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A New State of Segregation: Vaccine Cards Are Just the Beginning
By John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead
Imagine it: a national classification system that not only categorizes you according to your health status but also allows the government to sort you in a hundred other ways: by gender, orientation, wealth, medical condition, religious beliefs, political viewpoint, legal status, etc.
This is the slippery slope upon which we are embarking, one that begins with vaccine passports and ends with a national system of segregation.
It has already begun.
With every passing day, more and more private businesses and government agencies on both the state and federal level are requiring proof of a COVID-19 vaccination in order for individuals to work, travel, shop, attend school, and generally participate in the life of the country.
No matter what one’s views may be regarding the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is an unnerving proposition for a country that claims to prize the rights of the individual and whose Bill of Rights was written in such a way as to favor the rights of the minority.
By allowing government agents to establish a litmus test for individuals to be able to engage in commerce, movement and any other right that corresponds to life in a supposedly free society, it lays the groundwork for a “show me your papers” society in which you are required to identify yourself at any time to any government worker who demands it for any reason.
Such tactics can quickly escalate into a power-grab that empowers government agents to force anyone and everyone to prove they are in compliance with every statute and regulation on the books. Mind you, there are thousands of statutes and regulations on the books. Indeed, in this era of overcriminalization, it is estimated that the average American unknowingly breaks at least three laws a day.
This is also how the right to move about freely has been undermined, overtaken and rewritten into a privilege granted by the government to those citizens who are prepared to toe the line.
It used to be that “we the people” had the right to come and go as we please without the fear of being stopped, questioned by police or forced to identify ourselves. In other words, unless police had a reasonable suspicion that a person was guilty of wrongdoing, they had no legal authority to stop the person and require identification.
Unfortunately, in this age of COVID-19, that unrestricted right to move about freely is being pitted against the government’s power to lock down communities at a moment’s notice. And in this tug-of-war between individual freedoms and government power, “we the people” have been on the losing end of the deal.
Now vaccine passports, vaccine admission requirements, and travel restrictions may seem like small, necessary steps in winning the war against the COVID-19 virus, but that’s just so much propaganda. They’re only necessary to the police state in its efforts to further brainwash the populace into believing that the government legitimately has the power to enforce such blatant acts of authoritarianism.
This is how you imprison a populace and lock down a nation.
It makes no difference if such police state tactics are carried out in the name of national security or protecting America’s borders or making America healthy again: the philosophy remains the same, and it is a mindset that is not friendly to freedom.
You can’t have it both ways.
You can’t live in a constitutional republic if you allow the government to act like a police state.
You can’t claim to value freedom if you allow the government to operate like a dictatorship.
You can’t expect to have your rights respected if you allow the government to treat whomever it pleases with disrespect and an utter disregard for the rule of law.
If you’re tempted to justify these draconian measures for whatever reason—for the sake of health concerns, the economy, or national security—beware: there’s always a boomerang effect.
Whatever dangerous practices you allow the government to carry out now, rest assured, these same practices can and will be used against you when the government decides to set its sights on you.
The war on drugs turned out to be a war on the American people, waged with SWAT teams and militarized police. The war on terror turned out to be a war on the American people, waged with warrantless surveillance and indefinite detention for those who dare to disagree.
The war on immigration turned out to be a war on the American people, waged with roving government agents demanding “papers, please.”
This war on COVID-19 is turning out to be yet another war on the American people, waged with all of the surveillance weaponry and tracking mechanisms at the government’s disposal. You see, when you talk about empowering government agents to screen the populace in order to control and prevent spread of this virus, what you’re really talking about is creating a society in which ID cards, round ups, checkpoints and detention centers become routine weapons used by the government to control and suppress the populace, no matter the threat.
No one is safe.
No one is immune. MORE.
Mandates Will Be Necessary To Convince 93 Million Americans To Accept The Vaccine https://t.co/WB22qI2awZ
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) August 3, 2021
Fauci: Mandates Will Be Necessary To Convince 93 Million Americans To Accept The Vaccine
Via Zero Hedge
Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci inadvertently hinted at why moving the goalposts on herd immunity is important to the Biden Administration’s strategy for mandating vaccines. Because now once the FDA grants final approval for the jabs (already a foregone conclusion), it will give businesses and colleges the green light to start mandating vaccinations for workers and patrons alike.
