Coronavirus

[Kathianne]

It came out of China, whether by poor hygiene in restaurants or from bio-lab. In any case, they are trying to move blame, not that it's believed outside of China, but that is their audience and they don't give two flying figs about anyone else's opinions. Truth.

[NightTrain]

Investigation complete...


Wuhan, China, 2019:

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Okay... I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but I'm also not one who believes too strongly in coincidences either.

Fact: 20 mile south of the market China claims was the source of this exciting new plague is a level 4 bio-lab.

From 24 January 2020:

Two years before the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus that has so far killed 25 people in China, scientists spoke of their fears about a new laboratory being built to study some of the world’s most dangerous viruses. (https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/24/us-warned-virus-escape-lab-near-coronavirus-epicentre-12114591/)

Something I am very suspicious of.

A couple of days ago, China accused the US Army of releasing the virus there in Wuhan.

Completely preposterous, but, yet, there's over a billion Chinese peasants that will believe what the communist government tells them to believe.

Is it possible that as microbiologists worldwide work on this bug, that it will come to light that it was engineered?

Communists have a pretty awful track record with regard for their own people. A few hundred million deaths? Meh.

I've also been pondering the upside down population of China after decades of enforced 1-child per family policy.

Right now they have a huge population of elderly citizens that are a drag on the economy and relatively few working age adults propping the whole system up.

This particular bug is especially lethal for the 60+ age group.

Then consider that Chinese spies were caught stealing corona viruses from a Canadian lab last year and were summarily expelled from the country.

This is getting solidly into conspiracy theories, but there's a lot of coincidences here combined with China trying to get ahead of the story that it's man made and the US is to blame.

[NightTrain]

Live, from downtown Seattle, this is the scene at lunchtime.

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This is NT, your man on the ground at the epicenter!

<insert Pulitzer here>

[Kathianne]

Live, from downtown Seattle, this is the scene at lunchtime.

12390

This is NT, your man on the ground at the epicenter!

<insert Pulitzer here>
Neil Cavuto had 5th Ave and Times Square, seriously only a bit busier. I think I'm living in the busiest place in the country right now. ;)

They finally did close the schools until the 30th and the park district rec center, which was packed this morning-it's closed after 5pm tonight.

Restaurants and bars will be next.

I think I heard Macy's was closing its stores, Kohl's has cut way back on their hours. Nike, Apple, Bath & Body Works are closed.

[Drummond]

Investigation complete...


Wuhan, China, 2019:

12388




Okay... I'm not one for conspiracy theories, but I'm also not one who believes too strongly in coincidences either.

Fact: 20 mile south of the market China claims was the source of this exciting new plague is a level 4 bio-lab.

From 24 January 2020:

Two years before the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus that has so far killed 25 people in China, scientists spoke of their fears about a new laboratory being built to study some of the world’s most dangerous viruses. (https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/24/us-warned-virus-escape-lab-near-coronavirus-epicentre-12114591/)

I enjoyed the cartoon ... a 'Far Side' one, isn't it ? It's been years since I've seen any. Sorely missed !

Thanks !! :salute:

[hjmick]

I enjoyed the cartoon ... a 'Far Side' one, isn't it ? It's been years since I've seen any. Sorely missed !

Thanks !! :salute:


Yes it is...


Didn't you hear? He has a website now:


https://www.thefarside.com/


There's a letter from Larson explaining why now. The comics aren't new, but he does post sketches in "sketchbooks." Even old Larson is good Larson...

[High_Plains_Drifter]

The Clinton response....

https://i.ibb.co/19Lc8Yy/hitlery.jpg (https://ibb.co/gD3Yzbq)

[NightTrain]

Gary Larson is a genius.

The only other cartoonist that comes close is Bill Watterson of 'Calvin and Hobbes'.

[hjmick]

Gary Larson is a genius.

The only other cartoonist that comes close is Bill Watterson of 'Calvin and Hobbes'.

I am a huge fan of the single panel format. It started when I was a kid and discovered Addams and Wilson. The ability to get your joke or point across in one drawing, that's something special. Real talent.

[hjmick]

If someone has already posted this, feel free to delete it...


A chilling scientific paper helped upend U.S. and U.K. coronavirus strategies


LONDON —Immediately after Boris Johnson completed his Monday evening news conference, which saw a somber prime minister encourage his fellow citizens to avoid "all nonessential contact with others," his aides hustled reporters into a second, off-camera briefing.

That session presented jaw-dropping numbers from some of Britain’s top modelers of infectious disease, who predicted the deadly course of coronavirus could quickly kill hundreds of thousands in both the United Kingdom and the United States, as surges of sick and dying patients overwhelmed hospitals and critical care units.


The new forecasts, by Neil Ferguson and his colleagues at the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team, were quickly embraced by Johnson’s government to design new and more-extreme measures to suppress the spread of the virus.

The report is also influencing planning by the Trump administration. Deborah Birx, who serves as the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, cited the British analysis at a news conference Monday, saying her task force was especially focused on the report’s conclusion that an entire household should self-quarantine for 14 days if one of its members is stricken by the virus.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a-chilling-scientific-paper-helped-upend-us-and-uk-coronavirus-strategies/ar-BB11jVNP?li=BBnb7Kz

[jimnyc]

NBA star Kevin Durant latest famous person to be tested positive, if anyone gives a crap!

[jimnyc]

This posted already? Hell, did I post this already? LOL

--

Puerto Rico first US territory under 24-hour virus isolation

San Juan (AFP) - Puerto Rico was under 24-hour isolation Monday, governor Wanda Vazquez told local media, leaving the island the first major US jurisdiction to take such drastic measures against the coronavirus pandemic.

"All citizens should stay in their homes 24/7 until March 30," Vazquez told WKAQ 580 AM radio.

The comments came a day after she announced by video message a 9:00 pm to 5:00 am curfew, and the different directives left some residents confused about whether or not they could go out in the daytime.

On Monday Vazquez said that, during the day, only authorized persons and those seeking food, gasoline or medical services can circulate but "from 9:00 at night it's a lockdown," she said.

"If someone needs to go to the pharmacy, if they need to go to the supermarket, or to get gasoline for their vehicles, it can be done from 5:00 in the morning until 9:00 at night," she said on the radio.

Rest - https://news.yahoo.com/puerto-rico-first-us-territory-under-24-hour-224602015.html

[Drummond]

Yes it is...


Didn't you hear? He has a website now:


https://www.thefarside.com/


There's a letter from Larson explaining why now. The comics aren't new, but he does post sketches in "sketchbooks." Even old Larson is good Larson...

Looks to be a goldmine. Brilliant ... v much appreciated !

[Drummond]

Gary Larson is a genius.

The only other cartoonist that comes close is Bill Watterson of 'Calvin and Hobbes'.

Hagar the Horrible wasn't at all bad ...

[Drummond]

If someone has already posted this, feel free to delete it...


A chilling scientific paper helped upend U.S. and U.K. coronavirus strategies


LONDON —Immediately after Boris Johnson completed his Monday evening news conference, which saw a somber prime minister encourage his fellow citizens to avoid "all nonessential contact with others," his aides hustled reporters into a second, off-camera briefing.

That session presented jaw-dropping numbers from some of Britain’s top modelers of infectious disease, who predicted the deadly course of coronavirus could quickly kill hundreds of thousands in both the United Kingdom and the United States, as surges of sick and dying patients overwhelmed hospitals and critical care units.


The new forecasts, by Neil Ferguson and his colleagues at the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team, were quickly embraced by Johnson’s government to design new and more-extreme measures to suppress the spread of the virus.

The report is also influencing planning by the Trump administration. Deborah Birx, who serves as the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, cited the British analysis at a news conference Monday, saying her task force was especially focused on the report’s conclusion that an entire household should self-quarantine for 14 days if one of its members is stricken by the virus.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/a-chilling-scientific-paper-helped-upend-us-and-uk-coronavirus-strategies/ar-BB11jVNP?li=BBnb7Kz

The NHS is being reorganised. All non-urgent operations cancelled to maximise the availability of beds. We expect the NHS to be completely overwhelmed otherwise.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Saw on facebook today that the town north of me, Richland Center, WI, now has DRIVE THROUGH TESTING there at the hospital. Pretty good for a small town.

[NightTrain]

Saw on facebook today that the town north of me, Richland Center, WI, now has DRIVE THROUGH TESTING there at the hospital. Pretty good for a small town.

I'm watching Fox News and they were just showing that drive-thru testing setup. Pretty great idea, the medical professional is in a full biohazard suit and the person being tested never gets out of the car.

Minimal exposure for everyone, fast, convenient and efficient.

They've improved the lab testing part dramatically, as well, and are capable of processing many thousands of tests every day instead of a few hundred.

Things are getting streamlined fast. :thumb:

[FakeNewsSux]

Hopefully, once everything is said and done with the current crisis we will address this as part and parcel of 'draining the swamp':


The CDC was Fighting Racism and Obesity Instead of Stopping Epidemics

The CDC should be driven by science, not social justice.
https://cms.frontpagemag.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_full/public/uploads/2020/03/cdc.jpg?itok=IyuwsL-M


The Centers for Disease Control has a $6.6 billion budget and one job which it messes up every time.
The last time the CDC had a serious workout was six years ago during the Ebola crisis. Back then CDC guidelines allowed medical personnel infected with Ebola to avoid a quarantine and interact with Americans until they showed undeniable symptoms of the disease. There were no protocols in place for treating the potentially infected resulting in the further spread of the disease inside the United States.
At the height of the crisis, confidence in the CDC fell to 37%. Meanwhile, CDC personnel had managed to mishandle Ebola virus samples, accidentally sending samples of the live virus to CDC labs. And the heads of the health bureaucracy blamed the lack of funding for their failure to have an Ebola vaccine.
The self-quarantine measures adopted in response to the coronavirus outbreak are partially a response to the lessons of the Ebola disaster.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/03/cdc-was-fighting-racism-and-obesity-instead-daniel-greenfield/?utm_source=whatfinger

[Kathianne]

The news on my 'home county' nursing home is not good:

https://abc7chicago.com/health/chicago-woman-idd-as-illinois-1st-covid-19-death/6021973/?fbclid=IwAR1XP0uopGVMFR_1MaWZnXVPrlJvqX_HYyuwYFBj Qri6cIZ5GKzM7LX2r6k

Tuesday, March 17, 2020 8:20PM
CHICAGO (WLS) -- A Chicago woman in her 60s has become the first novel coronavirus-related death in the state, Illinois officials announced on Tuesday.


Gov. JB Pritzker said the woman tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month and had underlying medical conditions. She also had contact with someone else known to have the virus, Illinois officials said.


She died Monday night at the University of Chicago Medical Center.


"I'm deeply saddened to share news that I've dreaded since the earliest days of this outbreak," Pritzker said of the virus claiming its first Illinois life.


The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office identified the woman as 61-year-old Patricia Frieson.


"I want to extend my deepest condolences to her family members," Pritzker said. "I want them to know that the entire state of Illinois mourns with them. May her memory be a blessing."


Frieson wasn't a nursing home patient.


But Illinois health officials on Tuesday announced a crisis unfolding at a DuPage County long-term care facility, where a woman in her 60s tested positive on Saturday.


Illinois health officials on Tuesday announced a crisis unfolding at a DuPage County long-term care facility, where 22 people have tested positive for novel coronavirus.


After everyone in the facility was tested Sunday, officials said 18 residents and four staff members were confirmed to have the virus.

"Residents are being isolated either in a separate wing of the facility or in the hospital, and staff that are positive are furloughed at home," said IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike.


DuPage County officials said the Chateau Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Willowbrook self-identified themselves as the facility in question.


The county's health department said they'll have to reach out to hundreds, possibly thousands, of people who may have come in contact with each of the confirmed cases.


"The 22 cases who are newly identified will have probably anywhere between 50-90 individuals that we'll have to contact," said DuPage County Health Department Executive Director Karen Ayala.


For weeks, officials have been asking privately owned senior homes, and mandating state-owned facilities, to limit visitors and take extensive action to pre-screen employees.


Officials said that first resident diagnosed Saturday had been symptomatic for a few days.


"This reinforces the need for all of us to do our part to reduce possible exposure in the community to those who go in and out of these facilities as they provide care to these residents," Ezike said.


Frieson was not a resident of a nursing home, state officials said.


Pritzker and other officials repeated a message of vigilance in protecting the state's seniors and most vulnerable on Tuesday.


The governor was asked if he's leaning toward any kind of mandatory quarantine or curfew. He said he continues to evaluate measures that need to be taken, but he didn't indicate that such a move is imminent.


Pritzker activated about 60 Illinois National Guard service members to assist with the state's COVID-19 response on Tuesday. The service members include 43 airmen from the Peoria-based 182nd Airlift Wing's Medical Group and 17 planners and liaison officers from Army National Guard and Air National Guard units across the state.


The Illinois National Guard said the activation is in anticipation of the need for more medical staffing and logistic support.


The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Illinois rose to 160 on Tuesday. Patients are reported in 15 counties between the ages of 9 to 91.


The announcements came on the same day that Illinois held its primary election and schools shuttered statewide to limit spread of the virus.


All schools in Illinois, including Chicago Public Schools, closed Tuesday until the end of March.


Chicago restaurants and bars also closed Monday night to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Some restaurants will offer delivery and take out.


Starting Tuesday through the end of the month, all Secretary of State driver services facilities across the state will be closed. All expiration dates for drivers licenses, vehicle registrations, and other documents will be extended 30 days.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

That's horrible. The people that deserve the utmost care are the ones most vulnerable.

We're going to keep our mother at home in her own apartment, AT ALL COST. We had 7 weeks of PT scheduled, and my sister insisted they show up wearing masks and gloves, but even then we decided that wasn't enough and canceled it.

[NightTrain]

US / Canadian border just shut down.

Air travel just needs to stay going for another 6 hours and the wife and I will be in the air back to Alaska.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Recent pic of Times Square... deserted... looks apocalyptic...

https://i.ibb.co/Zmvc1mv/times-square.jpg

[Drummond]

US / Canadian border just shut down.

Air travel just needs to stay going for another 6 hours and the wife and I will be in the air back to Alaska.

Best of luck !! Hope you make it !

[jimnyc]

Some updates for today. More talk AND action of letting prisoners go. Great idea!! So now instead of just fighting this virus outbreak, now we have potentially additional people with the virus & have to deal with more crime in addition. :rolleyes:

So if you go to Philly real quick to start stealing shit, you know in advance that they don't care and won't arrest you.

--

Philadelphia Ends Jail for ‘Non-Violent’ Criminals Because of Coronavirus Crisis

The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Police Department is implementing a new policy where accused criminals deemed “non-violent” will be quickly released after their arrests in light of the coronavirus crisis.

Police officials confirmed to CBS Philadelphia that accused criminals charged with non-violent crimes will be processed and released so as not to fill up city jails. Police officials said those accused criminals considered to be violent will not be released.

Police officials said in a statement:


It should be noted that if a police officer believes that releasing an individual would pose a threat to public safety, the officer will notify a supervisor, who will review the totality of the circumstances, and in the interest of public safety, utilize discretion in determining the appropriate course of action.

Rest - https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/03/17/philadelphia-ends-jail-for-non-violent-criminals-because-of-coronavirus-crisis/


Italy keeps up with it's increases even with the lockdown.

Italy: Coronavirus Death Toll Rises 16 Percent in 24 Hours, Exceeds 2,500

In the last 24 hours, 345 more people have died in Italy from the Chinese coronavirus, which brings the nation’s death toll to 2,503 on Tuesday, up from 2,158 on Monday — an increase of 16 percent in one day.

Newly released data from Italy’s Civil Protection reveals that the country’s death toll has jumped from 2,158 deaths on Monday to 2,503 on Tuesday, as well as 27,980 confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday to 31,506 on Tuesday.

Italy — which is Europe’s hardest hit country by the Chinese virus — has been on a nationwide lockdown since last week, while the coronavirus death toll and confirmed cases continues to rise, most of them heavily concentrated in Italy’s northern regions.

Lombardy remains Italy’s worst-infected region, which so far has suffered a total of 16,620 people infected by the Wuhan virus and 1,640 deaths, including 220 more dead in the last 24 hours alone, according to La Repubblica.

The report added that more than 8,000 people in Italy were reported failing to comply with quarantine rules.

Right now, people in Italy must fill out paperwork in order to leave their homes to buy groceries or visit hospitals, as officers are now stationed at checkpoints on main roads and at transport hubs, asking people to declare their reasons for travel.

Rest - https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/03/17/italy-coronavirus-death-toll-rises-16-percent-in-24-hours-exceeds-2500/


France To Enact UK Travel Ban if Britain Fails to Lockdown Country Amidst Coronavirus

The Prime Minister of France warned that if the United Kingdom doesn’t enact stricter measures to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Britons will be banned from travelling to France.

On Tuesday, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe accused the UK of falling behind its European counterparts in containing the coronavirus pandemic, warning that France may be forced to restrict travel from Britain if Boris Johnson fails to enact similar lockdown measures.

“Everyone within the European Union must adopt coherent methods and processes to fight the epidemic, as in Italy, France and Spain,” Mr Philippe said per the Daily Mail.

“It goes without saying that if neighbouring states such as the United Kingdom spend too long continuing to avoid these containment measures, then we would have difficulty accepting British nationals who would move freely in their own country and then come to our country,” the Prime Minister added.

The warning from Mr Phillipe came on the first day of a national lockdown in France, in which citizens have been told to remain in their homes for fifteen days.

Rest - https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/03/18/france-to-enact-uk-travel-ban-if-britain-fails-to-lockdown-country-amidst-coronavirus/


So we still don't entirely know how this thing passes, nor how long it lasts on surfaces. And how many are walking around freely right now spreading things?

Study: 86% of Coronavirus Cases Are Asymptomatic and Have No Idea They Are Infected with the Virus

A new study found that 86% of coronavirus cases are asymptomatic. The carriers have no idea they are infected but can still spread it.

Dr. Marty Makary from Johns Hopkins University joined Tucker Carlson to discuss this phenomenon.

Dr. Makary said about half the people who tested positive for the coronavirus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship had no idea they were infected.

According to the study six of every seven coronavirus cases – 86% – of the people were walking around and driving the spread of the deadly virus.

This is exactly what The Gateway Pundit has reported this week — the coronavirus outbreak is significantly exaggerated.

As of Tuesday morning 3-17:
** There have been 4,748 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US
** There have been 93 deaths due to coronavirus in the US

From our report on Monday —

The current estimate for the fatality rates for the coronavirus just don’t add up. The estimates based on current data are completely inaccurate. Current data shows that this virus is much less deadly that even the common flu from the 2019-2020 season.

Rest - https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/study-86-of-coronavirus-cases-are-asymptomatic-and-have-no-idea-they-are-infected-with-the-virus/


Meanwhile ALL of these stations were calling this the "Wuhan virus" or "Chinese virus" all along, and they can't hide it, it's on video. But once again, Trump is the one who is wrong. :rolleyes:

Unhinged MSNBC Analyst Says Trump Calling the Coronavirus ‘Chinese’ Puts Asian-American ‘Lives at Risk’

MSNBC’s unhinged political analyst Karine Jean-Pierre claimed that referring to the coronavirus as as “Chinese virus” is racist and puts Asian-American “lives at risk.”

The fearmongering from Jean-Pierre didn’t stop there, she also lied on air without any pushback from the network, and claimed that President Donald Trump had called the coronavirus a “hoax.”


“It is incredibly dangerous, it is problematic, and it is scary. And I just really want to call that out because you do have people in the Asian-American community whose lives are at risk. And for the President to call it a Chinese virus or a foreign virus, that is not — it’s just so dangerous and not a good thing to do, obviously,” Pierre said.

https://i.imgur.com/Yu08kNS.png

Rest - https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/unhinged-msnbc-analyst-says-trump-calling-the-coronavirus-chinese-puts-asian-american-lives-at-risk/


So what would happen if more and more police got the virus?

