Rarely have I seen arguments™ as incoherent and detached from reality as this piece that appeared, no less, in Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: with such experts™, no change is possible
It's only wrong, when the wrong people do it, and then only because it is done by the wrong people.
To be alive, when the above is seen as the guiding principle of the humanities and the social sciences! Dr Pangloss wasn't supposed to be a role-model, was he?
Two areas have the potential to blow the status quo to smithereens over a 5 year time frame: energy and pensions. The net zero trains keeps running and will very likely lead to prolonged blackouts. That will jolt the still very comfortable middle class. Likewise Germany is sliding towards a fiscal cliff by 2032 with the unreformed pension system (not even counting Blackrock Fritze‘s Russian ghost hunting adventure). Touch the pensions in any meaningful way and without careful preparation and phase-in and political careers will evaporate.
Question is how to prepare because events like that veer wildly and unpredictably.
I doubt we'll make it to 2032, frankly, without any serious problems, and I doubt that these two massive roadblocks will be the issue. They are, but the thing that will kick over the clown car is likely something else: if I were a betting man, I'd bet the farm on the combination of ever-wilder contortions (see the Romanian clusterf*** with regards to elections) plus the EU leadership's death impetus to wage war against Russia and do so without the US. I suppose we'll get elections without meanings or consequences (see Germany), de facto martial law (no need for courts, what remains of the rule of law), and a kind of EU superstate replete with the most abominable trappings of the Covid era, incl. 'Green Passports' (they already noted the 'politically correct™' colour), arbitrary restrictions on individuals, and massive bouts of entirely debt-based spending (as the member-states' shortfalls can, supposedly, by made up by joint EU bills and bonds backed by nothing).
Also: Blackrock Fritze is an apt moniker that I'll borrow every now and then, if I may!
I especially admired this line (and it made me laugh): "the entire can of worms known as the Covid Op has not entered the eternally spotless mind of the good professor." Unfortunately this describes most of academia on my side of the pond as well— so it would seem. I wonder how many in academia are staying silent, navigating below the radar of compliance. I suspect not so many— the majority of those who recognized the madness of the covid tyranny quit, retired, or were let go back in 2021-2022.
As to your question, there's also the few (I presume) who march on, however disgustedly (like me). I was 'fortunate', though, because Norwegians are such a sleepwalking bunch I've only got asked once about my injection status and lied about it (there were no direct controls or the like here in Norway). When I told my wife (she's a certified Montessori kindergarten teacher), she suggested 'roll your eyes and return the question, "what do you think?"', which honestly worked like a charm as my colleagues recognised the absurdity of their question and retreated, muttering something like, 'nevermind'.
In me, the Covid Op has engendered a burning desire to work tirelessly towards being able to tell them 'GFY', if push comes to shove next time.
I like your wife's advice. My personal stance on the matter is, apart from my spouse, and from a medical professional I trust asking for a legitimate medical reason, it's nobody's business. And if they think it is, and they presume to ask me, they're so far out of bounds they don't deserve any other answer than whatever I see fit to provide.
Oh, it's not that I wouldn't share that stance--it's just that, back in 2021/22, it used to be quite fashionable over here to yell at acquaintances across the street and tell them all about the most recent injection…
Plus dancing first responders (which I believe to have been a set-up by professional stage-managers using actors/dancers before 'regular' first responders started doing it).
There was something deeply weird about the videos of the TikTok dancers and that song, Jerusalema." I spent some time looking at the videos when I transcribed some excerpts from Thomas Sheridan's video about them (and other subjects). If you, or anyone down this far in the comments section ever want to have a look, the links are here:
„..to perform a vote…“
That’s a nice turn of phrase. Imma go steal it.
Have at it!
It's only wrong, when the wrong people do it, and then only because it is done by the wrong people.
To be alive, when the above is seen as the guiding principle of the humanities and the social sciences! Dr Pangloss wasn't supposed to be a role-model, was he?
