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It's all so bizarre?

And yet can't shake feeling this is simply part of greater machinations to enable more restriction of movement in the face of increasing mass migrations events.

See how EU has tried to "harmonise" drivers licenses and then national IDs. New drivers licenses were introduced 2012. New machine-readable state ID's went into effect in 2019. Qr code vax pass is the continuation and extension of this trend.

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It's not 'bizarre', for everyone with eyes to see and ears to hear could have easily 'foretold' these things.

At this point, I suppose the wet dreams of the EUroklatura is the command'n'control system as (predictively programmed by) 'Minority Report'.

And while I'm conscious of the 'increasing mass migration events', I'm not even sure this is 'on their radar'. It's actually quite easy to close any border: open fire. In the EU's case, it's even easier along the Mediterranean 'frontier', for all that's required is to not pick up 'migrants' and wait for the rafts to sink. (That's already being done.)

Now, with the Russian situation, it's perhaps also on the mind of these critters that a 'new' iron curtain-like border might fix that issue along the frontier in the east.

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May 7, 2022·edited May 7, 2022Liked by epimetheus

Festung Europa, the "dream" was called by a certain someone, I believe? Or perhaps "Antifaschistischer Schutzwall" fits better.

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Question is: who are the fascists?

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May 7, 2022Liked by epimetheus

Well, automatic brakes, steering "guidance" etc. are all in the EUSSR parliament's pipeline, being rolled out this year is mandatory break systems for all new cars - as in the car prevents the driver from exceeding the speed limit, something that may be necessary to avoid an accident.

Only, a computer cannot make that call. But the image if the engineer hero is to strongly imprinted, I guess. Problem? Technofy it! Didn't work? Clearly an even more complex and complicated techno-techno solution is needed!

Such as the soon-to-be mandatory Black Box in each car, initially for passive data collection in case of accident.

Well, guess what? It will active, and it will report every bit of info to the coming centralised EU department of transportation.

Expect fees and taxes for the climate automatically deducted from your accounts if you drive over your allotted monthly quota.

It's high time for all motor enthusiasts and real engineers (the guys who use their heads hands, not auto-CAD models) to develop wood gas converter kits and easy-to-use DKW. Simple, mechanical technology without electronics.

Oh, and expect the same kind of surveillance re: health and consumer habits.

So you really want to buy that Snickers bar if it lowers your social score, citizen?

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It's the infantilisation of humankind by technology, sure.

It's the ever-tightening grip of 'progress', which has humankind it is stranglehold.

As an example from my line of work, does the name 'Grammarly' ring a bell? It's an English-language pay-for-use app that 'proof-reads' and 'streamlines' your college work before submission.

Never mind the fact that this has become 'necesary' (as in: an option) in countries that don't educate their young. English--or any mother tongue--used to be a prerequisite of college, not a 'nice-to-have (but not essential)'.

Re the quip about the Snickers score: true, but given high taxes on, say, booze and tobacco, they will probably continue to be o.k., albeit 'only' if you walk home from the bar (because your car won't move if it detects booze on your breath). Mind you, I'm not for drunk driving, I'm just bringing up the implications.

Hal?

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May 8, 2022·edited May 8, 2022

"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that."

I do not mind technology for humans to use; it's letting technology ictate what humans do that is the problem.

I was loathed by students for one thing, which I stuck to adamantly: papers are to be written by hand, no excuses. A trait I inherited from my own tutor. She would give exams in english lit like this one: read Heart of Darkness. Write an essay analysing the text from a chosen perspective of literary ananlysis (say Freudian, marxist, poststructuralist, and so on - free choice). First draft in lead pencil, second in ink, finished in ink. All three written by hand, on time (we got four hours total, no breaks, bring snacks) and to be handed in. Any reference material to be shown beforehand (for quotes and correct annotation).

Handwriting is good for the brain's development, too. First thing I've one with any device is turn off spell check (fuck that, a machine is a tool, it does not get to tell me what or how to write an I own my mistakes thankya verra much!) and dictionary. Only, the current generation software does not allow it. So we've gone from device to e-vice, I'd say. Also, we've gone back to the age of illiterates simply copying symbols from one script to another; reinventing the human Xerox machine.

Fun thing: my brother is very much into technology, both from interest and due to work (self taught software techie and now tutoring geologist). I regularly annoy him pointing out that the true worth in any machine can only be measured along the axes of reliability/durability, and human control. As in, my tools. While I use power tools, they remain tools, and I retain and have started collecting manual tools. They don't wear out and don't break (unless made of chinesium, which older tools aren't). Wy West German hammer f.e.

Geologists today use drones, lasers, what have you. All the software is based on models and modelling, meaning any rounding error anywhere gets compounded every step of the way. As long as it works, it works great. Problm is, when it stops working they can no longer whip out a slide ruler and do the math in their heads.

Brither, being smart, acknowledges this but informs me that quiblling about technofetisch-isation is a surefire way to get bypassed on the career track. It's faster, harder, scooter all the way to Metropolis.

I'll let the the seplling errors stay.

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May 10, 2022·edited May 10, 2022

Nice thoughts!

If you think, your example is the same for Computer graphics: when CG draw a line is not a line is an approximation of a line or a curve/circle. No matter if you have HD, 2k, 4k, 8k, is always something fake, an optical illusion of a line/curve...

But they sell us as high definition! Ha, ha, ah...

In the 80/90s there was a technology to make a perfect line/curve called vector graphics, but it couldn't reproduce colors as much as raster graphics.

So yep, hands could draw things that machines can't even imagine!