31 Officers Out Sick at NYPD Precinct Where Officer Has Tested Positive for Coronavirus

An officer in New York City Police Department’s 1st Precinct has tested positive for coronavirus — and now 31 other officers at the same precinct are out sick.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said on Tuesday that five NYPD employees have tested positive for COVID-19 so far.

Seventeen of the officers at the downtown Manhattan station have been sent home for exposure to the virus.

One of the officers at the precinct told Fox News that leadership did not inform them that one of their colleagues had tested positive for the virus.


“A big portion of those officers who were sent home sick regularly work at city hall,” a source told Fox News. “The NYPD needs to be doing a lot more.”

The NYPD has countered that everyone who had close contact with the officer has been told to stay home.


“New York’s City Hall is not only where Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office is located, but it is where he and New York’s COVID-19 response team have been giving their daily updates on the pandemic response,” Fox News reports.

Rest - https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/nypd-positive-coronavirus/


Dire Warning From Inside Italy’s Quarantine: This Could Happen All Over The World

Italian professional tennis player Federica Prati has been in quarantine at her home in Italy for over a week as the novel coronavirus continues to spread across the globe.

Prati joined the Daily Caller’s media reporter Shelby Talcott and spoke about life under lockdown. She urged Americans to take the threat seriously and suggested that future countries could end up like Italy if people don’t heed current government and doctor warnings.

“If it’s going to be like this all over the world, it’s going to be like a war,” Prati predicted. “A war against an invisible thing.”

Rest - https://dailycaller.com/2020/03/17/exclusive-video-italian-quarantine-warning-coronavirus/


Stunned CNN Offers Rare Praise for Trump's Leadership After Coronavirus Presser

Well this is not something you see very often, or hardly ever, on the rabidly anti-Trump network, CNN. After President Trump and his coronavirus task force team fielded questions from reporters Tuesday over what his administration was doing to combat the coronavirus, CNN's Dana Bash and her liberal peers seemed amazed in its aftermath and actually found some positive things to say about the president.

Shortly after the press conference finished, Inside Politics host John King, chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and chief White House correspondent John Harwood seemed stunned by what Trump had to say and the measures the government was taking to help protect people. King even managed to offer this tepid compliment: “That was a president who seemed much more up on the brief today than he has been in the past,” he said, adding, “For most of that briefing, the president went out of his way to be more gracious and magnanimous.”

But CNN's chief political correspondent Dana Bash went beyond her colleague’s reluctant compliments to offer unfettered, rare praise for Trump’s leadership:

If you look at the big picture, this was remarkable from the President of the United States. This is a non-partisan, this is an important thing to note and applaud from an American standpoint, from a human standpoint. He's being the kind of leader that people need at least in tone today and yesterday. In tone that people need and want and yearn for in times of crisis and uncertainty.

So we have been talking about a lot of specifics that they brought up today whether it's construction companies asking them to give masks to hospitals, the fact that they're thinking about a thousand dollars perhaps, the Andrew Yang idea, to people, but big picture, the fact that the president has been convinced to be different, whether it was Chris Christie’s op-ed asking him to do it or whether it was Newt Gingrich sitting in Italy watching firsthand of what's happening or his friends at Fox News have changed their tone. Probably all the above is what's happened. But It is so important to hear him strike that tone of calm and of understanding of how incredibly dire this is, and the fact that he even said on the notion of people going out, somebody asked about ‘well, what about people of all generations going out when they shouldn’t?’ He said they shouldn’t and they're actually performing self policing. They’re telling--It is peer pressure, telling people not to do it. That's pretty incredible from a guy who a couple of days ago was downplaying it to keep the economy going.

Rest - https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/kristine-marsh/2020/03/17/wow-stunned-cnn-offers-rare-praise-trumps-leadership-after

[Abbey Marie]

How long before those CNN folks are fired?

[Drummond]

Recent pic of Times Square... deserted... looks apocalyptic...

https://i.ibb.co/Zmvc1mv/times-square.jpg

.... either that, or that individual REALLY needs to wash his socks more often !

Pics from London (courtesy of the Daily Mail, and one from Manchester, UK). All would normally be showing crowds of people ...

This is a railway platform for Heron Quays, a station near Canary Wharf, on Docklands Light Railway (London's automated rail service; all trains run by computer)

12392

Central London / London's West End ..

12393

12394

Manchester's Deansgate area (a mile or so from Manchester Piccadilly) ....

12395

[Kathianne]

I just woke up at the end of the news conference, for the first time I'm feeling a bit more than freaky. I know some was because of the increase in numbers of death I was hearing last night, I didn't fall asleep til after 3am.

From the bits I've heard:

Italy's death numbers jumped on a huge percentage, so did America's.
France is threatening to close border with UK if much stronger prevention isn't put into place.
US and Canada close border for all but trade.
In Italy, young people are now falling ill and many are now in ICUs.
More first responders in the US are falling ill, NYC of course showing the most


I'm just trying to decide if this means that the movement towards 'calming' in panic buying yesterday is going to ramp up today?

[jimnyc]

Personally I believe this should have been done a long time ago, but much harder making these decisions for 350+ million. I think the first priority should be the medical community of course.

Another halt in the market today too. Otherwise it was last seen down at 1,907.

https://i.imgur.com/LrPrjgy.png

Trump invokes Defense Production Act

From Yahoo News: (https://news.yahoo.com/heeding-calls-for-action-trump-invokes-defense-production-act-170403554.html) President Trump on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act, a set of emergency powers that will give the federal government the ability to ramp up the production of medical supplies such as masks, ventilators, gloves and other equipment to help the U.S. medical system respond to coronavirus cases.

...

The latest on the pandemic

-According to Johns Hopkins data (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html), the number of worldwide cases of coronavirus has reached 200,000. (https://uk.news.yahoo.com/global-coronavirus-cases-tops-200k-115040607.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cueWFob28uY29tL25ld3Mv Y29yb25hdmlydXMtY292aWQtMTktbmV3cy1hbmQtbGl2ZS11cG RhdGVzLTEyMDI0NjkyMy5odG1s&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACDxkCDoiP584-UCA9pN296s7NG5Y9pRIL0ITTxhH6lBGnWZnzff3J3gWlabbZt9 9VLoRnbYuRecw1_ZmpPxXjw759w21DoOT7tog08Wu6EtMGfDJU 79IRr4V3UjPJ-DMX4fZspG8HjI9O6rREgrUY4lCu4AqWBAk8A02p9vnhzx)

-France, Spain and Italy are on lockdown; Americans have been told to limit gatherings to 10 people.

- Trump announced the U.S. and Canada will close the border to non-essential traffic to control the coronavirus outbreak

- AP reports (https://news.yahoo.com/ap-source-detroit-automakers-shut-162036928.html) Detroit automakers are shutting down factories due to worker concerns over the virus.

-Once the hot spot for the coronavirus, China has slowly started to return to normalcy (https://sg.news.yahoo.com/world-cowers-china-glimpses-coronavirus-aftermath-074822166.html) as the number of domestic infections fall.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

I think our economy is going to tank, period. Many nations will, and the fact that probably half of the people in America didn't have any more than $500 in the bank, they're really going to get hit hard. This IS going to get BAD, and I think we're far from the tipping point.

But the way the democrat propaganda wing is acting LYING and TRASHING president Trump I find as especially VILE right now. They just do NOT know WHEN, TO, QUIT. When the country needs to come together, they just INCREASE their UNHINGED BULL SHIT. It's just stomach turning disgusting.

[jimnyc]

Some more local news for me, the area in New Rochelle and more.

If the NYS health commissioner is correct, this virus still has 6 more weeks before it reaches peak. Yeah, and where does he get this info?

--

Coronavirus in NY: Cases spike overnight, Cuomo denies NYC quarantine rumors

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday tried to assure reporters that there are no plans to quarantine New York City amid the coronavirus outbreak — as he announced the number of cases statewide spiked 432 overnight to 1,374.

The jump was driven by a 187-case rise in the Big Apple, for a total of 644 cases.

But as Mayor Bill de Blasio admitted he’s mulling a shelter-in-place edict, Cuomo sought to assure reporters he has no current plans to order the city closed.

“People will panic at the thought of being quarantined,” Cuomo said at a press briefing Tuesday.

“There are many, many steps before that, before you get to limiting an individual’s mobility,” he said.

Meanwhile, state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker said the epidemic is expected to peak in about 45 days — or on May 1st.

Cuomo said 264 of the state’s COVID-19 patients are hospitalized.

Westchester County has 157 new cases, with a total of 380 to date.

The spike in cases comes as the Empire State has stepped up its testing capacity.

State officials are setting up drive-through testing sites in Staten Island and Rockland County, Cuomo said.

https://nypost.com/2020/03/17/ny-coronavirus-cases-spike-overnight-cuomo-denies-nyc-quarantine-rumors/


In the area where I live, Westchester, is already a large enough school system. Long Island is pretty big itself. And NYC is the largest. This is a lot of schools being closed.

NYC, Westchester, Long Island closing all schools

New York City and surrounding counties, including Westchester, will be closing K-12 schools, joining a growing list of large urban school districts shutting down schools in an attempt to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday announced the move to close down New York City’s school system for more than 1 million kids, ending several days of heated debate over the implications of keeping them open.

The schools, the largest district in the nation, will be closed starting Monday through April 20.

“Closing the schools is a good idea but you have to anticipate and correct any unintended consequences - we have to ensure children who rely on free school meals continue to get them and that there’s adequate child care, especially for healthcare workers and first responders who are parents of young children,” Cuomo said in a statement.

“We will close these schools but it needs to be done with these contingencies in mind so that children are not harmed and our hospitals aren’t understaffed - otherwise we cut off our nose to spite our face.”

The announcement came after de Blasio earlier Sunday morning he planned to keep the city’s schools open as long as possible.

Both Cuomo and de Blasio have noted they would close schools if circumstances changed, such as a surge in new COVID-19 cases.

But de Blasio said Sunday evening that the situation is such that keeping the schools open was untenable.

“We’re dealing with a lot of unknowns and a lot of challenges,” de Blasio told reporters.

He says the schools might be closed for the entire school year, saying, “I have no words for how horrible” having to close the schools is.

Rest - https://www.uticaod.com/news/20200316/ny-coronavirus-live-updates-nyc-westchester-long-island-closing-all-schools


Damn, Navy hospitals on the way?

Gov. Cuomo: NY businesses must cut workers on site to 50%; Navy hospital ship on the way

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced there are now over 2,000 cases of coronavirus in New York – the most in the country.

A total of 549 people are currently hospitalized – approximately 23 percent of the total number of cases. However, 108 confirmed coronavirus cases have been discharged from hospitals since the start of the pandemic.

Gov. Cuomo stressed that the rate of the curve of the virus suggests that in 45 days the state could need up to 110,000 beds. Currently, there is a capacity of 53,000 beds in the state.

Gov. Cuomo announced he spoke with President Donald Trump, who is fully engaged in trying to help New York and is sending a hospital ship named the USNS Comfort to the state. The ship is a floating hospital that will add approximately 1,000 hospital beds.

https://i.imgur.com/bQkRTqn.png

Rest - http://westchester.news12.com/story/41909767/gov-cuomo-ny-businesses-must-cut-workers-on-site-to-50-navy-hospital-ship-on-the-way

[jimnyc]

icansayit - with the Navy ship on the way, maybe you can call in a favor or 2 and find yourself onboard? I would expect it's going to NYC!

[Kathianne]

@icansayit (http://www.debatepolicy.com/member.php?u=3857) - with the Navy ship on the way, maybe you can call in a favor or 2 and find yourself onboard? I would expect it's going to NYC!
and the Mercy to the West Coast.

[jimnyc]

If you start feeling sick at all, don't run for the Advil, I guess stay with Tylenol if you are able to.

--

World Health Organization backs call to avoid ibuprofen for coronavirus

The announcement supported a recent statement by the French health minister that ibuprofen may worsen the effects of COVID-19 and should be avoided.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that people with COVID-19 symptoms avoid taking ibuprofen, after concerns were raised by French officials that it may make the virus more harmful.

A recent study in The Lancet medical journal, theorizing that an enzyme boosted by ibuprofen could enable and exacerbate COVID-19 infections, led France's Health Minister Olivier Veran to suggest via social media that the medicine be avoided.

Rest - https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/World-Health-Organization-backs-call-to-avoid-ibuprofen-for-coronavirus-621408

[jimnyc]

Yup, what I've been saying, it's a balancing act. Do you want to easily see areas, regions or entire countries have their economies wrecked in a weeks time and potentially saving as many lives in the nation as possible? Or do you take precautions with the economy and don't limit much at all, and likely still lose a lot of money & then potentially seeing hundreds of thousands to millions dead.

--

Coronavirus poses dreadful choice for global leaders: Wreck your economy or lose millions of lives

WASHINGTON — The coronavirus pandemic has confronted governments around the globe with the ultimate bad choice: Wreck your economy or lose millions of lives.
While some initially hesitated, leaders and legislators in the United States and worldwide increasingly have decided they have to accept the severe economic pain.

“Everything else will come back,” President Trump said Tuesday even as the economic downturn and global turmoil deepened. “Lives won’t come back.”

The costs in either direction are enormous.

U.S. officials know the worst-case scenarios could be extremely bad. The White House has based some of its new plans on a research model developed by doctors and scientists at Imperial College in London that suggests the coronavirus epidemic in the United States could kill at least 2.2 million Americans over the next few months if left uncontrolled.

Dramatic moves to stop social interactions — closing theaters, casinos and restaurants, canceling sports events and other big gatherings, shutting schools and colleges — could significantly reduce that death toll, the study said.

But those efforts to slow the spread of the virus — mitigation, as public health officials call it — bring their own costs: throwing millions of people out of work for potentially a very long time.

Rest - https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-03-18/coronavirus-poses-dreadful-choice-for-global-leaders-wreck-your-economy-or-lose-millions-of-lives

[Drummond]

If you start feeling sick at all, don't run for the Advil, I guess stay with Tylenol if you are able to.

--

World Health Organization backs call to avoid ibuprofen for coronavirus

The announcement supported a recent statement by the French health minister that ibuprofen may worsen the effects of COVID-19 and should be avoided.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that people with COVID-19 symptoms avoid taking ibuprofen, after concerns were raised by French officials that it may make the virus more harmful.

A recent study in The Lancet medical journal, theorizing that an enzyme boosted by ibuprofen could enable and exacerbate COVID-19 infections, led France's Health Minister Olivier Veran to suggest via social media that the medicine be avoided.

Rest - https://www.jpost.com/HEALTH-SCIENCE/World-Health-Organization-backs-call-to-avoid-ibuprofen-for-coronavirus-621408

Even I have heard of Tylenol.

Brits don't have it ... it's yet another American brand not sold here. But, I've heard of it.

Answering Kathianne on her point about the French threatening to close borders with the UK if we don't get tougher with our measures .. I've good news. Selfridges (an approximate equivalent for your Macy's) will be closing all its stores imminently. There y'go, Macron ...

No news yet about Harrods, though ... that just might be a step too far .. ! ... :rolleyes:

We WILL be closing all our schools, though, from the end of the week. Northern Ireland decided to close them from today.

Infection news ... not a precise number of those infected in the UK, but it's reported that this has now passed the 2,500 mark. Deaths ... from 71 yesterday, to 104 today.

Ah yes, just remembered .. we have another case of a baby contracting it.

[se7en]

It's getting bad , CDC suggests showering and use of the bathroom to every 3 days to conserve resources (src)
12396

[Drummond]

It's getting bad , CDC suggests showering and use of the bathroom to every 3 days to conserve resources (src)
12396

I can outdo that piece of news ..

.... we have now heard that the Eurovision Song Contest has just been called off (it may be a French plot ...) !!

[High_Plains_Drifter]

What's the #1 thing I've been saying for years would be the major cause of total societal breakdown and anarchy? WHEN THE FOOD TRUCKS STOPPED ROLLING!

Well... here it is... and I just mentioned that they'll need to call out the National Guard to oversee it...

-------------------

BREAKING: Federal government to control and oversee grocery distribution with govt / private sector partnerships: Wal-Mart, Costco, Target, Kroger, top grocery chains to be deemed “critical infrastructure” … National Guard to protect key distribution points.

The US federal government is in the planning stage of implementing a plan to protect and control grocery distribution across the United States via public / private partnerships with top grocery chains such as Wal-Mart, Kroger, HEB (Texas), Target, Costco, etc., high-level sources now tell Natural News. The effort is being made to ensure the smooth delivery of food supplies to the public as a coronavirus lockdown is about to commence on a regional basis, and food supplies are necessary to prevent social unrest, lawlessness and looting.

Natural News has learned details of this plan which we are told is in the final stages of being completed, with some measure of rollout to begin as early as just a few days from now in at least one region of the country. We were also told that we got the attention of the administration when I appeared on the Alex Jones Show two weeks ago and delivered predictions numbers that closely matched the classified numbers the CDC and HHS already had, none of which had been released to the public. This “caused alarm” in certain circles, we were told, because the CDC thought they had a leak to Natural News (which apparently would be the end of the world at the CDC). They later concluded that we had reached the same conclusions based on mathematical models, not any leak. I can confirm that nobody from the CDC has leaked anything to us. The reason we have arrived at the same numbers is because I can do math and as a scientist, I understand the principles of epidemiology and exponential spread. My pandemic projection spreadsheet has accurately predicted all the recent deaths with near-perfect accuracy, by the way, and I released it publicly on March 9th, revealing all the math behind the calculations.

Mother Nature's micronutrient secret: Organic Broccoli Sprout Capsules now available, delivering 280mg of high-density nutrition, including the extraordinary "sulforaphane" and "glucosinolate" nutrients found only in cruciferous healing foods. Every lot laboratory tested. See availability here.

On the good news side, we are told that Trump is working day and night to coordinate a response that keeps the American people fully supplied with food, medicine, water and security, and that this plan will be implemented with absolutely zero advanced warning to the public. We are also told that VP Mike Pence is secretly working with pharmaceutical companies to rapidly accelerate critical drug manufacturing in the United States of America, with special efforts under way to resurrect certain factories in Puerto Rico that were wiped out by the hurricane last year. The long-term plan, we are told, is to designate the pharmaceutical supplies lines as strategic infrastructure much like the strategic oil reserves, and to maintain US manufacturing of certain medications from this day forward.

The days of outsourcing everything to China, in other words, are over. Thank God globalism is finally starting to implode. Let us hope Trump uses this opportunity to promote the importance of nationalism and redundant supplies lines filled with “made in America” goods and materials.

Here are the details of the food / grocery that have been shared with us:

The scope of this plan isn’t yet clear, as at times we were told it would be “regional” but might expand from there. No specific city was mentioned, but we can imagine it will start with NYC and Seattle and follow the cities with the worst outbreaks.

The plan will NOT “nationalize” grocery chains, as the president prefers public/private partnerships that leverage the existing distribution infrastructure of the private sector, which operates more efficiently than the government. The president prefers to respect and allow the private sector to fulfill its role in society rather than try to take over those operations.

Grocery chains will be declared, via executive order, “critical infrastructure” (the wording may be slightly different, such as “essential infrastructure”) so that the executive branch of the federal government grants itself the justification to oversee food distribution and food security for the nation. This is conjecture on our part, but we believe this same executive order will also designate long-haul trucking a similar “critical infrastructure” and would likely prioritize trucking / transport operations to keep the food, fuel, medicine and other supplies flowing. Obviously, without nationwide trucking, the grocery stores run out of food in mere hours, as we are now seeing almost everywhere.

