Killswitch Engage.
Or, the parable of the aluminium can.
A kill switch, also known more formally as an emergency brake, emergency stop , emergency off, or emergency power off, is a safety mechanism used to shut off machinery in an emergency, when it cannot be shut down in the usual manner. Unlike a normal shut-down switch or shut-down procedure, which shuts down all systems in order and turns off the machine without damage, a kill switch is designed and configured to abort the operation as quickly as possible (even if it damages the equipment) and to be operated simply and quickly (so that even a panicked operator with impaired executive functions or a bystander can activate it). Kill switches are usually designed to be noticeable, even to an untrained operator or a bystander.
The title of this piece is not another throwback to the golden years of thrash and death metal, which has proven to be somewhat inspirational to me of late; although the title is the name of an early 2000s nu-metal band called Killswitch Engage, the band and their name was not the inspiration per se.
Rather, today I was on public transport getting a bus into town. The bus was almost empty, just me and a couple of old age pensioners plus the driver. As we took off towards town, I noticed an aluminium can had been discarded on one of the seats. As the driver turned a corner the can fell to the ground. Because it was empty and because it was beautifully cylindrical, it moved to and fro as the bus bobbed and weaved around corners and roundabouts.
The can shot to the left, shot to the right, came to a stop, and it went back and forth freely along the aisle of the bus, only changing direction when a seat support was encountered. A little bit like a pinball in a pinball machine.
When it came to me it, was annoying me. I could have bent down and picked it up, set it beside me or put it in the bin on the way out but instead I waited until it arrived at my feet. Then I promptly stood on it with one sharp blow from my left foot.
Squashing the can, destroying that beautiful cylindrical shape and reducing it to a squashed pile of aluminium underfoot. It looked terrible but the job got done. The job being to stop it from moving around, to stop it from rolling around where it pleased, or where momentum took it, and to bring it to an abrupt halt.
As I did that and looked at the can I thought that can isn't going anywhere anymore. That can has been stopped in its tracks and there is nothing that can can do about it. When you think about how quickly things can be turned off, how quickly they can be cut off and things that we have seen happening in the last few years that illustrate to us just how at the mercy we are of banks or social media platforms, for example.
Think about the mass censorship that took place during the “Covid” scamdemic. Accounts were suspended, accounts were removed on YouTube, on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram plus other platforms, because of so called misinformation, disinformation and “science denial.” Regarding not only the alleged virus but also the follow up injections or so called vaccines.
People that had spent years building up a following years building up a presence had that removed instantly and without any chance of appeal and without any legitimate explanation; literally at the press of a button. There was a kill switch on their accounts and it was activated instantly and definitively and it stopped them dead in their tracks, as my foot on the aluminium can stopped it dead in its tracks.
This of course was not limited to social media. In February 2022 we saw another tactic employed by the Canadian government concerning the “freedom protest” that descended on in Ottawa when many truckers from all across Canada and further afield descended on Ottawa, in protest against Justin Trudeau's draconian, dystopian, dictatorial restrictions and regulations that were imposed by the Canadian government on the Canadian people.
When the government realised that not only could they not stop this freedom convoy but that it was gaining momentum, that it had started to win the hearts and minds of the public and support was growing, they needed to stop it in its tracks. So what did they do? They suspended the bank accounts of many of those that were taking part. They made it impossible for them to access their own money.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken the unprecedented step of invoking the Emergencies Act to crack down on anti-vaccine mandate protests.
Mr Trudeau said the scope of the measures would be "time-limited", "reasonable and proportionate" and would not see the military deployed.
With no need for court orders, banks can freeze personal accounts of anyone linked with the protests.
Hundreds of demonstrators remain in Canada's capital city.
On Sunday, law enforcement cleared anti-mandate protesters at the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor - a critical pathway for Canada-US trade - after a week-long stalemate.