Now that 70% of adults have been vaccinated, the government is only going to continue ramping up its campaign. “I’d settle for 70% or 80%, but I’d love to see 90%,” Dr. Fauci said.
In terms of how it might inspire more people to get vaccinated, Dr. Fauci insisted that FDA approval would be a “game-changer” for the vaccine (Despite survey data showing more than half of those who haven’t been vaccinated are firmly skeptical of vaccines).
Despite what the administration has said about giving people the freedom of choice on vaccines, Dr. Fauci revealed that the Biden Administration is depending on vaccine mandates to coerce 100% of Americans to accept the vaccine.
The only way to get to this level is via local mandates, Dr. Fauci pointed out. And that’s exactly what people should expect.
“… to get to the 93 million unvaccinated people, we are going to need local mandates”.
In other words: First you get the mandates, then you get the jump in vaccinations. We’re already seeing the trend in states like Florida that are seeing the most new cases.
“I think you’re going to see more people get vaccinated and you’re also going to see enterprises feeling much more confident in local mandates for the vaccines… you’re going to see more universities…places of businesses, once they get the cover of the mandate…you’ll start seeing more vaccines. “Because if you get the majority of the people vaccinated, we wouldn’t be having this conversation now.”
Dr. Fauci also criticized governors who have given orders making it illegal to requiring masking or vaccinations. “If everybody got vaccinated we wouldn’t be arguing about masks…the need for masks would be reduced dramatically,” Dr. Fauci said.
If that’s true, then why do the vaccinated people need to wear masks?
As a growing number of companies carry out the government’s bidding by either demanding staff get vaccinated, demanding that customers mask up (even those who have been vaccinated) or both – Chipotle is the latest to order workers to wear masks and “encourage” customers to wear masks while Microsoft joined the growing number of tech firms requiring employees to get vaccinated – an organization of infectious disease experts are attempting to move the goalposts for herd immunity.
Bloomberg reports that delta’s spread has pushed the estimate for herd immunity “well over 80% and potentially approaching 90%” according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America, which announced the change during a briefing on Tuesday. MORE.
Hawaii Police Department starts using Boston Dynamics robot dogs in order to avoid any unnecessary social contact amid the pandemic
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— RT (@RT_com) August 1, 2021
How Long Before We Humans Are Being Policed by Robots?
By Caitlin Johnstone
The elites are seeking to normalize the use of police robots by calling them ‘dogs’ – but the machines are the vanguard of a dystopian future that will see them cement their power in place forever.
Hawaii police are defending their use of pandemic relief funds for a robotic “police dog” made by Boston Dynamics which scans homeless people’s eyes to see if they have a fever.
“If you’re homeless and looking for temporary shelter in Hawaii’s capital, expect a visit from a robotic police dog that will scan your eye to make sure you don’t have a fever,” a new report from AP says. “That’s just one of the ways public safety agencies are starting to use Spot, the best-known of a new commercial category of robots that trot around with animal-like agility.”
“Acting Lt. Joseph O’Neal of the Honolulu Police Department’s community outreach unit defended the robot’s use in a media demonstration earlier this year,” AP reports. “He said it has protected officers, shelter staff and residents by scanning body temperatures between meal times at a shelter where homeless people could quarantine and get tested for COVID-19. The robot is also used to remotely interview individuals who have tested positive.”
This has understandably elicited criticism from civil rights advocates.
“Because these people are houseless it’s considered OK to do that,” Hawaii ACLU legal director Jongwook Kim told AP. “At some point it will come out again for some different use after the pandemic is over.”
This report comes just days after we learned that police in Winnipeg have also obtained a ‘Spot’ robot which they intend to use in hostage situations.
Winnipeg Free Press reports:
“The Winnipeg Police Service is set to acquire a pricey dog-shaped robot, to be used in hostage situations, that’s already been ditched by police in New York City.
“‘Spot’ is made by Boston Dynamics, which sells the device for US$74,500. Winnipeg police are spending $257,000 to acquire and use Spot. The 32-kilogram robot ‘has the ability to navigate obstacles, uneven terrain (and) situations where our traditional robot platforms can’t go into,’ said Insp. Brian Miln at a news conference Wednesday.”
Months earlier, the New York Police Department cancelled its lease of the same type of robot they obtained last year following public outcry. More from AP:
“The expensive machine arrived with little public notice or explanation, public officials said, and was deployed to already over-policed public housing. Use of the high-tech canine also clashed with Black Lives Matter calls to defund police operations and reinvest in other priorities.”
