COVID-19 updates

[Alan Klein]

Alan, I am shocked to see the spread around where you live... the bottom line for you is: don't get the bloody thing in the first place! Do your best to stay safe. Listen to the experts.

I hope you are able to keep it at bay!

There were 7 people in one family that got it 5 miles from me and 3 died.   
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/nyregion/new-jersey-family-coronavirus.html

There were 141 cases in my NJ county Middlesex and the one adjacent Monmouth.  That's out of a population of 1 1/2 million.  That doesn't sound so bad. Basically I'm staying in and disinfecting, making my own Purell hand sanitizer, etc.  Pretty boring.  It's raining now so I can't even get out to shoot.  I just got in three lens boards from China for my new 4x5 camera and an eye level reflex finder for it.  Sprayed it with alcohol. So now I have to mount a couple of lenses and figure out how I'm going to store them in my backpack. 

[Manoli]

No difference between the US and China. Right Peter?

For the first time, Russ, I'm beginning to understand your gun fetish.
Today, fm The Times, UK:

The Trump administration has issued secret orders to facilitate a military takeover of the US in the event that civilian leadership is incapacitated during the coronavirus crisis, a report says.

The orders would kick in if disease or violence arising from the pandemic rendered Washington impotent and prevented devolution of power to civilian leaders in the regions as envisaged in decades of contingency planning.

The United States would then be placed under the authority of Terrence O’Shaughnessy, a four-star general and former fighter pilot who is the designated “combatant commander” ...

Ho, hum ...

[JoeKitchen]

Wow, some of you guys are really taking hysteria and conspiracy theories to the next level. 

Quick question, why would you be upset by this, are you not for bigger government?  Or is it upsetting that through the past 3 years of Trump, the constant talk about how he is a tyrant, yet not taking any tyrannical power, driving the media so mad they need to run stories like this? 

Anyway, spoke to an interior designer I know today.  She has appointments for residential projects that she is still going to, even though the city put in place a shelter in place order.  She wants the projects and the money, end of story. 

So, I'll say it again, people are not going to listen to these stay inside orders and will conduct business.  After looking at more and more info, I still feel we are going totally overboard on this.  Put in place procedures to protect the elderly and those at risk, and allow everyone else to get back to work and not loose their jobs or businesses. 

I will be very curious to see what the suicide and overdose rate is during this period, and if those who insisted we take these measures will apologize if those go up by a considerable amount. 

[Robert Roaldi]

For the first time, Russ, I'm beginning to understand your gun fetish.
Today, fm The Times, UK:

Ho, hum ...

Assuming this is real, the most interesting thing to me about it is that a couple of weeks ago Americans were being told by those at the top that there was no serious problem and many seemed to believe that, but now, really just a few days later, we get this development. Seems like a big step to take. How do you go from "nothing to worry about" to "state of emergency" in an eye blink? Or, put it a different way, if you believe them then, how can you believe them now? Or vice-versa.

But I didn't really think that anyone believed POTUS when he was telling them not to worry, or they wouldn't have been out buying up all that toilet paper.

[Manoli]

Assuming this is real ...

It is, Robert, it is.
Or rather, it was published in The Times today.

[Martin Kristiansen]

We just got shut down. Entire country. Actually a very inspiring message from our president. No one leave their homes. Supermarkets and pharmacies only to remain open. Oh and banks. Three weeks starting on Thursday.

Reports of the Defense Force already being deployed. In context it’s good news.

[Manoli]

Wow, some of you guys are really taking hysteria and conspiracy theories to the next level. 
Quick question, why would you be upset by this, are you not for bigger government? 

Qué ?

I've posted an extract from a reputable news source. The rest is your 'take' and yours alone - and where have I ever said that I was in favour of 'bigger government' ? Effective government doesn't necessarily translate into bigger government.

Qué ? , again!

[Rob C]

Indeed... I am appalled by the reaction of some people here. China, together witht some other Asian countries like south Korea and Japan, have shown how to tackle this problem: a lot of testing and effective quarantine. They are at the forefront of the scientific testing. Those countries have a lot of experience from previous epidemics like the SARS-COV1 in 2002 and 2003.

We should listen to them without needless remarks. Blaming the "china virus" to divert attention from pour own incompetence from our "leaders" will not result - people are not that stupid. Unfortunately, the countries of Trump, Bolsonaro, and Boris, will suffer a lot with this.

When I watched my doctor granddaughter's graduation ceremony video from Edinburgh Uni, I was stunned to see the huge percentage of Chinese graduates. These people are intelligent, dilligent and productive. We make foes of them at our risk. Also of note: I got the impression that more women (of all races) than men were graduating, something else to note at our possible risk!

After all, how many bulls, how many roosters does a farm need?

