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So I am a procedural nurse & yesterday was taking care of a patient & his wife.

I walked into the room where the patient was recovering from his procedure and the patient had his black K95 mask perched over his eyes so he could sleep.

As he was taking his mask down from his eyes, I said, “You, sir, win the prize for finding the only thing these masks are good for.”

He and his wife just stared at me for a second and then started to laugh. I hate that the public views the medical profession as this monolithic cheerleader / enforcer of pointless efforts like masks. But God knows our field deserves it.

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Beautiful. My niece is a nurse and she's having none of this madness (except where she has to in the course of doing her job).

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El Gato Malo is correct. We must fight every facet of this. Mocking and humor are great tools for destroying these lies.

Also happy to hear your niece is battling this as well. It is good to know there are others.

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And after ten minutes exhaled moisture infiltrates the fabric and via hygroscopic action whatever is on the inner surface migrates to the outer to be shed by movement, whatever is in the outer surface migrates to the inner to be inspired.

The whole process is exacerbated by speaking.

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Tests done on masks worn by kids all day had 83 types of bacteria and 4 types of fungi.

Healthy? I think not!

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Whatever happened with that? Memory holed?

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MMS ignored that little inconvenience!

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Great comment!

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I posted on FB about mandatory jabs and civil liberties and a friend replies:

"No freedoms lost here- I’ve traveled to Japan, Canada, and back to the States in the last month thanks to my vaccine passport."

We can't underestimate the selfishness of people in our fight. Because THEIR freedoms aren't impacted they don't see a problem. Just like the good Aryans in 1930s Germany.

We are fucked.

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"No freedoms lost here - I'm able to do everything my government lets me do on their terms and conditions" ~ the fact that someone can make that statement, essentially, without knowing how manifestly ignorant it is, never ceases to amaze me.

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Yet, they seemingly outnumber us.

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"seeming" is the key word there.

the reality is that they do not.

most people are not supportive of this and do not want it. they have just been cowed into silence and gaslit into thinking they are a minority by a relentless media and propaganda complex that pushes one message and attacks any who deviate.

the bolsheviks used this same trick in the russian revolution

this is how small groups make themselves looks big. they prey on the folks that "go along to get along" by manipulating their perceptions about who the majority actually is.

break that spell and the whole edifice falls apart.

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I could not agree more. "They" know that most people prefer to avoid conflict and are uncomfortable being the one who is "different".

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People's cowardice is not going to help us.

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Well, it is damned effective. Spent all of yesterday as a simulated patient for 4th year med students, med school is 6 years in Japan, and only 4 of the 20 students who interviewed me wore masks, while alone in the room over Zoom.

The only edifice I see falling apart is the one I believed in, the one where if a single person stood up and said “no” to the masks that others would do the same. Especially after 22 months of this madness. Instead I was told by a shop clerk just 3 days ago to wear a mask and it is looking like my refusal to wear a mask for zoom classes the last half of this year will render me unemployed next year.

I thought that those who hit people who told them to mask up was excessive. I am beginning the think they were right. That they saw more clearly that this was not going to end with out the attitude adjustment wrench to the side of they head.

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I had this exact exchange with a black-piller in a recent Glenn Greenwald post (https://greenwald.substack.com/p/julian-assange-loses-appeal-british/comments).

I said, “TPTB want us to think We’re few and isolated. We outnumber Them by an incalculable degree. Once We realize that, there will be no stopping the tsunami that hits Them.”

To which Tovarishch responded, “Aha. Well, great to know, but when is that gonna happen? Just wondering, 'cause from where I stand, it looks like ‘They’ are winning and will continue to do so.”

And I replied: “If you think that, it’s because you’re watching Their channel instead of the truth on the ground: https://covidreason.substack.com/p/youre-not-alone-the-world-is-rising”

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They ARE bloody winning, no point in avoiding reality. Europe is getting more authoritarian by the day. Common sense might be prevailing in the US but it's an outlier. It's an important outlier though. But the fact is we see almost daily demonstrations and the government just ignore them and say down new restrictions. Anyhow, it's all about the vaccine passport and 30 states have the passports or plan on introducing them in the next few months. The vaccine and the virus is just a smokescreen.

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Not sure that is true. As far as I can tell, I am one of 3 people in all of Japan that are actively against this. All everyone ever talks about is how sad but necessary all the cancellations are, which company’s shot do want to get, who is offering which shot, the boosters etc. I agree with Tovarishch. I hear lots of brave talk from folks that haven’t even risen from bed about how they’ll whip themselves rascals good while said rascals have swept through their area months ago and the silent majority remain in various stages of lock down.

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I'm in Japan too. Many are silent but don't believe the hype. They can't speak out because the Japanese have been conditioned not to speak out against the hive mind.,

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I wish that was true, Gato, but every poll I’ve seen here in Canada has vaxx and NPI mandates at 75-80% support. My country has lost its mind and the politicians will always follow the polling. :(

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Why would you believe the polls? It seems to me that if the polls showed the opposite there is no way would you be allowed to know that. In fact, I'm more likely to believe that "polls" are taken in order to show bogus numbers which reinforces what the Cat is saying. I would not trust anything they tell us.

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Great point. However, this seems to be backed up from my personal anecdotal experience of those around me. Im swimming in the "upper class" - kids in private schools, live in a Tony neighbourhood ....in this class, they are loving the punishments dolled out by our vax passports. One woman, who I though was articulate and incredible bright - has asked for vax status for her xmas party - unbelievable. Again, this may not represent the masses but it does represent those most vocal . I asked my 15 year old, what percentage of the kids try to keep masks a little under nose or know it's theatre? he said MAYBE 10%. The rest are true believers. I hope you are right though. This social class has revolted me.