The company that makes the robots, Boston Dynamics, says it’s learned from the New York fiasco and is trying to do a better job of explaining to the public – and its customers – what Spot can and cannot do. That’s become increasingly important as Boston Dynamics becomes part of South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Company, which in June closed an $880 million deal for a controlling stake in the robotics firm.
To be absolutely clear, there is not actually any legitimate reason for any normal person to refer to these machines as a ‘robotic dog’, or a ‘high-tech canine’, or by a cutesy cliché name for a pet. These are robots. Robots that are being used by police forces on civilian populations. If the robots being used had two legs, or eight, they would not be able to apply such cuddly-wuddly labels, and public alarm bells would be going off a lot louder. MORE.
Zerohedge: Is This What's Really Behind The War On Home-Ownership?
"A homeowner is independent. A renter is not. A renter can be controlled. A homeowner can not."#BlackRock https://t.co/7sd0G6q9mN
— Jack Posobiec, IWO
(@JackPosobiec) August 3, 2021
Is This What’s Really Behind The War On Home-Ownership?
Via Off Guardian
The incipient “Great Reset” is a multi-faceted beast. We talk a lot about vaccine passports and lockdowns and the Covid-realated aspects – and we should – but there’s more to it than that.
Remember, they want you to “own nothing and be happy”. And right at the top of the list of things you definitely shouldn’t own, is your own home.
The headlines about this have been steady for the last few years, but it has picked up pace in the wake of the “pandemic” (as has so much else). An agenda hidden on back pages, behind by Covid’s meaningless big red numbers, but perhaps no less sinister.
You can find articles all over the net talking up renting over owning.
Last month, for example, Bloomberg ran an article headlined:
America Should Become a Nation of Renters”
Which praises what they call “the liquefaction of the housing market” and gleefully expounds on the idea that “The very features that made home buying an affordable and stable investment are coming to an end.”
The Atlantic published “Why Its Better To Rent Than Own” in March.
Financial pages from Business Insider to Forbes to Yahoo and Bloomberg again are filled with lists titled “9 Ways Renting is Better Than Buying”, or similar.
Other publications go more personal with it, with anecdotal columns about ignoring financial advice and refusing to buy your home. Vox, never one to sell their agenda with any kind of subtlety, have a piece titled:
Homeownership can bring out the worst in you
Which literally argues that buying a house can make you a bad person:
It’s the biggest thing you might ever buy. And it could be turning you into a bad person.
So what exactly is the narrative here? What’s the story behind the story?
The short answer is fairly simple: It’s about greed, and it’s about control.
It almost always is, in the end.
The longer answer is rather more complicated. Major investment firms such as Vanguard and Blackrock, along with rental companies such as American Homes 4 Rent, are buying up single-family homes in record numbers – sometimes entire neighbourhoods at a time.
They pay well over market value, pricing families who want to own those homes out of the market, which forces the housing market up whilst the Lockdown-created recession is lowering wages and creating millions of newly unemployed.
Of course, this is motivating people to sell the houses they already own.
People all across America have been saddled with houses worth less than they bought them for since the 2008 economic crash, and are eager to take the cash from private investment firms paying 10-20% over market value. Combine an economic recession with a created housing boom and you have a huge population of motivated sellers.
Of course, many of these sellers don’t realise, until it’s too late, that even if they attempt to downsize or move to a cheaper area, they may be priced out of the market completely, and forced to rent.
As such, in the last year, the private investment share of single-family home purchases is estimated to have increased ten-fold, going from 2% in 2018 to over 20% this year.
As more and more people are forced to rent, of course, rental properties will be in higher and higher demand. This in turn will drive the cost of renting up.
Market Watch has already reported that, in the last year, rent has increased over 3x faster than the government predicted.
This problem is likely to get worse in the near future.
Last night, Congress “accidentally failed” to extend the Covid-related eviction ban.
Which means, this weekend, while Senators adjourn to the summer homes they probably don’t rent, the ban will officially end and a lot of people are likely to have their houses foreclosed or their landlords kick them out.
The newly empty buildings will be a feeding frenzy for the massive corporate landlords. Who will descend on the banks like starving hyenas to snap up the foreclosed properties for pennies on the dollar. Just like they did in 2008. MORE.
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