COVID-19 Health System Overload Forecaster

Craig's picture
Craig started the topic in Wednesday, 18 Mar 2020 at 7:44pm

I've created a spreadsheet forecast which I'll update as we go..

There's also a website with live running data.. https://sites.google.com/view/stayhomeaustralia

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bluediamond Monday, 14 Feb 2022 at 9:27pm
gragagan wrote:
Stok wrote:

Should be an interesting episode of media watch tonight, discussing how media should cover the antics in Canberra.

I'd imagine there are ethics at play here.
Of course, i know a few people here probably think the ABC and particularly media watch are just a propaganda machine cult.

Remember the media laws that Abbott brought in when he was pm? It's a crime for any news organisation to contradict any "official" Australian government news / statements. So in reality the gov has got them by the balls. If they do publish something that goes against what the gov says they risk a 7 year (I think) jail term. They brought it in after the plane crash in Ukraine; the Aus gov were saying one thing, and the reporters on the ground were showing the reality to be completely different. Abbott wasn't happy.

Abbott. The unflushable turd, rises to the surface again.

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Robo Monday, 14 Feb 2022 at 9:32pm
Stok wrote:

Should be an interesting episode of media watch tonight, discussing how media should cover the antics in Canberra.

I'd imagine there are ethics at play here.

Of course, i know a few people here probably think the ABC and particularly media watch are just a propaganda machine cult.

Media watch lol, who watches abc haha

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GuySmiley Monday, 14 Feb 2022 at 10:12pm

Sadly we’ve lost two good friends (one my wife has known since primary school) to the anti vax movement. We still ring and occasionally meet up for a coffee/walk but there are certain issues that aren’t discussed/mentioned - Covid and it’s management, AU politics (they are now far right), everything to do with the Trump years and his stolen election. From what we hear they are now isolated from their immediate and extended families. These people aren’t the lunatics in Ben’s video but none the less they do hold strange or extreme views. How did it come to this? The only thing I can think of is they have watched Fox After Dark religiously for years. It’s just very sad.

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seeds Monday, 14 Feb 2022 at 10:15pm

Indo that vid proves nothing. No spoken words to see peoples agenda and I saw revolution something blah blah flags and Trump flags. 1% 99% divide yeah right. Who really knows but I haven’t seen any sane people speaking yet! More than happy to see it if you’ve got any

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shortenism Monday, 14 Feb 2022 at 10:33pm

Yeah roadkill those disgraceful humans showing up to do what they can within their power to end this madness. Meanwhile you 3 needles in, awaiting your 4th and 5th and so on are ‘normal’? Hahahaha, mate the sooner you accept you are a user, on the needle, the better. Just because your dealer is big pharma and your pusher is your doc or local pharmacy, it’s got ya. You cannot deny it.

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Stok Monday, 14 Feb 2022 at 11:35pm
GuySmiley wrote:

Sadly we’ve lost two good friends (one my wife has known since primary school) to the anti vax movement. We still ring and occasionally meet up for a coffee/walk but there are certain issues that aren’t discussed/mentioned - Covid and it’s management, AU politics (they are now far right), everything to do with the Trump years and his stolen election. From what we hear they are now isolated from their immediate and extended families. These people aren’t the lunatics in Ben’s video but none the less they do hold strange or extreme views. How did it come to this? The only thing I can think of is they have watched Fox After Dark religiously for years. It’s just very sad.

It's been a PR failure right from the get go.

The government and the scientific community failed to win over everyone to the side of truth, instead losing them to real anti vaxxers and other grifters.

I feel the road down the extremist path is steep.

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truebluebasher Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 1:05am

2021 Word of the Year is....Va...(Censored!) xX// Word Police \\Xx
Oops! Almost said that naughty word > [ Vaccine ] ...shh!
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2021/11/29/vaccine-is-merriam-webs...
Mandated censorship on the words "Vax / Vaccine / Vaccinated + Vagina"...(Official!)

CDC (2021 -Vaccine) = (2022 -A Stimulating Preparation...for Erect Nipples)
https://www.pedestrian.tv/health/pfizer-vaccine-nipples/
Oz (2021 -Vaccine) = (2022 -A Preventative Treatment...to stop the Boss sacking you!)

Mandated Flu Shot = (Due) Buzzz! Too bad... just confiscated yer VIP Pass.
Fully Vaxed = (Up 2 Date) Congratulations! You just did the right thing or else!
(Overdue) = ( Same as No Vax ) Stoning / Waterboarding / Deportation

Crew might think this sounds familiar...that's coz all losers sell exact same pathetic rebrand.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-10/fully-covid-vaccinated-two-doses-...