What began as a rally against a new rule that all truckers must be vaccinated to cross the US-Canada border, or quarantine upon return, has grown into a broader challenge to all Covid health restrictions.
"This is about keeping Canadians safe, protecting people's jobs," Mr Trudeau told a news conference on Monday.
He said the police would be given "more tools" to imprison or fine protesters and protect critical infrastructure.
This was done in conjunction with Canadian banks and literally, with the push of a button, people were rendered economically inactive and put under enormous stress because the government decided that something had to be done.
Following on from that, there was a huge crowd funder set in motion by masses of supporters from all over the world; those that wanted to support those truckers when word got out about the their bank accounts being suspended.
Around $10 million was raised on the platfom GoFundMe, but that was also suspended by the government working with the funding platform and money was refunded back to the donors rather than be distributed to those it had been given for, for those that needed it.
Fundraising website GoFundMe has taken down a page accepting donations in support of truck drivers protesting against vaccine mandates in Canada, adding that it would refund all donations.
The “Freedom Convoy 2022” began as a movement against a Canadian vaccine requirement for cross-border truckers, but has turned into a rallying point against public health measures in Canada.
GoFundMe already said in a tweet that it had revised its original plan on how to handle funds already donated to support the truck driver protest, saying that all donations would be refunded.
“This refund will happen automatically – you do not need to submit a request. Donors can expect to see refunds within 7-10 business days,” GoFundMe said in its tweet.
GoFundMe took down the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser page on Friday, saying it violated its terms of service. At the time it said donors would have two weeks to request a refund, with any remaining funds distributed to “credible and established charities”.
In addition, if people in some parts of the world did not take certain injections, and a certain quanity by a certain time, if they did not comply with certain rules and regulations set out by the government, their travel arrangements, jobs, weddings, etc. sabotaged. Kill switches have been engaged left, right and centre over the last five years to devastating effect.
PayPal cancels account of parents group that fought to keep schools open during Covid as well as the Free Speech Union, MPs hear
UsForThem fought hard for schools to stay open during the Covid-19 lockdown
Co-founder Molly Kinglsey said the group were 'taken aback' by PayPal's move
Finance giant came under fire after they cancelled Free Speech Union's account
MPs hit back today saying finance technology firms should not lock accounts based on 'perfectly legal political views'
MPs have hit back at PayPal after it cancelled the account of a parents group which fought hard to keep schools open during Covid just days after doing the same to the Free Speech Union.
UsForThem was 'shocked' to discover that it could not access thousands of pounds of donated money after PayPal suspended its account 'in accordance with' the company's user agreement.
Just last week, PayPal, co-founded by Elon Musk, had controversially shut the accounts of Toby Young's Free Speech Union as well as his news website, the Daily Sceptic.
This article is highlighing just some of the things that have happened recently in this area of draconian and evil controls
If just one thing should be taken away from what we have seen over the last five years, it’s that you should not have all your proverbial eggs in one basket. If a kill switch is activated in one place or area of your life, you should have alternate income streams and arrangements elsewhere. Have a real network of real people that you can depend upon and that you will also pledge to support in the event of kill switches being activated. We need to be mindful of these operations, and to be prepared for them being activated with us. Because it has, could and possibly will happen at any time.
Don't leave yourself open and don't end up like the aluminium can.
Intact and free one minute, crushed and motionless the next.
...in terms Rick, of that 'can' is half-full, or half-empty, it's more like now 'it just ain't'...thanks for fkn up my afternoon btw...🤗🤔🤗...😀... 'cause i' m goin to be thinking 'bout it...my comment has no meaning other than it's the first thought came into my head as i've read nearly all of this, a fkn light went out in me, as i reached the point in the article when... 🫵...crushed it's existence into something of more of an abstraction!...😀...it's interesting u remember some of those episodes u recall...my sense of many people today in Eire, don't forget the fada over the capitalized E, is that they don't draw, or are sadly incapable of drawing analogies in any meaningfully abstract sense encompassing the realities of life!....