The plan will involve National Guard troops showing a presence at grocery store parking lots which will serve as distribution points. They will be given ROE (Rules of Engagement) orders to actively engage anyone who initiates violence or who attempts to steal food. There will be little or no tolerance for threats to food distribution points, grocery stores or food trucking operations.

The National Guard will be ordered to begin protecting food distribution hubs and truck routes on the highways to ensure that food trucks arrive safely at grocery stores across America. The president is reportedly about to meet with trucking union leaders and trucking organizations to finalize the structure of this plan which may include an “escort” vehicle to shadow the trucks and ensure security.

There is talk — just talk, not any decision yet — of not allowing the public to enter the grocery stores and instead setting up a “drive through” system in the parking lots, where people are allowed to purchase pre-made “grocery kits” which contain pre-selected basics such as eggs, milk, ground beef, bags of rice, etc., which are offered at a fixed price and fixed quantities, with strict limits on the allowable purchases per citizen. Presumably, there would have to be kits assembled for people who have children or infants, separate from adult kits. We are told this will not be implemented right away and is only a last-ditch measure if the spread of the virus gets far worse. However, the administration is fully aware that grocery store crowds are right now spreading the virus, especially in NYC. It also means that the government already realizes consumer choice is going to have to be strictly limited in order to achieve high-efficiency grocery distribution to the public. Kiss your gluten-free crackers goodbye if this phase of the plan goes live…
The SNAP program (food stamps) is going to be expanded under an emergency order to allow those on food assistance to increase their food stockpiles in advance of the coming lockdowns. This also means the banks that handle the SNAP transactions are about to see a huge increase in their transaction loads, which makes them prone to outages as history has shown.

Even if consumer choice is allowed to continue on grocery purchases for some time, strict limits will be placed on grocery items at the federal level. We are told the limits will apply to all the basic such as ground beef, bottled water, eggs, rice, milk, canned soups, bread, powdered milk, plus many personal hygiene and baby care items such as diapers, toilet paper, sanitizing supplies (including bleach), hand soap and even basic pharmacy items such as isopropyl alcohol and hydrogen peroxide.

TIMELINE: We are told this plan may be activated within days in certain regions (probably NYC and Seattle), but that logistics and delays could push it out to 1-2 weeks. The plan, we are told, will not affect most of Middle America where the virus is not yet reaching critical numbers. Watch this short animation to see where the hot spots are:

See link...

What this means is that many of these federal emergency efforts will be focused on the West and East Coasts. We aren’t expecting draconian lockdowns in the near future in any states other than Washington, California, New York and Virginia, with New Jersey a candidate that’s likely to follow.

That’s all we know so far.

The good news is that Trump is planning for what’s coming, and he is maintaining supply lines that are necessary to prevent mass starvation and death.

Oh, this also reminds us to tell you what Dr. Anthony Fauci said earlier today. And remember that Fauci is advising the president on everything right now. He says, “If it looks like you’re overreacting you’re probably doing the right thing.”

Yep. As reported by The Hill:

“If you just leave the virus to its own defenses it’ll go way up like we’ve seen in Italy – that’s not going to happen if we do what we’re attempting to do and are doing,” Fauci told CBS’ Margaret Brennan on “Face the Nation.”

Also worth noting: The Mayor of NYC has just announced that literally everyone in the city has likely been exposed. With everyone exposed, it’s not difficult to see that one-third of the city could become infected, and that’s millions of people.

Hence the need for the government to begin to oversee and protect food distribution centers.

And NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer just called for a total shutdown of the entire city. He’s doing that because he knows what the numbers are, and they’re already apocalyptic. The hospitals in NYC will be completely overrun in about 3-4 weeks:

If you thought the retail stores were insane yesterday and today, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

And nobody is laughing at preppers any longer…

https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-03-15-federal-government-to-control-grocery-distribution-national-guard.html (https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-03-15-federal-government-to-control-grocery-distribution-national-guard.html)

[Drummond]

We have a newspaper over here, called the 'Independent'.

It was originally meant to be exactly that. However, along came the 2003 Iraq War, and the Independent veered fairly sharply to the Left. Attacks on GWB were commonplace in their editorials.

The Left-leaning bias has never been corrected. Since those days, what was a printed paper ended up selling so few copies, they had to give that exercise up .. & they became a Web-only paper.

They're still playing politics, though. Just 'published' ... this piece that compares the French and their Socialist approach to Covid-19, and the British approach, which they see fit to attack; because it's too 'Capitalist', apparently .....

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/coronavirus-france-lockdown-budget-macron-boris-johnson-a9409641.html


Neville Chamberlain’s government did the bare minimum to prepare for bombing in the 1930s, pinning its hopes on deterring an attack and keeping the economy strong. Britain was lucky there were no gas attacks and the Blitz was not as bad as feared. However, scientists tell us that the coronavirus is here to stay and we may face new strains of it, so a vaccine is no silver bullet. We can already see how Covid-19 has devastated societies around the world; yet the tradition of cold calculation still drives this government’s wait-and-see mindset.

France, on the other hand, has a long history of “state capitalism”, one that harks back to Jean-Baptiste Colbert, who served King Louis XIV as minister of finance from 1661 to 1683. Colbert threw his weight and the public purse behind large-scale projects, the domestic production of high-quality goods like glassware and encouraged competition in French industries.

In France, the state manages the economy but the economy remains capitalist. When Macron promised taxis for medical staff, he no doubt drew inspiration from the “Marne Taxi”, a private fleet of Parisian taxis of which the French army took control in order to transport troops to the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914. In wartime, even capitalist states need to intervene with a heavy hand.

As France well knows, we cannot wait for markets to right themselves in times of crisis .....

When this nightmare is over, my partner and I will draw up plans to move to France. I see now that in France, capitalism has its place but it is not left unchecked. The state acknowledges its responsibility to step up swiftly when needed ....

[jimnyc]

A few more important updates...

--

U.S. Virus Plan Anticipates 18-Month Pandemic and Widespread Shortages

WASHINGTON — A federal government plan to combat the coronavirus warned policymakers last week that a pandemic “will last 18 months or longer” and could include “multiple waves,” resulting in widespread shortages that would strain consumers and the nation’s health care system.

The 100-page plan, dated Friday, the same day President Trump declared a national emergency, laid out a grim prognosis for the spread of the virus and outlined a response that would activate agencies across the government and potentially employ special presidential powers to mobilize the private sector.

Among the “additional key federal decisions” listed among the options for Mr. Trump was invoking the Defense Production Act of 1950, a Korean War-era law that authorizes a president to take extraordinary action to force American industry to ramp up production of critical equipment and supplies such as ventilators, respirators and protective gear for health care workers.

“Shortages of products may occur, impacting health care, emergency services, and other elements of critical infrastructure,” the plan warned. “This includes potentially critical shortages of diagnostics, medical supplies (including PPE and pharmaceuticals), and staffing in some locations.” P.P.E. refers to personal protective equipment.

The plan continued: “State and local governments, as well as critical infrastructure and communications channels, will be stressed and potentially less reliable. These stresses may also increase the challenges of getting updated messages and coordinating guidance to these jurisdictions directly.”

Rest - https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-virus-plan-anticipates-18-month-pandemic-and-widespread-shortages/ar-BB11ktjA


That's gonna be a lot of pissed off folks right there, unless all getting paid of course.

General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler to temporarily close all US factories due to the coronavirus

Detroit’s Big Three automakers plan to temporarily close all U.S. factories as the coronavirus sweeps across the country.

The companies bowed to pressure from union leaders and employees who called for protection from the pandemic that’s spread to more than 212,000 people in nearly every country across the globe.

Ford said it plans to close its factories in the U.S., Canada and Mexico after Thursday evening and through March 30. The company said it would work closely with the United Auto Workers union in the coming weeks to restart plants and explore additional protocols and procedures to help prevent the spread of the virus.

“We’re continuing to work closely with union leaders, especially the United Auto Workers, to find ways to help keep our workforce healthy and safe — even as we look at solutions for continuing to provide the vehicles customers really want and need,” said Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s president of North America.

Rest - https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/18/general-motors-ford-and-fiat-chrysler-to-close-all-us-factories-due-to-the-coronavirus-sources-say.html

[hjmick]

I can outdo that piece of news ..

.... we have now heard that the Eurovision Song Contest has just been called off (it may be a French plot ...) !!


Fuckin' frogs...

[hjmick]

GOD damn evolution...


“They conclude that the virus is the product of natural evolution, ending any speculation about deliberate genetic engineering.”

Coronavirus is not a bioweapon created in a lab, scientists say
(https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18314818.coronavirus-not-bioweapon-created-lab-scientists-say/)


I suppose that's a bit of good news...

[jimnyc]

I'm not a big fan of bailouts. Not unless it's critical to our country as a whole. And certainly not if they are on foreign soil, or a large portion. So I can go along with this, how you going to make this critical for US, how will you increase jobs in the US with any talk of a bailout?

--

Josh Hawley: Before Bailouts, Corporations Should Explain How They Will Move Jobs Back to America

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said in a statement on Wednesday that multinational corporations should explain how they plan to move jobs back to America before asking for bailouts from the federal government.

“To any multinational corporations that come to Congress asking for taxpayer $$$, you better come prepared to explain how you will move supply chains and jobs back to America if you want my vote,” Hawley wrote on Wednesday.

https://i.imgur.com/59TQcGn.png

Rest - https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/03/18/josh-hawley-before-bailouts-corporations-should-explain-how-they-will-move-jobs-back-to-america/

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Just ventured out against my better judgement, but I thought it best to stock up some more. Got another $215 worth of groceries, mostly canned and dry goods, some meat. I hope I can get it all in my freezer. It's a big bottom freezer with a lot of room. Might have to turn my ice maker off though and take the ice tray out.

There were some empty shelves at the store, mostly dairy, butter, eggs, gone, but the rest of the store looked fairly well stocked. There was even TOILET PAPER!!

Very happy once again that I live in a tiny little backwoods town, Muscoda, WI... I love this little burg... https://www.muscoda.com/

[High_Plains_Drifter]

I'm not a big fan of bailouts. Not unless it's critical to our country as a whole. And certainly not if they are on foreign soil, or a large portion. So I can go along with this, how you going to make this critical for US, how will you increase jobs in the US with any talk of a bailout?

--

Josh Hawley: Before Bailouts, Corporations Should Explain How They Will Move Jobs Back to America

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said in a statement on Wednesday that multinational corporations should explain how they plan to move jobs back to America before asking for bailouts from the federal government.

“To any multinational corporations that come to Congress asking for taxpayer $$$, you better come prepared to explain how you will move supply chains and jobs back to America if you want my vote,” Hawley wrote on Wednesday.

https://i.imgur.com/59TQcGn.png

Rest - https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/03/18/josh-hawley-before-bailouts-corporations-should-explain-how-they-will-move-jobs-back-to-america/
DAMN STRAIGHT... THAT'S AWESOME... this really ought to be a HUGE wake up call.

[jimnyc]

What a complete dumbass. Why the F would you do this anyway? To purposely scare people? To gain some sort of sympathy? Well, he's gonna get isolated for a bit alright.

--

Texas man, 23, is ARRESTED for lying about testing positive for coronavirus in social media post which also falsely claimed the virus had gone airborne - sparking panic that jammed hospital phone lines


Michael Lane Brandin, 23, was charged with a class A misdemeanor charge of false alarm or report Tuesday
He lied about testing positive at Tyler County Hospital in East Texas on Friday
Brandin also claimed falsely that the virus had gone airborne
It caused panic on phone lines for both the hospital and authorities
Police said: 'Brandin advised deputies his post was to make a point that you cannot believe everything you view online'
Tyler County District Attorney Lucas Babin believes the man did it for attention
Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?


A Texas man has been arrested after he lied about having coronavirus in a social media post.

Michael Lane Brandin, 23, said in a Facebook post that he tested positive at Tyler County Hospital on Friday.

The post now appears to have been removed.

'In a comment on the post, Brandin advised that he was informed by medical professionals in Tyler County that the virus had become airborne,' police said in a statement.

It caused panic on phone lines for both the hospital and authorities.

Multiple people contacted the Tyler County Sheriff's Office about the claim someone in their county had been stricken with the contagious illness.

It was as the COVID-19 pandemic reached new heights last week and states started moves to close down public places as the number of infections and related deaths rapidly increased across the country.

Police got in touch with the man who lives in Woodville, East Texas on Tuesday.

Rest - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8127039/Texas-man-ARRESTED-lied-social-media-post-testing-positive-coronavirus.html

[se7en]

https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-03-18-thousands-leave-cruise-ship-miami-without-coronavirus-screening.html

Thousands of cruise ship passengers allowed to de-board in Miami without being screened, even though former passenger tested positive for coronavirus


(Natural News (https://www.naturalnews.com)) Even though a former passenger tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), a cruise ship full of thousands of passengers was reportedly allowed (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article241209366.html) to disembark in Miami over the weekend without undergoing any type of medical screening for the novel virus.

This former passenger is said to have gotten off the MSC Meraviglia in Miami on March 8 after an eight-day Caribbean cruise, at that time leaving behind 103 passengers and the ship’s crew for the next voyage. Four days later, after the ship had traveled around with thousands of new passengers aboard, it was confirmed by the Public Health Agency of Canada that this passenger had, in fact, tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

After receiving the news, the company decided to isolate seven crew members who had been in close contact with this individual in separate cabins. But nothing was done with any of the potentially exposed passengers, and all of them ended up being released without any type of screening, let alone actual testing.
Amazingly, it was federal health officials who gave MSC clearance to dock in Miami on Sunday and let all of the passengers leave. This stands in sharp contrast to what happened in California with the Grand Princess cruise ship after a passenger tested positive on that vessel, leading to both the California Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) testing 46 people while isolating the rest of them offshore for three days.
None of the 3,877 passengers who disembarked from the MSC Meraviglia, on the other hand, were tested at all. And many of them immediately went to Miami International Airport to fly back to their homes all across the country.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-03-18-thousands-leave-cruise-ship-miami-without-coronavirus-screening.html

Thousands of cruise ship passengers allowed to de-board in Miami without being screened, even though former passenger tested positive for coronavirus


(Natural News (https://www.naturalnews.com)) Even though a former passenger tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), a cruise ship full of thousands of passengers was reportedly allowed (https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article241209366.html) to disembark in Miami over the weekend without undergoing any type of medical screening for the novel virus.

This former passenger is said to have gotten off the MSC Meraviglia in Miami on March 8 after an eight-day Caribbean cruise, at that time leaving behind 103 passengers and the ship’s crew for the next voyage. Four days later, after the ship had traveled around with thousands of new passengers aboard, it was confirmed by the Public Health Agency of Canada that this passenger had, in fact, tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).

After receiving the news, the company decided to isolate seven crew members who had been in close contact with this individual in separate cabins. But nothing was done with any of the potentially exposed passengers, and all of them ended up being released without any type of screening, let alone actual testing.
Amazingly, it was federal health officials who gave MSC clearance to dock in Miami on Sunday and let all of the passengers leave. This stands in sharp contrast to what happened in California with the Grand Princess cruise ship after a passenger tested positive on that vessel, leading to both the California Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) testing 46 people while isolating the rest of them offshore for three days.
None of the 3,877 passengers who disembarked from the MSC Meraviglia, on the other hand, were tested at all. And many of them immediately went to Miami International Airport to fly back to their homes all across the country.
Well, between that and the packed beaches of partiers in FL, doesn't sound like they're taking any of this seriously. Maybe they think the hot humid climate has made them immune.

[Drummond]

Not being Londoners (as I once was, before my move to Wales) .. you won't appreciate this quite as I do.

I'm posting one photo of a London Underground station called 'Bank'. It's called that because, at street level, its only a minute or two's walk from the Bank of England building, in central London .... and that also means it's within that part of London traditionally given over to high finance ... possibly a rough equivalent of New York's Wall Street ?

Anyway .. the point is that, especially at rush hour, City workers would typically pour into Bank station, creating crowds. Bank station has, in the past, actually been closed temporarily because of the crowds it attracts at its busiest times, with platform crowds being so dense that to allow more people on to them would be dangerous (& not least because the train carriages, when a train is in the station, create a gap between carriage and platform !). The automated 'Mind the Gap' tannoy announcement was made for that station !

[I've walked along the platform you see in the photo probably hundreds of times in the past.]

No such worries these days, though. The photo below shows an unprecedented scene during what WOULD be a busy day .....

12399

Update is through ... UK deaths now increased to 137 (33 more than yesterday, I think).

[Kathianne]

Not being Londoners (as I once was, before my move to Wales) .. you won't appreciate this quite as I do.

I'm posting one photo of a London Underground station called 'Bank'. It's called that because, at street level, its only a minute or two's walk from the Bank of England building, in central London .... and that also means it's within that part of London traditionally given over to high finance ... possibly a rough equivalent of New York's Wall Street ?

Anyway .. the point is that, especially at rush hour, City workers would typically pour into Bank station, creating crowds. Bank station has, in the past, actually been closed temporarily because of the crowds it attracts at its busiest times, with platform crowds being so dense that to allow more people on to them would be dangerous (& not least because the train carriages, when a train is in the station, create a gap between carriage and platform !). The automated 'Mind the Gap' tannoy announcement was made for that station !

[I've walked along the platform you see in the photo probably hundreds of times in the past.]

No such worries these days, though. The photo below shows an unprecedented scene during what WOULD be a busy day .....

12399

Not the subway, but the Bank area played a part in Mary Poppins! LOL!

[Kathianne]

Not being Londoners (as I once was, before my move to Wales) .. you won't appreciate this quite as I do.

I'm posting one photo of a London Underground station called 'Bank'. It's called that because, at street level, its only a minute or two's walk from the Bank of England building, in central London .... and that also means it's within that part of London traditionally given over to high finance ... possibly a rough equivalent of New York's Wall Street ?

Anyway .. the point is that, especially at rush hour, City workers would typically pour into Bank station, creating crowds. Bank station has, in the past, actually been closed temporarily because of the crowds it attracts at its busiest times, with platform crowds being so dense that to allow more people on to them would be dangerous (& not least because the train carriages, when a train is in the station, create a gap between carriage and platform !). The automated 'Mind the Gap' tannoy announcement was made for that station !

[I've walked along the platform you see in the photo probably hundreds of times in the past.]

No such worries these days, though. The photo below shows an unprecedented scene during what WOULD be a busy day .....

12399

Update is through ... UK deaths now increased to 137 (33 more than yesterday, I think).

Italy's death number has now surpassed China's. Might be a shocker that China's population is a tad larger than Italy's.

[jimnyc]

More fantastic news in New York today! :( :(

A hospital of all places is already rationing supplies in Colorado. Thanks, hoarders! :rolleyes:

--

NY cases jump to 4,000 overnight

NEW YORK - New York has confirmed more than 4,000 coronavirus cases statewide, which Gov. Andrew Cuomo said was driven by a dramatic increase in testing. New York has cumulatively tested 22,000 people, including more than 7,500 in the past day.

“Why are you seeing the numbers go up?” Cuomo asked at a news conference Thursday morning. “Because you are taking more tests.”

The governor said 8,000 tests for the virus were performed in New York overnight and he expects the number of confirmed cases to go up exponentially.

COVID-19 causes mild symptoms in most people but can cause serious illness for some, including older adults and those with certain conditions such as respiratory illness.

Cuomo is requiring businesses in New York to decrease their in-office workforce by 75%, tightening a 50% restriction he announced Wednesday.

Rest - https://www.fox5ny.com/news/ny-cases-jump-to-4000-overnight


No, We’re Not All Going to Have to Stay Home for 18 Months

(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Remember a week and a half ago when CNBC’s Rick Santelli said that “maybe we’d just be better off” if we just infected everybody with the coronavirus now? His reasoning:

Then in a month it would be over because the mortality rate of this probably isn’t going to be any different if we did it that way than the long-term picture, but the difference is we’re wreaking havoc on global and domestic economies.