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You'd have to live here in Canada to grasp it. Aside from (parts of) Alberta & (parts of) Saskatchewan and smatterings of remote rural areas, this country would (almost) make California look like a red state.

The pushback here is tiny. I think we're already up to 45% of kids either having received their first doses or booked to do before the end of the month, and the kids rollout only started here at the first of the month. We'll hit 65%, maybe 75% of kids, easily by end of Jan/Feb. And of course the booster push is getting underway; we haven't gone full Boris yet but it's coming.

Canadians are complacent and compliant and love to stick it to Americans in any form. "Antivax" is perceived as another one of those "stupid redneck American" things, ergo the Canadian reflex is to go full opposite and so we wholeheartedly embrace the vaccines as a form of virtue signaling.

It's bad up here, with no relief in sight.

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The polls align to my personal experience as well - about 1 in 5 of my friends / relatives / coworkers see the light, the rest are blind sheep bleating all the Covid talking points and happily surrendering their freedom for the perception of “safety”

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For instance, take the poll cited by a mainstream publication recently, stating that a large majority of employees favor workplace vaxx mandates. Come to find out that the poll was done by the WEF.

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When they are required to take a 4th or 5th jab to live a normal life...when the failure of the jabs to prevent the spread of the virus becomes undeniable...when they know people injured, disabled, or killed by the jabs...they will change their minds.

Unfortunately, some people only learn the hard way.

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I am 69. On your reckoning if I were a ‘flu jabber I would be up to my 69th ‘booster’. So will it be for CoVid. The dummies out there seem incapable of grasping that.

I have never been ‘flu jabbed. I had Asian ‘flu when I was younger, and survived, and a couple of ‘flus since and a few stinkers of Colds.

I also survived Measles, Mumps and Chicken Pox - vaccinations being before my time.

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I have found myself perversely wishing for more AE in my circles to get the message across before we start jabbing the kids in the hopes of preventing a greater tragedy. The shitty thing is, my cousin's kid developed acute leukemia shortly after her booster. But no way would they ever entertain the idea that it might be linked to the jab. Now they are both more hateful of me and my questions than ever. I am a full on murderer in their eyes. So that backfired horrifically and I am repenting of my awful wishes as we speak. I never once tried to connect the dots for them because I think it might actually kill them both. So I bear witness in silence and sadness.

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I tend to side with the "wish it was true" camp on this thread. But here is an encouraging result from US Healthcare:

"Major hospital systems have had to reevaluate their coercive COVID-19 jab policies after crucial employees, especially nurses, have opted to quit rather than get the experimental injections."

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/prominent-us-hospitals-drop-vax-mandates-after-massive-shortage-of-key-staff/

they are mostly taking this from a Wall St Jour - report.

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as a canadian, I am RELYING on you Americans to lead us out of this hellhole. Canada tends to parrot the US - Trudeau is an imbecile but he cannot fight the US. I sit and watch every court decision out of the US , though it is not my country - as flame of hope that MAYBE could spread to Canada.

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agreed. Im canadian and you are correct. We are a sad, stupid and gutless bunch.

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I really hope you're right. But those that are cowed are staying silent. They are cowards and they are not helping.

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They are subjects, not citizens. They have no understanding of the difference. And their condition is a long time in the making.

Thanks, public education!

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Currently they outnumber us, but they are getting "vaccinated", so.......

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It's not truly freedom if they can only go when vaccinated. It's a privilege that the government can take away at any moment. Seeing crews of police wandering around asking for people to show their papers will have to start grating on their nerves eventually. It's chilling. And once the overlords have the vaccinated in a nice line, they'll start chipping away at their privileges too. I've read that in Canada, vaccinated travellers are being forced into quarantine upon return now.

So much for "freedom."

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All true. But the fact that these people can't see any freedoms being lost because they aren't affected is the main problem.

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Yes. That is a common opinion. You cannot beat them:

- Cases go up during lockdown. We should lockdown harder.

- Cases go donw. See, lockdowns work.

Passport:

- Cases go up. We need to implemet passports in more places.

- Cases go down=it works.

They never lose.

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I'm sure it was no coincidence that masks and immunizations were introduced at the tail of each season (here in NY State, at least) and gave the illusion of working. Now that we're doubling down on masks and boosters at beginning of season, the narrative won't stand, but after 18-20 months no one wants to admit they were wrong...

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Like climate change. Hot dry Summer = Climate change. Cold wet Summer = Climate change. Cold Winter with blizzards = Climate change. Mild Winter with no snow = Climate change. Normal Summer/Winter = Climate change.

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imagine if parents or teachers did that logic on children, they'd grow up to be psychopaths after all that mental turmoil.

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They are and they are. Antifa, extinction whatever they call themselves.

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Shit like this never ceases to amaze me! People have such tunnel vision. And yes--get ready to bend over! Back in the 90's when my mother--who never smoked and didn't like it--would hear someone say that the gov't should ban smoking--she'd school them on the stupidity of that way of thinking--although she'd be much nicer about it than me. She'd explain to them that if Big Daddy Gov't can tell you that you can't smoke then he can tell you a lot of other things and the next or the next will be something that you're not so happy about--so you might not want to go there!

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I wonder what she would say about the fact that New Zealand has just banned smoking in the whole country.

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Strictly due to public health - smokers suffer from covid-1984 only marginally (80% less likely). Also nicotine is detrimental to the poison death shot: https://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/332125809/

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Piet Hein was a poet (and mathematician/scientist!) in Denmark in the time of the Nazis. Here's his version:

"Freedom means you're free to do

Just whatever pleases you

If, of course, that is to say

What you please is what you may."

