That was my assumption by the end of it. A sane person who was that skeptical would just walk away, and if it wasn't an actor the guy would have just said "okay, never mind, have a nice day"
So say, a bunch of COVID/vaccine, big government/corporation conspiracy theorists on substack reading wise words from someone who pretends to be a cat. Yep, we are the only sane people left on the planet 😀
You do realize that’s probably how most of the rest of world see us. We are the water skeptics! Why don’t we “just take the water” or “just shut the f*** up” no need to make a scene.
Are you comparing a dumb marketing stunt (that isn't even doing anything nefarious) involving voluntary participation to a mandated injection of mRNA, police brutality, the destruction of livelihoods, criminal fraud, house arrest, forced masking, and dismantling scientific inquiry?
Respectfully, your analogy sucks. Fine, beat up the free water guy. He's destroying the global economy and poisoning millions.
Could be. Especially if they don't read much of posts.
In my experience, as I have participated, I've observed some things:
1. A lot of the people who join in here like to have fun: Many remain capable of placing tongue firmly in cheek, even use sarcasm.
2. A lot of the people who join in here know a lot about something relevant, but that doesn't stop them from learning from others
3. Most of the time everyone seems tolerant of everyone else, even when we disagree (or pretend to disagree for sport)
Underlying the entertaining bits, of course, are some serious subjects. And one way to detect "credible" is by challenging with questions. When the response is "the science is settled" or otherwise dismissive of inquiry, you have found a non-credible source.
Most people on this forum seem able and willing to both ask, and consider, challenging questions. Leaders of the CDC, The Media and The Party, not so much.
This is yet another insight into current culture. The guy got a bit perturbed at the idea.
Perhaps the idea threatened him. Which is another insight. A guy with a bottle of water is not a threat. It's not paranoid to politely decline if you have doubts. Turn and walk away. But this guy reacted defensively, then aggressively, as if his fight or flight reflex had gone into fight. Perhaps because all that media he's consumed (and fed via government controlled education) has him convinced that if it doesn't fit into his accepted narrative, it's dangerous.
I see a parallel with the folks who confuse critical words on social media with actual bullying. You can walk away from FB or Twitter. No one can reach through the internet and kick your ass. Yet we treat "cyber bullying" as a grave threat, while we teach our kids to be victims of the real thing by telling them it is wrong to defend themselves.
False equivalences lead to false realities, maybe?
If he was that smart, he would have understood the business model as soon as the other guy pointed out the ad on the bottle. He probably doesn't know how Google makes money either.
Agreed. He was smarter than the average bear, refreshingly articulate and his mistrust and cynicism wholly understandable. He was certainly an improvement over the young dullards we see on videos who don't know what continent we are on, or how many states there are, the name of the capitol city of the US or how to read a freakin' clock. He was also European. For all their faults and problems they still seem to have a better educational system than here in the States. Now, I did think he was needlessly impolite, abrasive and mouthy, his social skills sucked, but he was clearly getting rattled - maybe he sensed that there was something else going on. And there was.
That is also possible. But I thought it was real. I'll go watch it again, with that in mind. Okay I watched it again. Now I'm thinking it was fake, he was just too quick with the questions, there was not enough pause for deliberation on either side. If it's real, the fellow needs to get his butt into law school, pronto.
He might have been personally a bit prickly. But, I thought he was exactly right: Ask questions. Look for the catch. If more of us did that, we'd be in a better place. The suggestion that he blindly took the vaccines is just an unfounded inference.
The equivalent with Google would be to ask: 'So, this is all just free? You're not making any money? Oh, the advertisers pay you. So, you get money from advertisers and I suffer no detriment? Oh, you control what I see? But the email is free, right? No catch there? Oh, you get to read all my emails so you can monetize me better with targeted ads? Which of you at Google gets to control what I see? The "algorithms"? Who trains these algorithms? What if I don't like the algorithms controlling what I see? Can I opt out? What if I don't want you reading my email? Can I turn it off? No? What if the government wants to read all my emails? They're private from them, right? No? You just turn them over? What gives you the right to turn over my emails? Oh, the User Agreement makes them your emails. Hmmm.
So, "free" means you get to read all my emails, control what I see, you can kick people off your platform so I can't see them even if that's what I'm looking for, and you'll give all my, sic, your private correspondence to any government that asks?
I have a friend been saying that for a few years now, and I'd been trying to tell her she was just a little over-exaggerating, and I can't tell you how much it aggravates me whenever she turns out to be right.
But I think it just feels worse to us than stuff we read about in history books because we're here, the ones living through this one now.
It was pretty bad, those mountains of skulls the Mongols left, and then their descendants built the Taj Mahal.
I can't tell if the video was a set-up or not---I lean towards thinking it was legit---but following the wisdom given in this article, I realized that I don't have to make a decision! Cool.
I 100% wanted to punch that typically arrogant piece of eurotrash in the face as well. I mean like who talks like that to a random person in the street giving things away. And he trashed that dude's clothing as if he himself was dressed in any sort of actually fashionable manner?
No, nor am I the only one surprised by how many folks here assumed it wasn't scripted.
However, the script reveals the writer's very likely to jump to assholish ad hominem.
If it wasn't scripted, the water dude's a sissy.
What worries me more is I got to read this excellent article "free"! Didn't even feel like opinions were being jammed up my ass. I need to be more skeptical. :-)
The guy's behavior is so aggressive, it reads like an actor overselling an idea ("act like it's too good to be true and that makes you really suspicious! Tell him his country is filthy and his clothes look like shit!"). His body language is exaggerated.
>> However, the script reveals the writer's very likely to jump to assholish ad hominem.
You nailed it on the head. Simple emotional experiences are easy to write and low-effort effective.
As as for allowing EGM to brainwash you for free, well, we all know how gullible you are from your vast commenting history showing you're suckered by every little thing. :)
I agree with you GM. My partner would ask the same questions and get in the guys face. I would not take the suspicious water, but walk away asking my partner the questions I should have asked the guy - I’d be way too late. 2-3 years ago I partially trusted the govt. Today, NOT AT ALL!
No, you're not. The guy with the free water was so kind, and reasonable and patient, despite the aggression, suspicion and abuse dished out by the as$#@!&...
I really wanted to have a firetruck sized kitty training water bottle to spray him with, at least, lol!
I thought the questions were excellent. If this was a stunt, it was a great introduction to "ask this about everything anyone tries to give you fer free."
People pull a lot of wretched stunts these days. Have for a long time, actually; Candid Camera was in my childhood, right?
And I thought the vendor's answer about "ads pay for everything" was actually really suspect. You have start-up costs before anyone's gonna take a risk on spending some of their advertising budget on you. It was a real caveat emptor skit with multiple layers to delve into even if the emptor wasn't apparently asked to pay.
I've had conversations (no internet searches) about random stuff with a friend or my wife and then that subject is in my "feed" the next morning. It's happened to them as well.
I know of no other explanation. It happens too often to be a coincidence.
I purposefully don't own a cellphone. I choose not to be at anyone's beck and call, and I refuse to be tracked in real time. I have the luxury of not owning a cellphone because I'm retired, but when I was working (in academia), I wasn't required to have one. Everyone around me sure did, and they informed me that I was the only person they had ever known who chose not to have one.
I know, I get that a lot. You are looked upon as an alien being, young people are nonplussed. Not just the young. I was at a board meeting once when I announced that I could not take texts, and that led to the cellphone thing, next thing I knew the president of the organization was proposing that monies be allocated towards buying a phone for poor, pitiful me. Oy. Academia, yeah. I could teach college classes tomorrow, I am in a town where I could walk into the job, but I don't care to teach a room full of kids looking at their phones more or less continually. The grandkids in Scotland attended a school where NO cellphones were allowed, from the headmaster on down. It cost the earth to send them there, but has paid off. They are now teenagers, and rarely touch their phones. They prefer books.
Tokens or codes delivered via phone call back on a land line. Its clumsy and may not always be accepted but there are alternatives. Can you let yourself go there?
Funny you should say that. That was exactly what I used my friend's cellphone for. It took me days to get the whole thing set up, but I finally got it in place. I'm a seasonal worker, so EDD is part of my life. That was last year. This year I was let go early, along with most of the staff (company went belly up). So, you would think since I'm all set up, got the whole ID in place, ducks in a row, etc., it would be easy peasey. Wrong. Filed my claim on Aug. 21. Not a dime, They dropped the ball, they actually admitted it, but I still have another week to go before a "phone interview", then it's just three more weeks to wait after that. Three months of waiting for unemployment benefits to start up. I have other resources, thank God. Talk about treading water, people must be desperate. The wolf isn't at the door, he's sleeping at the bottom of the bed now. I'm told they're "being extra cautious" - at least they didn't say "out of an abundance of caution" - since they effed up so badly during lockdown. I'd have done better being in a prison cell in Joliet. With a burner phone.
