Stephen Roney's Blog, page 156
February 11, 2022
More Music for the Occasion
February 10, 2022
No Longer on Spotify, But Steve Stills May Have Foreseen It All
Okay, this is tin hat territory, but I can’t see any other rational explanation for the actions of the federal government. For some time, it has been puzzling me.
For example, what was the practical need in the first place for a vaccine mandate for truckers? They are a solitary lot; unlikely to be spreaders. The pandemic looks almost over. Why impose a vaccine on them at a time when there are already shortages and an apparent crisis in the supply chain? Why appear to punish frontline workers who have brought us through this pandemic? That’s bad pr. What’s the practical need when the government itself says 90% are already vaccinated? Yet they were planning to impose an additional mandate soon on any truckers operating inside the country, and would not back down even when the convoy showed up .
Why are vaccine mandates urgent for anyone? It can’t be to achieve herd immunity. That was supposed to happen at 70%, but we now know it can never happen. The vaccinated can still carry the virus.
And, of course, that being so, if anyone chooses not to get vaccinated, it is an issue only for themselves. No obvious reason for the government to care.
Why has Trudeau been irresponsibly demonizing the unvaccinated since last fall, as if they had any responsibility for the continuing pandemic? Why the need for a scapegoat, other than the virus itself?
Why does Trudeau—and others, to be fair—keep pretending that the issue with the truckers is that they do not want to get vaccinated, when it with the mandate? He must know he is lying.
Why is he sticking so hard to the demand, not bending in the face of civil chaos, despite much medical advice, despite the possible bad pr, despite the growing risk of losing power? Why won’t he make a tactical retreat, as Jason Kenney, Scott Moe, or Francois Legault have done?
It cannot simply be that Trudeau has gone insane, or is hysterical. Those around him would have intervened.
It has to be that Trudeau does not want the vaccine. He wants the mandate. He wants truckers to carry vaccine passports.
He wants everybody to; but truckers were a special problem. Because of their transience and self-reliance, they could not reliably be reached by other mandates: by mandating vaccines for offices, or restaurants, or air travel, or schools. It had to be a vaccine requirement even for driving a truck--or else the mandate could not get everyone.
Why does he, and surely others, want everyone to carry a vaccine mandate on their person? If the mandate is on every smartphone, it is a trivial matter to use or adapt this to track data on everyone.
Yes, I know this sounds like the ”Bill Gates is implanting us all with computer chips through the vaccination” conspiracy theory. Yet a government might very well want this. Not, in their minds, for obviously nefarious reasons. For the sake of efficiency and the general good. But behind this is the conviction present in our elites, that matters are always best kept in their hands, and not in those of common people. Trudeau for one is on record as admiring China’s “basic dictatorship.” It allows them, after all, to turn on a dime. Efficiency.
Once it became apparent that the government could track everyone, and was doing so, there would of course be a revolt against it, at least in some quarters. But if the system was already in place before this happened, it might not matter. By then a revolt might no longer be effective. The authorities could track down dissenters, seize their bank accounts, get them fired, cancel their debit and credit cards, perhaps track wherever they go and whom they contact.
Convenient things, smartphones.
Yeah, sounds paranoid. But also in line with what we are actually seeing— not least, in the government response to the convoy. We can see they would if they could. They could, so they probably did.
Or tried to.
The truckers may have reacted badly at almost the last possible moment. If so, all the chips are on the velvet, and Trudeau cannot afford to or cannot bear to back down now and give it all up.
Whoever else is involved, Doug Ford must be. His actions, too, otherwise make no sense.
'Od's Blog: Catholic comments on the passing parade.
New Zealand
New Zealand police apparently failed in a much-publicized full-court-press attempt to put down their own "convoy" protest.
It May Be Over
I wondered if this was a gag or a fake at first. It looks like CBC is suddenly trying very hard to pivot.
I guess they've figured out that the truckers are going to win, and their comfortable sinecures are under threat.
February 9, 2022
Another Crack in the Wall of Division and Hate
Last night I heard a rumour that a second Liberal MP had broken ranks on the government’s general position against the Ottawa truckers’ protest.
Today, I found this confirmed by Maclean’s magazine. I am proud to say that it is my own MP, Nathaniel Erskine-Smith. He has supported Joel Lightbound at least to the extent of saying he should stay in caucus, and that it makes sense to re-evaluate Covid measures. That took some courage. I hope he is soon joined by other Liberal voices.
I also note that this Tweet came right after I sent Erskine-Smith the letter I have reproduced here. I have some hopes that it influenced his stand.
I encourage others in Canada to write their own MP urging negotiation and compromise. This is some evidence that they are listening, and that it helps. Especially if their MP is a Liberal—they are the ones most able to influence government actions in the near term.
'Od's Blog: Catholic comments on the passing parade.
Kids in Cages!
Latest news I hear from Ottawa is that the authorities are suddenly concerned that there are so many children with the protesters. They are, after all, are in danger from carbon monoxide emissions. They have apparently sent in Children’s Aid.
Problem: the big rigs are just sitting there, and even largely restricting traffic, meaning there are few carbon monoxide emissions—fewer than you would normally expect in an urban setting. If there is any danger to these children, it would seem to be from the government.
The government tried to cut off fuel supplies to the protesters. In these sub-zero temperatures, that is the chief threat to the children’s safety.
The fuel confiscation has luckily failed. Not just because everybody started carrying around jerrycans; a judge has ruled the confiscation illegal, as it obviously was. A smart lawyer has pointed out that it was even in violation of international law, the Geneva Convention. The police have been forced to return what they took—although, allegedly, they returned the confiscated jerrycans half-filled with water. No doubt in hopes of sabotage.
So much for the children.
The real problem is that the authorities want to go in and get violent. They realize the PR would be awful if they got some kids hurt doing so. So they want to clear the children out.
It won’t work. As Matt Gurney recently reported from the scene, everybody is down there livestreaming with their smartphones. The PR will be just as bad if they show children being dragged away from their parents, with the children in great emotional distress. Kids in cages!
Unless the authorities can think of some other dodge, it still looks like checkmate. The only intelligent approach is negotiation with the protesters. The government is acting hysterical.
'Od's Blog: Catholic comments on the passing parade.
February 8, 2022
Is This Real?
If so, it is a bad sign.
One Woman's Story
https://twitter.com/moen_tim/status/1491159892035469313
One Man's Story
Press Conference by Ottawa Protesters