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Love this! sad face

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Amazing. It's like their brains have been completely rewired. Just like women that proudly wear giant face diapers and can't see the comparison to forced burka wearing.

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Applied behavioral psychology does rewire your brain. So you are quite correct.

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Odd isn’t it that until the day before yesterday covering the face was just not Western culture or acceptable. It was so important that we see each other’s faces. Now…

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excellent point--the Netherlands even instituted a highly controversial burka ban.

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Yes, and you would attract a lot of unwanted attention from law enforcement if you did. If you walked into the gas station/convenience store I worked in college with a mask on, the panic button would be pressed and your life forfeit. All the local cops gassed up at my station and would roll through the lot ever 1-10 minutes during the 3rd shift. They’d take a suspected hit on their station personally. Now, you’re more likely to have police involvement for those not wearing a mask. And we accept this.

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The only selfish people are the ones who are too damn lazy to research the poisons they are injecting into their bodies. Instead they get all their I for from MSM talking heads, journalists and radio dj’s. (Hardly the people you would take medical advice from)

To damn lazy to research and read the studies on the ineffectiveness of jabs, masks, lockdowns, locking down small businesses, shutting schools, masking kids, social distancing, locking churches, etc. honestly when these selfish, people have the audacity to call an unvaxxed person selfish, I guess you need to call a spade a bloody shovel folks.

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With due respect, I would like to say that those people have been 'brain washed' unbeknownst to them. Many of them are intelligent, educated and well-intentioned. They had and have faith in the country's health leaders and the media. It's Total hypnotism and we cannot understand how they fell for it. I have lost so many to it and wish I could help them come out of it. I cannot damn them or call them selfish.

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How about when they arrive at your doorstep to shoot that stuff into your kids arm?

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Then they get the cosh. :)

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I wonder. Would hope so, but I bet that will actually happen far less than we even fear it would.

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I agree to some extent but just because they are brainwashed doesn't make them any less guilty. All human beings have the power to break the spell. We all did it.

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I find it hard to be friends with stupid people.

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this! like nah, nevermind. time to move on!

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This guy is only free until the next 'booster' mandate. Eventually the vaxx program will kill these people off, which seems to be its underlying purpose. Maybe it is one vast IQ test.

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I don't think it's about intelligence. It's about not being so self-content to believe you can tell the whole world what to do. Hubris, that's what it is. We're all fucked because of people believing they can remake the world on a whim, just because they feel like it will be better. It won't. But they will sooner have you killed than admit it. There's no end in sight, so we have to be brave against the brave new world.

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A bigger problem is the huge mass of people who just don't want to kick up a fuss, they just want to do what they're told and would rather not fight because it's too stressful for them. Friend of mine, physiology PhD, teaching in a medical school, souble vaxxed, just wants to 'live as normally as [he] can and aim to keep as sane as [he] can'.

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Yeah, I know people like this. I used to hang out with these two guys who would have hours long discussions about the libertarian orthodoxy. I kid you not, they could carry on an HOURS long discussion about some esoteric detail, like "theoretically, from what age can a kid sold itself to a circus". They had a very strong stance on everything, and I swear their political views were their identity. They were all against the covid restrictions, and perfectly up-to-date with the government's shortcomings. And then, in 2020, there was this big protest afoot in my country. So I asked them if they would like to come. It was important because we had to organize the transport. They were quick to accept the offer, and they were to bring some more people with them, who also readily accepted. All "libertarians". Two full cars total. But then there were some issues with the police being not so nice at the moment. And so almost every one of them, the two pharisees included, bailed out. And no, it wasn't like they just said "no". All had some last-moment family emergency. And so, there were three people left: me, my close friend and an almost complete stranger. That's how it is.

For the record: I no longer talk to these two.

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Or "...vaxx IQ test" ;-)

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I'm not so sure the whole VAIDS thing is real. Totally open on it though. Also, we know that 95% of injuries come from 5% of vax batches so billions might even be getting saline or very low spike doses.

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I think this 'saline' theory has merit. I can't think of a single politico (Newsom aside) who has suffered ill effects.

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It's the same argument that got us the patriot act.

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Sorry to break it to you, but someone who doesn't care about your basic rights, as long as his are not affected, IS NOT YOUR FRIEND. To say the least.

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And I would even say that his basic rights ARE affected, he's just not smart enough to realize it OR he's been conditioned, somewhere and somehow, to think like a subject rather than like a free citizen. His willingness to "do as he's told by the government, in order to enjoy things that the government has NO business restricting to him" he's already surrendered his basic rights.

It's just that he doesn't mind being a subject, because he can't think one step ahead of his own to what it means when the government has that kind of control over his life. Simpletons, they are.

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You know, I used to believe that most people will at some point wake up to what they did, and regret it, even though it might be too late. Now I'm no longer that sure. It's very well possible they will just descend into this madness further and further, to the point where they will just want you dead for being a subversive element. There will be plenty of excuses, always. Terrorism, a new pandemic, the global warning. They will blame you for all the evil of this world, if you don't comply. What's next? A social credit system? Compulsory mood stabilizers to make you a good citizen? Putting a chip in your brain to detect whenever you feel like breaking law and take your social connections to a whole new level? God knows. The sky is the limit to this hubris.

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I mean, I know you probably meant it in this American way where "friend" means "anyone I know". But we are at war here, so being able to distinguish between a friend and an enemy is essential. We have to get our terms straight.

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I just don't think these people have thought it through. This guy is one of my best friends. I'm going to have to lay it out plainly like, "If mandatory vaccinations come into effect and I refuse, will you stand by and say nothing as they cart me off to the gulag?".