Unlike his most famous rant, a February 2009 tirade against mortgage bailouts and in favor of a “Tea Party,” this one probably won’t help launch a political movement, given that Santelli apologized soon after and political sentiment here in the U.S. seemed to shift firmly in favor of a tougher virus-fighting effort in the days that followed.

But Santelli did raise a question that isn’t going away: how do we know we aren’t doing ourselves more harm with the measures we take to slow or halt Covid-19 than the disease would do to us on its own? As Stanford medicine and statistics professor John Ioannidis, a rather more serious commentator, put it in an essay for the science news site Stat this week, after acknowledging that the coronavirus could kill tens of millions worldwide if simply allowed to run its course:

With lockdowns of months, if not years, life largely stops, short-term and long-term consequences are entirely unknown, and billions, not just millions, of lives may be eventually at stake.

There are big problems with some of the claims made by Santelli and Ioannidis. Santelli is almost certainly wrong that “the mortality rate of this probably isn’t going to be any different” if a large share of the population contracts Covid-19 at the same time. It would likely be much higher because so many people with serious cases wouldn’t be able to get treatment, and the resulting death toll would probably drive a similar or even greater amount of economy-damaging self-quarantining and social distancing to what we’re seeing now, albeit it with a clearer and nearer end date.

Rest - https://news.yahoo.com/no-not-going-stay-home-143016960.html


Coronavirus In Colorado: ER Doctor Says Hospital Supplies Being Rationed, ‘We Are Not Prepared’

DENVER (CBS4) – Dr. Jane Jenab, a Denver-based emergency room physician, warned on Wednesday of area hospitals already rationing vital medical equipment for health care workers. Items like face masks, surgical gowns and gloves, she said, were already part of a “significant shortage” that threatened the health of doctors and nurses and would eventually impact hospital patients.

“We are anticipating a massive surge of patients over the next few weeks,” said Jenab. “And we are not prepared.”

She was speaking about what is known as Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE, for health care workers.

“We are being asked to ration what we have. We are being asked to use masks repeatedly over and over through the day which decreases their effectiveness.”

Jenab rotates through various hospitals and says when it comes to PPE gear, “We’re running through them quickly due to the risk of contagion at this time.”

A nurse at another major Colorado hospital told CBS4 she was being given a single mask for an entire day. She said she would typically use and discard 10 such masks prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. She asked her name not be used for fear or retaliation.

Jenab said a shortage of PPE equipment will impact hospital patients if doctors and nurses get sick and are not able to work.

“We as health care providers, if we get sick and are removed from the workforce due to exposure or actually being sick, what happens to the workforce? We’re anticipating an enormous surge of patients and not sure we will have the staff and supplies to take care of what’s coming.”

Rest - https://news.yahoo.com/no-not-going-stay-home-143016960.html


'Everything is out of our control': San Francisco eases into lockdown

SAN FRANCISCO — Trish Tracey sat alone in her shuttered restaurant Tuesday in the Mission district, a bustling, historically Latino neighborhood that's become popular with tech workers.

A chef in the city for 30 years, she had laid off the last of her 17 employees at Myriad Gastropub and was in talks with her landlord about her lease. It could be weeks or months before she reopens, assuming things ever get back to normal.

"Everything is out of our control," she said.

San Francisco is two days into a lockdown that has no definite end. The city and its surrounding counties imposed shelter-in-place restrictions Tuesday just after midnight, forcing millions of people to stay home and stay put except for essential needs such as shopping for groceries, getting medications, caring for others and exercising.


San Francisco is two days into a lockdown that has no definite end. What happens next is anyone's guess.

Rest - https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/everything-out-our-control-san-francisco-eases-lockdown-n1163376

[jimnyc]

Man, seems like it went from the 100k stage to now 229k awfully quick. But this is worldwide we're speaking of. 10k in the USA. Where it all started in Wuhan has zero new cases for the first time. Then again, Chinese officials could have incinerated 4,000 people for all we know.


--

The latest on the pandemic

• The total number of coronavirus cases has risen to more than 229,000, with over 9,300 deaths attributed to the virus.

• In the United States, there are over 10,000 confirmed cases, with more than 150 deaths.

• Two members of Congress, Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Ben McAdams (D-Utah), tested positive for the virus.

• Once the epicenter for the virus, China's Wuhan reported no new cases for the first time.

• Worried you're experiencing coronavirus symptoms? Here's what the CDC says to do.

Rest - https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-covid-19-news-and-live-updates-120246923.html

[jimnyc]

Hell, they should have done this 20-30 years ago! As the "stolen car capital of the world", this place already turns into a nightmarish shithole once the sun sets.

--

Newark sets nightly curfew; 'non-essential' shops must close

NEWARK, N.J - People need to be off the streets of Newark, New Jersey, every night at 8 p.m. and non-essential businesses need to shut down completely until further notice, the mayor announced on Wednesday night.

Mayor Ras Baraka announced several measures as part of an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus in the Garden State's largest city. They will be in effect through at least April 1, when the city will re-evaluate.

The mandatory 8 p.m. curfew means no one is allowed to be in public except in an emergency or commuting to and from work.

Also, the mayor ordered non-essential businesses, such as retail stores, nail salons, beauty salons, and barbershops, to close Wednesday night and not reopen until things change for the better.

Rest - https://www.fox5ny.com/news/newark-sets-nightly-curfew-non-essential-shops-must-close

[jimnyc]

Forgive me if posted already!

This would be huge if they already found something this effective. And with the FDA being able to be bypassed, maybe some cures will be out sooner than later?

--

HUGE! Results from Breaking Chloroquine Study Show 100% Cure Rate for Patients Infected with the Coronavirus

On Monday Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, announced that the first trial vaccine for the coronavirus is now being tested. The trial taking place in Seattle, which has been a hotbed for COVID-19. The test includes 45 people age 18-55 and they are receiving two injections, one at zero days, one at 28 days. The individuals will then be followed for one year. The trial results is still months away.

On Monday night Laura Ingraham reported that a new study revealed the anti-viral medication chloroquine is successful in fighting the coronavirus.

Laura invited Dr. Gregory Rigano, the co-author of the study to discuss the latest findings.

Dr. Rigano said their study found that those COVID-19 patients who took hydroxy-chloroquine were found free of the disease in 6 days. The patients were testing negative for the coronavirus in six days!

Dr. Rigano also said taking choroquine could act as a preventative.

This is a remarkable study!

Rest - https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/huge-results-from-breaking-chloroquine-study-show-100-cure-rate-for-patients-infected-with-the-coronavirus/

[Kathianne]

Forgive me if posted already!

This would be huge if they already found something this effective. And with the FDA being able to be bypassed, maybe some cures will be out sooner than later?

--

HUGE! Results from Breaking Chloroquine Study Show 100% Cure Rate for Patients Infected with the Coronavirus

On Monday Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, announced that the first trial vaccine for the coronavirus is now being tested. The trial taking place in Seattle, which has been a hotbed for COVID-19. The test includes 45 people age 18-55 and they are receiving two injections, one at zero days, one at 28 days. The individuals will then be followed for one year. The trial results is still months away.

On Monday night Laura Ingraham reported that a new study revealed the anti-viral medication chloroquine is successful in fighting the coronavirus.

Laura invited Dr. Gregory Rigano, the co-author of the study to discuss the latest findings.

Dr. Rigano said their study found that those COVID-19 patients who took hydroxy-chloroquine were found free of the disease in 6 days. The patients were testing negative for the coronavirus in six days!

Dr. Rigano also said taking choroquine could act as a preventative.

This is a remarkable study!

Rest - https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/huge-results-from-breaking-chloroquine-study-show-100-cure-rate-for-patients-infected-with-the-coronavirus/

Crossing fingers. It's not a vaccine but will help buy time and coupled with increased testing, may help get things going back to a new normal, not all hunkered down.

[jimnyc]

In addition to my last post, and actually an earlier article...

--

HUGE BREAKING NEWS: President Trump Announces Chloroquine Will Be Made Available IMMEDIATELY ! – Has Shown “Very, Very Encouraging Early Results”

BREAKING NEWS—

President Trump announced on Thursday the US will IMMEDIATELY make the drug Chloroquine available to treat US coronavirus patients!

President Trump made the announcement at the daily Coronavirus press conference in the White House. The president added that chloroquine has shown, “very, very encouraging results” in treating the coronavirus!

New York Governor Cuomo has agreed to start using the drug in his state immediately!

Rest - https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/huge-breaking-news-president-trump-announces-chloroquine-will-be-made-available-immediately-has-shown-very-very-encouraging-early-results-video/

[Kathianne]

In addition to my last post, and actually an earlier article...

--

HUGE BREAKING NEWS: President Trump Announces Chloroquine Will Be Made Available IMMEDIATELY ! – Has Shown “Very, Very Encouraging Early Results”

BREAKING NEWS—

President Trump announced on Thursday the US will IMMEDIATELY make the drug Chloroquine available to treat US coronavirus patients!

President Trump made the announcement at the daily Coronavirus press conference in the White House. The president added that chloroquine has shown, “very, very encouraging results” in treating the coronavirus!

New York Governor Cuomo has agreed to start using the drug in his state immediately!

Rest - https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/huge-breaking-news-president-trump-announces-chloroquine-will-be-made-available-immediately-has-shown-very-very-encouraging-early-results-video/
That's not what I heard said. While the drug has been used for quite awhile on other maladies, mostly malaria related, it's being tested now-not yet prescribed for corona. Might docs decide to use it, for 'malaria?' Maybe.

[Abbey Marie]

Trump told the governors during the latest conference that the FDA approved immediate use, and they should make it available in their resepctive states.

[Abbey Marie]

Trump told the governors during the latest conference that the FDA approved immediate use, and they should make it available in their respective states.

[jimnyc]

That's not what I heard said. While the drug has been used for quite awhile on other maladies, mostly malaria related, it's being tested now-not yet prescribed for corona. Might docs decide to use it, for 'malaria?' Maybe.

What part don't you agree with or didn't hear said? That it's not effective? Won't be made immediately available?

A lot of drugs have 2nd reasons of use that weren't originally intended. I would prefer the drug they that make in reverse order from the virus. Either way, I do hope they find something that works. Would be nice to know that if I get it! :)

[jimnyc]

Trying to find some other data on this...


--

Updated: Trump Says FDA Approved Anti-Malaria Drug Chloroquine To Test As Coronavirus Treatment

Topline: President Trump said in a Thursday press briefing that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, drugs used to treat malaria and severe arthritis, were approved by the Food and Drug Administration to test as a COVID-19 coronavirus treatment, as the number of cases nationwide continues to increase.

The drugs will be used in a clinical trial, according to FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, who spoke during the press briefing.
Trump also said that other antiviral medications will be fast-tracked for FDA approval.
"We will collect that data and make the absolute right decisions based upon those data about the safety and efficacy of the treatments,” said Hahn.
Trump also claimed that the White House has “slashed red tape” to speed up approval for vaccines and other treatments.
Trump added that the FDA approved “compassionate use” for a number of patients, which allows very ill patients to use drugs not yet approved by the agency for widespread use.

Rest - https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2020/03/19/trump-says-fda-approved-anti-malaria-drug-chloroquine-to-test-as-coronavirus-treatment/#b4edc84303d9

[Kathianne]

What part don't you agree with or didn't hear said? That it's not effective? Won't be made immediately available?

A lot of drugs have 2nd reasons of use that weren't originally intended. I would prefer the drug they that make in reverse order from the virus. Either way, I do hope they find something that works. Would be nice to know that if I get it! :)

I heard Trump and the doctor, Birks say that they were very excited about a real possibility of using that drug, that was used mostly for malaria and yes, other diseases. Trials had already started and they were very hopeful. If they've ok'd it an hour and half later, cool.

[jimnyc]

I heard Trump and the doctor, Birks say that they were very excited about a real possibility of using that drug, that was used mostly for malaria and yes, other diseases. Trials had already started and they were very hopeful. If they've ok'd it an hour and half later, cool.

I'm trying to read more before I post articles, but things are coming and going quickly!

--

And here is the apparent truth..

--

FDA contradicts Trump on status of potential coronavirus drug

Regulator undercuts president’s claim that anti-malarial treatment is approved to treat Covid-19


Donald Trump’s assertion that the Food and Drug Administration had approved an anti-malarial drug to treat patients with coronavirus was undercut by the regulator’s chief, who said the agency was still investigating whether chloroquine should be used to help infected individuals.

Mr Trump said the FDA had expedited approval of chloroquine, during a White House press conference on Thursday. Speaking from the same podium, Steven Hahn, the FDA head, contradicted Mr Trump, saying the president had “directed us to take a closer took” at whether the drug could help people with coronavirus.

“We want to do that in the setting of a . . . large pragmatic clinical trial to actually gather that information and answer the question that needs to be answered,” Mr Hahn said, indicating that the FDA had not granted approval.

Rest - https://www.ft.com/content/46754bae-6a0d-11ea-800d-da70cff6e4d3

[Kathianne]

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/90174868_10157842912293801_8803578316981272576_n.j pg?_nc_cat=104&_nc_sid=110474&_nc_ohc=0mQzoKFZzrEAX8fx77D&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-1.xx&oh=0774bcf79b39962ec44c8512f98f83e0&oe=5E99DDD6

[Abbey Marie]

Look, if I or a loved one is dying from this virus, give me a release to sign and pump me full of whatever drug looks at all promising. This is not the time for clinical trials. If compassionate care covers folks in dire straits, then it is a big step at least.

[Kathianne]

Look, if I or a loved one is dying from this virus, give me a release to sign and pump me full of whatever drug looks at all promising. This is not the time for clinical trials. If compassionate care covers folks in dire straits, then it is a big step at least.

I get that desire. I also get the problems that came from some 'miracle drugs' and even the problems with resistance thanks to over prescribing of antibiotics.

They are not talking 'years,' but weeks at the longest. This is an FDA approved drug, just not for the particular disease. Malaria is not common in this country, so I'd say it's not a widely prescribed drug, but is effective and already approved for certain things.

[Kathianne]

Meanwhile Bayer is donating a big chunk of what is most promising:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-bayer/bayer-donates-three-million-malaria-tablets-to-us-for-potential-use-against-coronavirus-idUSKBN21637E


Bayer donates three million malaria tablets to U.S. for potential use against coronavirus

(Reuters) - Bayer AG said on Thursday it has donated 3 million tablets of the malaria drug Resochin to the U.S. government for potential use to treat COVID-19.


Resochin, made of chloroquine phosphate and an approved treatment for malaria, is being evaluated in China for its potential use against COVID-19, the disease caused by the fast-spreading coronavirus.


Bayer said the drug is currently not approved for use in the United States and the company is working with appropriate agencies on an emergency use authorization for its use in the United States.


U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking at a news conference on Thursday, called on U.S. health regulators to expedite potential therapies such as Gilead Sciences Inc’s Remdesivir and the generic antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine, aimed at treating COVID-19.

[jimnyc]

Shoot, a number of cases directly in my town now. And a few on the other side, neighboring city. 3 cities in a row with cases and I am in the one sandwiched in between. :(

[Kathianne]

Shoot, a number of cases directly in my town now. And a few on the other side, neighboring city. 3 cities in a row with cases and I am in the one sandwiched in between. :(

Sorry. :(

[Kathianne]

If this holds, really good news:

https://hotair.com/archives/allahpundit/2020/03/19/seattle-flattening-curve/


Is Seattle Flattening The Curve?
ALLAHPUNDITPosted at 6:01 pm on March 19, 2020

he evidence isn’t conclusive yet, but this is worth watching.


UW Virology
✔
@UWVirology
~2300 tests were reported yesterday from @UWVirology @UWMedicine. Positive rate seems stable. Lab running smoothly the first half of today with lots of results going out. Realtime tracker at https://depts.washington.edu/uwviro/


View image on Twitter
983
2:26 PM - Mar 18, 2020


The key finding there isn’t that there were fewer positives yesterday than the day before. We can’t know that for sure; at the moment, the data from yesterday includes around half as many tests as the day before so naturally we’d expect fewer positives. The key finding is that even if we assume that there were actually twice as many positives yesterday as the graph indicates, that would be roughly equal to the number of positives on Tuesday. In other words, we’re not seeing exponential growth.


The Seattle Times published this graph tracking infections in Washington state today:


Starting on February 28 and continuing all the way through March 14, in each period the new daily number is at least 50 percent greater than the previous total. But then, on March 16, it slows down slightly: Instead of 1,154 cases on March 18 (which is what we’d expect if the 769 cases on March 14 grew by 50 percent over two days), we see 1,012 cases instead. Yesterday’s number of 1,187 infections is an even lower percentage of the previous total, ALTHOUGH those numbers reflect the total only as of 4 p.m. Seattle time yesterday. The final daily number will doubtless end up bigger.


But it would have to end up a *lot* bigger than 1,187 to keep pace with the “previous day + 50 percent” rule. That would project to 1,518 infections by close of business yesterday. If it falls short of that, this will be circumstantial evidence that Washington state is indeed flattening the proverbial curve via mass social distancing efforts.


Which would make sense. They were the site of the first major outbreak in the U.S., at the Life Care Center nursing home. Washington was also the subject of that genomic analysis early this month that pointed strongly towards undetected community spread locally at a moment when most of the rest of the country was taking COVID-19 in stride. They were hunkered down and distancing themselves before most of the rest of us were. It stands to reason that their curve would be the first to flatten out.


Nate Silver is intrigued too:

...

[Kathianne]

https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/89974072_1563195220506420_3835529271342792704_n.jp g?_nc_cat=1&_nc_sid=8024bb&_nc_ohc=K3EgI3S2hgkAX-6oWUV&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-2.xx&oh=c9a0dc213c92eed2a0944d68f1d9a849&oe=5E9B1DB0

[Drummond]

https://scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/89974072_1563195220506420_3835529271342792704_n.jp g?_nc_cat=1&_nc_sid=8024bb&_nc_ohc=K3EgI3S2hgkAX-6oWUV&_nc_ht=scontent-lax3-2.xx&oh=c9a0dc213c92eed2a0944d68f1d9a849&oe=5E9B1DB0

2016 would suit me fine: the year we voted for Brexit !

.. OR .. how about 2019 repeated ? Agonies over Brexit being held up / sabotaged by Labour, sure ... BUT ... if armed with the knowledge of Boris's stonking great victory and a large Commons majority .... worth seeing again !

[Abbey Marie]

If this holds, really good news:

https://hotair.com/archives/allahpundit/2020/03/19/seattle-flattening-curve/

Thanks for finding and posting this.

So, if the scary reactions to this virus, and possibly the virus itself, is just a vast conspiracy, why would a liberal state admit to these positive stats? Hmm.

[Drummond]

Trying to find some other data on this...


--

Updated: Trump Says FDA Approved Anti-Malaria Drug Chloroquine To Test As Coronavirus Treatment

Topline: President Trump said in a Thursday press briefing that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, drugs used to treat malaria and severe arthritis, were approved by the Food and Drug Administration to test as a COVID-19 coronavirus treatment, as the number of cases nationwide continues to increase.

The drugs will be used in a clinical trial, according to FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn, who spoke during the press briefing.
Trump also said that other antiviral medications will be fast-tracked for FDA approval.
"We will collect that data and make the absolute right decisions based upon those data about the safety and efficacy of the treatments,” said Hahn.
Trump also claimed that the White House has “slashed red tape” to speed up approval for vaccines and other treatments.
Trump added that the FDA approved “compassionate use” for a number of patients, which allows very ill patients to use drugs not yet approved by the agency for widespread use.