CDC (The word Vaccine is censored) ...it has an putrid air of Mass Vax Leak about it!
We're pivoting towards "Patrons being hip & (Up 2 Date!)" Get with it or get the sack!
https://khn.org/morning-breakout/walensky-says-cdc-is-pivoting-the-langu...

QR code = VIPs can just stick it in a little bit.
MSM = Can't say the {V} word (Either Either or Both!)

ABC Media Watch 14th Feb [ 11:00 ] Vax Censorship is infectious!
https://iview.abc.net.au/show/media-watch

Experts prefer the JAB : Let's Go!

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Blowin Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 4:38am
GuySmiley wrote:

Sadly we’ve lost two good friends (one my wife has known since primary school) to the anti vax movement. We still ring and occasionally meet up for a coffee/walk but there are certain issues that aren’t discussed/mentioned - Covid and it’s management, AU politics (they are now far right), everything to do with the Trump years and his stolen election. From what we hear they are now isolated from their immediate and extended families. These people aren’t the lunatics in Ben’s video but none the less they do hold strange or extreme views. How did it come to this? The only thing I can think of is they have watched Fox After Dark religiously for years. It’s just very sad.

The same people are probably sitting at home having a giggle about Guysmiley and his rants about Russia Russia Russia(!) and the evil white man who introduced murder, theft and rape into the world of the innocent little indigenous lambs.

Politics has always been a touchy subject. Nothing is new here except the politicisation of a virus.

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Blowin Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 4:41am
seeds wrote:

Indo that vid proves nothing. No spoken words to see peoples agenda and I saw revolution something blah blah flags and Trump flags. 1% 99% divide yeah right. Who really knows but I haven’t seen any sane people speaking yet! More than happy to see it if you’ve got any

You haven’t seen any sane people yet because they don’t exist or because there’s no click bait value in showing them in the MSM which dares not even mention the question: “Why do we still need vaccine passports and mandates?”

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Blowin Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 5:27am

Wow….sure is some crockpots out there.

Here is the CBC - Canada’s version of our ABC - giving airtime and serious consideration to a fruitcake who swears it’s Russia Russia Russia organising and staging protests in Canada where people are asking for the politicised vaccine mandates and passports to be removed as they have no scientific or medical evidence to support their use.

This is a Canadian national institute posing the possibility that it’s a foreign government responsible…….Fuck me dead.

“I mean, I don’t have enough hard evidence to take it to a court of law but…….” It’s all about the vibe hey bloke.

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The real Donald... Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 5:36am

When is thermalben going to acknowledge that ALL the data from which this thread originated - COVID Hospital Overload - is a pack of LIES.

That is, not many registered Covid deaths or hospitalisations are purely COVID.

So official COVID data is patently FALSE.

This is being spelled out repeatedly across the globe, day after day, yet idiots keep peddling the bullshit figures as justification for the utter madness .

Additionally, Hospital overload never happened, just like the projected 150,000 Aussie deaths never happened, just like getting vacc stopped people from geting Covid never happened, just like getting vacc stopped people from dying never happened.

The only thing the cooked up numbers prove is that being vacced or not vacced makes no difference.

My god, it's a LIVING LIE, start to finish, top to bottom.

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indo-dreaming Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 8:08am
seeds wrote:

Indo that vid proves nothing. No spoken words to see peoples agenda and I saw revolution something blah blah flags and Trump flags. 1% 99% divide yeah right. Who really knows but I haven’t seen any sane people speaking yet! More than happy to see it if you’ve got any

Yeah okay it doesn't prove that much.

But we all should know by now after all the other Covid related protest that 99% of people at these protest are just everyday people with genuine concerns on issues that directly affect them, in this case vaccine mandates and that the videos of the nutters is a very small element.

And we should all also know by now that vaccine mandates make zero sense seeing the vaccines dont prevent spread of the virus, otherwise we and other highly vaccinated countries wouldn't have had huge Omicron waves.

So really these people have a decent point, there is no scientific or medical case for vaccine mandates.

Im not a fan of protest, but i think these people are generally doing it the right way, taking it to parliament house in the grassed areas and generally keeping it peaceful.

This is how you should protest, opposed to how protest shouldn't be done like complete nutters Extortion rebellion who glue themselves to roads with one aim only to piss people off or those nutters that break into farms or mine sites etc

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Roadkill Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 8:19am
indo-dreaming wrote:
seeds wrote:

Indo that vid proves nothing. No spoken words to see peoples agenda and I saw revolution something blah blah flags and Trump flags. 1% 99% divide yeah right. Who really knows but I haven’t seen any sane people speaking yet! More than happy to see it if you’ve got any

Yeah okay it doesn't prove that much.

But we all should know by now after all the other Covid related protest that 99% of people at these protest are just everyday people with genuine concerns on issues that directly affect them, in this case vaccine mandates and that the videos of the nutters is a very small element.