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Sad to say my girlfriend in the Netherlands confronted someone in her life and said you would stand on the platform and wave to me as the train departed! And he replied, yeah, I probably would. Total cowards.

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We better start getting creative and PDQ if we hope to even the slightest chance of stopping this. We have been down this road before and know where it leads.

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Well, so we have to push them to do think it through and take sides. There is no middle ground. I have family members, who got vaccinated for whatever reason, but, seeing what's happening, they decided against taking any advantage of it. So, for example, they won't use their covid passes to get into a restaurant. This kind of behavior should be expected, because otherwise there's no way we're getting out of it. We have to show people we're serious about this stuff, even if it means we refuse to talk to someone, until he clearly declares he doesn't want you persecuted.

That being said, I'm sorry for the troubles with your friend. I hope it's just the matter of being short-sighted, and when he realizes that this situation is seriously threatening to you, he will step up.

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He’ll think you have gone insane for thinking such was even possible in this day and age, in your county.

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And yet Austria is just as first-world as the US, and that's exactly what's happening there. They are literally going to throw people in jail for a year, unless they vaccinate. And you will have to pay for your jail time! Not even a rapist, nor a murder, has to do that. But you have to, because you haven't complied. Crazy.

What's next? Probably an even longer sentence, because you have no money to pay off the first one. Then again, and again, until you're never getting out. And, of course, you won't be able to meet people from the outside, as you're a threat. And so, if you're serving a life sentence, and no one can see you, we all know what's the next step.

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I know. But as some have posted on one of the ever growing number of substack I subscribe to posted, none of the libs in a Zoom photo club meeting they participated in had any idea what was going on in Australia. Just like the CBT, FBAR, FATCA issue I tried to warn people about, no one knows. Worse, no one wanted to know. Then when they get caught up in it the blame you for not telling them about it. The parallels are frightening. Even the Canada angle.

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I'm starting to think it's like in the matrix: everyone has a choice to participate in the system, even if it's subconscious. It's true that people are misinformed by the media, but, at the same time, they all have decided not to dig into it. Even though they have many good reasons to do it, they just won't. The mainstream narrative changes all the time, Fauci openly admitted masks don't work, the vaccines are clearly a failed attempt, and we're still being lured by promises of going back to normal. Many people see it and protest, so all it takes is to ask yourself a honest question "what are they on about?" Something like that should prod you to get of your bubble and inquire. But no, they will just dismiss anyone who has any doubt, because it's so convenient. So really, no excuses for most people, except maybe for the elderly. Their access to information is seriously limited, so I can concede to see them as victims. The rest of you? THAT'S YOUR FAULT.

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oh no...she is DONE. I have very basic requirements for friendship....one must have morals and ethics - If I cannot respect the person, they are finished.

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Will they feel the same when they are required to get a 4th or 5th jab?

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I think so. This was the full post:

"Who's up for monthly jabs, mandatory jabs, the erosion of civil liberties, discrimination, segregation, and the surrender of bodily autonomy and individualism to the encroaching police state for the "greater good" of society? 😁".

My cousin and my father both posted "Yes".

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yes. my cousin also said: give me all the miracles of modern medecine. barf.

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the entranced will go right along with it...no problem

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Facebook.that says it all.

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For how long will they be considered vaccinated?

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bingo.

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All the people that replied to my FB post got boosted 2 months ago, well before the current fear campaign. They'll always be fully vaccinated and my post even asked if they'd accept monthly jabs. They replied, "Yes".

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When everything first locked down, I made the statement to my wife that maybe everything could go back to normal if we all wear masks. I believe this sentiment was what lead to the masking mandates. After terrifying the population, the government had to convince them that it might be safe to go back out to stores and buy things.

Admittedly, right after I thought that masks might help, I looked at the research and realized it wouldn’t. Now we know the virus is transmitted by aerosols and I think that masks might be actively harmful by increasing the shear on exhalations. It is all so dumb.

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Welcome to reality Casey! As a "mask wearer" for work for over 30 years (the *right* mask with training and fitting every year) I knew that a "mask" for this "virus" was ludicrous. And when they started *mandating* it was confirmed for me that this was a mind-effing taking place. "They" jumped on the general public's ignorance about the issue to hurry and use it as a wedge issue. And, it's no wonder the GP is ignorant to it. In 50 percent of the TV shows and movies over the last couple of decades there is always something that everyone needs to hurry and put a mask on for. If one pays attention watching some of these older shows it's mind blowing to see the conditioning taking place. One show I watched (can't remember the name) recently there was a teacher in a class and a little child vomited. The teacher immediately asked the class, "Class, what do we do when someone vomits?" The class gleefully replied, "We put on our mask."

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Would you be able to go into more detail on your theory that masks might be harmful due to shear?

It seems clear to me that all or virtually all exhaled aerosols enter the immediate environment, mask or no mask. Most masks cause the breath to follow the path of least resistance, which means it's forced through the gaps like nozzles. I can see how being blown upwards can make virions linger longer in the air.

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Yes, it is that nozzle like effect of the increased pressure drop and airflow velocity of the air traveling along the mask that might cause even finer dispersion of the aerosol as the shear creates even smaller and warmer particles.

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Early on I read something from an expert on filters who came to the same conclusion. Basically the mask works as a filter and large droplets, which would normally fall to the ground in a short period of time, get sheared and aerosolized, causing more infections.

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This is obvious if you simply stop to think for one second. If the mask 'stops' the droplet -- what happens next? The droplet evaporates and the virus is exhaled into the air on a subsequent breath.

