Truck off: convoys, coups and protests

[Cartmann99]

2 hours ago, AlmostSavedAtTacoBell said:

Yeah, it’s a real star studded event!! Even Chachi is staying away! 

I'm surprised that Ricky Schroder isn't going to be there.

[Ozlsn]

2 hours ago, AlmostSavedAtTacoBell said:

I recognize two names on the list. As I never watched Hercules I only know Kevin Sorbo was Hercules because Lucy Lawless’ takedowns of his stupid Twitter comments are fantastic. I am also aware of his roles in movies where some brave Christian stands up against a non believer and wins over the souls of many. Jenny McCarthy is the other one and as someone more famous for exploiting her child and having a website dedicated to her with a body count than her “acting” or “modeling” career, I guess she fits right in with this crew. Yeah, it’s a real star studded event!! Even Chachi is staying away! 

There's a few familiar anti-vax names there. The highest profile is Bob Sears who was selling vaccine exemptions after California brought them in. I'm guessing Andrew Wakefield asked for too much money to be included.

[Cartmann99]

The People's Convoy start journey back to DC Thursday morning

Quote

WASHINGTON (7News) — The People’s Convoy says they are ready to head back to Washington D.C. after a brief stop in California.

According to their website, truckers plan to leave Post Falls, Idaho at 8:30 a.m. Thursday and take I-90E for 78 miles to the Dena Mora Rest Area – I-90, Saltese, Montana for a quick bathroom break. They will then continue on I-90E for 91 miles to Exit 96 to Muralt’s Travel Plaza – 8800 Truck Stop Rd, Missoula, MT for a GAS N GO break.

Their website says they are fighting for freedom for all Americans.

"Plan to join us at any time along the route! Every person with a heartbeat should be joining this movement in securing FREEDOM for all Americans and future generations," they wrote.

The convoy camped out in Hagerstown, Maryland in March and traveled to D.C. almost daily for three weeks, protesting COVID-19 mandates.

"When we left, you guys laughed at us," said a speaker at a convoy rally. "You made fun of us."

"Enough is enough. When we go back to DC, we are not the same convoy that went there the first time. We are not the same convoy that left there. We are coming back with teeth and a backbone!" he exclaimed to cheers.

The city used Metrobuses, dump and garbage trucks along with police resources to control traffic when the convoy would drive down into town.

DC Police tell 7News they will be ready to cover any First Amendment activities that might arise.

There is no word on how many truckers will be in the DC area in the coming weeks.

According to their official Facebook page, they have a tentative route planned and are still working on stop and rally points along the way.

"Get packed and ready to join us if you want your voice heard in DC!!, one member wrote on the page.

 

[fraurosena]

6 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

The People's Convoy start journey back to DC Thursday morning

 

Wait, what?! They’re going back to protesting against the government taking away one’s freedom? You mean… they heard about the government being poised to overthrow Roe vs Wade… and are protesting the government taking away a woman’s freedom?

I’m gobsmaked.

 

/s

[AlmostSavedAtTacoBell]

9 hours ago, fraurosena said:

Wait, what?! They’re going back to protesting against the government taking away one’s freedom? You mean… they heard about the government being poised to overthrow Roe vs Wade… and are protesting the government taking away a woman’s freedom?

I’m gobsmaked.

 

/s

Silly @fraurosena, wimmin ain't peeple.  Wimmin is fer breedin' 'n' cookin' 'n' cleanin' 'n' sammich makin'.  We's just goin' for freedumb fer peeple! Dem wimmin' in da convoy?  Dey's der ta cook'n'clean'n'makesammiches.  Now watch me open ma beer wit' my teef!

[Cartmann99]

Here we go again...

[Cartmann99]

The People’s Convoy D.C. ‘Occupation’ Is a Complete Bust

Quote

The so-called “People’s Convoy” has retreated from plans to silently ambush the Washington, D.C. area after the right-wing truckers spent weeks aimlessly circling the freeway before giving up and heading back home.

The increasingly violent truckers, who initially made the trek to D.C. in March to protest vaccine mandates, among other MAGA grievances, only to retreat with their vehicular tails between their legs, had claimed they would stealthily ambush the nation’s capital on Thursday afternoon.

“Get ready to move in about 15-20 minutes when I tell you to,” convoy leader David Riddell, aka “Santa,” told fellow convoy-goers on Wednesday night as the sun went down over their Hagerstown, Maryland encampment. “Be back here at four o’clock in the afternoon [on Thursday] and be ready to roll at a moment’s notice.”

“You guys are the new minutemen. When we roll out of here at night, [there] will be complete and total radio silence,” he continued. “There will be five people that know what we’re doing and know the route we are taking.”