You can use a physical token as the ones sold by Yubico or Duo Security and there are others. Probably want to explore what best fits your needs i.e. where you have to authenticate. As for a phone call with authentication codes, I was referring to Microsoft multi factor authentication. Many people that are working and using Microsoft Office products need to use multi factor authentication and with Microsoft the phone call that reads you a number code is one of the options available.
Sorry, but..."authentication" for what purpose? I'm able to get passwords and such sent to me via email, or they call my landline and a bot reads a number out to me, if I am filling out some kind of application or form. Physical token, I'm afraid I don't even know what that means. Think of me as Ishi, or a time traveler, or someone from another planet. You wouldn't be far from the mark. I live in the woods, I can make fire without matches, and if required to I can forage off of what I find on the land. What I can't do, is fit into the modern world very well. Nor do I particularly want to. I truly dislike cellphones, and I hate what they have done to our children. But that is not the fault of the machine. It comes back to people.
Absolutely. Just yesterday my wife told me she would like it if I started playing the guitar again. Boom! Ads in my email this morning for guitar lessons. I shudder to think what typing this will bring.
I leave my phone at home now all the time....it's been about a month..do not miss having it at all...very freeing. Some people think it's quite strange, but hey, I love it. Everywhere you are, the phones seem to be there too. I will soon get an old style phone..no internet. Just calling, and SMS. Suits me fine. We did fine without them before, we can do so again. The only thing I will miss is using it to take photos....I will adapt.
You can also get a faraday bag. They're available quite cheaply (I got my first one from infowars, 2 came in the package: 1 for my computer and a smaller one for a fairly large cell phone). I got another set from a company called Offgrid. They're better quality, you can do some research online with regards to that.
The faraday bag is designed to keep what's inside safe from 'signals'. Again, not an expert so just look it up. I use one for my laptop and USB drives, CD's, DVD's, anything I want to keep safe in case of an electromagnetic pulse. They're good to prevent electronic theft of your credit cards or other ID cards with whatever the electronic info is coded onto them. I got 3 sizes from Offgrid, 1 for laptop, 1 for tablet, 1 for cell phone. I put my wallet in the tablet size as it fits nicely in my purse.
They also come in a key fob size which my local 'automotive/hardware' store carries (Canadian Tire). If you keep your key fob in the bag, a thief can't steel the signal so reduces likely hood of car theft.
Of course, you have to remove the phone or key fob from the bag in order to use it but the point is, it's not constantly exposed, you are in control. You're 'visible' for the time you've removed it from the bag and using your device.
If you want to test how good the protection is, put your cell phone in the bag when it's turned on, then call yourself from another phone. It should not ring. When I did this, I called my cell from my landline and it went straight to voicemail.
Interesting point: your microwave oven is a faraday bag. You can test whether or not it's leaking radiation by doing the same cell phone test. Put the phone in the microwave (it must be off), then call yourself. It shouldn't ring. If it does, it's leaky.
I first heard of these things then did some internet research.
You also don't need an old style phone, just get a no data plan for your current phone. Then you can still take photos. Do some research on this last point, I think its correct but double check.
The problem with not taking a phone along with you when you're out and about (and sometimes I do, sometimes I don't), used to be that there was a pay phone on every corner. That's no longer the case so if you don't have your own and you need one, what do you do? Asking someone isn't always possible.
Good for you. I got one cell phone back in 2002, thought I was cool for a time, soon found I was laughably old-fashioned, and finally let it go when the batteries died and the company sold itself off a few years ago. Back to landline only, and loving it.
Right there with you, Snow. I had one of those burner phones when I lived alone up a very bad dirt road, ten miles from town. It hardly worked at all so I got really good at fixing whatever was wrong with my truck, carried a shovel and chainsaw, etc. Tech has brought us much. It has also weakened us considerably as a species.
I found an old dial phone from the Swiss Post office at a thrift shop..looks like it's from the 70's, and I got it working with the help of a technician from my phone provider. ( cost me all of 20 Francs which is about 20 US dollars) He was crazy about it too. The rings make my day, and my students who come to me for lessons all want one now. They love it and like to role play with it in drama. I really miss the land line phone ringing often at home...so many people do not have one now. I try only to text on the cell phone, and hardly ever use it. Like I said, I keep it mostly for taking photos. Will have to buy an old camera too. :-)
IIRC you and I discussed this a month or so ago. For those who missed it, there are ways -- an old microwave oven makes a pretty decent Faraday shield. And don't carry the phone with you all the time, only when you want to use it and are aware that [they] are listening. Stick it on the nightstand before you go out, they will think you're taking a nap.
Once you know what [they] are up to, and the tools at your disposal, you are free to limit your 'monitored' time to that which you choose.
Just keep in mind that even the 'off' button may not completely shut down the machine. On some phones, all it does is disable the display and put the system into a low-power mode. But it still can listen, and record 'interesting' comments to be reported later once the RF modem is up again... i.e. when you turn it back 'on.'
One way to tell if the 'off' button really works -- turn your phone off with a full charge and let it sit that way for a week or two. If it still has a full charge when you turn it back on, chances are it was really, truly off. But if it has used say 30% of the battery... time to be suspicious.
An Apple whistleblower revealed this a few years ago. Employees were paid to sift through countless hours of surreptitious recordings, including conversations with doctors, and couples having sex. Nobody paid much attention to the revelations, so Apple promised to stop and then kept on doing it.
This was the topic of a movies years ago. I think Sandra Bullock was the lead star. It caused quite an uproar at the time. Angered many but then people thought, “No. This can not happen HERE. But if it did, well, we have the second amendment.”. Now that it has happened, those same folks who were so angered are like, “Oh!” And just carry on as if nothing happened.
Yes! It's called "The Net." I saw it in the theater at the time, but had forgotten about it. In retrospect it was completely prescient, including the idea of people's vehicles being used to assassinate them.
Wow, not sure what this means when one who watched it forgot about but one who did not, myself, remembers it. I did not see it despite Sandra Bullock being a favorite of mine. Do not recall why I did not but I am thinking that at the time I thought the premise preposterous. How experience changes one’s outlook.
Incidentally, the same concept of being "erased" was the premise of the 2011 Liam Neeson movie "Unknown." His wife, colleagues, and all electronic records suddenly claim not to know him. It's pretty good.
I never watched that, but I did enjoy "Profit," which ran the same year. It starred Adrian Pasdar as a sociopath who uses blackmail and murder to climb the corporate ladder.
Had the wrong Sander Bullock movie. “The Net” seems like the right one. What I recall is that a Gates look alike came up with the mostest, greatestest OS of all time that had the strongest encryption ever existed and everyone went “WOW” over it. Sandra Bullock’s character found that it had been codeveloped with the US government so that they had a key to a “back door” bypassing all the security features thus allowing them to see all one did online.
Yep. Remember when we were shocked and outraged by the premise?
Hell, remember "Enemy of the State" with Denzel? My goodness, look at that tyrannical fictional intelligence state tearing that innocent man's life apart!
The Net is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by Irwin Winkler and starring Sandra Bullock, Jeremy Northam and Dennis Miller. The film was released on July 28, 1995. United States Under Secretary of Defense Michael Bergstrom commits suicide after being informed that he has tested ...
I thought it was “While you were sleeping.” But I am not sure. I did not actually see the movie other than the trailers. Remember the buzz it generated though.
People have become concerned with the digital assistant Alexa listening in all the time and compromising their privacy. To address these fears, Amazon has created another version, named Alex. Alex is male. And everyone knows, men don't listen.
Yes, they are. I have had too many similar “coincidences” but knew it was not when a brief conversation with a coworker recommending a company I had never heard of starting sending me emails with in mere moments. Not sure minutes is short enough. He mention it shortly before we entered a cab for the station and when I checked my email after arriving at the station about 5 minutes later there were already several emails form them and pop up adds to boot.
I've literally had THOUGHTS about somethings I'm considering buying -- unusual things I haven't purchased before ... told no one, not even my cat, and that actual thing shows up on my feed. What the f is that?
I wonder if this has something to do with the google, et al,AI collecting so much data and thus knowing more about us then we know about ourselves. I would disagree with this in many ways (google is not currently inside my skin) but perhaps it is able to predict interests and spending behavior as it relates to the marketplace-?