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lol Casey and MJH. Sheer (not shear) genius!

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I looked it up because it has been years since I worked as an engineer. It is “shear”.

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lol! Of course in the sense of your answer and MJH's it is shear. But it remains sheer genius!

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What's actually funny is that this isn't even higher level fluid mechanics. In fact, this is one of those instances where common sense actually aligns with physics. Ask anybody who has ever used a garden hose how you create a finer mist. Ask anybody who has ever cooked how you create a finer dispersion of an ingredient or a finer foam.

It took until April of '21 for the CDC to admit that the primary mode of transmission was aerosols. I'm sure it took them that long because every NPI up that point was based on droplet transmission and people might point out how all of their guidance was misinformation. That was also when you stopped hearing "the experts" stop talking about how your mask protected other people. But now it has become "the science" so they don't have to worry about anybody questioning the mask mandates.

Plus mask mandates indicate control, signal obedience, increase fear, and decrease socialization. Therefore, the masks might actually have a small effect on transmission, just not directly. And the people who are most at risk are not getting clear guidance that the minimal protection they might get from a mask requires that they wear a tight fitting, high filtration mask that they only wear briefly while in an enclosed, crowded space.

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I believe this sentiment was what lead to the masking mandates. After terrifying the population, the government had to convince them that it might be safe to go back out to stores and buy things.

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This is exactly the case. People were scared to death, and the 'noble lie' that masks work allowed them to get out of their homes and re-enter the economy. God knows that Trump saying it was OK to go out wouldn't have done it, and likely would have driven MORE people to stay home.

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It was only safe to go to the big box stores.

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Yep! Force people to all go to the same places! Genius!

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Wow Gato, poor form to overlook the most important factor in the Changed Science: this issue was not yet useful for political purposes way back in 2009. You really need to adjust your models!

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Irrespective of the fact that viral particles will easily go through mask, I still cannot see why it is so difficult for people to understand that the overwhelming majority of persons walking around are simply not infected with the damned virus. If they are not infected with the virus, they cannot pose a risk of infection to others, irrespective of whether the mask blocks the virus or not. You don't need to protect yourself from them either. We do not open an umbrella if it is not raining. If someone is sick, it could make some sense to wear a mask, even if you think it may not work...

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But, but, but aSymPToMaTiC spReAd! A neighbor tried to compare it to the "asymptomatic spread" of HIV and I was like...."you don't want to go down that rabbit hole, trust me".

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Yes. We know asymptomatic spread is a lie, BUT even if asymptomatic spread were true, if only 1/1000 people walking around were "asymptomatic spreaders", the probability of a mask preventing infection would be negligible. The main concept is the very low likelihood of someone walking around.being infected.

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Brilliant observation Ivan. And how many of us actually ever went out and shopped and participated in "society" when we were sick anyway? I don't know about anyone else, but when I was legitimately ill, I *stayed home on my own* because I didn't feel like going anywhere. Insanity!

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Exactly. We have evolved to innately separate ourselves from the rest of our tribe when we're extremely ill and contagious. But this actual science doesn't count any more.

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water your lawn with a condom on the end of the hose is basically wearing a mask all day

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The Science has gotten better since then. Through genius and innovation, we created a version of The Science that does not even require questions. Are you not impressed?

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Yes. Totally impressed. NOT!

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...systemic degradation of actual scientific method(& results) as well as misappropriation of the terminology...

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Where I live, the only question we have is...huh...what's covid? It's just a memory at this point.

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yes here too (southern Az). Some guy in the gym tried to bring up this topic the other day and I politely told him "I don't talk Covid" and "Covid is over"- he shut up. BUT he didn't come to ukulele practice either, so there's that....

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Where do you live? I work in Tokyo. Today I was a simulated patients for 4th year medical students. Med school is 6 years here. I saw 20 students. All but 4 work masks for the simulated doctor patient interview conducted over Zoom.

I have now seen commercials here selling 2 different products to fight the health risks of wearing masks all day long every day. I do not wear masks. Next school year it looks like we will be back in the classroom but that masks will be required. Might have to relocate soon.

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Unfortunately it's political as you know...try red states

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Exactly. A mask wearing, spraying and wiping infectious disease control professional I work with said those exact words when I asked why HE was performing the ritual. He replied in English, “It’s political.” That was a year and a half ago.

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Been disobeying for a LONG time now... :-) Smiling at others doing the same!

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“It will only stop when you make it stop”

Sadly the weak minded are perfectly ok with whats happening. Being they are the majority, it likely never will …

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Depends on where one resides!

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Yep. I'm in Commiefornia. Where Heir Gruesome Newsom just reinstated the statewide mask mandate. I haven't worn a mask in months. And I see more and more maskless free thinkers in stores these days. I will NOT comply!

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Idk how you manage that. I live in LA and it's VERY rare to see anyone maskless.

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Yes true .. im in NYC area .. they love their enslavement here

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At the beginning of 2020 when masks were first denied to help (even dr Fauxi said so) and then mandated, I read multiple documents where indeed, masks were told to be useless. One was from the dentist association in Canada. Most of them were obligated to take down the documents to comply with the mandate. Of course, friends of the government had by that time mass produced enough masks so everyone could buy one. I have not bought one. A friend gave me one, and in 2 stores that mandated they gave them out for free. No pollution from me. I only wore the elastic bands out on one. I still have the other 2 in my handbag somewhere....

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The Dentist Association study was very interesting. It was quickly censored in early 2020 but I have a PDF copy. A summary is that they wanted to look way back as to why dentists often wore masks. It was assumed that they stopped the dentist dropping saliva etc on patients but, most of all, protected the dentist.