As I said repeatedly, the select application/invocation of 'the rule of law™' is nothing but a bit of lipstick put on the pig by the name of tyranny.
Two areas have the potential to blow the status quo to smithereens over a 5 year time frame: energy and pensions. The net zero trains keeps running and will very likely lead to prolonged blackouts. That will jolt the still very comfortable middle class. Likewise Germany is sliding towards a fiscal cliff by 2032 with the unreformed pension system (not even counting Blackrock Fritze‘s Russian ghost hunting adventure). Touch the pensions in any meaningful way and without careful preparation and phase-in and political careers will evaporate.
Question is how to prepare because events like that veer wildly and unpredictably.
I doubt we'll make it to 2032, frankly, without any serious problems, and I doubt that these two massive roadblocks will be the issue. They are, but the thing that will kick over the clown car is likely something else: if I were a betting man, I'd bet the farm on the combination of ever-wilder contortions (see the Romanian clusterf*** with regards to elections) plus the EU leadership's death impetus to wage war against Russia and do so without the US. I suppose we'll get elections without meanings or consequences (see Germany), de facto martial law (no need for courts, what remains of the rule of law), and a kind of EU superstate replete with the most abominable trappings of the Covid era, incl. 'Green Passports' (they already noted the 'politically correct™' colour), arbitrary restrictions on individuals, and massive bouts of entirely debt-based spending (as the member-states' shortfalls can, supposedly, by made up by joint EU bills and bonds backed by nothing).
Also: Blackrock Fritze is an apt moniker that I'll borrow every now and then, if I may!
The great Frederic Bastiat would not consider any of these shenanigans to be lawful. https://bastiat.org good stuff maynard.
No sane individual would, my good sir, and thank you for that link!
Epimethius— Thanks for reporting.
I especially admired this line (and it made me laugh): "the entire can of worms known as the Covid Op has not entered the eternally spotless mind of the good professor." Unfortunately this describes most of academia on my side of the pond as well— so it would seem. I wonder how many in academia are staying silent, navigating below the radar of compliance. I suspect not so many— the majority of those who recognized the madness of the covid tyranny quit, retired, or were let go back in 2021-2022.
As to your question, there's also the few (I presume) who march on, however disgustedly (like me). I was 'fortunate', though, because Norwegians are such a sleepwalking bunch I've only got asked once about my injection status and lied about it (there were no direct controls or the like here in Norway). When I told my wife (she's a certified Montessori kindergarten teacher), she suggested 'roll your eyes and return the question, "what do you think?"', which honestly worked like a charm as my colleagues recognised the absurdity of their question and retreated, muttering something like, 'nevermind'.
In me, the Covid Op has engendered a burning desire to work tirelessly towards being able to tell them 'GFY', if push comes to shove next time.
I like your wife's advice. My personal stance on the matter is, apart from my spouse, and from a medical professional I trust asking for a legitimate medical reason, it's nobody's business. And if they think it is, and they presume to ask me, they're so far out of bounds they don't deserve any other answer than whatever I see fit to provide.
Oh, it's not that I wouldn't share that stance--it's just that, back in 2021/22, it used to be quite fashionable over here to yell at acquaintances across the street and tell them all about the most recent injection…
I well remember, it was the same kerazy in my neck of the woods.
Plus dancing first responders (which I believe to have been a set-up by professional stage-managers using actors/dancers before 'regular' first responders started doing it).
There was something deeply weird about the videos of the TikTok dancers and that song, Jerusalema." I spent some time looking at the videos when I transcribed some excerpts from Thomas Sheridan's video about them (and other subjects). If you, or anyone down this far in the comments section ever want to have a look, the links are here:
Forgiveness Going Forward
Thomas Sheridan II, Posted June 7, 2021
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7dMKYcKt1I
Annotated transcript: https://transcriberb.dreamwidth.org/137674.html