Will the future be cattle-tagged?

It's certainly possible

Krasnodar’s infamous Gattaca turnstile

Cattle tags are so hot right now. But not all trends last forever. Will QR codes haunt us until the End Times, like the “temporary” international passport system, or will they fall from grace and become another regrettable footnote in human history, like frosted tips?

Here in Russia there are reasons to believe cattle tags just aren’t sustainable long-term; on the other hand, authorities are actively trying to cattle-tag everything that moves—and this makes us very, very nervous.

It’s important for people to recognize the severity of the situation. It’s severe.

The defeat of the national QR code legislation was an important victory but it would be highly unwise for Russians to rest on their laurels. Below are a few reasons why.

They’re coming for your kids

Russia has started to inject children between the ages of 12-17; some regions are also tagging minors.

In Moscow, under-18s who get the gene-shot will be issued a QR code—and the same goes for any child who “recovers” from COVID.

This is quite curious considering cattle tags are not widely used in Moscow (they’re limited to museums and large events). Why would children need to be tagged if QR codes are on their way out? Hmmm.

The Schwabians have Russia’s youngsters in their crosshairs. Moscow’s schools are introducing biometric ID systems as Herman Gref’s Sberbank pushes forward with plans to tag an entire generation of impressionable young Russians. We wrote about this:

Russia's creepiest bank is cattle-tagging children

There’s already a unified cattle tag system

Although cattle tag use varies from region to region, all of Russia’s QR codes are stored in the same place: Gosuslugi, Russia’s public services portal. Operated by the federal government, this website is used to access state and municipal services.

And guess what? The federal government is expanding cattle tag features on Gosuslugi:

“The government is expanding the capabilities of the public services portal. Now personal accounts contain data on vaccinations against coronavirus, as well as on the disease caused by this infection. In the near future, information that a person has medical exemptions for vaccination will also be transmitted to the portal,” Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said. He added that “through the State Services [Gosuslugi], citizens will be able to receive a confirmation certificate.”

This is especially bad news because Gosuslugi is reportedly being merged with Russia’s state biometric system, which means one day soon you might have to use a thumb-print in order to retrieve a digital clot-shot certificate required for visiting Taco Bell.

The cattle tag is always lurking

The problem we’re facing—in Russia and all over the place—is that unless cattle tags are purged from the earth they will slowly envelop humanity. There’s really no middle ground here.

For example, Kaliningrad recently announced it was canceling the use of QR codes for shopping centers and restaurants. The reason given? Everyone is already vaxxed to the max, so there’s no longer a need for medical apartheid. Oh except… cattle tags are still required for hotels, museums, concerts, and other large events. Do you see the problem here? Regional authorities say the remaining restrictions will be lifted in March. At the same time, there are regions that are postponing the introduction of QR codes until March. Yes, it’s very confusing.

You will be tagged & you will like it

Then there are places like Crimea where QR codes were dropped for a few weeks and then “urgently” re-instituted because of the omicron scam.

And it’s easy to forget that cattle tags are being used and enforced all over Russia. Out of curiosity we examined what was going on in Bashkortostan; cattle tags are required for shopping centers and restaurants and enforcement appears to be rather strict:

Ufa resident Elena Gareeva complained that her 62-year-old mother and aunt were beaten in a shopping center because the women did not have QR codes with them. At the same time, both Ufa women were vaccinated, just by an unfortunate accident they forgot the supporting documents at home.

According to Russia’s official COVID portal, Bashkortostan also requires QR codes for buses and suburban trains. So basically it’s another Tatarstan. And nobody talks about it. Ever.

It’s an international scam

The introduction of an international clot-shot passport required for traveling across state lines is basically inevitable; the only way to stop it is if the United Nations, and also the entire international political system, trips and falls into an active volcano.

And if you need a cattle tag for international travel, you might as well require them for everything. With time, the most depraved absurdities can be normalized.

We apologize for being fatalist but we’re basically replaying what happened 100 years ago, with the introduction of the first international cattle tag. Maybe we could avoid the same fate if we actually learned from history—but you know, that’s probably not happening.

Anyway, next time we’ll talk about why cattle tags could fail in Russia.