And we should all also know by now that vaccine mandates make zero sense seeing the vaccines dont prevent spread of the virus, otherwise we and other highly vaccinated countries wouldn't have had huge Omicron waves.

So really these people have a decent point, there is no scientific or medical case for vaccine mandates.

Im not a fan of protest, but i think these people are generally doing it the right way, taking it to parliament house in the grassed areas and generally keeping it peaceful.

This is how you should protest, opposed to how protest shouldn't be done like complete nutters Extortion rebellion who glue themselves to roads with one aim only to piss people off or those nutters that break into farms or mine sites etc

“99% of people at these protest are just everyday people”

Wake up, ID. The people attending these protests are whackOs.

The genuine Aussies that disagree with mandates, and there are a few, wouldn’t be seen at these protests. They also know the protestors are society’s dregs.

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gsco Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 8:26am

Some pretty normal, everyday people voicing genuine, rational concerns and facing genuine hardship speaking in the protests in the ABC Media Watch video.

Anyone trying to label and dismiss all the people in the protests as cooked and in far right conspiracy theory cults are as cooked and in their own conspiracy theory cults and echo chambers as the people in the video Ben posted above.

It seems that this list of people includes Ben, Craig, Roadkill, VL, Stok, Blindboy, etc?

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Roadkill Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 8:30am
gsco wrote:

Some pretty normal, everyday people voicing genuine, rational concerns and facing genuine hardship speaking in the protests in the ABC Media Watch video.

Anyone trying to label and dismiss all the people in the protests as cooked and in far right conspiracy theory cults are as cooked and in their own conspiracy theory cults and echo chambers as the people in the video Ben posted above.

It seems that this list of people includes Ben, Craig, Roadkill, VL, Stok, Blindboy, etc?

Posting that didn’t help to prove they are everyday people. .

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indo-dreaming Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 8:35am
Roadkill wrote:

Wake up, ID. The people attending these protests are whackOs.

The genuine Aussies that disagree with mandates, and there are a few, wouldn’t be seen at these protests. They also know the protestors are society’s dregs.

Can i ask how you know this??

Im betting it's because you saw some video focussing on the nutter element or read some opinion piece article painting them in this light.

Im 100% certain that it's not first hand information from attending the protest, and unfortunately i havent seen a video like the ones Avi does that actually talks to the people there (not just the 1% nutters)

I dont have all that much interest in it all but can anyone actually bring a good argument for why we should have Covid Vaccine mandates???

Edit:will watch the video from gsco when get a chance

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Robo Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 8:36am
gsco wrote:

Some pretty normal, everyday people voicing genuine, rational concerns and facing genuine hardship speaking in the protests in the ABC Media Watch video.

Anyone trying to label and dismiss all the people in the protests as cooked and in far right conspiracy theory cults are as cooked and in their own conspiracy theory cults and echo chambers as the people in the video Ben posted above.

It seems that this list of people includes Ben, Craig, Roadkill, VL, Stok, Blindboy, etc?

Pretty much sums them up, obviously doesn't read the posts that video was already posted.

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Roadkill Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 8:46am
indo-dreaming wrote:
Roadkill wrote:

Wake up, ID. The people attending these protests are whackOs.

The genuine Aussies that disagree with mandates, and there are a few, wouldn’t be seen at these protests. They also know the protestors are society’s dregs.

Can i ask how you know this??

Im betting it's because you saw some video focussing on the nutter element or read some opinion piece article painting them in this light.

Im 100% certain that it's not first hand information from attending the protest, and unfortunately i havent seen a video like the ones Avi does that actually talks to the people there (not just the 1% nutters)

I dont have all that much interest in it all but can anyone actually bring a good argument for why we should have Covid Vaccine mandates???

Edit:will watch the video from gsco when get a chance

I’m guessing you miss the irony in your post.

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Robo Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 8:53am
Roadkill wrote:
gsco wrote:

Some pretty normal, everyday people voicing genuine, rational concerns and facing genuine hardship speaking in the protests in the ABC Media Watch video.

Anyone trying to label and dismiss all the people in the protests as cooked and in far right conspiracy theory cults are as cooked and in their own conspiracy theory cults and echo chambers as the people in the video Ben posted above.

It seems that this list of people includes Ben, Craig, Roadkill, VL, Stok, Blindboy, etc?

Posting that didn’t help to prove they are everyday people. .

c'mon you really thing all those 20k people were nut jobs like in that video, blinded by your booster?

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Roadkill Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 8:57am

GC bully running a poll today.

Should people be forced to work with unvaxxed colleagues?

Who’s right are more important?