I heard a discussion about this maybe in 2019 or something where google AI knows so much about someone that it can tell if they’re bipolar, even if the person isn’t conscious of it. It can then can predict a manic episode and begin marketing Vegas hotels, for instance, to the person BEFORE the episode- so they’ve been primed
That is disgusting. I keep hearing how google (and twitter and others) are essentially the cia. AI like that would not surprise me to be part of psyops testing.
I've had some even stranger (and scarier) experiences where I've simply thought about buying something and then an ad for that thing shows up in my Instagram feed. 😬
As weird as this stuff can get, I can tell you having worked for marketing agencies that when this kind of shit happens, it's usually that the algorithm has already made (in this case accurate) predictive assumptions. It didn't "read your thoughts," your thoughts were simply reflecting something you already did that the algorithm picked up.
Lots of consumer behavior clusters in ways that don't make immediate intuitive sense, but can get very predictable.
Well, I personally think that sometimes that's the Universe. Remember Repo Man - "plate of shrimp" -? Quantum theory, basically. Some call it Divine Intervention. The Sanskrit word is "lila" - "divine play", which is God having fun, having a friendly laugh with you. Saying, See? I do exist.
You either believe or you don't. I once walked through the largest shopping center in the world (at the time), flat broke, thinking of a sick friend for whom I wanted to buy a healing candle that would only cost me two dollars - two dollars I unfortunately did not have, I mean I was penniless. Just as I thought this, walking amongst a crowd of hundreds of people, I chanced to look down and there they were, at that exact moment - two dollars at my feet. No one else saw them, I'm not sure they even saw me pick the money up. And you better believe I spent those two dollars on the candle.
They’re absolutely listening. This happens all the time to me and friends of mine. The crazy thing is one time I didn’t even speak something I wanted out loud, I just went to a store and checked it out, didn’t buy it, and next thing I knew I’m getting adverts for it.
If [they] can figure out which ballot drop boxes 2000 mules visited, they can tell which store, department and aisle you're in. As long as you carry your phone everywhere you go, you have no privacy at all.
My cell is always off (and the battery lasts a long, long time). I carry it for emergencies only; I never give out the number; I'd only use it outside if I've fallen and can't get up.
And it's only my second cell phone ever. Had the first for 17 yrs. until they obsoleted it, and neither of them are smart.
Being a long-time reader I'm sure you've head this story before, but for others:
I was at a softball tournament WITHOUT MY PHONE. After it was over a few of the guys were talking about going to a specific strip club over in Portland. I ended up going home, and when I logged onto FB there was an ad for that exact strip club. Never saw it before, never saw it again.
This means that FB wasn't only spying on ME (it didn't know I was there), but that it was spying on my FRIENDS and altering what I see based on what THEY are doing. What the actual fuck?!?!?
You can absolutely be recognized without being tagged. It happens to my friends with FB accounts all the time, if there's enough of a database of your facial image.
Did you talk with your friend(s) on their phones that day? They may have taken a scattershot approach and stolen the whole call list. See if anyone else got the ad.
Maybe you spoke of your intention to go to the softball tournament around your phone before going? I mean, the ad is targeted- only certain friends of friends would be interested (or possibly so), and the timing of it… makes me think they had to know you were there
My neighbor was getting new gutters installed a few months ago. I watched, but didn’t say anything about it, and I still started getting gutter installation ads on YouTube
you have. you paid attention. you paid time. you have donated space for free in your brain for what was said here with the hope it will inform your world concept and you will pass it on to others to inform theirs.
i believe this article is a better bargain for us being the product than what the gov, fecesbook, tweaker, or lamestream media give us for free.
Maybe water guy did. Would views of that video change if it was proved water guy was adamently against the shots, mandates, masks and passports? I bet it would.
I tell my kids all the time; "ain't nothing more expensive than shit that's free. Don't believe me? Go ask the chicken that gets their feed for free."
(look, l know we can't talk to chickens and if we could we wouldn't. chickens are stupid, and they're cannibals. Trust me here, I'm a duck who rides a bike I would not lie to you)
We used to be taught exactly what you are saying here. On the basic level, it started with, “Never answer ‘yes’ before you here the question.” Later came. “Never, ever sign you name to anything you have not read and understand.”
We also used to be taught history. Thankfully, I loved the subject so that in later years of my primary education I was aware the lessons were “off”. But it was easy to guess this was the case when the number one qualification of high school history teachers in my state was. “What sport can you coach.” My high school history teacher was the wrestling and football coach. My love for history predating my time under his instruction, I learned that one either trusts government or knows history. But that is THE very reason history is not taught.
I pay for my email (but Comcast and the feds probably still read it).
I did have some knowledge of Ukraine's recent history, but I didn't know about their Nazi problem. You will only ever hear criticism on FoxNews, but they will never say "war bad, stay out".
I would never take free water from some guy on the street. I wouldn't abuse or confront him. I'd just move away from him like I did with the women who wanted to spray me with perfume when I entered a department store (Nah, I'm good. Thanks.).
IMO, we have been subjected to a 24-7-365 psy op for the last few decades (at least) that has conditioned us to give up our freedoms, privacy, critical thinking, autonomy, and agency. We are constantly bombarded with messages to cede authority to others who know better and have our best interests at heart.
My daughter is a recent grad of Johns Hopkins. I was shocked to learn that the university conducted surprise dorm room "inspections" to look for drugs and alcohol. My daughter was under age and not interested, but her freshman roommate was Canadian and had been drinking legally for a while. She was not happy. My daughter was unconcerned because she had nothing to hide, which disturbed me greatly. In my day ;) we would have held massive protests against the invasion of privacy and property. What happened? What kind of subliminal messaging turned this generation docile? The university won't give parents (who are usually paying for tuition) information about courses or grades because "privacy" and "your child is an adult now", but they'll raid their dorm rooms? How does that make sense? My daughter is very "chill" under most circumstances, but I was pissed off.
For the record (in case the feds are reading these comments), I am best qualified to determine what is injected into my body. And, since none get out alive, I will live (or not) with the consequences.
I'm old enough to remember when water did not come from a bottle unless it was that fancy French bubbly stuff. The adults thought bottled water was a joke. I'm also old enough to remember the "nudge" pushing us to switch from paper bags to plastic in the grocery store for the "environment". That worked out well.
I've noticed a problem with their search algorithms, but I don't believe they collect our data...unless they've changed their tune or were lying all along. I see it as a tool and don't let their algorithms set the boundaries for my searches.
stop having an opinion on things. in many ways, this is the more potent solution. the great illusion of the modern age is that you must have a view on everything. you don’t. it’s totally fine to say “i have no idea whether to support or oppose this” and to do and say nothing. neutrality pending future information and assessment is a valid position
<<<
is the best advice I have read in a long time.
And not talking to anyone outside your trusted circle, especially ANY government employee (all law enforcement) is critical.
Agree...I have learned to say, "I will hold my opinion, pending more information." It makes more sense to say you just do not know....why is that so hard for so many people.?...there is simply too much to know in our world. Nothing like a sweet dose of humility ; it does wonders for ones's soul.
It's exactly the words I used when telling my family of origin about our (me and my two
adult children) reluctance to the injections. We stuck to this premise, and the more information that came out about the risks of the shots, the clearer our decision was to reject them outright. Unfortunately my mother, my siblings, and their families, believed the government of Canada over me. Truly horrifying.
"unless I understand this, I'm not doing it" sounds like good advice and reminds me of Warrent Buffett saying he would never invest in a business unless he really understood it. You might miss out on some good ones, but you will definitely miss out on some really bad ones.
My question is how do we “not do it?” They literally forced people to vaccinate they take our taxpayer dollars and do things we don’t want them to do with it. How do we stop it? Even our local government was nuts when it came to Covid. I talked to all of the people on our commission and none of them would listen to me. And as I’ve said I am a physician. Even members of my family who used to ask us medical questions constantly for some reason with Covid wouldn’t hear me when I would say that they are totally politicizing this. We are doing medical things in a way we have never done before. But for some reason my opinion when it came to Covid was not a valid one.
So goal #1 in moving a movement from online into meatspace is finding meatsuits in your area. It sounds simple, but without this step nothing else matters. Connecting with like-minded people in person not only grows the support network, it’s also incredibly cathartic after a couple years of being forced apart and bullied by our peers!
Some people are doing networking like this as we speak. Robert Malone is constantly running around giving talks and meeting with local groups, as is Steve Kirsch. But it’s time we all made a concerted effort to ‘take the next step’ and form real-life bonds with those in (or out of!) our area.
