COVID-19: who’s going full doomsday prep on this?

Flow-Rider

Burner
Omicron variant XBB.1.5 is the most contagious yet

In December alone, XBB.1.5 grew from causing fewer than 1 percent of confirmed COVID-19 cases nationwide to more than 40 percent, rapidly out-competing other variants. In northeastern states it caused more than 75 percent of all cases for the week beginning December 25, although there is no data yet to indicate whether it causes more severe disease.

“It is the most transmissible subvariant that has been detected yet,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead for COVID-19 response at the World Health Organization, during a news conference. Scientists estimate that someone infected with XBB.1.5 can cause 60 percent more infections than a person infected with its parent strains.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Omicron variant XBB.1.5 is the most contagious yet

In December alone, XBB.1.5 grew from causing fewer than 1 percent of confirmed COVID-19 cases nationwide to more than 40 percent, rapidly out-competing other variants. In northeastern states it caused more than 75 percent of all cases for the week beginning December 25, although there is no data yet to indicate whether it causes more severe disease.

“It is the most transmissible subvariant that has been detected yet,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the technical lead for COVID-19 response at the World Health Organization, during a news conference. Scientists estimate that someone infected with XBB.1.5 can cause 60 percent more infections than a person infected with its parent strains.
Awesome. Just in time for another plane ride next month....
 

Scotty T

Walks the walk
Anyone else got dickheads on socials posting memes about dying suddenly? Apparently there was a movie:


It's not worth engaging with the kooks who are posting this stuff, but it shows me how dumb some of the people I know are.
 

Scotty T

Walks the walk
Thats no way to talk about your fellow burners...
There hasn't been any COVID insanity here for a long time, and certiainly nobody brave enough to admit in RB they buy into this shit because they will have a dozen people own them with facts. This particular dude who posted the memes leading to my finding the fact check is beyond help, he'll try and argue a couple of pathetic points and then will just leave the conversation when someone else brings some logic.

It seems the cookers are back at the GG's place, and they are loosely planning another convoy event for 26 Jan to end of month. Should be fun.
 

rockmoose

his flabber is totally gastered
There hasn't been any COVID insanity here for a long time, and certiainly nobody brave enough to admit in RB they buy into this shit because they will have a dozen people own them with facts. This particular dude who posted the memes leading to my finding the fact check is beyond help, he'll try and argue a couple of pathetic points and then will just leave the conversation when someone else brings some logic.

It seems the cookers are back at the GG's place, and they are loosely planning another convoy event for 26 Jan to end of month. Should be fun.
I keep sending the link to HCA. They love it.
 

Stredda

Runs naked through virgin scrub
There's a guy I used to work with and was a fairly reasonable bloke and a bike rider. When Covid came along he went way down the rabbit hole into every conspiracy theory imaginable.
On conspiracy was the "Sudden Adult Death Syndrome" which he of course posted up a link as "evidence" that the covid vaccinee had caused this as he had never heard of it before.
Of course, a quick google of this results in many articles about the exact issue going back at least the early 2000s.
 

Squidfayce

Eats Squid
Everyone would have seen the shoot up in outback Qld with the cops in the media by now, how does a dedicated school principal end up as a cooker? Some of these pricks are very dangerous people, the government needs to more to keep an eye on them.
Its ok, were on our way to mass invasive surveillance of that type. give it maybe another decade before its in your face
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
Its ok, were on our way to mass invasive surveillance of that type. give it maybe another decade before its in your face
I have nothing to hide, they can go for it as much as they like. The AFP and QPS already know me, I've been riding with some of the head people in Qld for years.
 

Squidfayce

Eats Squid
I have nothing to hide, they can go for it as much as they like.
this is actually problematic position.

The “nothing to hide” argument mistakenly suggests that privacy is something only criminals desire.

Do you have a fence? use curtains or blinds? Those are ways to ensure a measure of privacy, not indicators of criminal behavior or something to hide. Privacy is a fundamental part of a dignified life.

The “nothing to hide” argument also has things backwards when it suggests that we are all worthy of suspicion until proven otherwise. The govt bears the burden of showing there is a good reason for suspicion, not the other way around. “nothing to hide” should not be a license for sweeping government surveillance.

Even if you think you have nothing to hide, there is a reason to to fear. Living under the constant gaze of government surveillance can produce long-lasting social harm: if citizens are just a little more fearful, a little less likely to freely associate, a little less likely to dissent – the aggregate chilling effect can close what was once an open society.

Government surveillance can also have a direct harm on others – human rights workers or journalists who must work with people who fear government scrutiny, not because of wrongdoing but for political reasons etc.
 
Last edited:

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
this is actually problematic position.

The “nothing to hide” argument mistakenly suggests that privacy is something only criminals desire.

Do you have a fence? use curtains or blinds? Those are ways to ensure a measure of privacy, not indicators of criminal behavior or something to hide. Privacy is a fundamental part of a dignified life.

The “nothing to hide” argument also has things backwards when it suggests that we are all worthy of suspicion until proven otherwise. The govt bears the burden of showing there is a good reason for suspicion, not the other way around. “nothing to hide” should not be a license for sweeping government surveillance.

Even if you think you have nothing to hide, there is a reason to to fear. Living under the constant gaze of government surveillance can produce long-lasting social harm: if citizens are just a little more fearful, a little less likely to freely associate, a little less likely to dissent – the aggregate chilling effect can close what was once an open society.

Government surveillance can also have a direct harm on others – human rights workers or journalists who must work with people who fear government scrutiny, not because of wrongdoing but for political reasons.
I feel like the concern over privacy is the tail wagging the dog.

People happily hand over data to big tech without a second thought. Privacy per se is not the problem.