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Robo Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 9:00am

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-15/family-tests-positive-to-new-covi...

we are all in this together, get the jaaaaab and stop the spread lol

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Roadkill Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 9:00am
Robo wrote:
Roadkill wrote:
gsco wrote:

Some pretty normal, everyday people voicing genuine, rational concerns and facing genuine hardship speaking in the protests in the ABC Media Watch video.

Anyone trying to label and dismiss all the people in the protests as cooked and in far right conspiracy theory cults are as cooked and in their own conspiracy theory cults and echo chambers as the people in the video Ben posted above.

It seems that this list of people includes Ben, Craig, Roadkill, VL, Stok, Blindboy, etc?

Posting that didn’t help to prove they are everyday people. .

c'mon you really thing all those 20k people were nut jobs like in that video, blinded by your booster?

Yep…because to attend gives credibility to all the nutters spitting hate. Thus, you are part of and agree and contribute with everything that occurs at the protest. You become part of the shit show.

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tylerdurden Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 9:00am

My friends who live in Canberra who were on the peripheries of the protest, mainly as curious observers, echoed those sentiments from Media Watch.
Some very nice people in amongst the more vocal crazies and generally well intentioned.
Very disparate group but from what they could gather the speakers wanted these things:
1. No vaccine mandates
2. Particularly no vaccine mandates for kids
3. A 2 week moratorium on the restrictions of doctors and nurses from speaking out
4. More early treatment options

Most were generally anti-government in a non-descript manner although ScoMo seemed to be the center point of their anger.
All anecdotal of course based around their observations

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Robo Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 9:03am
Roadkill wrote:

GC bully running a poll today.

Should people be forced to work with unvaxxed colleagues?

Who’s right are more important?

should unvaxed be forced to work with vaxed, they are the spreaders

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Robo Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 9:08am
Roadkill wrote:
Robo wrote:
Roadkill wrote:
gsco wrote:

Some pretty normal, everyday people voicing genuine, rational concerns and facing genuine hardship speaking in the protests in the ABC Media Watch video.

Anyone trying to label and dismiss all the people in the protests as cooked and in far right conspiracy theory cults are as cooked and in their own conspiracy theory cults and echo chambers as the people in the video Ben posted above.

It seems that this list of people includes Ben, Craig, Roadkill, VL, Stok, Blindboy, etc?

Posting that didn’t help to prove they are everyday people. .

c'mon you really thing all those 20k people were nut jobs like in that video, blinded by your booster?

Yep…because to attend gives credibility to all the nutters spitting hate. Thus, you are part of and agree and contribute with everything that occurs at the protest. You become part of the shit show.

so if you go to the footy and someone in the row in front starts abusing the ref you are part of it?

guess all the aboriginal protestors at the old parliament house when someone set fire to the door are to blame then too?

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Distracted Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 9:08am
gsco wrote:
Some pretty normal, everyday people voicing genuine, rational concerns and facing genuine hardship speaking in the protests in the ABC Media Watch video.”

That piece from Mediawatch was a pretty good summary.

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bonza Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 9:16am

yep i agree.
closing comment by Barry "... so do they deserve any sort of hearing.. well on the opposition to vaccine mandates and the sacrifices they have made, yes they do.... and good on those in the media who braved a hostile reception to listen".

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Robo Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 9:18am

Guess the all the nurses protesting today are all nutters to eh toady

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thermalben Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 9:21am
gsco wrote:

Some pretty normal, everyday people voicing genuine, rational concerns and facing genuine hardship speaking in the protests in the ABC Media Watch video.

Anyone trying to label and dismiss all the people in the protests as cooked and in far right conspiracy theory cults are as cooked and in their own conspiracy theory cults and echo chambers as the people in the video Ben posted above.

It seems that this list of people includes Ben, Craig, Roadkill, VL, Stok, Blindboy, etc?

The ABC Media Watch video was an excellent summary, and I agree with Paul Barry's conclusions.

gsco, I gotta say I am surprised to see that you think that I'm "as cooked and in my own conspiracy theory cult and echo chambers as the people in the video" (I posted). But hey, that's your opinion.

IMO, the problem with these kinds of protest gatherings is that the participants encompass such a wide variety of grievances - many of which are batshit insane - that it's difficult to understand just what people are arguing about.

And, the problem with social media (and forums such as this thread) is that some of the people pushing forth genuine discussion topics have also previously argued against other things like: Michelle Obama is a man, there's a cabal of peopdophiles drinking the blood of children, and the government is controlling the population through 5G towers and microchips inserted during the Covid-19 vaccinations.

Kinda hard to take these people seriously on anything.

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indo-dreaming Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 9:29am
Roadkill wrote:
indo-dreaming wrote:
Roadkill wrote:

Wake up, ID. The people attending these protests are whackOs.