The form this will take is likely to be different for everybody, because everybody has different circles. Some of you may find allies in church or your already-existing monkeysphere. Maybe you can dust off the contacts of those old Ron Paul buddies. Perhaps you play beer league softball or are in a pool league or sewing circle or a million other groups that give humans a reason to gather.
Because they were victims of mass formation psychosis. Which makes people irrational. Once you drink the koolaid, there is no chance of rational thought going forward.
On the same train of thought, the thing I have never understood about the aceptance of the gene therapies, especially in Europe where they are fanatical , is that people will pay a premium and go out of their way to avoid GMO foods, but when it comes to potentially becoming a GMO from experimental drugs with a completely unknown safety profile : shoot me up, I'm fine with that.
Fear, propaganda and stupidity are powerful tools?
Yes....so fanatical. Some countries were worse than others here in Europe...I am in Switzerland, and I had lots of friends who rejected the blatantly false narrative...thank God. Sadly, my family in Canada bought the narrative, hook, line and sinker!! But to be fair, Canada lost the plot years ago regarding liberties and government overreach. So glad not to be there, especially the last three years. Horrifying.
So because Flint, Michigan is run by Democrats and has bad water, the water throughout all of America can't be trusted? And does Mr. Smartypants not know there's a difference between a "Georgia" and a "Michigan"? Or does he only know what his propagandist media have told him about America, with Flint being the prism?
As for "aha! so there IS a catch!", no you f'n moron, just because you can't drive off with his truckload of free water doesn't mean putting a limit on how many you can take is a "catch".
Having to listen to a timeshare sales pitch before you get the "free" luggage is a catch. The guy with the water requires nothing FROM you, just take the f'n water, hence, there IS no catch.
Completely bad marketing IMO. Cool day in england could have been slightly worse if it was raining, here have some american water in plastic bottles with really small advertising messages. He setup himself up for distrust. I would like to think most would just walk on by.
And is England so bereft of natural springs that a company needs to bottle it in Georgia and then ship it across an ocean to England...and then give it away, funded by advertising on labels in writing so small that most people might not even know it was advertising and this not even read it? I mean, I don't read my Poland Spring or Aquafina labels the few times I buy them. Who reads water bottle labels anyway?
Ha! We must be cut from the same cloth. Every time I pick up a shampoo bottle I think, "Why can't they attach a waterproof fold-out sheet like Roundup does?!"
Thank you for pointing out that we have the option of not having an opinion about something.
So many people have asked me what I think about Ukraine, and all I can say is I have no idea what to think about Ukraine because I have no way of knowing what the real situation is.
If only people respected their minds as much as they _say_ they respect their bodies...
As stated here, sometimes the best thing to do is nothing...whether in the face of an external problem...or in a personal relationship...
Regarding trust in authority, I often recall 9/11. Many people who obeyed the authorities and stayed in their offices died. Some who made their own decisions and left, survived.
I suspect there’s also the disconnect many have between the private and the “public” spheres. They do or accept ideas/policies/actions in the public realm that they never would in the private, personal one.
Am I the only one who wanted to punch that guy who, by the end of the video, was basically verbally abusing someone giving him a gift?
Sort of, but on the other hand he was a very smart guy with a very good line of reasoning.
He insults the guy's clothes, country, business skills. Repeatedly. His body language looked like he was about to punch the water guy.
Just don't take the fucking water. That was an option at all times.
True. honestly think he was part of the thing, not a random guy.
That was my assumption by the end of it. A sane person who was that skeptical would just walk away, and if it wasn't an actor the guy would have just said "okay, never mind, have a nice day"
Yes, it is 100% stupid to judge the succes of a company by the clothes of the guy that gives the bottles out for free in the street.
Then just don't take it?
How is being aggressive and verbally abusive showing how clever he is?
If I'm this skeptical of something, I opt out. I don't bully the vendor.
sarc aside - Jack Dorsey?
So say, a bunch of COVID/vaccine, big government/corporation conspiracy theorists on substack reading wise words from someone who pretends to be a cat. Yep, we are the only sane people left on the planet 😀
You do realize that’s probably how most of the rest of world see us. We are the water skeptics! Why don’t we “just take the water” or “just shut the f*** up” no need to make a scene.
Are you comparing a dumb marketing stunt (that isn't even doing anything nefarious) involving voluntary participation to a mandated injection of mRNA, police brutality, the destruction of livelihoods, criminal fraud, house arrest, forced masking, and dismantling scientific inquiry?
Respectfully, your analogy sucks. Fine, beat up the free water guy. He's destroying the global economy and poisoning millions.
Could be. Especially if they don't read much of posts.
In my experience, as I have participated, I've observed some things:
1. A lot of the people who join in here like to have fun: Many remain capable of placing tongue firmly in cheek, even use sarcasm.
2. A lot of the people who join in here know a lot about something relevant, but that doesn't stop them from learning from others
3. Most of the time everyone seems tolerant of everyone else, even when we disagree (or pretend to disagree for sport)
Underlying the entertaining bits, of course, are some serious subjects. And one way to detect "credible" is by challenging with questions. When the response is "the science is settled" or otherwise dismissive of inquiry, you have found a non-credible source.
Most people on this forum seem able and willing to both ask, and consider, challenging questions. Leaders of the CDC, The Media and The Party, not so much.
Yes. I thought this is actually a scripted ad made for tik tok audiences.
Maybe. Ok, likely. But it's more entertaining to think that was a random guy.
We choose our reality :-)
He’s a critical thinker! Something we need more of!!!
He's an actor running a script.
This is yet another insight into current culture. The guy got a bit perturbed at the idea.
Perhaps the idea threatened him. Which is another insight. A guy with a bottle of water is not a threat. It's not paranoid to politely decline if you have doubts. Turn and walk away. But this guy reacted defensively, then aggressively, as if his fight or flight reflex had gone into fight. Perhaps because all that media he's consumed (and fed via government controlled education) has him convinced that if it doesn't fit into his accepted narrative, it's dangerous.
I see a parallel with the folks who confuse critical words on social media with actual bullying. You can walk away from FB or Twitter. No one can reach through the internet and kick your ass. Yet we treat "cyber bullying" as a grave threat, while we teach our kids to be victims of the real thing by telling them it is wrong to defend themselves.
False equivalences lead to false realities, maybe?
You understood my point exactly.
If he was that smart, he would have understood the business model as soon as the other guy pointed out the ad on the bottle. He probably doesn't know how Google makes money either.
A smart guy who never had a free newspaper dumped on his driveway daily, that smart?
I had a free box of tampons left on my doorknob a little over forty years ago; nice sealed clean packaging.
I read the description carefully, thought about it, threw it out.
Not too long after--I wasn't dead from toxic shock syndrome.
PS: Stuff you put in your body is a wee bit different from what you might line the litterbox with if you were on the economical side.
Agreed. He was smarter than the average bear, refreshingly articulate and his mistrust and cynicism wholly understandable. He was certainly an improvement over the young dullards we see on videos who don't know what continent we are on, or how many states there are, the name of the capitol city of the US or how to read a freakin' clock. He was also European. For all their faults and problems they still seem to have a better educational system than here in the States. Now, I did think he was needlessly impolite, abrasive and mouthy, his social skills sucked, but he was clearly getting rattled - maybe he sensed that there was something else going on. And there was.
What else was going on?
It was a sociological experiment and he was the subject.
Or we are the subjects and he was a shill.
That is also possible. But I thought it was real. I'll go watch it again, with that in mind. Okay I watched it again. Now I'm thinking it was fake, he was just too quick with the questions, there was not enough pause for deliberation on either side. If it's real, the fellow needs to get his butt into law school, pronto.
He was too aggressive. Just ask questions - fine - but ffs, be friendly. No reason to verbally assault the guy giving you free water.
I agree. Can't even claim to be a New Yorker as an excuse. jk =>}
He might have been personally a bit prickly. But, I thought he was exactly right: Ask questions. Look for the catch. If more of us did that, we'd be in a better place. The suggestion that he blindly took the vaccines is just an unfounded inference.
The equivalent with Google would be to ask: 'So, this is all just free? You're not making any money? Oh, the advertisers pay you. So, you get money from advertisers and I suffer no detriment? Oh, you control what I see? But the email is free, right? No catch there? Oh, you get to read all my emails so you can monetize me better with targeted ads? Which of you at Google gets to control what I see? The "algorithms"? Who trains these algorithms? What if I don't like the algorithms controlling what I see? Can I opt out? What if I don't want you reading my email? Can I turn it off? No? What if the government wants to read all my emails? They're private from them, right? No? You just turn them over? What gives you the right to turn over my emails? Oh, the User Agreement makes them your emails. Hmmm.
