All things Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

[Remius]

I don't call almost 90% of folks doing the right thing "divisive"......it would be the biggest election landslide in history.

93% percent of Canadians wear seat belts. 7% don’t. That 7% makes up 40% of the fatalities on the road.

We can’t fix stupid. Stupid will never be convinced.

 

[dapaterson]

Darwin is doing his part.

 

[Weinie]

BMI is one of the worst optics to measure obesity, I could be 6'3, 210lbs of muscle and be over weight, healthy by any other standard, but BMI says I wouldn't be.

Hey, I'm in the room.

 

[QV]

Editorial in the BMJ critical the raw data is not public, “big pharma least trusted industry”.

Covid-19 vaccines and treatments: we must have raw data, now

Data should be fully and immediately available for public scrutiny In the pages of The BMJ a decade ago, in the middle of a different pandemic, it came to light that governments around the world had spent billions stockpiling antivirals for influenza that had not been shown to reduce the risk...

www.bmj.com

 

[kev994]

Look up the stats yourself. Majority of people hospitalized are obese or overweight, vaccinations just buy you time.

2/3rds of Canadians are overweight so if there was no causation I would expect a similar proportion of people hospitalized be overweight.

 

[Haggis]

Convoy for Freedom 2022 is making it's way to Ottawa to protest the trucker vaccine mandate. Gerald Butts has them in his sights on Twitter

 

[winds_13]

I don't call almost 90% of folks doing the right thing "divisive"......it would be the biggest election landslide in history.

Just because something is popular, does not mean that it is not divisive. To be divisive means that something is "tending to cause disagreement or hostility between people." Also, being vaccinated does not mean that someone is pro-mandate... although about 60% of the population was last poll I checked.

Historically, when majority groups pit themselves against minority groups, things do not end well. This is why the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created.

Avi Benlolo: China is not the only nation flouting basic human rights

On International Human Rights Day, a reminder that freedom and democracy need defending around the globe

nationalpost.com

To your credit, it does appear that the turning point in the last federal election was when Trudeau shifted his campaign to be one pointed againt anti-vaxx protesters and hardline mandates against those work from home. It seems punishing the unvaccinated for not "doing the right thing" (this is a politcal tagline, BTW) became one of the most important election issues.

 

[Remius]

Just because something is popular, does not mean that it is not divisive. To be divisive means that something is "tending to cause disagreement or hostility between people." Also, being vaccinated does not mean that someone is pro-mandate... although about 60% of the population was last poll I checked.

Historically, when majority groups pit themselves against minority groups, things do not end well. This is why the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created.

Avi Benlolo: China is not the only nation flouting basic human rights

On International Human Rights Day, a reminder that freedom and democracy need defending around the globe

nationalpost.com

To your credit, it does appear that the turning point in the last federal election was when Trudeau shifted his campaign to be one pointed againt anti-vaxx protesters and hardline mandates against those work from home. It seems punishing the unvaccinated for not "doing the right thing" (this is a politcal tagline, BTW) became one of the most important election issues.

The unwilling unvaccinated are not a minority group in any definition of any rights declaration. The more extreme have compared themselves to holocaust victims. It’s an inappropriate comparison at best.

 

[mariomike]

Convoy for Freedom 2022

the convoy to Ottawa won’t be “trying to block traffic”

That's nice of them.

Apparently, it is not sactioned by the Teamsters union.

Anti-Vaxxer = Patriot, flag-waving, Freedom fighter?

Definition of ANTI-VAXXER

a person who opposes the use of vaccines or regulations mandating vaccination; especially : a parent who opposes having his or her child vaccinated —often used before another noun… See the full definition

www.merriam-webster.com

The more extreme have compared themselves to holocaust victims. It’s an inappropriate comparison at best.

 

[PMedMoe]

Convoy for Freedom 2022 is making it's way to Ottawa to protest the trucker vaccine mandate.

I wonder how that GoFundMe money is going to be divvied up? Guess people aren't as hard up and they claimed to be.

 

[mariomike]

I wonder how that GoFundMe money is going to be divvied up?

Some background on that from Truck News,

The murky matter of protests and the donations that drive them - Truck News

Much has been made of late on social media and in the mainstream media, about trucker protests that are in the works. Truckers are rightfully upset about

www.trucknews.com

The fundraising initiative was started by Tamara Lich, who has a history of association with radical groups, including the recently formed federal separatist Maverick Party in Alberta.

 

[Remius]

Some background on that from Truck News,

The murky matter of protests and the donations that drive them - Truck News

Much has been made of late on social media and in the mainstream media, about trucker protests that are in the works. Truckers are rightfully upset about

www.trucknews.com

Oh boy…

 

[winds_13]

The unwilling unvaccinated are not a minority group in any definition of any rights declaration. The more extreme have compared themselves to holocaust victims. It’s an inappropriate comparison at best.

Remius, do you care to provide a definition of what is considered a minority group? Is it not simply "a group of people whose practices, race, religion, ethnicity, or other characteristics are fewer in numbers than the main groups of those classifications."

Moreover, human rights are not bound by identification of any particular group affiliation... they are supposed to be basic and universal, something that is afforded to all humans.

 

[dimsum]

Oh boy…

Yep. My eyebrows raised when reading the paras below.