The genuine Aussies that disagree with mandates, and there are a few, wouldn’t be seen at these protests. They also know the protestors are society’s dregs.

Can i ask how you know this??

Im betting it's because you saw some video focussing on the nutter element or read some opinion piece article painting them in this light.

Im 100% certain that it's not first hand information from attending the protest, and unfortunately i havent seen a video like the ones Avi does that actually talks to the people there (not just the 1% nutters)

I dont have all that much interest in it all but can anyone actually bring a good argument for why we should have Covid Vaccine mandates???

Edit:will watch the video from gsco when get a chance

I’m guessing you miss the irony in your post.

We are both making assumptions based on the limited footage we have seen.

The difference between my assumption and your is.

You are making an assumption based on nutter videos that we know media or even youtubers love because they get clicks.

Im making an assumption based on all the other Covid protest where media painted them as this or that, but all evidence showed that to be untrue and we know that 99% of the protesters were ordinary people will real concerns.

It's also common sense to assume the majority are normal people with real concerns because their argument is valid and one that has affected everyday people who have either lost their jobs because they wouldn't comply or had the vaccine against their will because they didn't want to or couldn't afford to lose their job.

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Snuffy Smith Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 9:43am

George Hanson: You know, this used to be a helluva good country. I can’t understand what’s gone wrong with it

Billy: Man, everybody got chicken, that’s what happened. Hey, we can’t even get into like, a second-rate hotel, I mean, a second-rate motel, you dig?’. They’re scared, man

George Hanson: They’re not scared of you. They’re scared of what you represent to ’em

George Hanson: Oh, no. What you represent to them is freedom

Billy: What the hell is wrong with freedom? That’s what it’s all about.

George Hanson: Oh, yeah, that’s right. That’s what’s it’s all about, all right. But talkin’ about it and bein’ it, that’s two different things. I mean, it’s real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace. Of course, don’t ever tell anybody that they’re not free, ’cause then they’re gonna get real busy killin’ and maimin’ to prove to you that they are. Oh, yeah, they’re gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it’s gonna scare ’em.

Billy: Well, it don’t make ’em runnin’ scared.

George Hanson: No, it makes ’em dangerous

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indo-dreaming Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 9:48am
gsco wrote:

Some pretty normal, everyday people voicing genuine, rational concerns and facing genuine hardship speaking in the protests in the ABC Media Watch video.

Anyone trying to label and dismiss all the people in the protests as cooked and in far right conspiracy theory cults are as cooked and in their own conspiracy theory cults and echo chambers as the people in the video Ben posted above.

It seems that this list of people includes Ben, Craig, Roadkill, VL, Stok, Blindboy, etc?

Watched it, it was pretty much what you would expect from ABC's media watch pretty trashy without any depth or substance, just quick snippets to paint what they want and then throw in the odd positive bit to appear to have balance oh and got to dis some other media and throw in far right a few times too and then end it by just telling everyone its all fringe.

Those with passionate concern and who make the effort to attend might be a minority, but if you were going to a have a proper discussion with everyday people, and you asked them if we should have vaccine mandates or not and then asked them why.

I think most people wouldn't support mandates unless they were backed by some decent reason to have them, the thing is for most of us mandates dont affect us as we aren't working in areas they are needed or most of us have got at least two jabs anyway so we dont really care, we are just whatever.

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bonza Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 9:55am

"And, the problem with social media (and forums such as this thread) is that some of the people pushing forth genuine discussion topics have also previously argued against other things like: Michelle Obama is a man, there's a cabal of peopdophiles drinking the blood of children, and the government is controlling the population through 5G towers and microchips inserted during the Covid-19 vaccinations.

Kinda hard to take these people seriously on anything."

That's true. I guess the counter argument to that is if one chooses to engage.. but then simply dismisses the poster / protester as a nutter without addressing the argument when a solid one is put forth (e.g. mandates) then one risks alienating the sympathisers and ultimately perversely undermining ones argument "to trust the science" far better then any 5G chemtrail (insert conspiracy of choice here) nutter could.

there's a lot of that going on here.

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thermalben Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 9:56am
indo-dreaming wrote:
gsco wrote:

Some pretty normal, everyday people voicing genuine, rational concerns and facing genuine hardship speaking in the protests in the ABC Media Watch video.

Anyone trying to label and dismiss all the people in the protests as cooked and in far right conspiracy theory cults are as cooked and in their own conspiracy theory cults and echo chambers as the people in the video Ben posted above.

It seems that this list of people includes Ben, Craig, Roadkill, VL, Stok, Blindboy, etc?

Watched it, it was pretty much what you would expect from ABC's media watch pretty trashy without any depth or substance, just quick snippets to paint what they want and then throw in the odd positive bit to appear to have balance.

Eh? Did I watch the same video as you?