So, "free" means you get to read all my emails, control what I see, you can kick people off your platform so I can't see them even if that's what I'm looking for, and you'll give all my, sic, your private correspondence to any government that asks?
Thanks, but no thanks.
This century is going to suck. I hate living in it.
I have a friend been saying that for a few years now, and I'd been trying to tell her she was just a little over-exaggerating, and I can't tell you how much it aggravates me whenever she turns out to be right.
But I think it just feels worse to us than stuff we read about in history books because we're here, the ones living through this one now.
It was pretty bad, those mountains of skulls the Mongols left, and then their descendants built the Taj Mahal.
Life is strange, truly.
You're right. I don't hate living in this century.
I thought it was a fake video...and that the punchline for the joke was coming, much like the point made here.
I was pretty sure I was right when he started ripping the dude's shabby clothes.
I can't tell if the video was a set-up or not---I lean towards thinking it was legit---but following the wisdom given in this article, I realized that I don't have to make a decision! Cool.
I 100% wanted to punch that typically arrogant piece of eurotrash in the face as well. I mean like who talks like that to a random person in the street giving things away. And he trashed that dude's clothing as if he himself was dressed in any sort of actually fashionable manner?
Apparently being aggressive to polite people offering optional things shows you're smart and savvy, and I'm the dipshit here.
Here's how this interaction would have gone for me:
Why is it free? Oh, ads. That's clever.
You seriously make enough on the ads alone to have a margin, and still give to charity? Damn.
Do you have a website? Cool.
Can you drink one?
Nice. I'll take it.
Not in the least trying to be contrarian for the joy of it, or something--but I think you're off the mark here.
You think the guy's behavior was logical?
Yes.
Really? Being belligerent to a stranger when one could simply say "no thanks?"
I clicked on the video fully prepared to find the guy some sort of moron, and every second ticked by, I thought he nailed every point.
How could he possibly be 'off the mark' when he is simply describing his subjective approach?
It's not a pass/fail thing - it's just how different people do things.
Anyone can be off the mark, subjectively speaking.
I wonder if he talks that way to a Jehovah Witness giving him a free Watch Tower mag?
"No thanks" is hard.
Because you're a nice person with decent social skills, Guttermouth.
STILL don't get it I see
Yep, I'm an idiot.
I feel sorry for you.
Aw Hugh, don't though. I don't need your idiotic, misplaced pity.
No, nor am I the only one surprised by how many folks here assumed it wasn't scripted.
However, the script reveals the writer's very likely to jump to assholish ad hominem.
If it wasn't scripted, the water dude's a sissy.
What worries me more is I got to read this excellent article "free"! Didn't even feel like opinions were being jammed up my ass. I need to be more skeptical. :-)
The guy's behavior is so aggressive, it reads like an actor overselling an idea ("act like it's too good to be true and that makes you really suspicious! Tell him his country is filthy and his clothes look like shit!"). His body language is exaggerated.
>> However, the script reveals the writer's very likely to jump to assholish ad hominem.
You nailed it on the head. Simple emotional experiences are easy to write and low-effort effective.
As as for allowing EGM to brainwash you for free, well, we all know how gullible you are from your vast commenting history showing you're suckered by every little thing. :)
I know. What the hell's wrong with me? Guess I'd rather be brainwashed by EGM than the gvt, Big Pfarma, Lizard Boy, etc.
I agree with you GM. My partner would ask the same questions and get in the guys face. I would not take the suspicious water, but walk away asking my partner the questions I should have asked the guy - I’d be way too late. 2-3 years ago I partially trusted the govt. Today, NOT AT ALL!
No, you're not. The guy with the free water was so kind, and reasonable and patient, despite the aggression, suspicion and abuse dished out by the as$#@!&...
I really wanted to have a firetruck sized kitty training water bottle to spray him with, at least, lol!
missed the whole point I see...
Awww, did someone get their feelz hurt ?
It wasn't a gift, it was placing promotional advertising in front of eyeballs.
Interesting reaction. Why are you taking a run at me, now? Are you angry at me, personally?
Are you saying we can only express critical thought by being aggressive and verbally abusive to people we're suspicious of?
He's being ironic by acting the same way the dude was acting in the video!
That's my take.
If so, that's awesome.
False dichotomy logical fallacy.
It was both.
I thought the questions were excellent. If this was a stunt, it was a great introduction to "ask this about everything anyone tries to give you fer free."
People pull a lot of wretched stunts these days. Have for a long time, actually; Candid Camera was in my childhood, right?
And I thought the vendor's answer about "ads pay for everything" was actually really suspect. You have start-up costs before anyone's gonna take a risk on spending some of their advertising budget on you. It was a real caveat emptor skit with multiple layers to delve into even if the emptor wasn't apparently asked to pay.
Does anyone think they're "listening"?
I've had conversations (no internet searches) about random stuff with a friend or my wife and then that subject is in my "feed" the next morning. It's happened to them as well.
I know of no other explanation. It happens too often to be a coincidence.
I mean, if your phone hears it, yeah. We already know Amazon does that.
The cell phone is your portal to the world...but also chains.
In today's world you really can't function without it; yet at the same time it might as well be a bio chip.
Now imagine, as with masks (for example), that without an "approved" cell phone your time and space in society is restricted.
Could be exploited in the most awful of ways, by the de facto merging of the state and big tech.
It's why I do not and never will have a cellphone. I simply refuse. As for my time and space in society - if that is the cost, society can pack sand.
I think you mean 'pound sand.'
Unless pack sand has another meaning I don't know. cheers.
Island variation.
Straight up or you punking me?
The day is coming when the government will determine how much you can use your phone.
Agree. All the signs are there.
We need a way around that.
Being on offense sounds better than being on defense imo.
Yeah, but it'll be a minimum amount.
They want you glued to that fucking bullshit.
Getting programmed.
I purposefully don't own a cellphone. I choose not to be at anyone's beck and call, and I refuse to be tracked in real time. I have the luxury of not owning a cellphone because I'm retired, but when I was working (in academia), I wasn't required to have one. Everyone around me sure did, and they informed me that I was the only person they had ever known who chose not to have one.
I know, I get that a lot. You are looked upon as an alien being, young people are nonplussed. Not just the young. I was at a board meeting once when I announced that I could not take texts, and that led to the cellphone thing, next thing I knew the president of the organization was proposing that monies be allocated towards buying a phone for poor, pitiful me. Oy. Academia, yeah. I could teach college classes tomorrow, I am in a town where I could walk into the job, but I don't care to teach a room full of kids looking at their phones more or less continually. The grandkids in Scotland attended a school where NO cellphones were allowed, from the headmaster on down. It cost the earth to send them there, but has paid off. They are now teenagers, and rarely touch their phones. They prefer books.
It is already happening. There are things you cannot do without a mobile phone 2FA.
Tokens or codes delivered via phone call back on a land line. Its clumsy and may not always be accepted but there are alternatives. Can you let yourself go there?
Such as? Tell me, please - I genuinely want to know what I'm missing.
Can't get unemployment insurance as fast if you go paper and don't ID yrself with a selfie. And by "not as fast" I mean: six month delay.
Another nudge from our fine state.
Funny you should say that. That was exactly what I used my friend's cellphone for. It took me days to get the whole thing set up, but I finally got it in place. I'm a seasonal worker, so EDD is part of my life. That was last year. This year I was let go early, along with most of the staff (company went belly up). So, you would think since I'm all set up, got the whole ID in place, ducks in a row, etc., it would be easy peasey. Wrong. Filed my claim on Aug. 21. Not a dime, They dropped the ball, they actually admitted it, but I still have another week to go before a "phone interview", then it's just three more weeks to wait after that. Three months of waiting for unemployment benefits to start up. I have other resources, thank God. Talk about treading water, people must be desperate. The wolf isn't at the door, he's sleeping at the bottom of the bed now. I'm told they're "being extra cautious" - at least they didn't say "out of an abundance of caution" - since they effed up so badly during lockdown. I'd have done better being in a prison cell in Joliet. With a burner phone.
You can use a physical token as the ones sold by Yubico or Duo Security and there are others. Probably want to explore what best fits your needs i.e. where you have to authenticate. As for a phone call with authentication codes, I was referring to Microsoft multi factor authentication. Many people that are working and using Microsoft Office products need to use multi factor authentication and with Microsoft the phone call that reads you a number code is one of the options available.
