Offside Chat Archives (2014-2021)

Paul Martinez73 said:Welcome to the real world.
All this was happening to one specific group—the fans. While they were being treated like animals, getting slapped with fines and criminal charges based on mere comments, having their homes raided, their jobs targeted, and living under constant terror, the crowd was cheering them on, shouting "beat the hooligans." When they pushed through those speech laws, or when they sang songs about war profiteers, the masses were rooting for the police. Now, you can all eat what you cooked.

(I'm not aiming this directly at you, but I'm pretty sure those two journalists back then were just nodding along and approving everything.)

Now the pundits and the political talking heads will probably jump in to tell you exactly how wrong you are.☕

Thanks for nothing!

Austrian people will probably be forced to wear masks just to go shopping

I think the Czech people have introduced something pretty similar, and honestly, I'm hoping more countries follow suit soon, because let's face it, who isn't going to pull the trigger on this? We could see it spreading through more places by the fall if we get hit with a second wave. If a second wave actually happens, the whole world is basically going to be walking around in masks, or at least the serious countries that actually had the foresight to stockpile enough supplies over the next few months, while the ones that failed to prepare will just keep shouting from the sidelines about how masks don't even matter.

Paul Martinez73 said:Welcome to the real world.
All this was happening to one specific group—the fans. While they were being treated like animals, getting slapped with fines and criminal charges based on mere comments, having their homes raided, their jobs targeted, and living under constant terror, the crowd was cheering them on, shouting "beat the hooligans." When they pushed through those speech laws, or when they sang songs about war profiteers, the masses were rooting for the police. Now, you can all eat what you cooked.

(I'm not aiming this directly at you, but I'm pretty sure those two journalists back then were just nodding along and approving everything.)

And that is exactly what they're aiming for.

Violations of fundamental constitutional rights and basic human rights? All of that played out right in front of the public eye years ago.

But people thought, "Oh, that doesn't involve me." They assumed the blue-suited authorities would somehow know how to distinguish between them and the "useless" folks who are now being shuffled between hospitals. They thought that when they eventually hit the streets because of evictions, unpaid wages, absurd cuts to workers' rights, or rights for disabled children—or even during the pandemic—that things would be different for them. Yeah, right! As if!

The state apparatus started playing these games far too long ago, tracking people both physically and electronically without even changing telecommunications laws, just so they could jump right back into it in 2020.
The fact that the crowd is still cheering for all of this today doesn't change the reality, nor can it change it, even if they wanted to. It only shows that we are collectively regressing and sinking deeper and deeper.

Nancy Sanchez31 said:Now the pundits and the political talking heads will probably jump in to tell you exactly how wrong you are.☕

🤣
Well, that's just the American elite and the "fine gentlemen" for you.

restlesssurfer97 said:Thanks for nothing!

Austrian people will probably be forced to wear masks just to go shopping

I think the Czech people have introduced something pretty similar, and honestly, I'm hoping more countries follow suit soon, because let's face it, who isn't going to pull the trigger on this? We could see it spreading through more places by the fall if we get hit with a second wave. If a second wave actually happens, the whole world is basically going to be walking around in masks, or at least the serious countries that actually had the foresight to stockpile enough supplies over the next few months, while the ones that failed to prepare will just keep shouting from the sidelines about how masks don't even matter.

That’s great, assuming they can actually guarantee everyone gets a mask. I read somewhere that the biggest manufacturer of rubber gloves is already seeing double the orders they can actually fulfill, so just imagine the chaos when it comes to masks.

We’re eventually going to find masks that actually work with the weather, but until then, everyone just needs to figure out how to manage on their own best effort. The real key here is that we need to start being crystal clear about the fact that masks are necessary, and once that communication is straight, the market will handle the rest of the heavy lifting.

I really hope someone over here in the States realizes they can make some serious money off this too.
About a month ago, there was news about a Chinese car factory that pivoted its entire operation by using over 90% of its existing tech, and now they’re pumping out 5 million masks every single day.

Then you have the people in Korea who started cranking out tens of thousands of tests daily, first just to cover their own needs, but now they're exporting them everywhere.

And so on, and so forth....

Absolutely. We moved past the stage of debating who the primary carriers are a long time ago; the reality is that a significant portion of those dealing with infectious diseases are asymptomatic. Whether you fashion a mask out of a tissue, a rag, a handkerchief, or some scrap fabric, the principle remains the same...

It will intercept the majority of what is typically projected through sneezing, coughing, or simply talking aimlessly for several feet when one isn't masked. It won't stop everything, but it will catch plenty of droplets on the inner layer. When everyone wears a mask, there is mutual protection and the overall risk decreases.

I support this measure; no one should be heading out without a mask, even if it's just a makeshift one.

The communication regarding masks was poorly handled from the start, much like the self-isolation mandates. Most people following that directive don't even truly grasp what self-isolation entails, and the actual enforcement of those isolation protocols only began in earnest after several days of laxity.

So, while Canada is busy drafting actual legislation regarding travel restrictions—

it wouldn't surprise me if those getting slapped with fines for breaking quarantine or leaving their homes end up suing the government for a payday.

Honestly, I wouldn't even be surprised. The first guy to start whining is always sitting pretty on his horse, and let’s be real—I highly doubt this FEMA outfit actually has any real teeth when it comes to calling the shots on these measures.