1600 mask-wearing dentists were checked for all sorts of antibodies and it was found that they had an amazing array of protective antibodies for all sorts of diseases. This was great news for the dentists but not so good for the assumed protection of masks. In other words masks did nothing to protect them from infections.

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Published in 2016 ....censored in 2020 for its truth!

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How might I get a copy of the PDF?

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I only have a copy and no means of putting it on server. Hang on I might be able to do it with Dropbox. Bear with me.

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Oh wow. Thanks. I’ll check back later. It is 12:30 am here in Tokyo right now. Off to bed soon.

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Thanks! This is cool.

It's amazing. Most of the literature pre-April 2020 was pretty glum about masks and viral infections. This document. A WHO report on flu in China from 2019.

And then, miracle of miracles! Science began to prove that masks really work after all! It's like discovering the New World all over again.

I guess before 2020 we just didn't know squat. How did we survive until COVID came along to wipe us out?

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Thank you! I'm adding it to my collection. 😉

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I think it works fine. I t is now downloading on my computer. Thanks !

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It worked. Thanks!

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Some time around the beginning of March 2020, we detachment from reality. The Collective broke away from the mother ship. This became a Collective Humanist endeavor. Thus, all prior honest research was deemed null and void, unless it somehow supported the controlled narrative. Funny that Fauci was a little slow to catch on, with his early comments on masks. Then he realized what was happening and quickly got on board. If not guided by truth, how is the narrative controlled? That part is complicated. It's group psychology, mainly among the collectivist elites (millions of them). Despite our outer differences, we have a shared psychology. If something makes me feel safe, less anxious, empowered, hopeful, virtuous, wickedly exhilarated, etc, the chances are very good that a lot of other people would have the same reaction. Thus the operative narrative becomes that which provides the most emotional benefit over the most number of people. A lower emotion benefit would be preferred if it was freely embraced by a higher number of people. The narrative is in constant pursuit of this optimal balance. If it goes too far and enough people start rejecting it, it has to back off and adjusted to something more palatable. The more fearful and unbalanced we are, the more insanity we're willing to embrace, because we're desperate to restore some measure of inner peace. We can only endure anxiety for so long.

The fact that masking is pointless in stopping the spread is applying an old criteria to a new paradigm. Reality isn't of concern here. They don't care about reality. The belief that masks work brings a lot of emotional benefits for complicated reasons, not just virus protection IMHO. Thus, it continues to be an integral part of the narrative.

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Excellent comment.

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How to we fight it?

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Do what Gato says. Be ungovernable. I think we need to understand the dynamics of the situation. We're dealing with deeply disenchanted collectivists desperate for a societal movement that will provide ideological fulfillment, even if it's virtual, insane, and will never fulfill. Universal collectivism is to community what porn is to sex. As individualists we have an ideology to defend. Personal liberty. The right to say no to the collective and follow our own path. If more individualists would recognize this, we might find it in ourselves to join forces, which is not our strong suit. We need a unified response, because they are unified. It's their strong suit.

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I am looking at being not only unemployed but unemployable in a foreign land that I have resided in for over 20 years because I have not and will not wear a mask. I have nothing but contempt for my employers which are medical schools, nursing schools and vocational schools leaning towards medicine. Any one who claims to be a doctor and them demands that their staff and worse, the students whose education, health and well being they are responsible for wear masks all day long every day have lost the right to be addressed as doctor and I laugh in the faces of these clowns any chance I get. I have already had three battles over masks at one school and another at a different school. Got the ungovernable shit down pat. So, once I lose all my jobs March 31st, how do I eat? Not a complaint, just a question. Not having an answer will not change my course, but then what? While that is my path, as the only one in my orbit willing to do so, how does that stop this BEFORE my kid is vaccinated? Looks like the similar is true for those in many countries and even parts of the US. Far too late, for your approach, IMHO.

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In fighting a war, it's sometimes necessary to concede the battle and live to fight again. Maybe the enemy caught us by surprise. We were flatfooted and didn't see the warning signs. Maybe we even somehow contributed to the situation unknowingly. Maybe we deserved some of this and have to eat a bitter pill. Either way. If you need to play ball for a time, it doesn't mean we've lost the war or switched to their side. It just gives us time to formulate a better and more unified response. Just saying.

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Insanity can be defined as performing the same task and expecting a different result. This statement has been used against the Covid mitigation measure that we have been forced to undertake again and again these past 20 some months with the same result, failure each time. But it also applies to us.

The actions you relate are precisely what I have witnessed repeatedly throughout the past 30 plus years since I became concerned about such matters. When have they worked? What successes can be chalked up to this? Some might say we beat “Hilary Care”. No, we did not. We now have “Obama Care”. Some may then say, Yeah but the left did not get all they wanted with “Obama Care”. Our “successes” are nothing more than speed bumps or a reduction in what they tried to accomplish. We pat ourselves on the back for winning the battle against Hilary Care but to the left it was nothing more than the opening skirmish in the battle for single payer. We celebrate the fact that they only got 80% of what they demanded in Obama Care while the left was expecting to only be able to achieve 50% of their demands at that time. That is an example of the extent of the victories this strategy has won.

I wonder to what extent the expanded control of our health care by the government thanks to the ACA plays in our current situation. Not a student of this but it seems that at the very least the payment coding system has had the effect of inflating numbers and possibly leading to real deaths.

And that is just one of the battles that has raged for much of my half century of life. How about Clinton’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell”? LGBTQFTF? The debt? The debt ceiling? The border? Global warming? Trade licensing? CRT? Those are just off the top of my head, there are mare.

Show me, where have we won? Where have we not lost ground? Where have we won ground using this strategy?