Sorry, but..."authentication" for what purpose? I'm able to get passwords and such sent to me via email, or they call my landline and a bot reads a number out to me, if I am filling out some kind of application or form. Physical token, I'm afraid I don't even know what that means. Think of me as Ishi, or a time traveler, or someone from another planet. You wouldn't be far from the mark. I live in the woods, I can make fire without matches, and if required to I can forage off of what I find on the land. What I can't do, is fit into the modern world very well. Nor do I particularly want to. I truly dislike cellphones, and I hate what they have done to our children. But that is not the fault of the machine. It comes back to people.
Absolutely. Just yesterday my wife told me she would like it if I started playing the guitar again. Boom! Ads in my email this morning for guitar lessons. I shudder to think what typing this will bring.
This to me is probably one of the biggest threats to our liberty.
How many people would be willing to give up their phones in order to prevent being listened to?
Hmmm...I think we know the answer to that.
I leave my phone at home now all the time....it's been about a month..do not miss having it at all...very freeing. Some people think it's quite strange, but hey, I love it. Everywhere you are, the phones seem to be there too. I will soon get an old style phone..no internet. Just calling, and SMS. Suits me fine. We did fine without them before, we can do so again. The only thing I will miss is using it to take photos....I will adapt.
You can also get a faraday bag. They're available quite cheaply (I got my first one from infowars, 2 came in the package: 1 for my computer and a smaller one for a fairly large cell phone). I got another set from a company called Offgrid. They're better quality, you can do some research online with regards to that.
The faraday bag is designed to keep what's inside safe from 'signals'. Again, not an expert so just look it up. I use one for my laptop and USB drives, CD's, DVD's, anything I want to keep safe in case of an electromagnetic pulse. They're good to prevent electronic theft of your credit cards or other ID cards with whatever the electronic info is coded onto them. I got 3 sizes from Offgrid, 1 for laptop, 1 for tablet, 1 for cell phone. I put my wallet in the tablet size as it fits nicely in my purse.
They also come in a key fob size which my local 'automotive/hardware' store carries (Canadian Tire). If you keep your key fob in the bag, a thief can't steel the signal so reduces likely hood of car theft.
Of course, you have to remove the phone or key fob from the bag in order to use it but the point is, it's not constantly exposed, you are in control. You're 'visible' for the time you've removed it from the bag and using your device.
If you want to test how good the protection is, put your cell phone in the bag when it's turned on, then call yourself from another phone. It should not ring. When I did this, I called my cell from my landline and it went straight to voicemail.
Interesting point: your microwave oven is a faraday bag. You can test whether or not it's leaking radiation by doing the same cell phone test. Put the phone in the microwave (it must be off), then call yourself. It shouldn't ring. If it does, it's leaky.
I first heard of these things then did some internet research.
You also don't need an old style phone, just get a no data plan for your current phone. Then you can still take photos. Do some research on this last point, I think its correct but double check.
This is my strategy, too. If I'm out doing something, I'm too busy to be on the phone anyway. I'll get back to you when I'm done.
I fully believe that phone technology peaked with the answering machine.
The problem with not taking a phone along with you when you're out and about (and sometimes I do, sometimes I don't), used to be that there was a pay phone on every corner. That's no longer the case so if you don't have your own and you need one, what do you do? Asking someone isn't always possible.
I bravely soldier on and keep on keeping on.
It's worked so far.
I had car trouble in a natural food store parking lot. I borrowed cellphones from the staff to call for help but they were pretty ungracious about it.
Good for you. I got one cell phone back in 2002, thought I was cool for a time, soon found I was laughably old-fashioned, and finally let it go when the batteries died and the company sold itself off a few years ago. Back to landline only, and loving it.
Right there with you, Snow. I had one of those burner phones when I lived alone up a very bad dirt road, ten miles from town. It hardly worked at all so I got really good at fixing whatever was wrong with my truck, carried a shovel and chainsaw, etc. Tech has brought us much. It has also weakened us considerably as a species.
I found an old dial phone from the Swiss Post office at a thrift shop..looks like it's from the 70's, and I got it working with the help of a technician from my phone provider. ( cost me all of 20 Francs which is about 20 US dollars) He was crazy about it too. The rings make my day, and my students who come to me for lessons all want one now. They love it and like to role play with it in drama. I really miss the land line phone ringing often at home...so many people do not have one now. I try only to text on the cell phone, and hardly ever use it. Like I said, I keep it mostly for taking photos. Will have to buy an old camera too. :-)
I have no smartphone. I plan to stick with my old-fashioned, no-internet cell. You will indeed adapt, and probably quickly.
IIRC you and I discussed this a month or so ago. For those who missed it, there are ways -- an old microwave oven makes a pretty decent Faraday shield. And don't carry the phone with you all the time, only when you want to use it and are aware that [they] are listening. Stick it on the nightstand before you go out, they will think you're taking a nap.
Once you know what [they] are up to, and the tools at your disposal, you are free to limit your 'monitored' time to that which you choose.
Just keep in mind that even the 'off' button may not completely shut down the machine. On some phones, all it does is disable the display and put the system into a low-power mode. But it still can listen, and record 'interesting' comments to be reported later once the RF modem is up again... i.e. when you turn it back 'on.'
One way to tell if the 'off' button really works -- turn your phone off with a full charge and let it sit that way for a week or two. If it still has a full charge when you turn it back on, chances are it was really, truly off. But if it has used say 30% of the battery... time to be suspicious.
How long do you have to run the microwave? :)
Best not to even plug it in, lest someone hits the 'quick minute' button and toasts the phone.
"an old microwave oven makes a pretty decent Faraday shield."
Great knowledge. Glad I read your comment!
How many college girls would be willing to give up their cellphones if it would end world hunger? So went the famous survey, several years ago.
I don't remember the precise figure (help me out if you know it) but I believe it was less than 25%.
An Apple whistleblower revealed this a few years ago. Employees were paid to sift through countless hours of surreptitious recordings, including conversations with doctors, and couples having sex. Nobody paid much attention to the revelations, so Apple promised to stop and then kept on doing it.
https://dystopianliving.substack.com/p/siri-is-still-spying-on-you
Yep. Apple, Amazon, and Google have all been variously caught doing this.
This was the topic of a movies years ago. I think Sandra Bullock was the lead star. It caused quite an uproar at the time. Angered many but then people thought, “No. This can not happen HERE. But if it did, well, we have the second amendment.”. Now that it has happened, those same folks who were so angered are like, “Oh!” And just carry on as if nothing happened.
Yes! It's called "The Net." I saw it in the theater at the time, but had forgotten about it. In retrospect it was completely prescient, including the idea of people's vehicles being used to assassinate them.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Net_(1995_film)
That was a disturbing film. It fas been on my mind a lot recently.
More disturbing to me is that most seem to be okay with it in reality.
I am definitely thought an oddball as a result of my insistence on privacy. Frog soup is a thing.
Wow, not sure what this means when one who watched it forgot about but one who did not, myself, remembers it. I did not see it despite Sandra Bullock being a favorite of mine. Do not recall why I did not but I am thinking that at the time I thought the premise preposterous. How experience changes one’s outlook.
Want a real kick in the teeth? Watch "Nowhere Man" -- it ran for one season in 95/96. All episodes are on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W64ZMyaJsmE&list=PL6fJmjt84zZjDCMUCDmvEnUKDwbWUr4JC
Incidentally, the same concept of being "erased" was the premise of the 2011 Liam Neeson movie "Unknown." His wife, colleagues, and all electronic records suddenly claim not to know him. It's pretty good.
I'll have to check it out!
Being erased is the first level of Nowhere Man, but it's got multiple levels beyond that as well.
I recall the name of the series but missed seeing it as I was then studying in Japan. Will give it a look, thanks.
I never watched that, but I did enjoy "Profit," which ran the same year. It starred Adrian Pasdar as a sociopath who uses blackmail and murder to climb the corporate ladder.
The Net?
Had the wrong Sander Bullock movie. “The Net” seems like the right one. What I recall is that a Gates look alike came up with the mostest, greatestest OS of all time that had the strongest encryption ever existed and everyone went “WOW” over it. Sandra Bullock’s character found that it had been codeveloped with the US government so that they had a key to a “back door” bypassing all the security features thus allowing them to see all one did online.
Yep. Remember when we were shocked and outraged by the premise?
Hell, remember "Enemy of the State" with Denzel? My goodness, look at that tyrannical fictional intelligence state tearing that innocent man's life apart!