Rest - https://www.forbes.com/sites/lisettevoytko/2020/03/19/trump-says-fda-approved-anti-malaria-drug-chloroquine-to-test-as-coronavirus-treatment/#b4edc84303d9

Yes, LBC radio relayed this news to us, here in the UK.

One possible problem of sheer propaganda: should this drug deliver all the benefit hoped for it ... would it be internationally available ?

You see the problem. If by some chance supplies remained in America, or even if America was the 'chief customer' for it .. and, we saw America getting a drug benefit denied to other countries ... this'll promote the other story about an 'America-only' solution being arranged by Trump to the cost of every other country. Some will believe this was the intention all along, that the propaganda was true.

Judging by this link, if I correctly understand the context .... this WILL be only available to Americans !

https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/resources/pdf/fsp/drugs/Chloroquine.pdf


Chloroquine (also known as chloroquine phosphate) is an antimalarial medicine. It is available in the United States by prescription only. It is sold under the brand name Aralen, and it is also sold as a generic medicine.

Conversely, if I've misunderstood the context ... will it matter ? The sudden demand for this drug by America will no doubt create a world shortage of it, regardless.

[Kathianne]

Thanks for finding and posting this.

So, if the scary reactions to this virus, and possibly the virus itself, is just a vast conspiracy, why would a liberal state admit to these positive stats? Hmm.

It's math. Once the nursing home happened, people in the vicinity were seriously implementing the protective actions suggested. Social distancing; staying out of crowded areas; washing hands; disinfecting homes, clothes, etc. They embraced the closings necessary, to them it wasn't 'over the top.'

For every person not infected, so are 2 more-then 4 more-then 16 more...Same as how the virus replicates.

That is what those FL beach goers are undermining.

If people would just go get what they really need from the grocery, Costco, Walmart, Target and then go home, they'd be giving the employees their needed space. They'd be giving time for the food, medicines, and yes, paper goods to be replenished. They'd give the manufacturers the ability to let their workers get some rest. Rest is what those working are not getting. Think of the first responders-a group that is in nearly the position of the elderly when it comes to vulnerability to the virus. This would lead to the flattening of the curve.

[Kathianne]

Yes, LBC radio relayed this news to us, here in the UK.

One possible problem of sheer propaganda: should this drug deliver all the benefit hoped for it ... would it be internationally available ?

You see the problem. If by some chance supplies remained in America, or even if America was the 'chief customer' for it .. and, we saw America getting a drug benefit denied to other countries ... this'll promote the other story about an 'America-only' solution being arranged by Trump to the cost of every other country. Some will believe this was the intention all along, that the propaganda was true.

Judging by this link .... this WILL be only available to Americans !

https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/resources/pdf/fsp/drugs/Chloroquine.pdf
I'm puzzled, why would you think it will only be available in America? The notice you linked to was by the CDC, an American agency describing the med by the name that is used in US. I posted earlier that Bayer-a huge pharmaceutical here, already said they were donating ton of pills.

I went to look up the UK name for Chloroquine in UK, found this:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8131877/Boris-Johnson-reveals-British-patient-taking-coronavirus-cure-trial.html

if I read this right, it's OTC in UK?

[Abbey Marie]

It's math. Once the nursing home happened, people in the vicinity were seriously implementing the protective actions suggested. Social distancing; staying out of crowded areas; washing hands; disinfecting homes, clothes, etc. They embraced the closings necessary, to them it wasn't 'over the top.'

For every person not infected, so are 2 more-then 4 more-then 16 more...Same as how the virus replicates.

That is what those FL beach goers are undermining.

If people would just go get what they really need from the grocery, Costco, Walmart, Target and then go home, they'd be giving the employees their needed space. They'd be giving time for the food, medicines, and yes, paper goods to be replenished. They'd give the manufacturers the ability to let their workers get some rest. Rest is what those working are not getting. Think of the first responders-a group that is in nearly the position of the elderly when it comes to vulnerability to the virus. This would lead to the flattening of the curve.


Are you you still working?

[Kathianne]

Are you you still working?

I am. Not without trepidation. I'm sort of waiting to see how it goes in the next few days. I'm sort of crazed about keeping the right distance, including saying, "Excuse me, PLEASE!" if not given my personal space while helping someone.

I have some time I could take off, but am waiting to see what happens. They are trying to hire more, so that the rest of us can cut hours if we want, once they can get the stores clean enough and stocked.

I must say if I shopped there I'd never think they were disinfecting as often as they are. It's a monster in those stores, not enough workers.

[Kathianne]

Another bright spot of possible way to neutralize the virus:

https://www.foxnews.com/media/dr-jacob-glanville-antibody-neutralize-coronavirus


Doctor says he's 3-4 weeks from developing treatment to 'neutralize' coronavirus
By Victor Garcia

Distributed Bio co-founder and CEO Dr. Jacob Glanville revealed on "The Story with Martha MacCallum" Thursday that his company's laboratory is three to four weeks away from engineering a therapeutic antibody to combat the coronavirus.


"What my company is doing is adapting antibodies to recognize and neutralize the novel coronavirus. So this would ... [be] sort of skipping what a vaccine does," Glanville said. "Instead of giving you a vaccine and waiting for it to produce an immune response, we just give you those antibodies right away. And so within about 20 minutes, that patient has the ability to neutralize the virus."


Glanville told MacCallum that once his colleagues are done engineering the antibodies they will send it to the U.S. military before eventually conducting a human study this summer.


"The completed drug is going to go to the USAMRIID [United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases]. So that's the U.S. military and they're gonna be testing it for its ability to neutralize the virus.


"At the same time, that drug was going to go to Charles River Laboratories, which is a international contract research group, which is going to test the safety of that drug," Glanville said. "Both of those pieces of information come together so that we can produce batches, go through some red tape, and then do the first human studies that we'll do on 200 to 600 people in the summer, probably in July."


Glanville said that he believes "social distancing" is working to reduce the spread of the virus, but that medicine is needed to further combat the spread.


"It is definitely helping. We are way safer now than we were a week ago. The social distancing measures slow down the growth of new cases. But the problem is, eventually people have to go back to work. And the coronavirus appears so infectious that we we don't think we're actually gonna be able to just squish out the pandemic just through social distancing," Glanville said. "So eventually we're gonna need medicine because otherwise all the models I'm looking at are guessing that this thing's going to last all year and it could indeed become seasonal with everybody eventually becoming infected."

...

[Kathianne]

Thanks for finding and posting this.

So, if the scary reactions to this virus, and possibly the virus itself, is just a vast conspiracy, why would a liberal state admit to these positive stats? Hmm. Abbey another bit of good news I think regarding this possible trend. I heard Dr. Birks answering questions of Bret Baier last evening. She said regarding the results, "I look at this granular..." She then said, "We need to look at this county by county, whether we're talking about numbers up or down."

While there are the selfish folks on the beaches of FL or also on the beaches and in parks of CA, there are also the people in Seattle and NY area. Numbers differ within each area and the real problem with FL is that so many were college kids, many of whom will be flying and near all of whom will be going 'home' among many states. Still, if they return home and are forced to stay in, those possible infections will be contained within that home.

As the numbers on various counties start coming in, those that haven't been cooperating will notice that their area is still rising; while others are falling. We can hope by then the various government entities will have a better handle on who has it and who doesn't or have recovered. Area by area then may have some of the strictures eased? It makes sense with thought. Sort of the opposite of how the contagion spread initially.

[Abbey Marie]

Anecdotally, here in little Delaware, where we as of last night have 30 cases:
People are behaving fairly well, but...
Russ and daughter separately went to a store. Grocery store, and the all-important mega liquor store. The grocery store was pretty calm. The liquor store was craziness. We border Pennsylvania here, and their liquor stores (all state run) were ordered to close. So, the hordes arrived here before ours do the same.

I admit, the prospect of going through all this without wine is scary.

Still cannot get disinfecting wipes or hand sanitizer. Russ just went to Acme to get both, and though it said online it was available, by the time he got there at 7am, no luck.

[Drummond]

I'm puzzled, why would you think it will only be available in America? The notice you linked to was by the CDC, an American agency describing the med by the name that is used in US. I posted earlier that Bayer-a huge pharmaceutical here, already said they were donating ton of pills.

I went to look up the UK name for Chloroquine in UK, found this:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8131877/Boris-Johnson-reveals-British-patient-taking-coronavirus-cure-trial.html

if I read this right, it's OTC in UK?

Interesting ! Thanks for finding that Mail article.

From it:


Meanwhile US President Mr Trump said the drug would be available to sufferers of the virus 'almost immediately', despite not being formally approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Access to prescriptions will be expanded so that US health officials can gather data on how patients respond.

The move increased pressure on the UK Government after furious Britons launched a petition calling on No 10 to begin trials of the same drug, available over-the-counter.

Officials banned pharmaceuticals from exporting chloroquine – and a HIV drug – last month, in a bid to protect the UK's stocks of the experimental treatments.

It is unclear how much stock the UK currently has - and the Department of Health has not yet responded to a request from comment by MailOnline tonight.

If Trump keeps his word (I'm sure he will) to make the drug available 'almost immediately', that suggests to me that unless stocks are plentiful, there'll be a run on demand. A recipe for creating shortfalls ?

I note a reference to the drug being available here 'over the counter'. I had no idea ! That may well deal with my concerns ... especially as LBC News is reporting that Boris has just issued a ban on exports of 'certain key drugs, e.g morphine' to the EU (an expansion on the ban mentioned in the article, presumably). Maybe all this will deal with the UK's concerns.

It might ramp up EU concerns about shortfalls, though. Who knows, maybe Trump may get criticism, not from us, but the EU ...

Still, none of this gives cast-iron assurances about supply. I suppose this all adds up to a 'wait & see, hope for the best' scenario in the making.

[Abbey Marie]

Shoot, a number of cases directly in my town now. And a few on the other side, neighboring city. 3 cities in a row with cases and I am in the one sandwiched in between. :(

I’m sorry, Jim. That is bound to be very stressful. I wish we could all hunker down at Rick’s cabin.

[jimnyc]

I was glad long long ago that I don't live in liberal la la land in California, and then now even more so.

--

Gov. Newsom Orders Everyone in the 'Nation-State' of California to Stay at Home

(CNSNews.com) - Effective Thursday evening, the governor of California has ordered all 40 million residents to stay at home.

"A state as large as ours, a nation state, is many parts," Newsom announced at a news conference on Thursday.

"But at the end of the day, we’re one body. There’s a mutuality and there’s a recognition of our interdependence that requires of this moment, that we direct a statewide order for people to stay at home.

Rest - https://www.cnsnews.com/article/national/susan-jones/gov-newsom-orders-everyone-nation-state-california-stay-home

[Kathianne]

Interesting ! Thanks for finding that Mail article.

From it:



If Trump keeps his word (I'm sure he will) to make the drug available 'almost immediately', that suggests to me that unless stocks are plentiful, there'll be a run on demand. A recipe for creating shortfalls ?

I note a reference to the drug being available here 'over the counter'. I had no idea ! That may well deal with my concerns ... especially as LBC News is reporting that Boris has just issued a ban on exports of 'certain key drugs, e.g morphine' to the EU (an expansion on the ban mentioned in the article, presumably). Maybe all this will deal with the UK's concerns.

It might ramp up EU concerns about shortfalls, though. Who knows, maybe Trump may get criticism, not from us, but the EU ...

Still, none of this gives cast-iron assurances about supply. I suppose this all adds up to a 'wait & see, hope for the best' scenario in the making.
It's not OTC in US.

[jimnyc]

I’m sorry, Jim. That is bound to be very stressful. I wish we could all hunker down at Rick’s cabin.

I don't know who or where they are. I do know that as a result they closed all of our schools, libraries and more. And did they pass it along before quarantine? Did they pass it along to anyone that is still walking the streets now? So many unknowns with this.

We have a population in my city/village of about 6,000 people. The city is all of about 1.1 square miles. So you can see my concern!

There is a stop and shop, only supermarket in our town. We have one CVS and one Walgreens. We have minimal of everything here. I'm thinking that it 'could' spread easily here, but again the unknowns.

I don't go out much at all luckily, so I have that. But still.

[Kathianne]

I don't know who or where they are. I do know that as a result they closed all of our schools, libraries and more. And did they pass it along before quarantine? Did they pass it along to anyone that is still walking the streets now? So many unknowns with this.

We have a population in my city/village of about 6,000 people. The city is all of about 1.1 square miles. So you can see my concern!

There is a stop and shop, only supermarket in our town. We have one CVS and one Walgreens. We have minimal of everything here. I'm thinking that it 'could' spread easily here, but again the unknowns.

I don't go out much at all luckily, so I have that. But still.

You are able to keep good social distancing. You have your wipes, use them often. Eat. rest. You should be good.

[jimnyc]

You are able to keep good social distancing. You have your wipes, use them often. Eat. rest. You should be good.

I have a large and a small Purell in my truck, and an 80 pack of wipes. Can replenish both many times if needed. So I take precautions when out and clean the truck things I touch too. Then when back home, rush up to the bathroom and clean up the best I can.

Outside of that, I can only do what I can do. Hopefully others will take similar precautions.

[jimnyc]

Some more updates.

Looks like the UK is hitting this thing hard now, and wants to shutdown enough to prevent another China or Italy. That's some tough stuff thus far, but I think it shows the importance of slowing down this virus via shutdowns. Then add in so many around the world ignoring things to an extent, and some idiots outright defying things. Hopefully a lot of this tough stuff won't have to be enforced around the world, and the shutdowns will work and also deter people.

--

FIGHTING BACK Brits suspected of having coronavirus could be held for up to six weeks under new emergency laws

PEOPLE suspected of being infected with Covid-19 could be held for up to six weeks under new powers being proposed by the Government.

Patients would be initially detained for 14 days, but that can be extended if doctors still have concerns.

Boris Johnson will try and push through the emergency legislation in the next few days to give him the powers to do whatever it takes to tackle the spread of the deadly bug.

NHS staff and police will have the power to detain people for up to 24 hours and force them to be tested for Covid-19.

The sweeping laws give them to power to order them not to attend work or to stay in isolation, or ban them from travelling.

And they will face a £1000 fine if they don't comply.

The 329-page bill will allow for more phone and video hearings in court so the justice system can keep going.

Officials will be able to suspend all plane and ship arrivals at airports or ports or there aren’t enough staff to maintain border security.

Morgues could be expanded and inquests stripped back in order to try and deal with extra deaths.

It also enacts pension changes so retired doctors and nurses can come back into the NHS easily without their retirement cash suffering.

The emergency powers will be able to be "switched on" and "switched off" if and when needed - for up to two years.

Rest - https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11208831/coronavirus-emergency-laws-revealed/

[jimnyc]

We take so much for granted. We are angry at folks hoarding products. Toilet paper disappearing. Things being rationed in some places. Hellish long lines in other places.

And then there are places with no damn running water and/or not even a bar of soap. I would imagine if things get bad in such places that it would be death sentences.

--

No soap, no water: billions lack basic protection against virus

As nations around the world fight the coronavirus pandemic with mass lockdowns and travel bans, UN experts warn that some three billion people lack even the most basic weapons to protect themselves: soap and running water.

The outbreak has infected some 200,000 people and killed 9,000, scorching through populations across the globe after emerging in China late last year.

While Europe has become the centre of the battle against the virus, closing borders and sequestering millions of people in their homes, concerns are rising for developing nations with fragile healthcare systems.

Countries across Africa and Asia have heavily restricted travel, imposed quarantines and closed schools, with fears for impoverished communities as infections begin to grow.

But one of the most fundamental practices individuals can adopt to shield themselves from COVID-19 -- thorough hand washing -- remains inaccessible for many millions.

Using household survey data, the United Nations Children's Fund estimates 40 percent of the world's population, or three billion people, do not have the means to wash their hands at home.

Sam Godfrey, UNICEF chief of water and sanitation in east and southern Africa, said communities lack easily accessible running water, are unable to buy soap or do not realise its vital role in preventing illness.

"Even for the frontline workers, the health workers, there remains a challenge also in terms of understanding of the importance of hand washing," he told AFP.

With the first infections in the region often coming from those who have travelled internationally, Godfrey described the outbreak as "almost like a rich man's disease for Africa, which, of course, will end up with the poor man suffering the most".

Rest - http://www.rfi.fr/en/wires/20200319-no-soap-no-water-billions-lack-basic-protection-against-virus

[jimnyc]

--

Coronavirus: News and live updates

The latest on the pandemic

• The number of coronavirus deaths around the world has surpassed 10,000 (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html), with more than 240,000 people infected with the disease.

• In the United States, there are over 13,000 confirmed cases, with more than 176 deaths.

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a statewide order for people to stay at home. (https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/california-stay-at-home-order-gavin-newsom-coronavirus-014232940.html)

• Two Los Angeles Lakers and three Philadelphia 76ers have tested positive for the coronavirus (https://sports.yahoo.com/3-members-of-76-ers-organization-test-positive-for-coronavirus-221451299.html), adding to a growing list of infected players in the NBA.

• President Trump said he is using the Defense Production Act to increase the U.S. supply of masks. (https://www.yahoo.com/news/as-pressure-builds-trump-says-he-is-using-defense-production-act-to-increase-supply-of-masks-165731218.html)

• Several U.S. senators briefed on the virus, including Intel Committee Chairman Richard Burr, sold millions of dollars worth of stock before the market took a deep dive.

• Italy's death toll has surpassed that of China's in a grim milestone of the coronavirus pandemic

--

U.K. shuts down bars, clubs and restaurants

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Friday that he is telling all bars, restaurants and clubs to close tonight in response to the coronavirus outbreak. (https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-uk-government-tells-pubs-restaurants-and-gyms-to-close-tonight-as-it-pledges-to-pay-workers-wages-171943568.html)

At a press briefing, officials said the U.K. government will up to 80 percent workers' wages (up to £2,500 a month) in order to keep them afloat during the pandemic.

--

Trump invokes Defense act to produce ventilators

At the White House coronavirus briefing, President Trump announced that the administration is putting the Defense Production Act into effect to get ventilators and medical equipment to those who need it.

"We need certain equipment that the states are unable to get for themselves," Trump said.

The announcement comes a day after Trump expressed hesitation over the federal government to get involved.

"We're not order clerks," Trump said from the same podium Thursday.

--

U.S. restricts 'non-essential' travel at its borders

At a press briefing at the White House on Friday morning, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States and Mexico have agreed to restrict all non-essential travel across southern border in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this week, the United States and Canada announced a similar deal restricting travel at the northern border.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said that, under Section 362 of Public Health Service Act, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is suspending the entry of migrants into the United States.

https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-covid-19-news-and-live-updates-120246923.html

[jimnyc]

--

TOTAL BS: Liberal Reporter at White House Press Briefing Suggests 11 Million Americans will Die from Coronavirus

A liberal reporter at Friday’s White House coronavirus press conference attacked GOP Senator Ron Johnson for telling a reporter to keep the coronavirus in perspective.

The liberal media and World Health Organization has created an international panic after mistakenly announcing the coronavirus has a 3.4% mortality rate.

As of Friday morning 3-20-2020:

** There are 16,067 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US.
** There are 219 deaths blamed on the coronavirus.
** The current mortality rate from confirmed cases is 1.3%
** There are no official numbers that include the number of citizens who had the virus but were not sick enough to seek medical attention.
** There are an estimated 22,000 flu deaths and 36 million cases in the US each year.

Senator Johnson told Craig Gilbert from the Journal Sentinel that we must keep the coronavirus in perspective.

In other words, you don’t collapse an economy over 218 deaths in a population of 327 million.

Today during his question this liberal reporter claimed the US will see 11 million people die.

Again, we currently have a total of 218 deaths.