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There was a Democrat

Who lived in The Blue

He/She/They had so many masks

He/She/They didn't know what to do

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I write from the People's Democratic Republic of Kalifornia, where Dear Leader Gavin has decreed that all indoor spaces require again a cloth spittle drape be affixed over one's mouth an nose in order to save our comrades lives. Dear Leader Gavin is greatly beloved in the PDRK and the people truly love to show their obedience with the ardent use of the facial spittle drape in any and all venues. Our comrades will never stop wearing the spittle drapery, never! You hear me, bad kitty. One day soon (January 16 to be exact) all the evil capitalist hordes will be dead from Omicron and the PDRK will be victorious. Spittle drapery can then be universal for all the comrades who will join the PDRK in a glorious future of Dear Leader's stimmy checks and free hourly covid testing for all.

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I live in Commiefornia too. I see more people mask less these days (at least in my area). I used to always be the only one...good to see a few other free thinkers out and about.

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I can't wait until they start issuing our "little red books" so we know exactly what we can do and say. Oh how we miss the days of Mao.

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Wouldn't a comparison between the evidence for masking vs the evidence for ivermectin make the lunacy even clearer?

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I couldn't agree more with this. Back when COVID really "broke" in the USA, the CDC published a meta-study on whether masks helped stop the spread of the seasonal flu. The meta-study reviewed something like 17 studies from various jurisdictions and time periods over a lengthy period of time. The conclusion was that paper and cloth masks do nothing, and there was some evidence of harm from prolonged use. Washing hands regularly was more effective.

Soon after this meta-study was released, the CDC recommended everyone mask up, then recommended that double masking wouldn't be a bad idea. The meta-study was memory holed. And, we've been watching COVID theater ever since.

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I have posted the same study on Quora hoping to sway a few. Nope. Junk garbage fake out of date Wrong disease, DUMMY. People’s minds have long been made up and most will never budge.

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There is a reason for the existence of sand.

It’s for drawing lines in.

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It was 11:59 on Pandemic Eve. Hope there was none that masks could save us. Despair was throughout the land. Then just as all seemed lost, on the stroke of midnight the Mask-Færy appeared; a wave of her wand and magically masks turned into HazMat suits with their own air supply all the while still appearing as flimsy pieces of paper and cloth hanging from the ears. O bright new dawn. Great joy spread among the people who then went into their homes and stayed there to await the coming of the Saviour Lord of the Vaccines, when they would emerge into the Promised Land.

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And beat goes on. Reason is circling the drain.

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Someone should mail send this to the CA Department of Public Health who just issued a ‘memo/guidance’ that now we Californios, (regardless of vaxx/booster status, have to wear masks indoors at businesses, restaurants, and be Covid tested 24 hours before going to a large ‘mega-event’! (What constitutes a ‘mega- event, beats me.) This is supposedly in effect from Dec 15-JAN 15! (What COVID will be over by Jan 15?) Any how a local attorney (who represents businesses against the local government tyranny), where I live in San Diego County, (where we have not been required to wear a mask any where but businesses have the lame signs on the door that say “if you are fully vaxxed you can enter without a mask”, just said that is Memo is totally unenforceable, that law enforcement has absolutely no interest in ‘enforcing it and DO NOT COMPLY! That’s all I needed to hear and the ‘ammo’ I needed when I go back out tomorrow without a mask! There may be some rough days, but I am standing true to my right to not wear a medical device on my face!

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Repost....... Common cold and Omicron The cold is likely the most common sickness: around people in the United States come down with a billion colds annually. Most adults come down with two to three colds a year, and children even more. It usually takes people between seven and 10 days to get over a cold. Many viruses cause the cold, which includes symptoms like runny nose, sore throat, coughing and sneezing, headaches and body aches. The most common culprit is the rhinovirus. Symptoms typically start two to three days after you’re infected. The cold is usually passed along when you touch a surface infected by cold viruses. Most people recover from colds within seven to 10 days. But people with weakened immune systems, asthma, or other respiratory illnesses can develop serious illnesses, like bronchitis or pneumonia. In 2020 there were 711,000 pneumonia deaths in the United States alone. To date there have been ZERO deaths from Omicron in the United States and maybe one in the World. New lock downs, mask mandates, forced injections of harmful experimental drugs....The World has gone nuts, being lead by even nuttier leaders.

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I still have the same questions.

I understand that surgical and cloth masks do nothing at an epidemiological level. The air flows out through the gaps unfiltered, they do not filter the smallest particles and so. But:

1. Can we say the same about FFP2 masks?

2. Can surgical masks or FFP2 do some good in particular situations? For example a casual conversation with someone. Can they stop some droplets that can give you the virus?

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A:) Surgical masks are designed to reduce the amount of spittle, facial hairs and skin entering the surgical field. That’s it. Assuming FFP2 are equivalent to N95 respirators, if unfitted they do not stop aerosols coming in or going out, and even when fitted, outward seal leakage (which is a benefit in terms of excluding particle inhalation) is inherent in these products.

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Although I suspect they may stop a droplet or two (as Fauci originally suggested), this would only help if the virus isn’t aerosolized/airborne. If you’re close enough to someone whereby the droplet would end up in your nose/eyes/mouth, you’re close enough to be inhaling the tiny airborne particles, no?

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agree with you on all points, except you spelled his name wrong. It is Dr Feces.

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Brilliant!

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LOL

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A few years back I travelled to Madagaskar during an outbreak of the plague. I did research back then and purchased a lot of ffp2 masks. Research suggested they do work, but only when they are properly attached and only for a short time (around thirty minutes). So the way they are used in countries like Germany still does not work.