I spent half an hour just banging my head against the wall.

Anthony Jackson2 said:So, while Canada is busy drafting actual legislation regarding travel restrictions—

it wouldn't surprise me if those getting slapped with fines for breaking quarantine or leaving their homes end up suing the government for a payday.

We actually already have the Public Health Service Act that allows this kind of thing, so the real question is: should this have been debated in Congress, or can a Cabinet Secretary just decide to do it on a whim?

Jack Murphy5 said:I spent half an hour just banging my head against the wall.

Total rookie mistake here😁 🙏 It’s just a linear equation with two variables.

p + l = 110
p = l + 100
👍, though I have to admit, I totally tripped up on the first ball myself at first glance.🤣

mellowotter36 said:We actually already have the Public Health Service Act that allows this kind of thing, so the real question is: should this have been debated in Congress, or can a Cabinet Secretary just decide to do it on a whim?

It exists—but it comes with strings attached.

He thinks the quarantine placed on Murter is illegal—which, honestly, isn't hard to argue with. Under the Public Health Service Act, you can only forcibly quarantine individuals, not entire regions—and that call has to come directly from the Secretary of Health, not some FEMA directive. Plus, the Law also mandates that anyone forced into quarantine has to be compensated—another detail they seem to be ignoring.

Noah Perez2 said:Absolutely. We moved past the stage of debating who the primary carriers are a long time ago; the reality is that a significant portion of those dealing with infectious diseases are asymptomatic. Whether you fashion a mask out of a tissue, a rag, a handkerchief, or some scrap fabric, the principle remains the same...

It will intercept the majority of what is typically projected through sneezing, coughing, or simply talking aimlessly for several feet when one isn't masked. It won't stop everything, but it will catch plenty of droplets on the inner layer. When everyone wears a mask, there is mutual protection and the overall risk decreases.

I support this measure; no one should be heading out without a mask, even if it's just a makeshift one.

The communication regarding masks was poorly handled from the start, much like the self-isolation mandates. Most people following that directive don't even truly grasp what self-isolation entails, and the actual enforcement of those isolation protocols only began in earnest after several days of laxity.

For real. 🙏🙏🙏

Paul Sanders5 said:Honestly, I wouldn't even be surprised. The first guy to start whining is always sitting pretty on his horse, and let’s be real—I highly doubt this FEMA outfit actually has any real teeth when it comes to calling the shots on these measures.

That is exactly what I’ve been writing about for days now—how the government has essentially handed over total control to a tiny handful of individuals who are treated like untouchable experts, people whom 94 percent of the country just blindly bows down to.
Their decisions aren't questioned, they aren't debated, and they certainly aren't subject to any meaningful scrutiny; they just roll out mandates without deep or thorough consultation, and the majority of the citizenry pays the price...

We act like a mindless herd only because most of us refuse to challenge the status quo or question anything; we just stand there screaming "My Homeland!" like a bunch of idiots staring out of windows...
Matijanic wrote a decent piece on this today, titled "Collective shouting of My Homeland—clean hands and washed brains"...

I was just watching that Open segment about mobile location tracking. First off, Togonal went straight for the jugular with that opening quote, and honestly, the host is incredible—man really has some guts.

Listening to Bacic, I honestly can't believe what this guy is saying. I mean, we all know what the Republican Party is all about, but even I’m surprised that things can actually sink lower than this; he's just such a petty little fraud and a cheap manipulator, it's unbelievable.

Grbin—not that I’d say I like him or anything—is hitting him with laser-like precision, arguing YES to the law if it only applies to people who were officially ordered into isolation, and only during that specific window, with all the data being wiped once the monitoring period ends.
Then he asks, why on earth would they need to monitor every single citizen?

Bacic tries to claim they need to monitor everyone because, much like in an earthquake scenario, monitoring can help locate survivors—though Grbin totally shut him down by pointing out that anonymous tracking could achieve that too—and he also mentioned using it to track people who lie about being out skiing.
I’ve listened to all kinds of nonsense from total fanatics before, but listening to this, I’m genuinely stunned. It gave me chills. It’s wild how much they think they can get away with.

Kopal should be the main headline here; he's the real black swan.

When you see how they treat us right out in the open like this, I don't even want to think about how much money is going to be pocketed while everyone is distracted by the pandemic; I'm seriously afraid we're looking at the heist of the century.

I won't even get started on how this whole mess could be fixed just by using a simple app, where anyone who gets slapped with an isolation order just installs it on their phone and boom, you're done.

Total garbage.

Man, how are people actually supposed to survive after an earthquake hits?

Anthony Jackson2 said:It exists—but it comes with strings attached.

He thinks the quarantine placed on Murter is illegal—which, honestly, isn't hard to argue with. Under the Public Health Service Act, you can only forcibly quarantine individuals, not entire regions—and that call has to come directly from the Secretary of Health, not some FEMA directive. Plus, the Law also mandates that anyone forced into quarantine has to be compensated—another detail they seem to be ignoring.

Actually, Section 47 of that act states that movement can be restricted or prohibited within infected or immediately threatened areas.

So, is that law actually "live" right now—as in, have they even set up the framework to start enforcing it?