Riddell is the newly appointed convoy leader after Brian Brase bailed on the group to return to his home in Northern Ohio. “Complete and total radio silence,” the new leader emphasized once more, demanding that as part of this silent blitzkrieg his fellow convoy truckers—who have incessantly livestreamed their activity—cut their feeds when they travel into D.C. on Thursday.

Although convoy-goers aimlessly circled the Beltway on Wednesday afternoon and got stuck in rush-hour traffic, Riddell claimed he had conducted a “covert” reconnaissance mission ahead of their ambush. “This is the day we waited for,” he added.

Asked by one supporter on Wednesday evening whether the convoy had an exit plan out of D.C. proper, Riddell said he had no desire to leave the area once the trucker crew was inside city limits.

“We are going to stay,” he confidently replied. “We don’t have no exit plan.”

By Friday afternoon, however, the group had failed to go through with their plan to ambush the city and subsequently surrendered.

“As of 2:30 pm EST today, May 20, 2022, The People’s Convoy declares victory and announces its conclusion of the national convoy portion of this great movement. Any convoy and protest activity from this time forward is done on an individual basis and is not representing The People’s Convoy,” the group wrote in a press release. “We will be exiting Hagerstown Speedway within 7 days.”

The ending of the convoy didn't sit well with at least one convoy-streamer.

“You have families that were mislead across the nation,” the streamer said. “What happened here is beyond ridiculous.”

The failed scheme comes as the inept trucker group deals with apparent tension within its ranks. The organization’s top livestreamers, with the handles Trucker G and Sasnak, both left the group this week with some members suggesting in Telegram chats that the pair had quit over disputes with leadership.

Even though Riddell has repeatedly implored the truckers not to bring any firearms into city limits, the group‘s willingness to take up more extreme measures beyond circling the Beltway has left some supporters fretting about the potential for violent confrontations.

During a Wednesday afternoon livestream, Trucker G read aloud one such fan’s comment expressing worry that the group might become overtly hostile.

“I see several people leaning towards violence,” the user wrote, prompting the YouTubing trucker to remark: “I hope not. As soon as they take this violently, it’s going to throw everything they’re trying to accomplish, it’s going to throw it away.”

As of 9:30 on Thursday evening, a Metropolitan Police Department officer told The Daily Beast that the convoy hadn’t even left the Hagerstown, Maryland area, an hour and a half away from the capitol. Back at their camp there, a fight broke out just before 10, with a woman alleging a man had punched her husband in the face. “Get the fuck out of our campsite,” the woman yelled. “Get out of our campsite!”

 

Is Maury going to come out and tell us who the father is?

Edited May 21, 2022 by Cartmann99

[AlmostSavedAtTacoBell]

1 hour ago, Cartmann99 said:

The People’s Convoy D.C. ‘Occupation’ Is a Complete Bust

 

Is Maury going to come out and tell us who the father is?

Maury’s too classy for this crew. I think even Springer would pass. 

These people really are so unintentionally hilarious they are a parody. 

[Ozlsn]

4 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

Although convoy-goers aimlessly circled the Beltway on Wednesday afternoon and got stuck in rush-hour traffic,

For some reason that made me laugh. I feel for the commuters, but if you can't even plan your convoy around known busy periods or at least try to use them to your advantage then I don't think you're very good at this.

[Cartmann99]

People’s Convoy Supporters Want to Sue Leaders for ‘Fraud’

Quote

Leaders of the so-called “People’s Convoy,” following the implosion of their efforts to occupy Washington, D.C., surrendered and attempted to dissolve the convoy as of Friday. Yet, their own supporters weren't pleased with that decision and tried to make their voices known to convoy leaders Ron Coleman and Marcus Summers, who hid out in a luxury RV. At around 8 p.m. Maryland State Troopers arrived at the Hagerstown Speedway to convoy-goers yelling “squatters' rights!” After speaking with Coleman, Summers, and other co-organizers in the RV, a state trooper told angry convoy supporters that there was no financial contract with the speedway and that they would have to leave the property within hours.

“We would like to press charges,” convoy-goers yelled back, seeking to begin a legal endeavor against convoy leaders—including Coleman and Summers—over alleged “fraud.” “Arrest them for fucking fraud,” another supporter yelled out. Summers got back into the RV as police attempted to de-escalate the situation. (Convoy leaders didn't return The Daily Beast's request for comment on Friday night.) Former convoy leader Brian Brase took to Facebook to claim he had “nothing to do” with the current version of the convoy, despite founding the entire venture. “I really can't say what's happening there!”