Will Smith, Jack Black was in that movie as well.
It’s actually a really good thriller
The Net is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by Irwin Winkler and starring Sandra Bullock, Jeremy Northam and Dennis Miller. The film was released on July 28, 1995. United States Under Secretary of Defense Michael Bergstrom commits suicide after being informed that he has tested ...
Someone's bot broke.
?
I thought it was “While you were sleeping.” But I am not sure. I did not actually see the movie other than the trailers. Remember the buzz it generated though.
People have become concerned with the digital assistant Alexa listening in all the time and compromising their privacy. To address these fears, Amazon has created another version, named Alex. Alex is male. And everyone knows, men don't listen.
:-)
Well. Now you're on a touchy subject. My wife tells me I selectively listen.
I tell her; I'm just filtering for the most important information.
You don't want to use the word "misinformation", of course. Unless you happen to like cold chicken.
What was that? I didn’t catch it.
huh?
Yes, they are. I have had too many similar “coincidences” but knew it was not when a brief conversation with a coworker recommending a company I had never heard of starting sending me emails with in mere moments. Not sure minutes is short enough. He mention it shortly before we entered a cab for the station and when I checked my email after arriving at the station about 5 minutes later there were already several emails form them and pop up adds to boot.
Yes, happens to me, too.
I've literally had THOUGHTS about somethings I'm considering buying -- unusual things I haven't purchased before ... told no one, not even my cat, and that actual thing shows up on my feed. What the f is that?
I wonder if this has something to do with the google, et al,AI collecting so much data and thus knowing more about us then we know about ourselves. I would disagree with this in many ways (google is not currently inside my skin) but perhaps it is able to predict interests and spending behavior as it relates to the marketplace-?
I heard a discussion about this maybe in 2019 or something where google AI knows so much about someone that it can tell if they’re bipolar, even if the person isn’t conscious of it. It can then can predict a manic episode and begin marketing Vegas hotels, for instance, to the person BEFORE the episode- so they’ve been primed
That is disgusting. I keep hearing how google (and twitter and others) are essentially the cia. AI like that would not surprise me to be part of psyops testing.
Here come those Harlan Ellison nightmares again. John Connor, where are you??
Google’s ephemeral (suggestions) on search could be tied to AI and then they might be able to predict based on choices.
I've had some even stranger (and scarier) experiences where I've simply thought about buying something and then an ad for that thing shows up in my Instagram feed. 😬
As weird as this stuff can get, I can tell you having worked for marketing agencies that when this kind of shit happens, it's usually that the algorithm has already made (in this case accurate) predictive assumptions. It didn't "read your thoughts," your thoughts were simply reflecting something you already did that the algorithm picked up.
Lots of consumer behavior clusters in ways that don't make immediate intuitive sense, but can get very predictable.
I watched The Social Dilemma. I really hate this shit.
I try to remember that without the darkness, how would we know light.
So true!
You should. It's evil. And they know it.
Well, I personally think that sometimes that's the Universe. Remember Repo Man - "plate of shrimp" -? Quantum theory, basically. Some call it Divine Intervention. The Sanskrit word is "lila" - "divine play", which is God having fun, having a friendly laugh with you. Saying, See? I do exist.
You either believe or you don't. I once walked through the largest shopping center in the world (at the time), flat broke, thinking of a sick friend for whom I wanted to buy a healing candle that would only cost me two dollars - two dollars I unfortunately did not have, I mean I was penniless. Just as I thought this, walking amongst a crowd of hundreds of people, I chanced to look down and there they were, at that exact moment - two dollars at my feet. No one else saw them, I'm not sure they even saw me pick the money up. And you better believe I spent those two dollars on the candle.
This video about AI might explain it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6Mdq3n6kgk
Spooky sh!t man ...
They’re absolutely listening. This happens all the time to me and friends of mine. The crazy thing is one time I didn’t even speak something I wanted out loud, I just went to a store and checked it out, didn’t buy it, and next thing I knew I’m getting adverts for it.
So they’re also watching
If [they] can figure out which ballot drop boxes 2000 mules visited, they can tell which store, department and aisle you're in. As long as you carry your phone everywhere you go, you have no privacy at all.
My cell is always off (and the battery lasts a long, long time). I carry it for emergencies only; I never give out the number; I'd only use it outside if I've fallen and can't get up.
And it's only my second cell phone ever. Had the first for 17 yrs. until they obsoleted it, and neither of them are smart.
Being a long-time reader I'm sure you've head this story before, but for others:
I was at a softball tournament WITHOUT MY PHONE. After it was over a few of the guys were talking about going to a specific strip club over in Portland. I ended up going home, and when I logged onto FB there was an ad for that exact strip club. Never saw it before, never saw it again.
This means that FB wasn't only spying on ME (it didn't know I was there), but that it was spying on my FRIENDS and altering what I see based on what THEY are doing. What the actual fuck?!?!?
My natural paranoia has just stolen third and is heading for home.
Did you appear in anyone's pictures that day? They use that to build a travelogue.
It's possible but I wasn't 'tagged' in any of the photos. Do we think they're that good that it could recognize me without the tag? It's possible!
You can absolutely be recognized without being tagged. It happens to my friends with FB accounts all the time, if there's enough of a database of your facial image.
Did you talk with your friend(s) on their phones that day? They may have taken a scattershot approach and stolen the whole call list. See if anyone else got the ad.
Nope. We started pretty early and I just showed up without talking to anybody else first.
Knowing my friends, they get that ad all the time. 😆
Makes my hair stand on end.
"Is it paranoia or just being fully apprised of all the facts?"
Scary. I've had similar experiences.
You'd think there would be an outcry about this invasion of privacy.
Pretty sure if you don't "control" your personal data, etc. then you jeopardize your own self determination.
Wild!
Maybe you spoke of your intention to go to the softball tournament around your phone before going? I mean, the ad is targeted- only certain friends of friends would be interested (or possibly so), and the timing of it… makes me think they had to know you were there
They know you better than anyone else. Sorry, but it's true. Think about that.
It is true. There will be repercussions for that.
Quite possibly inviting totalitarianism
Happens to me a lot.
Yup. Beware the tv and the phone. Siri is listening.
Definitely listening. And looking. Absolutely possible.
Siri. Your computer and your phone.
FWIW, Siri is probably the least intrusive which can be argued from both technology and incentives angles.
At least you know she's listening and always on...
My neighbor was getting new gutters installed a few months ago. I watched, but didn’t say anything about it, and I still started getting gutter installation ads on YouTube
Ryan has been inundated with those ads since subscribing to my stack.
Location tracking gets a lot of data. They know you're near a neighbor that did it.
Same as when roofers send the "we've been doing work in your area" flyers.
I didn't pay to read this article. 🤔
how does it feel to be a ball of yarn in the paws of "big cat"?
Tingly.
You're collecting all of our data to market experimental injections to us, right?
We're being dosed with libertarian ideals, no data collection needed.
A spoonful of cat memes makes the anarcho-capitalism go down better.
Balls of yarn don't experience terror and pain, so far as I know.
I'm thinking, mouse.
I did. I win.
Lol. Comment of the day.
you have. you paid attention. you paid time. you have donated space for free in your brain for what was said here with the hope it will inform your world concept and you will pass it on to others to inform theirs.
i believe this article is a better bargain for us being the product than what the gov, fecesbook, tweaker, or lamestream media give us for free.
Water guy - if only a majority had been as curious, suspicious and questioning of the mRNA stuff.
Maybe water guy did. Would views of that video change if it was proved water guy was adamently against the shots, mandates, masks and passports? I bet it would.
Avoid demoralized corporations who are in lock step with the current thing and governments via ESG/DEI: https://open.substack.com/pub/yuribezmenov/p/how-to-build-a-killer-business-and-bd6?r=12n5dp&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
Eh, I stand with Russia.
LOL. I stand with me, myself and I (I'm schizophrenic). All 3 of us thank you.
My favorite t-shirt says "sometimes I talk to myself... and then we both laugh and laugh"
Lol. One could make that argument.
I tell my kids all the time; "ain't nothing more expensive than shit that's free. Don't believe me? Go ask the chicken that gets their feed for free."
(look, l know we can't talk to chickens and if we could we wouldn't. chickens are stupid, and they're cannibals. Trust me here, I'm a duck who rides a bike I would not lie to you)
Exactly! Great way of illustrating the point.
I'm going to borrow that to use for my kids.
And don't trust "robots"...some of them are humans...