[Manoli]

We just got shut down. Entire country. Actually a very inspiring message from our president. No one leave their homes. Supermarkets and pharmacies only to remain open. Oh and banks. Three weeks starting on Thursday.

Reports of the Defense Force already being deployed. In context it’s good news.

Enjoy the 'break', Martin.
Stay safe, stay well.

[Robert Roaldi]

We just got shut down. Entire country. Actually a very inspiring message from our president. No one leave their homes. Supermarkets and pharmacies only to remain open. Oh and banks. Three weeks starting on Thursday.

Reports of the Defense Force already being deployed. In context it’s good news.

If everyone on the planet stayed home for a month, the virus would be more or less gone.

[RSL]

Seen what has gone on in this world this past 50 years.

Well, that explains it then. The Great Leap Forward was in 1958 -- more than 50 years ago, so you wouldn't have a clue, and just demonstrated that fact. You might want to do some reading on the subject.

[JoeKitchen]

Qué ?

I've posted an extract from a reputable news source. The rest is your 'take' and yours alone - and where have I ever said that I was in favour of 'bigger government' ? Effective government doesn't necessarily translate into bigger government.

Qué ? , again!

I dont really take the NY Times (I assume the NY Times) to be reputable at this point, and my comment about wanting big government was not directed at you, but at the Times.  I should have been more clear on that. 

Just today I read that several historians who were called in to fact check the Times' 1619 project last year spoke against it and that it was a very misleading idea.  Yet the Times decided to publish it anyway and even further so devision in our country, so the Grey Lady is not at the same status she once was.  The editor is chief even said as much when he promoted the idea that the news should be sensationalized in the era of Trump. 

And regardless if the story is true or not, whatever policies that would be put in place would more than likely following the protocols developed before Trump ever got into office. 

I am really tired of these constant gotcha articles coming out of the press trying to sensationalize everything.  I just dont pay attention to them anymore. 

[Manoli]

I dont really take the NY Times (I assume the NY Times) to be reputable at this point,

My bad. The Times (UK). The American one is known (to me) as the NYT.

[JoeKitchen]

My bad. The Times (UK). The American one is known (to me) as the NYT.

Oh okay, sorry about that from my side as well. 

I typically give foreign press more credence than ours, so apologies on assuming this.  In this case, I am going to guess it was more of a just the facts story. 

I have developed a knee jerk reaction when I hear The Times, since they have engaged in heavily biased stories and even published unverified accounts that even the main person denies as happening, like with the latest Cavanaugh story. 

[RSL]

These people are intelligent, dilligent and productive. We make foes of them at our risk.

No, no, Rob, we don't make foes of the Chinese people. We recognize that the Chinese leadership are foes. They make that clear every day. I have two half-Chinese great-grandkids. They're anything but foes.

[Robert Roaldi]

When I watched my doctor granddaughter's graduation ceremony video from Edinburgh Uni, I was stunned to see the huge percentage of Chinese graduates. These people are intelligent, dilligent and productive. We make foes of them at our risk. Also of note: I got the impression that more women (of all races) than men were graduating, something else to note at our possible risk!

After all, how many bulls, how many roosters does a farm need?

The disproportionate numbers of women vs men appears to be true in universities everywhere and has been so for a few years.

I saw some stats once of the number of engineers, doctors and scientists graduating from Chinese universities compared to the number of financiers and lawyers from Western universities. Their schools are accessible to those with the aptitude, while our tuition fees have increased at rates that are wildly out of whack with real increases in costs, because we've decided to make universities profit centres (this is less true of Canada than the US). We (our culture) is making a big mistake.

From my previous job editing scientific papers there is a lot of work being published in a lot of countries, including places that a generation ago were considered third world. Some people still think the world is the way it was in 1975, but they haven't been paying attention.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

... Those countries have a lot of experience from previous epidemics like the SARS-COV1 in 2002 and 2003...

Swine flu, bird flu... etc.

And why is that? Because those mofos like to eat what no other normal human on Earth would even consider eating. And it always "randomly" starts there.

[RSL]

The Trump administration has issued secret orders to facilitate a military takeover of the US in the event that civilian leadership is incapacitated during the coronavirus crisis, a report says.

The orders would kick in if disease or violence arising from the pandemic rendered Washington impotent and prevented devolution of power to civilian leaders in the regions as envisaged in decades of contingency planning.

The United States would then be placed under the authority of Terrence O’Shaughnessy, a four-star general and former fighter pilot who is the designated “combatant commander” ...

As the duke said to the woman: "If you believe that, you will believe anything."

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

The disproportionate numbers of women vs men appears to be true in universities everywhere and has been so for a few years...

Which is the beginning of the end for the Western Civilization.

[Robert Roaldi]

As the duke said to the woman: "If you believe that, you will believe anything."

You should stop quoting the duke, he was just a Hollywood star. It might give people leave to quote Jane Fonda and we don't want that.