 

[AlmostSavedAtTacoBell]

12 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

“We would like to press charges,” convoy-goers yelled back, seeking to begin a legal endeavor against convoy leaders—including Coleman and Summers—over alleged “fraud.” “Arrest them for fucking fraud,” another supporter yelled out.

While there are circumstances under which people can be criminally prosecuted for fraudulent actions, this ain’t one Cletus. Chalk up not knowing the difference between criminal and civil to the list of areas these bozos are completely misled by their idiotic “leaders”. “Squatters’ rights” is sheer comedy gold. Yeah, Jebediah, how about you go ahead and point to any statute or case law that supports your claim. No, not something you found on the internet written by a guy who goes by TrumpFann4Evr. Nope, that pamphlet you got at the last Trump rally from the guy selling “genuine Injun knives” and confederate flags isn’t going to fly. Sorry, claiming you are a sovereign citizen doesn’t mean Jack because here in the good ol’ U.S. of A., the rights of property owners are still recognized. Aren’t you guys all about rights? Well it turns out they don’t just apply to you. Now get off my lawn! 

[Cartmann99]

 

[Cartmann99]

The People's Convoy has a new name.

Their new Facebook page.

[Becky]

That Facebook page, good grief.  I am not sure whether to laugh or cry. 
 

[bea]

That post about the tongue in cheek proposal that they provide vasectomies to all young males is such a startling indication of the fact that they really can’t tell that there’s no difference between the government forcing you to have a baby and the government preventing you from having one.

[thoughtful]

But what does the 65 cents symbolize?

Some of them are in church, reinforcing one another's belief that God is on their side:

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by thoughtful
adding link to church service

[thoughtful]

The person praying is chanting away, asking for God to rebuke the spirit of accident, restrictions, road rage, etc. from the truckers.

She includes "Jehovah be their GPS in the name of Jesus" and "when sleep begins to fall on them, we say that you give them the spirit to wake up in the name of Jesus."

She also rebukes the spirit of aggression, and asks that they know the peace of Jesus while carrying his message into "that city."

 

[thoughtful]

The livestream has continued, even though the church service has been finished for a while. They've sorted out what to have for lunch, and the person filming, who I think is "Santa," talked about how welcoming the church was.

He compliments their good singing and message, and says something about thinking it is a "Haitian-based" church, due to a flag they had up that he didn't recognize. I doubt any of them would have anything to do with black people outside of church.

Then they pulled the big unwieldy trucks out of the little strip mall parking lot, and honked at people. He continues filming while driving.

He went on to talk about "stuff" they have, that the People's Convoy people are welcome to come get if they want it.

He's flipped the camera around so we can see him, as he talks about the evil ones out there who want to kill the movement in its infancy, and how "a lot of us are shell-shocked." He got a phone call after he left for church, saying that "two people were brawlin' up trouble at the camp against me personally."

Spoiler

I think that's all I can take.

[Dandruff]

59 minutes ago, thoughtful said:

But what does the 65 cents symbolize?

IQ.

[thoughtful]

I forgot to say that some of the people in the church were masked, including the woman praying for their safety on the road.

I guess it's OK with the trucker idiots if it's voluntary.

[Cartmann99]

I found the video from yesterday where Santa tells his followers about the group's new mission. I've cued the video up so it should start at 2:08:05. I stopped watching when the meeting ended at 2:26:42.

Highlights of the meeting. 👇

Spoiler

They are now transforming into a group whose goal is to restore the United States to a Constitutional Republic. Santa speaks about the importance of the United States being a moral nation. He's picked out the new leaders for the group and talks a bit about their plans for a new online presence. "We need our men to be men, and our women to be women." Says he believes in equality, but it's very obvious that he's complementarian. He then tells a story about how young women on Facebook were hitting on him after his divorce because they were tired of how men their own age were playing video games and expecting these women to support them. (He seems rather clueless about how online scams work. )

He then chastises unemployed men and tells the group that men working to support their families will "restore America."  An audience member asks about disabled men and an exception is made for them. He states that he has no plans to violently overthrow the government, because "you can't out-violence the government." Says he wants to follow Dr. Martin Luther King's example of peaceful protests, and that he's a "peaceful person." He circles back to men needing to "take care of your families" and not be "lazy bums." If you scroll back up to the video, you'll see links to his "gimme your money" sites in the lower right-hand corner.

He then invites "one of the ladies who was in the meeting to talk about the women." A woman takes the bullhorn and starts dishing out the joys of complementarian gender roles. She tells the crowd about the importance of "raising boys to be boys and girls to be girls," before touching on those young women who were trying to pick-up Santa. She reminds the women who are present that their job is to keep sweet support the men. They should "let them be men," while the women, "take care of home, because that's where a lot of our problems stem from." She then tells the women, "let's know our place and enjoy our place."