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May 10, 2022Liked by epimetheus

Welocome to the EuroReich IV ! Brought you by.... United States of America

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May 9, 2022·edited May 9, 2022Liked by epimetheus

I'll move away, many friends are thinking to leave...

No one want to fight. So I better move away from brain washed and coward

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I understand the sentiment, but: where to go to?

Don't believe for a minute that it's going to be substantially 'better' elsewhere.

May as well stay and fight. 'They' won't stop, so I suppose neither should we.

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May 10, 2022·edited May 10, 2022Liked by epimetheus

Will see, I grew up as High School student at the end of '70s, while Nato, CIA, P2 were destroying italian hopes for a change.

Somebody should tell the story of Enrico Mattei one day to amerikans so they realize how criminals they've been for last 70 years at least! And always in other people homes, NEVER in their homes! And how USA had tight relationships with Hitler Nazi, with Italo american Mafia and so on... and they still do.

They now complain about mandates and covid fraud? Sure, easy, like babes, spoiled kids, after they were blind and didn't move a finger while their Governments have destroyed rights and freedom abroad, outside USA!

So, sure, let's stay in EU and fight but ONLY when those bloody yankees leave us alone! I promise, but only after that!

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I'm afaid that even if you tell these (and many other, comparable stories) to Americans, they won't change their minds, as evidenced by their apathy in the face of fraud, tyranny, and bio-pharmaco surveillance.

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May 9, 2022·edited May 9, 2022Liked by epimetheus

This is exactly what we are doing with my family, moving from the west to the south east... Europe. Not sure we can win this battle here in the west where our opinion on matters has drastically drifted in the last 2-3 years compared to the majority of the population (almost everyone we speak to).

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I wish you and yours the best, Nikolay.

This shift is a curious one, for I doubt that something of this magnitude would have been that easily (swiftly) done in the absence of 2+ years of Covid mindfvckery.

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May 9, 2022Liked by epimetheus

The same thing is starting to happen here in Sweden; there is a small but growing exodus to Romania, Hungary, Poland and the Baltic states.

For the obvious reason that they do not let in millions of moslems.

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Well, at the risk of spilling some beans, one of the key reasons to do so--and that 'r/exodus' actually predated 'Covid', or the breakthrough of Wokery, for that matter--is that if you come to 'the West' and don't move into high-paying jobs directly, your life will be ± the same in terms of long-term prospects as back home (even though there's probably more to do back home).

One of the key issues most (upper-) middle-class Westerners don't 'get' is this: if you, say, drive a bus 'back home', and if you do the same in 'the West', you won't achieve anything. You'll always struggle to make ends meet, and the reason behind this is: the utter contempt most middle-class Westerners have for those who service them and make 'the West' work, sort-a.

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May 7, 2022Liked by epimetheus

Well, COVID passports may become the new taking-off-shoes-at-airports. (Not that the old shoe-taking-off is going anywhere.) But look, this may well be necessary: with energy prices sky-rocketing, demand destructions is sorely needed. "Gently discouraging" people from travelling is certainly a step in the right direction. (It works, too. I haven't left CZ since the whole COVID madness started.)

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More like 'rendering it impossible due to so many hoops to jump through', but the end result is the same.

How are things in Czechia? Last time I checked a few days ago, emergency measures were about to end--I suppose everything stays?

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May 8, 2022Liked by epimetheus

Everything's gone! All the COVID measures in CZ, I mean. And they truly are gone: you very occasionally encounter a mask wearer (usually a tourist, as far as I can tell), but that's about it. I still worry about the fall. I'm supposed to travel internationally (for work) in the fall, and I'm quite worried about what might happen.

Am I correct that Austria no longer requires any kind of COVID certificate for transit? I mean: if I want to take a bus that goes from CZ, passes through Austria, and then goes to a third country, Austria doesn't require any kind of COVID anything? (What I *actually* want to know is what will happen in September. But no-one can possibly know that.)

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Re the 'everthing's gone' thing: same here, and gov't + parliament even bothered to rescind all mandates etc., very much unlike other places that simple 'suspended' things for a bit. Is that the same int CZ, too?

Re masked tourists: same here, it's the most mind-boggling thing to observe. I live in a coastal town, hence most, if not virtually all, tourists come with these big cruise ships--so: they're o.k. to wine and dine in an enclosed area with all vaxxed and boosted people around, but they then 'dare' to come ashore to Norway where there are no mandates? Imagine how afraid of the locals and the air (or whatever) they must be once they leave their cabins…

Re Austrian immigration/transit: they still require 3G proof, i.e., a 'test' should suffice for immigration. Things may well be different when driving through the country: did you check the Czech embassy's website in Vienna? Or the Austrian embassy's site in Czechia?

Re the future: I'll have something in the works for tomorrow or Wednesday that focuses on Austria/Covidistan, but there's no guarantee it'll be a reliable guide for September.

I think that they'll close down (partially) again, but they may revoke any 3G entry requirement over the summer due to pressures from the tourism industry.

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I went through covidistan (transit with a car) on 17th April and yesterday and there were no covid passes required at the borders. Crossed Hungarian and German borders.

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deletedMay 7, 2022·edited May 7, 2022Liked by epimetheus
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Re their 'aim' = digital ID.

Perhaps the reason why Norway is left alone, to certain degrees, is that here such a digital ID is already established (BankID).

The main 'problem', as far as the EUroklatura and their local Quislings are concerned is--interoperability of these digital ID systems.

This suggests, in turn, that no matter how stupid, inefficient, costly, and/or faulty these 'systems' are, they will be continued. I suppose that at some point in the future, ridicule and contempt is all that will remain. And the population's unwillingness to apply them.

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