The problem is shitty Government without checks and balances. Maybe this is what people should be really worried about.

Sent from my M2012K11AG using Tapatalk
 

Squidfayce

Eats Squid
I feel like the concern over privacy is the tail wagging the dog.

People happily hand over data to big tech without a second thought. Privacy per se is not the problem.

The problem is shitty Government without checks and balances. Maybe this is what people should be really worried about.

Sent from my M2012K11AG using Tapatalk
I agree in principle somewhat, but its unlikely FB or Tinder is going to use its data to collect or chase an unfounded debt from you, or accuse you and punish you of a crime you didnt commit based on some spurious connections. I mean look at Robo debt.

The problem with the way we give away data to private corporations is that that paves the way for the argument about just handing it over to the government. Why should the govt have checks and balances when we privately give away the same information elsewhere freely without checks and balances? nothing to hide right? or do we suddenly have something to hide when the govt is asking. That's suspicious, right? the argument is problematic whichever position you come from.

Im a firm believer that the horse has bolted. But I do try to open peoples eyes to the whole "nothing to hide" rhetoric that seems to have become our default position. I mean are you sure that you will never have something to hide in the future? Even Robovac camera images are making their way into publicly visible spaces. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...hotos-woman-toilet-images-ended-Facebook.html just take a look at the capability of whats going on here.

Imagine the ATO being able to surveil your home's contents to determine if the standard of your living appears greater than your income records suggest, or a consumer intelligence data service (like equifax etc) being able to inform their corporate client (like say a life insurer) whether you have a nice whiskey collection which inadvertently increases your premiums because on the face of it, you look like an alcoholic.

The idea of "nothing to hide" is just not that simple and we should all be aware of what is actually at stake. I mean today, you can see in your google account several years of GPS tracking on a daily basis unless you've switched it off. Switching it off also likely doesn't stop the collection, just its visibility to you as shown with other similar "opt out" selections on collection activities of days gone. Imagine your employer knowing that that sickie you had\, you were actually at the beach.
 

Flow-Rider

Burner
this is actually problematic position.

The “nothing to hide” argument mistakenly suggests that privacy is something only criminals desire.

Do you have a fence? use curtains or blinds? Those are ways to ensure a measure of privacy, not indicators of criminal behavior or something to hide. Privacy is a fundamental part of a dignified life.

The “nothing to hide” argument also has things backwards when it suggests that we are all worthy of suspicion until proven otherwise. The govt bears the burden of showing there is a good reason for suspicion, not the other way around. “nothing to hide” should not be a license for sweeping government surveillance.

Even if you think you have nothing to hide, there is a reason to to fear. Living under the constant gaze of government surveillance can produce long-lasting social harm: if citizens are just a little more fearful, a little less likely to freely associate, a little less likely to dissent – the aggregate chilling effect can close what was once an open society.

Government surveillance can also have a direct harm on others – human rights workers or journalists who must work with people who fear government scrutiny, not because of wrongdoing but for political reasons etc.
Slow day at work mate? :D

You're sounding like a cooker now.
 

Squidfayce

Eats Squid
Slow day at work mate? :D

You're sounding like a cooker now.
except cookers don't base their argument of actual facts. Last year i posted some evidence in the form of an extensive academic paper with references to the various proofs in another thread that outlines how bad this has become already over the last decade and how long its been going on for (spoiler alert, since before the internet). This isnt a topic that is challenged. Its very well documented and known about and discussed openly. Deep down, you know it to be true, but you probably dont care. That's a serious misjudgment on your part and quite possible a position that you've been unwittingly manipulated into given its been proven how easy it is to manipulate people these days. I believe that there will be a time in our lifetime where we actually regret being collectively blasé about this stuff.

You can label me whatever you like, but its you that's ignorant on the issue.
 
Last edited:

Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
I agree in principle somewhat, but its unlikely FB or Tinder is going to use its data to collect or chase an unfounded debt from you, or accuse you and punish you of a crime you didnt commit based on some spurious connections. I mean look at Robo debt.

The problem with the way we give away data to private corporations is that that paves the way for the argument about just handing it over to the government. Why should the govt have checks and balances when we privately give away the same information elsewhere freely without checks and balances? nothing to hide right? or do we suddenly have something to hide when the govt is asking. That's suspicious, right? the argument is problematic whichever position you come from.

Im a firm believer that the horse has bolted. But I do try to open peoples eyes to the whole "nothing to hide" rhetoric that seems to have become our default position. I mean are you sure that you will never have something to hide in the future? Even Robovac camera images are making their way into publicly visible spaces. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...hotos-woman-toilet-images-ended-Facebook.html just take a look at the capability of whats going on here.

Imagine the ATO being able to surveil your home's contents to determine if the standard of your living appears greater than your income records suggest, or a consumer intelligence data service (like equifax etc) being able to inform their corporate client (like say a life insurer) whether you have a nice whiskey collection which inadvertently increases your premiums because on the face of it, you look like an alcoholic.

The idea of "nothing to hide" is just not that simple and we should all be aware of what is actually at stake. I mean today, you can see in your google account several years of GPS tracking on a daily basis unless you've switched it off. Switching it off also likely doesn't stop the collection, just its visibility to you as shown with other similar "opt out" selections on collection activities of days gone. Imagine your employer knowing that that sickie you had\, you were actually at the beach.
But all of these examples are symptoms of shitty Government and regulation. If we stay awake enough to keep the bastards honest, then privacy will remain a peripheral issue.

The cynic in me is a strong believer that you should never attribute to malfeasance what can be explained by incompetence. Even in the face of ever growing surveillance and use of AI I'm not seeing a lot of evidence to dissuade me from Occam's razor's idiot cousin.



Sent from my M2012K11AG using Tapatalk
 
Top