Santa takes back the bullhorn and remembers they didn't pray 😱. He then leads them in a short prayer which segues into the Pledge of Allegiance. Afterwards, he tells them that since morality is their thing, they will start attending "small local churches" every Sunday. He then tells them they will show 2000 Mules to the group that evening. There's some talk about where things are located in their current camp, and that food is being brought in for everyone. The woman who spoke before shows back up in the background with a young child in a stroller. Santa answers a few questions and the meeting ends.

My head hurts now. 

[AlmostSavedAtTacoBell]

So, they finally figured out they were protesting against something that didn’t exist but still want to play with their Hot Wheels Road Rage- ‘Murica! set and have rebranded. I guess it’s back to pants wetting and eating food dogs have urinated upon while paying high gas prices and missing work. I am sure they will attract many like minded people with those selling points. I haven’t even mentioned the possibility of netting Santa as a mate for some lucky lady! 

[Cartmann99]

Since I'm a masochist, I ended up watching another video starring Santa. Like before, I've set this one up to start right before he begins speaking and I stopped watching after he left.

Video highlights are under the spoiler.

Spoiler

• Santa is a Proud Boy, but has "laid down his colors" in order to be the leader of the 1776 Restoration Movement.
• He says that he didn't want to be the leader of the Movement, but everything was falling apart so he took on this job under the condition that he would have the final say.
• Santa says the Proud Boys have gotten a bad rap. He uses the example of them providing free security for people like Pastor Greg Locke as his proof.
• He plans to go back into DC at some point, but doesn't want to reveal the date. He also wants to do recruiting trips to gain more followers for the Movement.
• Santa's a believer in a conspiracy theory about the WHO Pandemic treaty. (Please see the article below the spoiler for details about the treaty.) He claims this treaty, which he believes is being signed today, will lead to the end of American sovereignty.
• At the end of his speech, a group surrounds him to ask questions. One woman asks if the Movement will be run as a democracy. He tells her no, that he doesn't believe in democracy, and neither did the Founding Fathers. He says he's not a tyrant or a dictator, and that people can always voice their concerns to his advisory council.

Why Tucker Carlson is wrong about the World Health Organization and its pandemic treaty

Quote

The World Health Organization is—if you believe Tucker Carlson—about to seize "total authority over emergency operations in the United States if there's ever a 'public health emergency.'"

What's more: "The White House is going to be the muscle for the director of the World Health Organization," exclaimed the Fox News anchor.

Scary stuff! But is it true? "News to me," deadpanned WHO communications director Gabby Stern on Twitter.

The right-wing Fox pundit's Thursday-night diatribe was in fact just the latest articulation of a conspiracy theory that's been doing the rounds in recent weeks, particularly among those who were already opposed to COVID lockdown measures.

The former Hollywood actor and comedian Russell Brand is another high-profile proponent, and the small United Australia party has been hawking the theory ahead of elections Down Under this weekend.

The theory focuses on a "pandemic treaty" that is being thrashed out under the auspices of the WHO.

Per Carlson, the Biden administration has eliminated provisions in the draft text so as to give the U.N. public-health agency unlimited power: "As originally written, they couldn't do anything without the permission of their member countries' governments. But thanks to the change that the Biden administration pushed, effectively there is no limit at all on WHO's power and then it gets worse from there."

Why that's wrong

So let's start here.

Yes, there is a pandemic treaty that is in the very early stages of being drawn up—so early, in fact, that the White House can't possibly be "eliminating provisions."

"At no points have governments agreed to what it's going to include and won't include," said Clare Wenham, associate professor of global health policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. "No-one has got the text of it yet—the text hasn't been drafted yet."

What did happen a few weeks ago is that the WHO asked governments to send in their wish-lists for the treaty, which will then inform the contents of that first draft.

According to Wenham, Carlson has probably confused the pandemic treaty process with changes that are being made to the International Health Regulations (IHR), a legally binding global agreement that has been around since 1969 and been repeatedly revised, mostly recently in 2005.

The U.S. government did indeed earlier this year submit amendments to the IHR, which will be voted on in the World Health Assembly (the WHO's decision-making body) next week.

"I can understand why there's confusion, but there are separate processes that are interlinked," Wenham said.

The IHR, which comprises technical public health guidance for how governments should and shouldn't respond to public health emergencies, shows we already have international law covering disease control.

And, given how governments widely ignored the rules when COVID-19 struck, it also demonstrates the fundamental limitation of international law: everyone may agree to it, but good luck enforcing it.