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Snuffy Smith Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 9:59am
Snuffy Smith wrote:

George Hanson: You know, this used to be a helluva good country. I can’t understand what’s gone wrong with it

Billy: Man, everybody got chicken, that’s what happened. Hey, we can’t even get into like, a second-rate hotel, I mean, a second-rate motel, you dig?’. They’re scared, man

George Hanson: They’re not scared of you. They’re scared of what you represent to ’em

George Hanson: Oh, no. What you represent to them is freedom

Billy: What the hell is wrong with freedom? That’s what it’s all about.

George Hanson: Oh, yeah, that’s right. That’s what’s it’s all about, all right. But talkin’ about it and bein’ it, that’s two different things. I mean, it’s real hard to be free when you are bought and sold in the marketplace. Of course, don’t ever tell anybody that they’re not free, ’cause then they’re gonna get real busy killin’ and maimin’ to prove to you that they are. Oh, yeah, they’re gonna talk to you, and talk to you, and talk to you about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it’s gonna scare ’em.

Billy: Well, it don’t make ’em runnin’ scared.

George Hanson: No, it makes ’em dangerous

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs .More about jobs than jabs.

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tylerdurden Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 10:03am

I thought Media Watch gave a reasonable summary. My friends in Canberra echoed those sentiments.
Vaccines mandates probably will gradually peter out.
If “up to date vaccination” is their definition and they say most recent dose is less than 3 months then the vaccination program will have to essentially be perpetual and incredibly costly. If cases and hospitalisations go down then they’ll have to change their definition.
New variants may change all that...but the current vaccines will have to work against that variant.
Lots of unknowns but my hunch is there will be no strict mandates and the requirements will gradually decrease over the coming months. We’ll see!

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gsco Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 10:26am

I no longer see the funny side of ridiculing those poor people who have gone so far down the far right conspiracy theory rabbit hole (or whatever you want to label it as) that they are now well beyond saving.

This seems to be a reflection of the US neoliberal capitalist attitude of thinking something along the lines of "as long as I'm in a well off and privileged position in life, not only do I not give a flying fuck about disadvantaged and marginalised people but I'm also going to ridicule and hammer them into the ground even further..."

I genuinely feel sorry for them.

I also feel equally sorry for those who have lost their livelihoods and are facing financial and social ruin and hardship due to covid, particularly due to trying to stand up for their liberal democratic rights to freedom and choice.

I also feel sorry for those people now living in so much covid fear that they would actually entertain the idea of having semiannual boosters mandated on the population and the idea of locking out of society those who are trying to stand up for their liberal democratic rights.

One this, the World Happiness Report people have thought long and hard about what contributes to those countries consistently ranking at the top of the report. Regarding freedom and choice, this is what they conclude:

World Happiness Report wrote:

Freedom To Make Life Choices

Autonomy and the freedom to make life choices are known to be connected to subjective well-being.

For example, a study of 63 countries showed that the degree to which autonomy and individualism were valued in those countries was a more consistent predictor of well-being (measured with anxiety, burnout, and general health) than national wealth. Accordingly, the extent to which a country is able to provide individuals a sense of agency, freedom, and autonomy plays a significant role in explaining citizen happiness.

Using World Values Survey data from 1981 to 2007, Inglehart et al. showed that rises in national levels of sense of free choice were associated with similar rises in national levels of subjective well-being, with change in free choice explaining about 30% of the change over time in subjective well-being.

Other research has also demonstrated the importance of freedom to make life choices for national levels of happiness. Inglehart et. al argue and demonstrate in their data that this sense of freedom is the result of three factors that feed into each other including material prosperity that liberates people from scarcity, democratic political institutions that liberate people from political oppression, and more tolerant and liberal cultural values that give people more room to express themselves and their unique identity. For Inglehart, the Nordic countries constitute “the leading example of successful modernization, maximizing prosperity, social solidarity, and political and personal freedom.”

Thus the high sense of autonomy and freedom – and the resulting high well-being – that Nordic citizens experience can be attributed to relatively high material prosperity combined with well-functioning democracy and liberal values that prevail in the Nordic countries.

It's not a laughing matter that we are possibly facing a real risk of having these values eroded in our lives.

I've posted a lot of links over time but if there was one I'd recommend reading it's this one. It sheds a lot of light on Australia's current political situation, trajectory and choices.

burleigh's picture
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burleigh Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 10:22am
Roadkill wrote:

GC bully running a poll today.

Should people be forced to work with unvaxxed colleagues?

Who’s right are more important?

C’mon Toadkill, the vaxxed are spreading the virus.
This is only to create more divide.

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AndyM Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 10:23am

We're not "facing a risk" of liberal values and our version of democracy being eroded, it's actually happening.