And, where will that million or so bucks go? It will go into the organizer’s bank account, that we know. That’s how GoFundMe works. From there, who knows? Since the fundraiser is not an official charity or organization, there is no further accountability. (Incidentally, Trucknews.com chooses not to promote GoFundMe initiatives for this very reason).

Lich says the money will go towards reimbursing participating truckers for their fuel costs. That’s great, but hauling a load would pay more than bobtailing cross-country for the cost of diesel. Rates aren’t bad, these days. She’ll cover food and lodging too, if you really need it.

The good news is, funds will be dispersed via e-transfer “(preferred).” Paper trail! Since GoFundMe wipes its hands of accountability once the dough is deposited into Lich’s account, we hope she will be forthcoming about how those funds are distributed.

Not a grift at all...

 

[Remius]

Remius, do you care to provide a definition of what is considered a minority group? Is it not simply "a group of people whose practices, race, religion, ethnicity, or other characteristics are fewer in numbers than the main groups of those classifications."

Moreover, human rights are not bound by identification of any particular group affiliation... they are supposed to be basic and universal, something that is afforded to all humans.

You made a historical link with majority groups pitting themselves against minority groups. Can you maybe indicate which ones historically that you meant to say that didn’t fall under those categories? Your argument seems to lump them all and puts the unvaccinated on par with all of it. Like the holocaust, or slavery etc etc. All things the unvaccinated activists have compared themselves to.

You are using the term “minority group” in the context of civil and human rights. Therefore the expectation is to take the definition in that context. The unvaccinated do not fall under anything covered by those declarations.

Some reading:

Do mandatory vaccines violate human rights?

Human rights give all people the right to be protected from harm. And Covid-19 poses a major public health risk.

qz.com

OHRC Policy statement on COVID-19 vaccine mandates and proof of vaccine certificates | Ontario Human Rights Commission

www.ohrc.on.ca

Compulsory vaccination: what does human rights law say?

Many countries, including the UK, are considering mandatory vaccination programmes. They may violate human rights law.

theconversation.com

 

[The Bread Guy]

I wonder how that GoFundMe money is going to be divvied up?

Some speed bumps from the 2019 "let's all drive our trucks to Ottawa" protests here and here.

Guess people aren't as hard up and they claimed to be.

Well, if some protesters are bashed for not going to protest instead of going to work, right? #GoodForTheGoose

 

[PMedMoe]

According to Medicine Hat News, Lich organized the convoy. Nothing like free publicity, eh?

 

[brihard]

Convoy for Freedom 2022 is making it's way to Ottawa to protest the trucker vaccine mandate. Gerald Butts has them in his sights on Twitter

Looks like they’re back to arriving in Ottawa on a weekend.

I’m still not sure what they think they’ll “shut down”? A traffic jam in the largely empty downtown core on a weekend will have zero impact on the mechanisms of government. Best they’ll achieve is cause further hassle to the already struggling businesses in the Byward Market and on Bank and Elgin.

 

[Quirky]

Vax mandates added 3% to the total in Ontario for folks getting vaccinated. It wasn't this big "win" you think it was. We're never getting above 90% total eligible population fully vaccinated, no matter how many coercive measures you put in place. At a certain point, the divisive politics of pitting Canadians fails when that 90% realizes the politicians reneged on their promise of a return to normal if you just get vaccinated. If our Healthcare system can't handle 10% unvaccinated folks, who are predominately from a non-severe illness age bracket, then that's where the problem is not those dirty unvaccinated lepers.

And at this point in time, with 90% of the country vaccinated, more and more people are still travelling despite these nonsensical restrictions.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/travel-omicron-test-1.6322609

"Life is short," said Long, 58, of Richmond, B.C. "We needed to feel some warmth [and] we really missed Mexico."

"People are saying, "Listen, we only have a limited time on this planet.… We've put off travel for two years now, I don't want to put it off anymore," said Keyter, owner of The Travel Lady Agency in Calgary.

"I spent a year and a half of my life not seeing family, not seeing friends," he said. "I'm not going to stop living my life."

BMI is one of the worst optics to measure obesity, I could be 6'3, 210lbs of muscle and be over weight, healthy by any other standard, but BMI says I wouldn't be.

The amount of people who fall in the obesity measure of overweight by BMI due to muscle mass is laughable. In the end it doesn't matter what excuses you use to justify obesity, the proof is in the pudding. This pandemic showed us just how little attention is given to personal health by the average Canadian and it's clear that our healthcare system won't be there to save them. Manitoba is a clear example - where they suffer from more serious C19 outcomes due to some the highest rates of obesity and diabetes in the country. No amount of restrictions, masks and vaccination rates will save these people in the long run. People's personal choices are getting them killed, not some flu bug.

 

[Haggis]

BMI is one of the worst optics to measure obesity, I could be 6'3, 210lbs of muscle and be over weight, healthy by any other standard, but BMI says I wouldn't be.

Back in the early 90's (about the same time the "Warrior Program" was born) the CAF adopted the BMI as a broad brush messure of fitness. I was one of the "fit fat" caught in the BMI net. I scored Silver at least during the Warrior years but couldn't get promoted with a BMI over 27 until a MO signed off on me.