomenon too lately calling it feminization) and not least thus prone to panic - the Covid panic too).
Steve Stewart-Williams@SteveStuWill·16. Sep.
Safetyism-inspired beliefs (e.g., emotional pain is dangerous) are associated with cognitive distortions known to cause depression and anxiety (e.g., emotional reasoning). The distortions may make safetyism appealing – but safetyism may also encourage the distortions.https://publish.twitter.com/?
query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FSteveStuWill%2Fstatus%2F1438299935019986947&widget=Tweet
He refers to Haidt/Lukianoff: The coddling of the American mind - a great book btw.
Dieter Kief
Friday - September 17th 2021 12:23PM MST
PS
Danes are risking the freedom jump - as are the Dutch and the Swedes - hardly any ristrictions in Sweden except for - immigration controls at airports and frontiers and physical distancing in closed rooms (without masks).
The Swiss suffer a bit from a security-fixated backlash - which people in neighboring Winterthur (great art Museums!) protest by dining out collectively in front of the restaurants, which have to ask for vaccine-passports now. Scene in the video is from Wednesday night.
https://publish.twitter.com/?query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FSikhForTruth%2Fstatus%2F1438241852239585286&widget=Tweet
Danes are risking the freedom jump - as are the Dutch and the Swedes - hardly any ristrictions in Sweden except for - immigration controls at airports and frontiers and physical distancing in closed rooms (without masks).
The Swiss suffer a bit from a security-fixated backlash - which people in neighboring Winterthur (great art Museums!) protest by dining out collectively in front of the restaurants, which have to ask for vaccine-passports now. Scene in the video is from Wednesday night.
https://publish.twitter.com/?query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FSikhForTruth%2Fstatus%2F1438241852239585286&widget=Tweet
Mr. Anon, “The mask theater is such bulls**t.”
Bullshit makes the flowers grow and that is beautiful.
Mr. Moderator, “They will kill people with this, or probably already have.”
I don't know about people (except for the ones who got shot over this nonsense) but...
“A family in the UK has been left heartbroken after their 16-month-old cocker spaniel, Oscar, reportedly swallowed a discarded COVID-19 face mask and died.”
“The pup ate the mask and developed sepsis after its wire perforated his intestine...”
https://nypost.com/2021/04/29/puppy-reportedly-dies-in-uk-after-swallowing-discarded-face-mask/
“I just ctrl-c'd the link to the "Coddling ..." book cover on my computer... I can use this to see all the links.”
All of them?
☮