Still funny to sledge the most ridiculous in society, it's a birth-right.

Roadkill's picture
Roadkill's picture
Roadkill Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 10:35am
Robo wrote:
Roadkill wrote:
Robo wrote:
Roadkill wrote:
gsco wrote:

Some pretty normal, everyday people voicing genuine, rational concerns and facing genuine hardship speaking in the protests in the ABC Media Watch video.

Anyone trying to label and dismiss all the people in the protests as cooked and in far right conspiracy theory cults are as cooked and in their own conspiracy theory cults and echo chambers as the people in the video Ben posted above.

It seems that this list of people includes Ben, Craig, Roadkill, VL, Stok, Blindboy, etc?

Posting that didn’t help to prove they are everyday people. .

c'mon you really thing all those 20k people were nut jobs like in that video, blinded by your booster?

Yep…because to attend gives credibility to all the nutters spitting hate. Thus, you are part of and agree and contribute with everything that occurs at the protest. You become part of the shit show.

so if you go to the footy and someone in the row in front starts abusing the ref you are part of it?

guess all the aboriginal protestors at the old parliament house when someone set fire to the door are to blame then too?

Great comparision as usual, Robo.
As good as comparing covid to polio hey..lmao

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sypkan Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 11:20am

good posts gsco

I find it most interesting that the people so readily defending grace tame about the effects of trauma and substance abuse, aren't even attempting to show any compassion to some 'cooker' ranting and raving about peadophiles, without even thinking for a minute as to why the 'cooker' might be so obsessed with this issue and quite vulnerable to everything currently swirling around on both the dark and light parts of the net...

it's pretty disgraceful actually

I guess personal politics, wealth, and mantaining your place on the public perceptions ladder trumps everything

australia what have you become?

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GuySmiley Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 11:33am

Surely the question to ask is what drove these people to the edge and that leads to questions of the role unregulated social media has played and that leads to the role of some politicians using the division for cynical political advantage. FFS our c##t of a PM was there on our TVs the day before blame shifting back to the States. What we see in Canberra isn't the problem it's a symptom of a deeper more cynical divide or decline in our once civil society.

bluediamond's picture
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bluediamond Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 11:36am
sypkan wrote:

good posts gsco

I find it most interesting that the people so readily defending grace tame about the effects of trauma and substance abuse, aren't even attempting to show any compassion to some 'cooker' ranting and raving about peadophiles, without even thinking for a minute as to why the 'cooker' might be so obsessed with this issue and quite vulnerable to everything currently swirling around on both the dark and light parts of the net...

it's pretty disgraceful actually

I guess personal politics, wealth, and mantaining your place on the public perceptions ladder trumps everything

australia what have you become?

Agreed. This looks like alot of scared people to me, the extreme side of it, but nonetheless, this is what is happening to the more vulnerable in society at the moment.

Robo's picture
Robo's picture
Robo Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 11:44am
Roadkill wrote:
Robo wrote:
Roadkill wrote:
Robo wrote:
Roadkill wrote:
gsco wrote:

Some pretty normal, everyday people voicing genuine, rational concerns and facing genuine hardship speaking in the protests in the ABC Media Watch video.

Anyone trying to label and dismiss all the people in the protests as cooked and in far right conspiracy theory cults are as cooked and in their own conspiracy theory cults and echo chambers as the people in the video Ben posted above.

It seems that this list of people includes Ben, Craig, Roadkill, VL, Stok, Blindboy, etc?

Posting that didn’t help to prove they are everyday people. .

c'mon you really thing all those 20k people were nut jobs like in that video, blinded by your booster?

Yep…because to attend gives credibility to all the nutters spitting hate. Thus, you are part of and agree and contribute with everything that occurs at the protest. You become part of the shit show.

so if you go to the footy and someone in the row in front starts abusing the ref you are part of it?

guess all the aboriginal protestors at the old parliament house when someone set fire to the door are to blame then too?

Great comparision as usual, Robo.
As good as comparing covid to polio hey..lmao

at least the Polio vax worked

A Dr put my old man in hospital when he was a kid for polio, turned out he just had bad headaches from heat stoke and being in the sun, luckily.
Toad won't believe that though lol.

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flollo Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 11:46am

@spykan spot on, I have an anti wax family member who could be put into a bucket with these 'crazies'. He compares himself to Jews in the holocaust and holds crazy theories on par with the ones in the video.

However, he's been suffering from extreme mental illness for years. At times, he spent months locked up in his room never to come out (only grabbed some food here and there). We thought we were going to lose him many times due to suicide. Heavy medications, psychologists have somehow kept him alive.