Reminds me of a scene from "Chicken Run"
We used to be taught exactly what you are saying here. On the basic level, it started with, “Never answer ‘yes’ before you here the question.” Later came. “Never, ever sign you name to anything you have not read and understand.”
We also used to be taught history. Thankfully, I loved the subject so that in later years of my primary education I was aware the lessons were “off”. But it was easy to guess this was the case when the number one qualification of high school history teachers in my state was. “What sport can you coach.” My high school history teacher was the wrestling and football coach. My love for history predating my time under his instruction, I learned that one either trusts government or knows history. But that is THE very reason history is not taught.
Wow. That Google search. Just wow.
I switched to DuckDuckGo over a year ago.
I pay for my email (but Comcast and the feds probably still read it).
I did have some knowledge of Ukraine's recent history, but I didn't know about their Nazi problem. You will only ever hear criticism on FoxNews, but they will never say "war bad, stay out".
I would never take free water from some guy on the street. I wouldn't abuse or confront him. I'd just move away from him like I did with the women who wanted to spray me with perfume when I entered a department store (Nah, I'm good. Thanks.).
IMO, we have been subjected to a 24-7-365 psy op for the last few decades (at least) that has conditioned us to give up our freedoms, privacy, critical thinking, autonomy, and agency. We are constantly bombarded with messages to cede authority to others who know better and have our best interests at heart.
My daughter is a recent grad of Johns Hopkins. I was shocked to learn that the university conducted surprise dorm room "inspections" to look for drugs and alcohol. My daughter was under age and not interested, but her freshman roommate was Canadian and had been drinking legally for a while. She was not happy. My daughter was unconcerned because she had nothing to hide, which disturbed me greatly. In my day ;) we would have held massive protests against the invasion of privacy and property. What happened? What kind of subliminal messaging turned this generation docile? The university won't give parents (who are usually paying for tuition) information about courses or grades because "privacy" and "your child is an adult now", but they'll raid their dorm rooms? How does that make sense? My daughter is very "chill" under most circumstances, but I was pissed off.
For the record (in case the feds are reading these comments), I am best qualified to determine what is injected into my body. And, since none get out alive, I will live (or not) with the consequences.
I'm old enough to remember when water did not come from a bottle unless it was that fancy French bubbly stuff. The adults thought bottled water was a joke. I'm also old enough to remember the "nudge" pushing us to switch from paper bags to plastic in the grocery store for the "environment". That worked out well.
DuckDuckGone is doing the same stuff Goolag is doing. Try search.brave.com or presearch.io
I've noticed a problem with their search algorithms, but I don't believe they collect our data...unless they've changed their tune or were lying all along. I see it as a tool and don't let their algorithms set the boundaries for my searches.
Brave is safe, and also protonmail.
This
>>>
stop having an opinion on things. in many ways, this is the more potent solution. the great illusion of the modern age is that you must have a view on everything. you don’t. it’s totally fine to say “i have no idea whether to support or oppose this” and to do and say nothing. neutrality pending future information and assessment is a valid position
<<<
is the best advice I have read in a long time.
And not talking to anyone outside your trusted circle, especially ANY government employee (all law enforcement) is critical.
Agree...I have learned to say, "I will hold my opinion, pending more information." It makes more sense to say you just do not know....why is that so hard for so many people.?...there is simply too much to know in our world. Nothing like a sweet dose of humility ; it does wonders for ones's soul.
It's exactly the words I used when telling my family of origin about our (me and my two
adult children) reluctance to the injections. We stuck to this premise, and the more information that came out about the risks of the shots, the clearer our decision was to reject them outright. Unfortunately my mother, my siblings, and their families, believed the government of Canada over me. Truly horrifying.
I think it is okay to have an opinion on things. What is lacking in broad society in general is the lack of "minding one's own business!!"
"unless I understand this, I'm not doing it" sounds like good advice and reminds me of Warrent Buffett saying he would never invest in a business unless he really understood it. You might miss out on some good ones, but you will definitely miss out on some really bad ones.
My question is how do we “not do it?” They literally forced people to vaccinate they take our taxpayer dollars and do things we don’t want them to do with it. How do we stop it? Even our local government was nuts when it came to Covid. I talked to all of the people on our commission and none of them would listen to me. And as I’ve said I am a physician. Even members of my family who used to ask us medical questions constantly for some reason with Covid wouldn’t hear me when I would say that they are totally politicizing this. We are doing medical things in a way we have never done before. But for some reason my opinion when it came to Covid was not a valid one.
To stop it, we take this movement to the next level
https://simulationcommander.substack.com/p/this-is-not-a-drill-part-2
So goal #1 in moving a movement from online into meatspace is finding meatsuits in your area. It sounds simple, but without this step nothing else matters. Connecting with like-minded people in person not only grows the support network, it’s also incredibly cathartic after a couple years of being forced apart and bullied by our peers!
Some people are doing networking like this as we speak. Robert Malone is constantly running around giving talks and meeting with local groups, as is Steve Kirsch. But it’s time we all made a concerted effort to ‘take the next step’ and form real-life bonds with those in (or out of!) our area.
The form this will take is likely to be different for everybody, because everybody has different circles. Some of you may find allies in church or your already-existing monkeysphere. Maybe you can dust off the contacts of those old Ron Paul buddies. Perhaps you play beer league softball or are in a pool league or sewing circle or a million other groups that give humans a reason to gather.
Because they were victims of mass formation psychosis. Which makes people irrational. Once you drink the koolaid, there is no chance of rational thought going forward.
On the same train of thought, the thing I have never understood about the aceptance of the gene therapies, especially in Europe where they are fanatical , is that people will pay a premium and go out of their way to avoid GMO foods, but when it comes to potentially becoming a GMO from experimental drugs with a completely unknown safety profile : shoot me up, I'm fine with that.
Fear, propaganda and stupidity are powerful tools?
Yes....so fanatical. Some countries were worse than others here in Europe...I am in Switzerland, and I had lots of friends who rejected the blatantly false narrative...thank God. Sadly, my family in Canada bought the narrative, hook, line and sinker!! But to be fair, Canada lost the plot years ago regarding liberties and government overreach. So glad not to be there, especially the last three years. Horrifying.
Really started 3 Nov 2015... though some might say 3 Nov 1993, Chretien and Martin were pikers by comparison to Trudope.
So because Flint, Michigan is run by Democrats and has bad water, the water throughout all of America can't be trusted? And does Mr. Smartypants not know there's a difference between a "Georgia" and a "Michigan"? Or does he only know what his propagandist media have told him about America, with Flint being the prism?
As for "aha! so there IS a catch!", no you f'n moron, just because you can't drive off with his truckload of free water doesn't mean putting a limit on how many you can take is a "catch".
Having to listen to a timeshare sales pitch before you get the "free" luggage is a catch. The guy with the water requires nothing FROM you, just take the f'n water, hence, there IS no catch.
Ahole.
Completely bad marketing IMO. Cool day in england could have been slightly worse if it was raining, here have some american water in plastic bottles with really small advertising messages. He setup himself up for distrust. I would like to think most would just walk on by.
And is England so bereft of natural springs that a company needs to bottle it in Georgia and then ship it across an ocean to England...and then give it away, funded by advertising on labels in writing so small that most people might not even know it was advertising and this not even read it? I mean, I don't read my Poland Spring or Aquafina labels the few times I buy them. Who reads water bottle labels anyway?
lol, right? It made me laugh because I use to buy a certain soap whose bottle made for interesting bathroom reading. +/-6pt font reverse type, fun.
Ha! We must be cut from the same cloth. Every time I pick up a shampoo bottle I think, "Why can't they attach a waterproof fold-out sheet like Roundup does?!"
😂
pfizer has big bird, he could of dressed as big bird.
Thank you for pointing out that we have the option of not having an opinion about something.
So many people have asked me what I think about Ukraine, and all I can say is I have no idea what to think about Ukraine because I have no way of knowing what the real situation is.
Yup,and I add, because I can no longer trust the msm to be objective or truthful. I wish I could believe them, but they’ve lost my trust, completely.
If only people respected their minds as much as they _say_ they respect their bodies...
As stated here, sometimes the best thing to do is nothing...whether in the face of an external problem...or in a personal relationship...
Regarding trust in authority, I often recall 9/11. Many people who obeyed the authorities and stayed in their offices died. Some who made their own decisions and left, survived.
I suspect there’s also the disconnect many have between the private and the “public” spheres. They do or accept ideas/policies/actions in the public realm that they never would in the private, personal one.
The Great Disconnect...