This is the type of BS the liberal media keeps hurling at the American people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lQrO-bSImU&feature=emb_logo

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/total-bs-liberal-reporter-at-white-house-press-briefing-claims-11-million-americans-will-die-from-coronavirus-video/

[Drummond]

Some more updates.

Looks like the UK is hitting this thing hard now, and wants to shutdown enough to prevent another China or Italy. That's some tough stuff thus far, but I think it shows the importance of slowing down this virus via shutdowns. Then add in so many around the world ignoring things to an extent, and some idiots outright defying things. Hopefully a lot of this tough stuff won't have to be enforced around the world, and the shutdowns will work and also deter people.

--

FIGHTING BACK Brits suspected of having coronavirus could be held for up to six weeks under new emergency laws

PEOPLE suspected of being infected with Covid-19 could be held for up to six weeks under new powers being proposed by the Government.

Patients would be initially detained for 14 days, but that can be extended if doctors still have concerns.

Boris Johnson will try and push through the emergency legislation in the next few days to give him the powers to do whatever it takes to tackle the spread of the deadly bug.

NHS staff and police will have the power to detain people for up to 24 hours and force them to be tested for Covid-19.

The sweeping laws give them to power to order them not to attend work or to stay in isolation, or ban them from travelling.

And they will face a £1000 fine if they don't comply.

The 329-page bill will allow for more phone and video hearings in court so the justice system can keep going.

Officials will be able to suspend all plane and ship arrivals at airports or ports or there aren’t enough staff to maintain border security.

Morgues could be expanded and inquests stripped back in order to try and deal with extra deaths.

It also enacts pension changes so retired doctors and nurses can come back into the NHS easily without their retirement cash suffering.

The emergency powers will be able to be "switched on" and "switched off" if and when needed - for up to two years.

Rest - https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11208831/coronavirus-emergency-laws-revealed (https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11208831/coronavirus-emergency-laws-revealed/)

.. Yes.

One feature I 'like' about all this (if 'like' is an appropriate word for any of this !) is that there's an inbuilt legislative safeguard built in. The laws created to meet this emergency have a shelf-life inbuilt into them, of a max two years. Obviously Boris had a concern about long-term abuse of power.

The cash giveaway .. for businesses, people needing to get an income, people worried about losing their homes .. is unprecedented. We've never seen anything remotely like it.

Food availability is becoming more acute. You take a chance on a supermarket having provisions, now, day-by-day ... so, Tesco, Sainsbury, Morrisons and others are rationing goods. No more than 2 of any one item in Tesco ... no more than 3 in Morrisons. Online ordering is becomingly increasingly difficult, with delivery time-slots filling to the point that nothing's available online during the days on offer as a range.

Announced a short time ago ...closure of pubs, restaurants, facilities catering for social gatherings ... as of close-of-play, tonight. Some shops are converting (those able to) to 'delivery only', and closing their doors. Today was the last day of schools being open for the foreseeable future. Exams were due in the summer, now cancelled .. teachers directed to 'predict' how pupils would've performed in them, and award grades accordingly.

Where supermarkets are concerned, some are offering 'elderly access only' for the first hour they're open ... meaning that the elderly (those most at risk, those least able to cope with the 'scrum' of ordinary shopping) get 'first dibs' on the newly-stocked shelves, before anyone else gets a look-in. [That assumes, of course, that self-isolation doesn't apply to them, as appropriate.]

Public transport is reducing. We're beginning to run fewer trains and buses, as demand for them has dropped off. The London Underground is beginning to close stations, especially the lesser-used, more remote ones at the ends of the system.

We have a general feeling here of 'life falling apart', as though society was slowly dying a death. These are grim times !

Latest warning ... it may take a year or more before social life returns to full normality here.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11216913/social-distancing-must-be-in-place-year-coronavirus/

From the link ... take a look at the map, showing Covid-19 numbers and locations. London is our UK's epicentre for them all (... & to think that if I hadn't cancelled, I'd have travelled there today, for a 3-day stay !). One London hospital has declared an alert, saying it has more Covid-19 cases than it has the ability to accommodate ... it's asked for help from other nearby hospitals).

[Drummond]

It's not OTC in US.

Point well taken !

[jimnyc]

--

CDC: US coronavirus data shows confirmed cases growing by 500 per day

Cases increasing by 500 per day, CDC report indicates

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates the rate of coronavirus cases is growing by 500 almost daily and those under 50 years old should still be concerned about becoming seriously ill from the coronavirus, despite a majority of deaths in China being patients older than 65 years old.

The report looked at data from cases reported to the CDC in 49 states, the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories from Feb. 12 through March 16.

According to the report, COVID-19 cases in the U.S. indicate that fatality was still highest in persons older than 85, followed by ages 65–84, 55-64 and lastly, those between 20–54 years old. There have not been any reported fatalities among people 19 or younger in the U.S.

A breakdown of all known cases and deaths by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed 14.8% of patients 80 years and older who were infected died as a result. The mortality rate for younger patients in China was much lower.

However, the numbers show the rate of U.S. coronavirus cases requiring hospitalization was more widespread, regardless of age.

Rest - https://www.clickorlando.com/news/2020/03/19/cdc-us-coronavirus-data-shows-confirmed-cases-growing-by-500-per-day/


Coronavirus: Deaths rising faster in UK than Italy

The death toll in Italy from Covid-19 has now exceeded total deaths in China - the source of the outbreak. Could the UK be on the same path?

As hospitals across Italy continue to battle to save their influx of coronavirus patients, the number of deaths in the country has now surpassed that in China.

In less than a month the number who have died of Covid-19 in Italy has passed 4,000, as those who were infected in the early stages of the outbreak begin to succumb to the disease.

Meanwhile the number of deaths in the UK continue to rise. It has now been two weeks since the first confirmed death from coronavirus in the UK - and since then the number who have died has been rising at a faster rate than in Italy.

It highlights the urgency needed to arrest the spread of the disease before the NHS becomes overwhelmed and is unable to cope.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/19/coronavirus-deaths-rising-faster-uk-italy/

[Drummond]

I don't know who or where they are. I do know that as a result they closed all of our schools, libraries and more. And did they pass it along before quarantine? Did they pass it along to anyone that is still walking the streets now? So many unknowns with this.

We have a population in my city/village of about 6,000 people. The city is all of about 1.1 square miles. So you can see my concern!

There is a stop and shop, only supermarket in our town. We have one CVS and one Walgreens. We have minimal of everything here. I'm thinking that it 'could' spread easily here, but again the unknowns.

I don't go out much at all luckily, so I have that. But still.

Where I am ... one large Tesco, one smaller one. Two Iceland stores, and one small Sainsbury in the centre of town. A Morrisons at the edge of town (the opposite side of it to where I am).

Without needing to travel, I've limited shopping resources. Two grocery stores, two Indian takeaways, one Chinese takeaway. Also a pub (about to close !) a few minutes' walk away. One fish & chip shop ! The supermarkets require public transport or a car to get to, unless 30 mins to an hour's stroll is on the cards ?

Jim, I know Walgreens ... there used to be one I visited during my New York visits, years ago ... at the Port Authority terminal, off of 8th Street, in Manhattan ? I wonder if it's still there ? Quite a decent little shop .... Duane Reade shops were pretty good, too ...

[High_Plains_Drifter]

U.S. State Dept. issues “Level 4” health advisory urging all Americans to avoid international travel: Is a global coronavirus LOCKDOWN coming?


Americans already hyper-concerned about the worsening global Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic became even more so Thursday after the U.S. State Department issued an unprecedented “Global Level 4 Health Advisory — Do Not Travel” warning.

The department’s warning urges every American to cancel international travel, while requesting that citizens currently traveling abroad return immediately.

It sure sounds like the world is about to get locked down, for the most part, thanks to the Chinese, who have unleashed a viral hell on earth.

“Travel Advisory: Level 4 – The Department of State advises U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of #COVID19. In countries where commercial departure options remain available, U.S. citizens who live in the US should arrange for immediate return,” the State Dept. announced via Twitter.

https://www.naturalnews.com/2020-03-20-state-dept-level-4-travel-coronavirus-lockdown.html

[jimnyc]

I am so glad I am not in Italy, things could be worse. I'm also glad I'm a few decades below the death mark of 70+ years old.

If I'm gonna get it, I would rather it be now though. This way if I get it bad, I have a chance of a hospital here in NY having a respirator. We have like 400 major hospitals at least. But once things get much much worse, they will not be available.

Looks like some go through and recover, and to them it's like having the flu to an extent. But others develop pneumonia issues and need that respirator to breath!

--

Coronavirus in Italy: The elderly are being left to die alone during crisis

The death toll from hard-hit northern Italy has become so dramatic that Italian officials have called in more soldiers to enforce the lockdown. But even they can’t do anything to help the increasing numbers of elderly victims dying alone — and medical staff who are getting sick themselves.

In Italy, more than 4,000 people, the majority of them over 70, have died. Chinese medical experts aiding Italian doctors say the restrictions imposed by the government haven’t been enough to stem the rising tide of deaths.

Nurses said the situation in the Lombardy area is so dire that the dead are no longer even being counted. “We’re working in a state of very high stress and tension,” Daniela Confalonieri, a nurse in Milan told Reuters. “We can’t contain the situation, there’s a high level of contagion. It’s unimaginable.”

“We are at the end of our strength. The staff are beginning to get sick,” Romano Paolucci, a doctor in the Lombardy city of Cremona, told Reuters.

Paolucci said the saddest thing about the coronavirus crisis is that many elderly victims cannot be visited by their relatives “and often die on their own.”

https://nypost.com/2020/03/21/coronavirus-in-italy-the-elderly-are-being-left-to-die-alone-during-crisis/

[jimnyc]

Some more updates I've been reading this morning. I figured save others the time and share them from all over as I read them.

Appears 20% of the nation is shutdown now.

--

Coronavirus – Illinois joins New York and California to give ‘stay at home order’ affecting 20% of citizens

ILLINOIS joined New York and California in lockdowns to curb coronavirus spread, as the Governor announced a "shelter in place" order on Friday.

The order, limiting all residents to stay in their homes unless absolutely essential, goes into effect at 5pm on Saturday and will last until April 7, Governor J.B. Pritzker said.

https://i.imgur.com/QXwPC8c.png

As COVID-19 cases continue to climb, Illinois is the latest U.S. state to take strict steps to help tackle the deadly virus.

Between New York, California and Illinois, more than 70 million residents are now being ordered to stay home amid the pandemic.

This accounts for more than 20 percent of the U.S. that is now under lockdown.

Rest - https://www.the-sun.com/news/568703/illinois-pritzker-stay-home-order-coronavirus-us/


And now Trump talking of a national shutdown:

Trump eyes two-week quarantine, only drug and grocery stores open

President Trump, moving with haste to slow the spread of the coronavirus, is preparing a plan to mobilize the National Guard to help enforce a two-week quarantine of the public if his tough-love efforts so far fail.

The unprecedented action would require everyone to “stay at home,” according to a source knowledgeable of the evolving plan.

The effort, which is still being mulled and wouldn’t be announced until early next week if needed, would urge that all businesses, except grocery stores and pharmacies, be closed.

It comes on the heels of other insider reports that the president is considering grounding all U.S. passenger flights to force a halt in people interacting and moving around the country.

Senior officials have said that dozens of radical ideas are being considered and that the president and his virus task force are moving quickly to protect the nation.

Trump has praised the public for following the rules he has put in place, but the new plans are an acknowledgment that many people are not taking the warnings seriously.

In some areas, the National Guard has already been called out to enforce “stay in place” orders, a model of what Trump is considering.

In Washington, D.C., the Guard has been activated. The city on Friday extended school closings until the end of April.

Wisconsin has also activated the Guard, and it is in use in Florida, New Jersey, and Arizona.

Rest - https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/breaking-trump-eyes-2-week-quarantine-only-drug-grocery-stores-open


Stupid people. Only thinking of their own happiness, or not thinking about others.

Lakewood Police Arrest Homeowner For Hosting Pop-up Wedding With More Than 50 People

LAKEWOOD, N.J. (CBS) — Police in Ocean County have arrested a homeowner for hosting a pop-up wedding with more than 50 people in attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier in the week, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy banned gatherings of 50 or more people in an effort to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Lakewood police have charged 49-year-old Eliyohu Zaks with maintaining a nuisance for hosting the wedding at a home on Spruce Street.

“The Lakewood Police is asking that its citizens be responsible and obey the directives set forth by the State of New Jersey for the safety and health of all. Those that choose not to will be subject to criminal prosecution,” police said in a statement.

Rest - https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2020/03/20/coronavirus-latest-lakewood-police-arrest-homeowner-for-hosting-pop-up-wedding-with-more-than-50-people/


Coronavirus ‘exit strategy’ could be months — or years — away

Learn to love your lockdown, experts say — because it may not end anytime soon.

The coronavirus threat will continue to loom for months or even years before mass vaccinations or natural immunities will eliminate its dangers, according to the BBC.

“We do have a big problem in what the exit strategy is and how we get out of this,” said epidemiologist Mark Woolhouse of the University of Edinburgh. “No country has an exit strategy.”

President Trump has refused to say how long policies of social distancing will have to last.

Rest - https://nypost.com/2020/03/21/coronavirus-exit-strategy-could-be-months-or-years-away/

[jimnyc]

This isn't very promising sounding if you live in NY!

--

Coronavirus killing more than a person an hour in NYC

The coronavirus killed city residents at a rate of more than one per hour on Friday.

Between just 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., 14 people in New York City died from the virus, pushing the Big Apple’s total death toll to 43.

The toll had been 29 prior to Friday’s jump in deaths.

It was the first time that the city’s single-day toll had hit double digits.

And the city’s Health Commissioner, Dr. Oxiris Barbot, warned New Yorkers that double-digit daily deaths may well become the new normal, at least for a time.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we get to a day when we have double-digits new people dying every day,” she said at a City Hall press conference Friday afternoon.

During that eight-hour period Friday the city’s positive cases also climbed from 5,151 to 5,683.

At 1,750 Brooklyn has the most COVID-19 cases followed by 1,514 in Queens, 1,402 in Manhattan, 736 in the Bronx, and 285 in Staten Island.

Rest - https://nypost.com/2020/03/20/coronavirus-killing-more-than-a-person-an-hour-in-nyc/

[Abbey Marie]

Wow. This is so incredibly awful.

[jimnyc]

So my wife's headquarters in NYC is 3 floors in her building. Someone she works with got the virus, but due to privacy reasons they aren't telling anyone who. Then my brother John in NJ, he works at an insurance company and needs to dial in daily for information. The latest is a recording that someone there has it! Only one floor, but much wider/longer type buildings. Also won't say who. So that adds some level of nervousness to things.

[jimnyc]

Damn, next is the Olympics.

--

The latest on the pandemic

• The number of coronavirus deaths around the world has surpassed 11,000, with more than 280,000 people infected with the disease.

* Italy and Span both reported hundreds of new deaths.

• Mainland China reported zero locally transmitted cases of the coronavirus for a third day running. However, the number of imported cases involving travelers arriving from other countries continued to rise.

--

https://i.imgur.com/99f32sC.png

--

Coronavirus in New York: 'Deluge' of Cases Begins Hitting Hospitals

NEW YORK — New York state’s long-feared surge of coronavirus cases has begun, thrusting the medical system toward a crisis point.

In a startlingly quick ascent, officials reported Friday that the state was closing in on 8,000 positive tests, about half the cases in the country. The number was 10 times higher than what was reported earlier in the week.

In the Bronx, doctors at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center say they have only a few remaining ventilators for patients who need them to breathe. In Brooklyn, doctors at Kings County Hospital Center say they are so low on supplies that they are reusing masks for up to a week, slathering them with hand sanitizer between shifts.

Some of the jump in New York’s cases can be traced to significantly increased testing, which the state began this week. But the escalation, and the response, could offer other states a glimpse of what might be in store if the virus continues to spread. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday urged residents to stay indoors and ordered nonessential businesses to keep workers home.

State officials have projected that the number of coronavirus cases in New York will peak in early May. Both the governor and Mayor Bill de Blasio have used wartime metaphors and analogies to paint a grim picture of what to expect. Officials have said the state would need to double its available hospital beds to 100,000 and could be short as many as 25,000 ventilators.

Rest - https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-york-deluge-cases-begins-142242444.html

--

USA Track & Field joins the push to postpone the Olympics amid coronavirus pandemic

USA Track & Field on Saturday morning joined USA Swimming in calling for the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics amid widespread disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

In a letter addressed to U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland, USATF CEO Max Siegel argued that it is not possible for athletes to prioritize everyone’s health and safety and still properly train for the Olympics. As a result, Siegel urged the USOPC to advocate to the International Olympic Committee for the postponement of the 2020 Olympics.

“While our world class athletes are willing to push themselves to their athletic limits in pursuit of Olympic success, the likelihood that they will be able to properly train in a safe and adequate environment and replicate the excellence that we have all come to expect does not appear likely in the midst of this global crisis,” Siegel’s letter reads. “As we have learned, our athletes are under tremendous pressure, stress and anxiety and their mental health and wellness is among our highest priorities.

--

Trump keeps promoting chloroquine for coronavirus treatment

In a pair of tweets Saturday morning, President Trump continued to push the antimalarial drug chloroquine as a treatment for the coronavirus. This came one day after Dr. Anthony Fauci tempered expectations on the certainly of the drug working at a White House briefing. Fauci was asked whether there was any evidence to suggest that taking the drug would help prevent a person from coming down with COVID-19.

“The answer is no. And the evidence that you’re talking about, John [Roberts, Fox News correspondent], is anecdotal evidence, so as the commissioner of FDA and the president mentioned yesterday, we’re trying to strike a balance between making something with a potential of an effect to the American people available, at the same time we do it under the auspices of a protocol that would give us information to determine if it’s truly safe and truly effective,” Fauci said. “But the information that you’re referring to specifically is anecdotal; it was not done in a controlled clinical trial, so you really can’t make any definitive statement about it.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-covid-19-news-and-live-updates-120246923.html

[jimnyc]

Was more than just them. About every person on the left once again labeled him a racist, and claims that he was ruining what America stands for. And now every country has mostly done the same, and then some. It's called protecting your borders and protecting the health of your citizens - even if it means making tough shitty decisions. No one wants to see quarantines, but ultimately someone has to make those tough decisions. In those cases it has been the governors.

--

Dr. Fauci Applauds Flight Cancellations That World Health Organization Discouraged

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), reiterated on Friday that cutting off flights from China early on during what has become a worldwide pandemic was key to slowing the spread of the Chinese coronavirus in the United States.

President Donald Trump restricted entry to the United States from China beginning January 31 and imposed bans on individuals who had traveled from a third country, but recently visited or transited through China. The pandemic began in central Wuhan, a major Chinese transport hub, in mid-November, but the Communist Party did not reveal the existence of the outbreak until January, silencing doctors and others spreading health information online.

As the pandemic expanded, Trump also imposed restrictions of flights from Europe and recently limited travel across the north and southern American borders.

The World Health Organization (WHO), following Trump’s initial move to ground flights from China, urged countries not to close their borders to foreigners traveling from China, out of concern it would harm Chinese trade.

Rest - https://www.breitbart.com/health/2020/03/20/coronavirus-dr-fauci-applauds-flight-cancellations-world-health-organization-discouraged/


GOP Rep. DesJarlais: Trump ‘Ahead of the Curve’ on China — Economy Should Bounce Back ‘Sooner Rather Than Later’

Representative Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) gave President Donald Trump high marks regarding his handling of China and the regaining control of the American economy as the nation is grappling with the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.