Now he's a victim of online echo chambers feeding him conspiracies and I don't know where it's all heading. The population would vilify him for his stance but show zero empathy to his underlying conditions. And the most aggression is coming from the ones who log into twitter 20 times a day and spread selective tolerance based on their underlying interests and biases.

sypkan's picture
sypkan's picture
sypkan Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 11:47am
GuySmiley wrote:

Surely the question to ask is what drove these people to the edge and that leads to questions of the role unregulated social media has played and that leads to the role of some politicians using the division for cynical political advantage. FFS our c##t of a PM was there on our TVs the day before blame shifting back to the States. What we see in Canberra isn't the problem it's a symptom of a deeper more cynical divide or decline in our once civil society.

...talk abot blame shifting!

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Goofy4 Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 12:03pm

"I genuinely feel sorry for them......."
I'm still sorting through the myriad of issues that this pandemic has visited upon myself, my loved ones, my community, my state, my nation and my species. It's still relatively early days in what looks like being a protracted experience. There's some aspects of the situation that seem fairly conclusive i.e. the virus being predominately airborne, quite contagious and of higher risk to those with pre-existing medical conditions and those who are elders. There are other aspects which seem to be open for debate due to the need for more evidence over longer periods of time. It seems logical that there will be a variety of perspectives in these circumstances and I'd be looking to engage in respectful and constructive discourse so as to both learn and assist others......feeling "sorry" for others based upon differing views seems pretty condescending to me - coming from a presumed superior position in circumstances where a lot of solid fact is yet to be determined doesn't work for mine.

indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming's picture
indo-dreaming Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 12:24pm
sypkan wrote:
GuySmiley wrote:

Surely the question to ask is what drove these people to the edge and that leads to questions of the role unregulated social media has played and that leads to the role of some politicians using the division for cynical political advantage. FFS our c##t of a PM was there on our TVs the day before blame shifting back to the States. What we see in Canberra isn't the problem it's a symptom of a deeper more cynical divide or decline in our once civil society.

...talk abot blame shifting!

And Social media unregulated??

WTF?....it's highly regulated, sharing a story in 2020 about the idea Covid came from a lab in Wuhan could even get you banned, off-course its now widely accepted as one of if not the most likely theories on where Covid came from.

There is crazy people around any topic just look at 9/11 but Covid is something that has affected everyone is some way and really changed the way people have lived, lockdowns, mask wearing, vaccines, mandates etc

Everyone looks for answers on why and how and when will it all end and some people just come up with crazy explanations.

BTW. The effect of all this stuff especially lockdowns is most likely going to have ongoing effects in society for years to come especially in regard to children and their development both academically and socially.

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Blowin Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 12:32pm
Roadkill wrote:

GC bully running a poll today.

Should people be forced to work with unvaxxed colleagues?

Who’s right are more important?

The above quote is very relevant in the current discussion about people who’ve been utterly confused by misinformation. It’s the opposite side of the coin to the more extreme freaks kicking around the Canberra rally. The person quoted above honestly believes that vaccination status equates to social status.

He has been convinced by government and media that there is a division in society along the lines of vaccination status. Consider the bizarre concept that a vaccinated person would be hesitant to work with an unvaccinated person and that they’d feel emboldened and entitled to voice their ugly discrimination about someone’s medical status.

Even worse than illustrating how effective the hate speech examples set by our (supposed ) leaders , is the way that the lie of the vaccinated being somehow e empt or less likely to be infected or infectious. This lie has been told so often and for so long that there is still a demographic of gullible people who refuse to accept that this lie has been disproven.

Roadkill still believes that vaccination status has anything to do with whether someone is infected or not. Though it actually goes further than that, he doesn’t even care about whether someone is infectious, he only cares that the person has not conformed to his group think.

This evil shown by his beliefs has been given permission to be publicly expressed without fear of condemnation. I think we really need a campaign to declaw this division and public hatred spawned by political opportunists during the confusion of the covid era.

We can all play a part. When you hear someone like Roadkill spouting the ignorant and hateful idea that the unvaccinated are somehow lesser than the vaccinated, or are somehow a threat to others , or that he feels licensed to incite discrimination and hatred …..pull the bastard up on it. The example you walk past is the example you accept.

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Supafreak Tuesday, 15 Feb 2022 at 12:39pm

So does turdeau believe that if the truckers go home then everything goes back to normal ? These protesters have stated if they go home and nothing changes then they park up in their driveways. Why is Turdeau so hell bent on mandates when the country is 90% vaccinated ? Truckies in the beginning were one of the few that went everywhere when lockdowns were on and didn’t sit at home receiving handouts, they were relied upon to keep the country going. If it’s truly just a fringe mob then nobody’s going to be impacted if they do sit in their driveways , but somehow I think its a bit bigger than that . https://www.sbs.com.au/news/canada-s-prime-minister-invokes-rarely-used-...