China flouted the IHR by suppressing news of the virus's emergence and drawing a curtain over the disease's origins.

Many countries broke the rules by instituting strict travel bans without solid scientific evidence to back them up, and by failing to coordinate the distribution of medical equipment in the pandemic's early months.

Even the WHO arguably messed up, by failing to declare an emergency when cases were already spreading around the world.

"The pandemic treaty is supposed to demonstrate the political commitment alongside the public health law," said Wenham. "The idea is that public health law was insufficient during COVID, so we need to bring political commitment on top."

Hence the stated aim of the treaty. As a host of world leaders put it in a joint statement back in March 2021: "We must be better prepared to predict, prevent, detect, assess and effectively respond to pandemics in a highly coordinated fashion."

Specifically, that means new alert systems, more data sharing, better research, and improved "regional and global production and distribution of medical and public health counter-measures such as vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and personal protective equipment."

But back to Tucker Carlson, who is outraged at the idea of the WHO sharing "real-time information about travel measures":

"So, you're going to find out exactly when you're allowed to get on a bus or train or airplane or how about your bicycle? Will they regulate that too? Maybe. Now, the World Health Organization has sought this authority for years. Of course, who doesn't want more power?"

"At no point has anyone ever suggested the WHO is going to have the power to enforce lockdowns or supersede sovereign interest," said Wenham. "The WHO aren't going to be suggesting lockdowns and, even if they were to, governments don't have to do it."

The WHO itself told Fortune in an emailed statement that all 194 of its member countries are involved in the treaty's development "on equal terms," and the goal was to "promote global collaboration to prevent, prepare for and respond to crises in the future, and preventing a repeat of the COVID-19 pandemic."

"As with all international instruments, any accord, if and when agreed, would be determined by governments themselves, who would take any action while considering their own national laws and regulations," the agency said.

But what about the U.S.'s proposed amendments to the IHR? Is there a "there" there?

It is certainly true that the changes would—if the U.S. got the rest of the world's backing—increase the powers of the WHO's director-general, who is currently Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

For example, if there were an outbreak of something nasty in a country, the director-general would no longer have to get the government of that country's agreement before declaring a public health emergency of international concern.

She or he would also be able to base their assessment on information coming from non-official channels, and the country would have just two days to start playing ball, otherwise the WHO could go public with the information.

Some legal scholars find these proposals controversial.

"Have technocratic, biomedical approaches, developed and implemented from the top down primarily through executive action, worked well in response to COVID-19, justifying a further extension and centralization of global emergency powers at WHO?" asked former WHO legal consultant Silvia Behrendt and University College Dublin law lecturer Amrei Müller in a critique of the U.S. proposals this week.

But again, said the LSE's Wenham, there would be no way for Tedros or whoever succeeds him to enforce the new rules, beyond naming and shaming countries that break them.

"There has never been a time when the director-general of the WHO has done anything without consent of governments," she said. "It's not like he can do anything. Member states don't listen, and ignore anyway if they want."

"It's international law—there's no world police, there's no enforcement mechanism, there's no sanctions."

The last word should perhaps go to Tedros himself, who said Monday that "there has been a small minority of groups making misleading statements and purposefully distorting facts."

"WHO is not just fighting COVID-19: There is an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, an unknown hepatitis affecting children around the world and monkeypox affecting a number of countries," Tedros said.

"WHO is working with national authorities to respond quickly and effectively to these outbreaks. The last few years have taught us about our own collective fragility and the threat to economies and security of not working together.

"The [treaty] process is at the very beginning of a multiyear member state-led negotiation, which will only be finalized in 2024 after multiple public hearings around the world. And all voices will be heard."

 

[Ozlsn]

6 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

He says that he didn't want to be the leader of the Movement, but everything was falling apart so he took on this job under the condition that he would have the final say.

 

6 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

He tells her no, that he doesn't believe in democracy, and neither did the Founding Fathers. He says he's not a tyrant or a dictator, and that people can always voice their concerns to his advisory council.

Hm. So yet another wannabe tinpot dictator then? What a surprise.

6 hours ago, Cartmann99 said:

The World Health Organization is—if you believe Tucker Carlson—about to seize "total authority over emergency operations in the United States if there's ever a 'public health emergency.'"

Ah so that's what those United Australia Party texts were springing from. I need to block their latest numbers. (Also no Clive, we're not outsourcing Australia's healthcare to China. FFS)

[thoughtful]

I assume the fine print on this woman's shirt defines the word to mean people who do take precautions, but, to my mind, she's labeled herself quite clearly:

Spoiler