During an interview that aired on Huntsville, AL radio’s WVNN on Friday, the Tennessee Republican congressman argued a lesson learned from Mainland China’s handling of the coronavirus was how unstable and unreliable the communist nation is, which should warrant a “different attitude” toward it in the future.

“There’s one guy that was talking about that during his campaign, and that’s President Trump,” he said. “He talked about how unfair China was being in terms of trade, stealing our secrets and all kinds of unfair practices. He took initial steps to work out fair trade agreements and work out different kinds of relationships. And we’ve learned how our global economy depending on China, is unstable at best. They’re not reliable. They’re communists. They don’t have to report. They’re not as accountable as we are in this country. So, I think if nothing else — we’ve learned a great lesson.”

“And you know, the president stepped up early on when the Democratic House was still trying to impeach him and impose travel bans from China that was limiting about 10,000 people from coming into our country a day,” DesJarlais continued. “He got criticized for being a racist for doing that. And then when there started cropping up a few illnesses, they criticized that he wasn’t doing enough. I think the president has been ahead of the curve on this one, and he is trying to reset our relations with China. I think moving forward, we need to have a different attitude about how we do business, and not be so reliant on them in terms of the global economy.”

Rest - https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2020/03/20/gop-rep-desjarlais-trump-ahead-of-the-curve-on-china/

[jimnyc]

Dr. Fauci Applauds Flight Cancellations That World Health Organization Discouraged

Back then the MSM was still in the midst of calling this the "Wuhan virus" or also "Chinese virus". They downplayed much of the virus and hammered Trump for some decisions.

--

FLASHBACK: Let’s Take A Look At How The Press Covered Trump’s China Travel Ban

Media outlets bashed President Donald Trump back in January after he implemented a travel ban from China because of the novel coronavirus – a move that many other countries have now followed.

The Trump administration first made the announcement Jan. 31, 2020, announcing they would restrict foreign nationals recently in China from entering the U.S. They also announced that some Americans who recently traveled to the country would be put into quarantine for a time upon their arrival back to the U.S. The novel coronavirus first originated in Wuhan, China.

Trump’s announcement sparked severe backlash from media outlets who rushed to find experts willing to bash the decision, Lyndsey Fifield, social media manager for The Heritage Foundation, noted on Twitter.

The New York Times wrote that the decision “sent shocks through the stock market and rattled industries that depend on the flow of goods and people between the world’s two largest economies” in its Jan. 31 article. The publication added that “some public health and policy experts” believed the restrictions would do nearly nothing to help contain the virus.

“At this point, sharply curtailing air travel to and from China is more of an emotional or political reaction, said Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, an epidemiologist and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota,” according to the NYT article.

Today, numerous countries have followed Trump’s directive by issuing their own respective travel restrictions on various parts of the world. The European Union ordered a month-long ban on nonessential travel to at least 26 countries in Europe, and Canada mutually agreed to close its borders with the U.S. Meanwhile, Italy and Spain are on a country-wide lockdown.

STAT News also echoed the anti-travel ban rhetoric, writing that “public health experts have warned that travel bans are not effective at stemming the spread of a virus and can make responding to an outbreak more challenging.” The publication put the blame on “conservative lawmakers and far-right supporters of the president.”

“The World Health Organization [WHO], which declared the outbreak a global health emergency this week, has recommended against any travel or trade restrictions in response to the outbreak. Member countries, however, do not have to comply with that guidance,” STAT reported.

STAT quoted Catherine Worsnop, “who studies international cooperation during global health emergencies at the University of Maryland,” to back up the idea that Trump’s China travel ban was bad news.

“From a public health perspective, there is limited effectiveness. And then there are a host of other reasons why they can actually be counterproductive,” according to Worsnop.

The Verge quoted WHO’s recommendation against travel restrictions as well. WHO, meanwhile, has been found echoing false reporting from China, where the outbreak began.

“They’re political theater, not good public health policy,” an article from Vox claimed. This article also appeared to originally name the virus “Wuhan coronavirus,” according to Fifield. Referring to the novel coronavirus as the “Wuhan Virus” has now been deemed racist by many reporters.

The Washington Post also bashed Trump’s travel ban using a Chinese ministry spokesman. The article includes a quote from the spokesman criticizing the travel ban and noting that it is against WHO’s recommendations.

https://i.imgur.com/Zzdu6xj.png

https://dailycaller.com/2020/03/20/flashback-how-the-press-covered-trumps-china-travel-ban/

[jimnyc]

Alrighty, whatever, so she wants to condemn folks she thinks are being racist with the terms Chinese or Wuhan. And I may even understand if she directed this as an emergency and directed things in general for now, but of course it's one sided and not a peep about folks like CNN or Msnbc using it forever before Trump.

--

Communist China Thanks Hillary Clinton For Her Support After She Accuses Trump of Using “Racist Rhetoric” For Saying “Chinese Virus”

Communist China thanked China puppet Hillary Clinton for her support after she accused President Trump of turning to “racist rhetoric” because he used the phrase “China Coronavirus.”

Hillary Clinton fired off a tweet earlier this week accusing Trump of using “racist rhetoric” because he dared call a virus outbreak from China… the Chinese Coronavirus.

HILLARY CLINTON: The president is turning to racist rhetoric to distract from his failures to take the coronavirus seriously early on, make tests widely available, and adequately prepare the country for a period of crisis.

Don’t fall for it. Don’t let your friends and family fall for it.

Rest - https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/communist-china-thanks-hillary-clinton-for-her-support-after-she-accuses-trump-of-using-racist-rhetoric-for-saying-chinese-virus/

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Learn to love your lockdown, experts say — because it may not end anytime soon.

The coronavirus threat will continue to loom for months or even years before mass vaccinations or natural immunities will eliminate its dangers, according to the BBC.

“We do have a big problem in what the exit strategy is and how we get out of this,” said epidemiologist Mark Woolhouse of the University of Edinburgh. “No country has an exit strategy.”

President Trump has refused to say how long policies of social distancing will have to last.

Rest - https://nypost.com/2020/03/21/coronavirus-exit-strategy-could-be-months-or-years-away/
Hmmm... and here I thought I just read somewhere that China claims to have a new drug that cures it... does Mark Woolhouse think the chicoms are lying?

[Drummond]

Way back in 1975, the BBC came up with a fictional serial called 'Survivors'. It depicted a world where a virus escapes a lab in China.

It then proceeds to spread, worldwide, killing populations.

In the BBC version, we gradually see society itself break down, with only small percentages of populations surviving. It became a tale of how people survive regardless, and the long, and very gradual, crawl back to something people once called 'civilisation' ... !!

I've checked YouTube, and apparently all 24 episodes are there. I've posted a link to the introductory episode .. I suggest that the opening sequence, highly dramatic as it is, will seem remarkably 'eerie' ...

Comments under the link, on the YouTube page .. an excerpt (names removed) ...


1 month ago
Instantly thought of this series when hearing of the virus in China at the moment. Hope it doesn't turn out like this!

42

1 month ago
The Good Life with shotguns.

10

1 week ago
This scared the crap out of me as a kid.
And now it's 2020
...

I don't know if this'll play in America. If so .... you've another 23 episodes available of it .....

Here goes .... er'm ... enjoy !! .....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAyjkaFYnzE&amp;list=PLPabZTJwSik956ryLgZKvaKL Ccc9769WV&amp;index=3

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Well, we got our first case in the county just east of me, and I mean right on the edge of our town is where that county starts.

So, it's at my front door now... :terror:

[hjmick]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPLgsV_Ms3Q

[Drummond]

What's happening in London is becoming more of an issue. Specifically ... the availability of Tube trains, following a reduction in services, ordered by our Leftie London mayor ....

Sadiq Khan is his name (our first Muslim London mayor, for whatever that's worth, in this debate ..).

Sadiq Khan has not been an attendee at the Government's security 'Cobra' meetings, which has met several times to discuss and agree anti-Covid measures. He wondered why ... rather vocally, too, not least on James O'Brien's LBC programmes, where he has a regular slot to speak to Londoners.

A week ago, he was invited to attend a meeting. He did so -- and clashed with Boris Johnson on methodology.

Over these past couple of days, following (a) Khan's decision to reduce public transport frequency, and (b) also following new 'lockdown' rules, which only permit travel to work for 'essential' workers ... these past days, we've seen packed Tube trains, typical of normal, ordinary rush-hour travel under normal conditions. Distancing is a complete impossibility on the Tube.

Sadiq Khan's taken a lot of criticism, and he remains unrepentant. He's actually been ORDERED, now, to add more Tube trains, to give distancing a chance of happening ! Khan argues that staff illness makes that next to impossible.

So, the argument continues, and until today, at any rate, packed Tube carriages remained the norm. Courtesy of Mr Khan.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/25/london-underground-coronavirus-row-sadiq-khan-government-loggerheads/


London Underground carriages remain crowded despite the coronavirus pandemic amid a row between the Government and Mayor Sadiq Khan over service levels.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has claimed there is "no good reason" why timetables have been cut to the extent they have.

But Mr Khan's spokesman insisted ministers were told "countless times" that Tube frequencies reflect high levels of staff sickness and self-isolation.

Shortly before 7am on Wednesday, a senior nurse named Danny posted on Twitter: "Another busy tube. Can we not stagger people's start times so we aren't all squashed on the same tube! This is unsafe and not fair!"

Barry Trimble, who said his work involves ensuring cancer patients receive chemotherapy, posted: "The Tube is packed, with social distancing impossible. We need more people to stay at home and more trains running in morning and evening peak."

It's surely little wonder that London's infection rates are so high.

I've been unable to add the photo the article carries (format problem). But see the article ... view the photo ... see how packed the train carriage is -- AND -- as I've said about the UK approach to mask-wearing, note their absence ....

[Kathianne]

What's happening in London is becoming more of an issue. Specifically ... the availability of Tube trains, following a reduction in services, ordered by our Leftie London mayor ....

Sadiq Khan is his name (our first Muslim London mayor, for whatever that's worth, in this debate ..).

Sadiq Khan has not been an attendee at the Government's security 'Cobra' meetings, which has met several times to discuss and agree anti-Covid measures. He wondered why ... rather vocally, too, not least on James O'Brien's LBC programmes, where he has a regular slot to speak to Londoners.

A week ago, he was invited to attend a meeting. He did so -- and clashed with Boris Johnson on methodology.

Over these past couple of days, following (a) Khan's decision to reduce public transport frequency, and (b) also following new 'lockdown' rules, which only permit travel to work for 'essential' workers ... these past days, we've seen packed Tube trains, typical of normal, ordinary rush-hour travel under normal conditions. Distancing is a complete impossibility on the Tube.

Sadiq Khan's taken a lot of criticism, and he remains unrepentant. He's actually been ORDERED, now, to add more Tube trains, to give distancing a chance of happening ! Khan argues that staff illness makes that next to impossible.

So, the argument continues, and until today, at any rate, packed Tube carriages remained the norm. Courtesy of Mr Khan.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/25/london-underground-coronavirus-row-sadiq-khan-government-loggerheads/



It's surely little wonder that London's infection rates are so high.

I've been unable to add the photo the article carries (format problem). But see the article ... view the photo ... see how packed the train carriage is -- AND -- as I've said about the UK approach to mask-wearing, note their absence ....

So wrong. Too many people being considered 'essential?'

[Drummond]

So wrong. Too many people being considered 'essential?'

Perhaps so.

'Essential' staff would, of course, include health workers. Those working in construction industries (being rethought, it seems) have until now been counted as essential. Presumably office workers would be seen as essential, especially if they're Civil Servants, and their offices can't make home-working arrangements.

Security personnel would be essential.

The Civil Servant matter is a significant one. Under normal conditions, I've travelled on the Tube during Civil Service strikes .. and the effect they've made on the numbers travelling is substantial .. a better than 50% reduction in rush-hour travel. Note also that the picture in the Telegraph article was taken on a Central Line carriage, and that's (literally) centrally placed as a necessary line for them to travel.

Khan has tried to argue that people are travelling unnecessarily, that it's 'all their fault' for being 'selfish'. Then again ... many will need to work, to get money they need, to live. If that's 'selfish' ... it's understandably so.

Khan's showed no sign of taking responsibility for those travel conditions, conditions he ordered in the first place ...

[Kathianne]

Perhaps so.

'Essential' staff would, of course, include health workers. Those working in construction industries (being rethought, it seems) have until now been counted as essential. Presumably office workers would be seen as essential, especially if they're Civil Servants, and their offices can't make home-working arrangements.

Security personnel would be essential.

The Civil Servant matter is a significant one. Under normal conditions, I've travelled on the Tube during Civil Service strikes .. and the effect they've made on the numbers travelling is substantial .. a better than 50% reduction in rush-hour travel. Note also that the picture in the Telegraph article was taken on a Central Line carriage, and that's (literally) centrally placed as a necessary line for them to travel.

Khan has tried to argue that people are travelling unnecessarily, that it's 'all their fault' for being 'selfish'. Then again ... many will need to work, to get money they need, to live. If that's 'selfish' ... it's understandably so.

Khan's showed no sign of taking responsibility for those travel conditions, conditions he ordered in the first place ...

Well that is one way to reduce numbers. If everyone is 'essential' then there isn't a real pause.

[Drummond]

Well that is one way to reduce numbers. If everyone is 'essential' then there isn't a real pause.

Bear in mind that the reduction in train numbers reduces the ability of passengers to usefully travel. If you looked at the photo, all you'll have seen is a picture that's typical of a rush hour where, normally, far more trains would be in the system. Under normal travel conditions, and normal numbers travelling, the rush hour would itself ensure that distancing was impossible. The point is that since far fewer people ARE travelling, putting more trains on, WOULD allow for distancing, where in normal times, it wouldn't.

[Kathianne]

Bear in mind that the reduction in train numbers reduces the ability of passengers to usefully travel. If you looked at the photo, all you'll have seen is a picture that's typical of a rush hour where, normally, far more trains would be in the system. Under normal travel conditions, and normal numbers travelling, the rush hour would itself ensure that distancing was impossible. The point is that since far fewer people ARE travelling, putting more trains on, WOULD allow for distancing, where in normal times, it wouldn't.
I live in a state that isn't truly adhering to the stay at home. The schools and government offices are shuttered, but not most businesses with the exception of sit down restaurant service. National chains have closed in some cases, shuttering the malls for the most part, though they weren't the gathering places they used to be.

My daughter-in-law, a domestic cases attorney is working at home. Judges are too. The only in person meetings are when violence is involved and a party needs to be incarcerated. Even then, the DIL does not go to court, but is skyping. The judge and cops are there, as well as the defendant.

IL is serious about the stay at home, they are weeks behind NY.

[NightTrain]

Bear in mind that the reduction in train numbers reduces the ability of passengers to usefully travel. If you looked at the photo, all you'll have seen is a picture that's typical of a rush hour where, normally, far more trains would be in the system. Under normal travel conditions, and normal numbers travelling, the rush hour would itself ensure that distancing was impossible. The point is that since far fewer people ARE travelling, putting more trains on, WOULD allow for distancing, where in normal times, it wouldn't.


I can think of few things more foolhardy than having a Muslim in charge of safety for a large modern western city.

He doesn't need to strap on the old vest. He can achieve a better result by forcing you all into crowded public transportation. Legally.

[Drummond]

I live in a state that isn't truly adhering to the stay at home. The schools and government offices are shuttered, but not most businesses with the exception of sit down restaurant service. National chains have closed in some cases, shuttering the malls for the most part, though they weren't the gathering places they used to be.

My daughter-in-law, a domestic cases attorney is working at home. Judges are too. The only in person meetings are when violence is involved and a party needs to be incarcerated. Even then, the DIL does not go to court, but is skyping. The judge and cops are there, as well as the defendant.

IL is serious about the stay at home, they are weeks behind NY.

As you know, I was a supporter of our Government's 'Generate a herd immunity' approach. Scientifically, it might've been sound ... but, it would have been expensive in terms of lives lost. I accept that.

So, I'm a convert to the 'lockdown ... starve the virus of carriers' approach, now, instead.

The more comprehensive the terms of lockdown, the more they're kept to (to the extent it's possible) .. the better.

[Drummond]

I can think of few things more foolhardy than having a Muslim in charge of safety for a large modern western city.

He doesn't need to strap on the old vest. He can achieve a better result by forcing you all into crowded public transportation. Legally.

I believe I can provide you with unquestionable proof of what you say !! This was Khan's attitude, earlier this month. See:

https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/03/coronavirus-london-tube-sadiq-khan-12339239/?ito=article.mweb.share.top.facebook&fbclid=IwAR1ypKTMQLZfqzTHgsCDZkacz-NcVNcnMHreyPcGps_sLFrKt7rnsJLEVi4


Sadiq Khan has said there is ‘no risk’ of people catching coronavirus while travelling on buses or trains in the capital. The Mayor of London has urged people to continue to use the Tube and go to concerts despite the outbreak of the disease.

So far in the UK, 39 people have tested positive to the virus. Mr Khan said it is ‘important we don’t spread panic or alarm’ and urged politicians to ‘reply upon the best advice we have from the public health experts and from the chief medical officer’. He told Good Morning Britain today: ‘There is no risk in using the Tube or buses or other forms of public transport or going to a concert.’

It comes as a City Hall source said the mayor was unhappy to have been excluded from the government’s emergency Cobra meeting to discuss coronavirus yesterday. The source said people might think it was ‘a bit strange’ he was not invited, given the size of London, its status as a global travel hub, its large transport network and its sport and entertainment venues.

Mr Khan is due to meet senior officials and health specialists from across the capital to review preparations for dealing with the outbreak, but said: ‘I want to reassure Londoners that although the risk of coronavirus to individuals remains low, we are not complacent. ‘I’m in regular contact with Public Health England to ensure we have the latest advice and to monitor the impact on our city.’

Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan accused the London mayor of ‘spreading mixed messages’ over his relaxed tone. He interrupted Mr Khan and said: ‘No disrespect but how on earth can you say in a city of 12 million people there is no risk given that we know it’s here and it’s beginning to spread here?’ The Mayor of London answered: ‘Because I rely upon the advice I receive from Public Health England the chief medical officer and the advice is you’re not going to catch it if you’re washing your hands regularly. ‘On the Tube, on a daily basis, there are five million journeys and on our buses, six million. Many of the concert venues in London have crowds of between 5,000 and 20,000.

Khan has persisted with his 'relaxed' attitude to human life, evidently, by maintaining 'sardine tin' conditions on those trains still operating ... and refusing all criticism of his actions.

[NightTrain]

I believe I can provide you with unquestionable proof of what you say !! This was Khan's attitude, earlier this month. See:

https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/03/coronavirus-london-tube-sadiq-khan-12339239/?ito=article.mweb.share.top.facebook&fbclid=IwAR1ypKTMQLZfqzTHgsCDZkacz-NcVNcnMHreyPcGps_sLFrKt7rnsJLEVi4



Khan has persisted with his 'relaxed' attitude to human life, evidently, by maintaining 'sardine tin' conditions on those trains still operating ... and refusing all criticism of his actions.

That's.... appalling.

You have a jihadist running the show. Has no one sounded the alarm?

Or is everyone in your media afraid of being labeled an Islamophobe?

[Drummond]

That's.... appalling.

You have a jihadist running the show. Has no one sounded the alarm?

Or is everyone in your media afraid of being labeled an Islamophobe?

They'd be afraid, but for good reason. No media outlet could possibly afford to be seen as taking a stance suggestive of outright anti-Islamic 'prejudice'. If such a charge were made, and if it could be made to stick ... that would be actionable in law. Public anti-Islamic stances, or statements made attributable from such a motivation, are illegal here.

All that can be done is to question Khan from a purely pragmatic stance, on a case-by-case basis.