Back then this was considered common knowledge, now I am sure it is a very controversial thing to say.

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No kidding. People now a days say that the fact that doctors wear them for extended lengths of time in long surgeries is proof they wok. Point out the fact that they change out masked periodically and they are reaching for the pitchforks.

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My step-daughter is a dental nurse. She regularly has bouts of bacterial tonsilitis from increased mask wearing. She was laid up in bed for 3 days on one occasion.

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My daughter is a surgical RN. She keeps losing her voice, her nasal passages are now chronically inflamed and running, ever since she has been forced to wear a mask at all times at work. Whenever she is off work, it improves. I think the plastic fibers in the ‘paper’ mask is irritating her tissues.

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A UK water company (Thames?) tested masks to see what pollution they might cause in sewage. They found a LOT of loosened fibres - they only soaked them - and some poisonous heavy metals!

Of course we should be wearing these damned things, makes sense!

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The Girl who cleans my teeth told me when she leaves work, goes home and goes to bed. She has severe headaches and skin problems.

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Headaches are a given for long term mask wearing. My step-daughter has her share of those but those in retail running the tills will tell you the same.

....but the mask is keeping them safe while slowly killing them!

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I feel bad for her, she has no life.

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That burns me up. I feel for your daughter and for you as a parent. I am the only person it seems in the entire nation of Japan and one of a pitiful few on the planet that will accept the fact that yes, safety gear pose their own threats to safety. My kid wears his mask at school and after school school for about 10 hours a day. Spent all day today as a simulated patient for med students today. Only four of the 20 took their masks off for the Zoom interview. And I’M the nut job.

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Watch people in public with their masks for 30 seconds and you realize all your questions are irrelevant because that's not how people wear them in real life.

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Droplets ain’t diamonds. Those that are caught inn the mask instead of flowing IG around in are acted upon by multiple forces that force the droplet through the mask as aerosols or simply evaporate the droplets and entrains the virus into the airstream to be either breathed in again by the mask wearer or expelled into the environment able to stay aloft longer than they would have if they were still trapped in the bigger heavier droplets.

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Shasta: I believe the key words are "particular situations". I am a medical doctor and I can tell you a "particular situation" is when you have someone sick with a respirarory illness in the hospital or at home. We have always worn masks in those situations. Wearing a when walking around in the community, or in "a casual conversation with others", does not hold water. The likelihood of someone being infected with the virus and capable of infecting others is very, very small. It would be analogous to opening an umbrella when it is not raining. I posted a similar idea before.

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Yep! People just don't get it do they Mr Twain? I've had the same experience in my career as well. Limited use of the *right* mask works great in certain circumstances. But, to stop a virus the holes in a mask would have to be so small one wouldn't even be able to breath at all. Um... I wonder if that's why people who actually work with viruses have to wear positive pressure suits that actually provide filtered air? Hmmm

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I wonder how many people, even doctors there are that even know what a positive pressure suit it is not to mention why they are used.

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There is also this, even more stunning. From Australia! The title of the 2003 article is

"Farce mask: it's safe for only 20 minutes."

https://www.smh.com.au/national/farce-mask-its-safe-for-only-20-minutes-20030427-gdgnyo.html

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Typo. They clearly meant “hours “.

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There is also this, same author.

"Viruses, including the coronavirus that scientists believe may be the cause of SARS, are so tiny that they can easily pass through such barriers. Several studies even have shown that surgical masks fail to prevent transmission of the much larger mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes TB. While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that people who have SARS wear these masks, they do not even recommend them for people in contact with those patients unless the infected person can’t wear one. Wearing surgical masks outdoors, where virus-laden particles easily disperse, has even less value."

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/01/coronavirus-surgical-masks-china.html

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Until recently, perhaps even now, Japan has had TB rates that make some 3rd world nations battling this disease look good. Yet, Japan has long been in the habit of wearing masks to prevent viral spread. If masks worked against the TB causing bacteria, then why is TB so common here?

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Fully agree - everyone must stand up where they are!

A minor anecdote, but it still felt good in my very blue state - today, I walked into a building requiring everyone to be masked, "vaccinated" or not, and did not wear a mask. Then, I walked into the fully-masked dentist's office without a mask and never put one on, despite being admonished via phone to have done so prior to arriving at my appointment. No one said a word, although I did get a nasty look from someone with a baby in the lobby, masked and waiting for the elevator on the first floor, as I ran up the stairs to the third floor. I feel bad for the dentist's employees - seems the American Dental Association has gone off the rails. My dentist is normally low-key and dressed down in a button-down shirt with nice slacks and shoes. Today he arrived completely gowned like a surgeon and masked/shielded. Sigh - guess it's time to find a new dentist.

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I actually managed to get my wife to go to a store here in the communist utopia of OR without wearing a mask the other day. It's refreshing seeing the faces of others. Sadly our state is in dire straits.

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https://brownstone.org/articles/more-than-400-studies-on-the-failure-of-compulsory-covid-interventions/

pages and pages of ineffectiveness of masks (and mandates and lockdowns) here in this article.

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Saved it. Thanks.

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Of course the mask is not effective; all thinking people know that by now. Instead, the mask is a tool of repression and fear, and a constant reminder that there is some killer disease out there that can be warded off by the mask. I knew from day 1 that the masks would prove to be a disaster. Sometimes I hate it when I'm right. Little did I know how divisive these worthless things would prove to be.

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We are that seagull

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... and loaded up with shellfish, just waiting for Fauci to stroll by immediately below

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i totally agree with your last 3 conclusions, gato!!!

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As a birder, I love the gull meme of course! And the message.

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Good job California!

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