[NightTrain]

They'd be afraid, but for good reason. No media outlet could possibly afford to be seen as taking a stance suggestive of outright anti-Islamic 'prejudice'. If such a charge were made, and if it could be made to stick ... that would be actionable in law. Public anti-Islamic stances, or statements made attributable from such a motivation, are illegal here.

All that can be done is to question Khan from a purely pragmatic stance, on a case-by-case basis.


You guys really need to adopt the equivalent of our 1st Amendment for yourselves.

It comes in real handy when you need to call a spade a spade.

[Drummond]

You guys really need to adopt the equivalent of our 1st Amendment for yourselves.

It comes in real handy when you need to call a spade a spade.

That's not exactly likely here ... any law or stricture carrying legal weight, surely couldn't be adopted, without first eradicating any law that would stand in its way ? That kind of action would create civil unrest, I'd think ... if anyone dared try it. Unfortunately, our politicians want votes. Any measure such as that would be a vote loser.

Civil unrest - in these, of all times, is the last thing we need (all you'd need was a crowd of protesters capable of breathing heavily ..).

I'm not even sure it'd work. Opponents would accuse anybody attacking anybody else on grounds having as their origin any form of religion, could be accused of doing so to promote their own, as 'superior' in essence to the one targeted .. which would surely defy the 1st Amendment, if we ever instituted it ourselves, since doesn't that Amendment guarantee parity of religions in the eyes of the law ?

With all due respect, if we ever did come up with our own first Amendment (not likely !) ... we'd have to frame it so that it wasn't open to that sort of challenge.

[NightTrain]

That's not exactly likely here ... any law or stricture carrying legal weight, surely couldn't be adopted, without first eradicating any law that would stand in its way ? That kind of action would create civil unrest, I'd think ... if anyone dared try it. Unfortunately, our politicians want votes. Any measure such as that would be a vote loser.

Civil unrest - in these, of all times, is the last thing we need (all you'd need was a crowd of protesters capable of breathing heavily ..).

I'm not even sure it'd work. Opponents would accuse anybody attacking anybody else on grounds having as their origin any form of religion, could be accused of doing so to promote their own, as 'superior' in essence to the one targeted .. which would surely defy the 1st Amendment, if we ever instituted it ourselves, since doesn't that Amendment guarantee parity of religions in the eyes of the law ?

With all due respect, if we ever did come up with our own first Amendment (not likely !) ... we'd have to frame it so that it wasn't open to that sort of challenge.

Oh, undoubtedly it would render many anti-free speech laws you have on the books invalid.

Honestly, it's such a natural thing for we Americans to say what we think that it's kind of mind boggling that other 'free' nations don't have that basic right.

I mean, there are limits to our Free Speech, such as yelling 'Fire!' in a theater or threatening the President's life or terrorist threats... but calling out the Mayor of London for being a Muslim bent on killing the very infidels he's supposed to be trying to protect would be perfectly legal.

Yeah, it would be a large undertaking for you, but I think it's the right thing to do.

Maybe now that you're free of the EU, you guys can discuss something like that.

[Drummond]

Oh, undoubtedly it would render many anti-free speech laws you have on the books invalid.

Honestly, it's such a natural thing for we Americans to say what we think that it's kind of mind boggling that other 'free' nations don't have that basic right.

I mean, there are limits to our Free Speech, such as yelling 'Fire!' in a theater or threatening the President's life or terrorist threats... but calling out the Mayor of London for being a Muslim bent on killing the very infidels he's supposed to be trying to protect would be perfectly legal.

Yeah, it would be a large undertaking for you, but I think it's the right thing to do.

Maybe now that you're free of the EU, you guys can discuss something like that.

A nice thought. Me, I'd be all in favour of it.

Unfortunately, being shot of the EU and its suffocating control-freakery still doesn't nullify our own laws. We'd still have to go through the process of making the necessary changes. Just trying would undoubtedly create the civil unrest I'm talking about. Just our own, 'home grown' Muslims (i.e those on our territory) would make sure of it (backed by every Leftie out there !).

A pack of aggravated heavy-breathing Muslims descending on peoples' neighbourhoods, is something we don't need right now.

Sadiq Khan wouldn't even need to pitch it on a religious level, anyway (he probably WOULD, for maximum effect ... he just wouldn't have to). All he'd need do is take out a civil action for defamation of character, putting his accuser in the position of proving that Mr Khan's motivations, whether misguided or not, were intentionally harmful, and not just poor judgment.

He wins that case (?) .. he gets a big payout !!

This is the UK. I promise you, we take slander, libel, very seriously here. Sadiq Khan might not only profit from taking his accuser to court, but end up ruining the reputation of the accuser, too. At minimum, our Lefties would villify the accuser in perpetuity.

[NightTrain]

A nice thought. Me, I'd be all in favour of it.

Unfortunately, being shot of the EU and its suffocating control-freakery still doesn't nullify our own laws. We'd still have to go through the process of making the necessary changes. Just trying would undoubtedly create the civil unrest I'm talking about. Just our own, 'home grown' Muslims (i.e those on our territory) would make sure of it (backed by every Leftie out there !).

A pack of aggravated heavy-breathing Muslims descending on peoples' neighbourhoods, is something we don't need right now.

Sadiq Khan wouldn't even need to pitch it on a religious level, anyway (he probably WOULD, for maximum effect ... he just wouldn't have to). All he'd need do is take out a civil action for defamation of character, putting his accuser in the position of proving that Mr Khan's motivations, whether misguided or not, were intentionally harmful, and not just poor judgment.

He wins that case (?) .. he gets a big payout !!

This is the UK. I promise you, we take slander, libel, very seriously here. Sadiq Khan might not only profit from taking his accuser to court, but end up ruining the reputation of the accuser, too. At minimum, our Lefties would villify the accuser in perpetuity.

Bleh.

I just thank my lucky stars that I was born an American.

[Drummond]

Bleh.

I just thank my lucky stars that I was born an American.

I don't blame you.

In fact, I envy you.

But there's a warning in all of this. We've had generation after generation of the Left exercising its power (if in Government) or influence (if not) in this place. The Muslims we have here would never have established the foothold they did, had our Left not been able to facilitate it all.

The warning is, simply: make SURE your Left never achieve the stranglehold over your society, as they have over here. Yours would absolutely love to turn the US into a clone of the UK ... they'd consider they'd won their ideological battle against the spirit of freedom that drives you.

Gun control could be one pivotal issue .. it'd cut against a fundamental right, and defy your Constitution. Once defied successfully ... the precedent to go further is set, ripe for exploitation. You'd be on the path to become as we are ... essentially weaponless, dependent on the almighty State, having your thoughts and attitudes crafted for you.

So don't take your freedoms for granted. Unless you somehow utterly discredit your Left, unless you can kill it off ... your freedoms remain under threat.

I promise you that I'm right.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

So, we went from 281 cases, to 357, and now 631, the vast bulk of which are over in Milwaukee, 333, but we're shooting up fast here in Wisconsin with 7 dead.

Have 1 case in my county finally, and 3 in the county just east of me. Our county is quite large, and hopefully the one case is way down in Platteville at the college or something, miles away from me. Still no reported cases in the county to my north.

But I think what's driving the numbers up here so fast is simply testing. We've had people walking around infected and didn't know it, and we're just finding out they were. Hopefully our "Safe At Home" lockdown is at least halting the spread now.

[Drummond]

So, we went from 281 cases, to 357, and now 631, the vast bulk of which are over in Milwaukee, 333, but we're shooting up fast here in Wisconsin with 7 dead.

Have 1 case in my county finally, and 3 in the county just east of me. Our county is quite large, and hopefully the one case is way down in Platteville at the college or something, miles away from me. Still no reported cases in the county to my north.

But I think what's driving the numbers up here so fast is simply testing. We've had people walking around infected and didn't know it, and we're just finding out they were. Hopefully our "Safe At Home" lockdown is at least halting the spread now.

Interesting in its way (- sort of ? -) is -- according to the article below -- that we in the UK think we've finally tracked down our 'patient zero' ... the very first person in the UK to be on UK territory and be infected by Covid-19.

Perhaps rather more interesting is just how long ago the infection existed within our borders. Turns out that this case is weeks earlier than the first recorded one. This goes back to MID January, throwing us back at least two weeks earlier for the first case than we thought was true.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/coronavirus/uk-patient-zero-east-sussex-family-may-have-been-infected-with-coronavirus-as-early-as-mid-january/ar-BB11HLf1?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=mailsignout


A family from East Sussex may have been Britain’s first coronavirus victims, catching the virus in mid-January after visiting an Austrian ski resort which is now under investigation for allegedly covering up the early outbreak.

If confirmed with official tests, it would mean the outbreak in Britain started more than a month earlier than currently thought.

As things stand, the first recorded UK case was January 31 and the earliest documented incidence of transmission within the UK occurred on February 28.

IT consultant Daren Bland, 50, was skiing in Ischgl, Austria from January 15 to 19 with three friends, two from Denmark and one from Minnesota in America.

All three men fell ill on their return with classic coronavirus symptoms and Mr Bland passed on the infection to his wife and children in Maresfield, east Sussex.

Note also the reference of the Minnesota man, who returned to America; again, back in January.

Back in mid-January, when, presumably, our infection-passing truly began, Covid-19 wasn't even a news item. Here, all our media could talk about was Brexit ! So far as I recall, there was no mention of this Coronavirus until into February, and by then, even though we weren't recording any at the time, cross-infection here must've been well underway; and from the nature of the lack of awareness of it, already unstoppable by then.

Perhaps your own, true, 'patient zero' was that Minnesota-based individual ?

Or, maybe it was being passed around from elsewhere in Austria, undetected for what it was (& unreported when observed, anyway !), and other returning American tourists brought their infection back even earlier than this ?

[High_Plains_Drifter]

This just BURNS ME UP... first, china is LYING, PERIOD, FULL STOP, and second, I don't know WHY we don't kick that filthy CORRUPT bastard UN OUT of America. WHY do we PAY to have them parked in the US, and then sit back while they TRASH US AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY? And the WHO, they're not any better than the UN. I am SICK of these leftist shit stains TRASHING on America, and we just sit back and LET IT HAPPEN. But china KNOWS it's responsible, and KILLED the first whistle blower doctor there that let it out, and they know damn well if it's ACCEPTED knowledge that they're responsible, nations of the world will DEMAND reparations from China, and they're just LYING THEIR SLANT EYED LITTLE COMMIE ASSES OFF trying to get ahead of that now.

But if we don't start DIVESTING, like YESTERDAY, what we can OUT of china, then GREED truly does RULE THE DAY, and when that happens, then SATAN is your master, and we really are in big trouble as a nation.

----------------------

China Is Innocent: Says U.N. and World Health Organization Reject Claim it Launched Coronavirus Pandemic

The global coronavirus pandemic did not start in China, a spokesman for the Chinese Communist Party declared Tuesday, claiming support from both the United Nations (U.N.) and World Health Organization (WHO) in rejecting “hurtful” U.S. allegations to the contrary as “bald-faced racism and xenophobia.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily news briefing not only does China have the full backing of the globalist organizations in denying it started the viral outbreak, the U.S. must cease and desist forthwith from challenging their assertions. He said:

The Chinese side has repeated many times that some people in the U.S. have been seeking by every means to link the virus with China and stigmatize China. This was met with strong indignation and firm objection from the Chinese people. WHO and the international community explicitly oppose linking the virus with any specific country or region and reject stigmatization.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said ‘it is shameful to see increasing acts of racial discrimination and prejudice as we fight the COVID19 pandemic’ and ‘we must always fight racism and prejudice’. E.U. High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said the virus knows no border and we need cooperation and multilateralism, instead of competition and recrimination, in face of the common challenge for mankind. It is not the time for countries to blame one another with terms like ‘Chinese virus’.

WHO believes that we should avoid calling it ‘Chinese virus’. Now is the moment for solidarity, for respecting facts and for fighting together.

Shuang went on to accuse the U.S. of “bald-faced racism and xenophobia” by its pointing to the evidence that the COVID19 virus was first discovered last year in the southern China city of Wuhan and local party members tried for six weeks to conceal the true nature of the outbreak.

Video at link...

I want to point out that it was the U.S. side that started this argument. It was also the US that first claimed that the virus originated in China and used such terms as ‘Chinese virus’ and ‘Wuhan virus’. According to media reports, as early as March 6, Pompeo started to use ‘Wuhan virus’ in public remarks.

Since then, some U.S. politicians and senior officials have been using this term to stigmatize China, causing great anger and strong opposition from the Chinese people. What I just cited are public records. There is no way for the U.S. to deny this.

This is not the first time China has sought to distance itself from the deadly global pandemic, as Britbart News reported.

Earlier this month the world was told it must look to China, pay attention and follow its principles in order to halt the global epidemic, the official Communist China Daily said in an editorial.

Over the past few weeks, Chinese officials and state-managed social media accounts began floating theories that the coronavirus began in the United States and was brought to Wuhan by U.S. Army soldiers visiting for the Military World Games in October.

Video at link...

Last week a major Chinese Communist Party paper, the Global Times, stated again – without evidence – the virus might have been developed in the U.S. Army laboratory in Fort Detrick, Maryland, before being secretly released to harm an innocent and entirely helpless mainland Chinese populace.

https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2020/03/25/china-is-innocent-says-u-n-and-world-health-organization-reject-claim-it-launched-coronavirus-pandemic/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR2xQErm0Av3bY3I1ninmhs6yX1YN4WEdUnpqQAoy RoHRStdUtA5g6gkPTs

[Drummond]

What's happening in London is becoming more of an issue. Specifically ... the availability of Tube trains, following a reduction in services, ordered by our Leftie London mayor ....

Sadiq Khan is his name (our first Muslim London mayor, for whatever that's worth, in this debate ..).

Sadiq Khan has not been an attendee at the Government's security 'Cobra' meetings, which has met several times to discuss and agree anti-Covid measures. He wondered why ... rather vocally, too, not least on James O'Brien's LBC programmes, where he has a regular slot to speak to Londoners.

A week ago, he was invited to attend a meeting. He did so -- and clashed with Boris Johnson on methodology.

Over these past couple of days, following (a) Khan's decision to reduce public transport frequency, and (b) also following new 'lockdown' rules, which only permit travel to work for 'essential' workers ... these past days, we've seen packed Tube trains, typical of normal, ordinary rush-hour travel under normal conditions. Distancing is a complete impossibility on the Tube.

Sadiq Khan's taken a lot of criticism, and he remains unrepentant. He's actually been ORDERED, now, to add more Tube trains, to give distancing a chance of happening ! Khan argues that staff illness makes that next to impossible.

So, the argument continues, and until today, at any rate, packed Tube carriages remained the norm. Courtesy of Mr Khan.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/25/london-underground-coronavirus-row-sadiq-khan-government-loggerheads/



It's surely little wonder that London's infection rates are so high.

I've been unable to add the photo the article carries (format problem). But see the article ... view the photo ... see how packed the train carriage is -- AND -- as I've said about the UK approach to mask-wearing, note their absence ....

Seems to me, considering a news report I've just listened to, that Sadiq Khan is resisting any / all efforts to increase transport levels.

Boris Johnson (himself an ex-London Mayor) pledged to do all possible to 'work with' the Mayor's office to 'increase their logistical capabilities' (i.e get more trains running !). His Government has taken the line that reducing train frequencies was unacceptable, given the crowding effect it's created.

Nonetheless, as of 5 minutes ago, as I type, a much-reduced service is STILL in operation on London Underground.

Here's the thing. Even accepting that Khan's excuse for not running more trains had validity, namely, that there were high sickness reports coming from Tube train drivers (Khan claims that 30% of all of them have reported in sick) .... how IS it that they have such a high sickness level ? Tube drivers, from the nature of their job, are isolated from passengers .. so, they can't catch the virus from them.

One of two possibilities:

1 - The nature of the movement of trains along tunnels forces infected air at concentrated levels through all parts of the moving trains, this including driver compartments ...

2 - Khan's just lying, and is resisting ramping up services to normal, therefore fully workable, levels for all concerned.

So. Anything BUT the status quo would be an improvement. Restore full services, allowing distancing between passengers. Or, just shut the network down, stopping the Tube being a source of infection.

Khan's done neither, to date.

HOWEVER ... Khan's a great believer in using the media to further himself and his agenda. Tonight, at 8pm GMT, the media have called upon everybody to open their windows, and applaud .... those they're applauding, our 'brave and committed NHS workers'. Khan says he'll be applauding.

This will, 'of course', excuse this Leftie Muslim from doing something that'll make an actual DIFFERENCE !! Image promoted; infections growing ... so that's all OK, then ....

[Shades of 'Network', where a manic newscaster implored people to open their windows & shout 'I'm mad as hell, & I'm not going to take it, anymore !!' A great film !]

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Seems to me, considering a news report I've just listened to, that Sadiq Khan is resisting any / all efforts to increase transport levels.

Boris Johnson (himself an ex-London Mayor) pledged to do all possible to 'work with' the Mayor's office to 'increase their logistical capabilities' (i.e get more trains running !). His Government has taken the line that reducing train frequencies was unacceptable, given the crowding effect it's created.

Nonetheless, as of 5 minutes ago, as I type, a much-reduced service is STILL in operation on London Underground.

Here's the thing. Even accepting that Khan's excuse for not running more trains had validity, namely, that there were high sickness reports coming from Tube train drivers (Khan claims that 30% of all of them have reported in sick) .... how IS it that they have such a high sickness level ? Tube drivers, from the nature of their job, are isolated from passengers .. so, they can't catch the virus from them.

One of two possibilities:

1 - The nature of the movement of trains along tunnels forces infected air at concentrated levels through all parts of the moving trains, this including driver compartments ...

2 - Khan's just lying, and is resisting ramping up services to normal, therefore fully workable, levels for all concerned.

So. Anything BUT the status quo would be an improvement. Restore full services, allowing distancing between passengers. Or, just shut the network down, stopping the Tube being a source of infection.

Khan's done neither, to date.

HOWEVER ... Khan's a great believer in using the media to further himself and his agenda. Tonight, at 8pm GMT, the media have called upon everybody to open their windows, and applaud .... those they're applauding, our 'brave and committed NHS workers'. Khan says he'll be applauding.

This will, 'of course', excuse this Leftie Muslim from doing something that'll make an actual DIFFERENCE !! Image promoted; infections growing ... so that's all OK, then ....

[Shades of 'Network', where a manic newscaster implored people to open their windows & shout 'I'm mad as hell, & I'm not going to take it, anymore !!' A great film !]
You still have elections for Mayor in London, right? I can't imagine that filthy muslim surviving another election. He ought to be arrested and burned at the stake, and yes, make it KNOWN he's a rotten MUSLIM.

[Drummond]

You still have elections for Mayor in London, right? I can't imagine that filthy muslim surviving another election. He ought to be arrested and burned at the stake, and yes, make it KNOWN he's a rotten MUSLIM.

Everybody knew he was a Muslim, when they voted for him before. Also ... the Muslim population in London is double the percentage rate of the UK as a whole. Boris, when he was London Mayor, said that any successful candidate for the job needs to get Muslim support to win.

Even so ... I'm sure many will view him as a disaster. In Khan, we have a Mayor who thinks it more important to launch media attacks against Donald Trump, and to share protest platforms with Corbyn, than to concentrate instead on stopping knife crime in London.

Muslim contingent or not, I don't think he's electable. No doubt he disagrees.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Everybody knew he was a Muslim, when they voted for him before. Also ... the Muslim population in London is double the percentage rate of the UK as a whole. Boris, when he was London Mayor, said that any successful candidate for the job needs to get Muslim support to win.

Even so ... I'm sure many will view him as a disaster. In Khan, we have a Mayor who thinks it more important to launch media attacks against Donald Trump, and to share protest platforms with Corbyn, than to concentrate instead on stopping knife crime in London.

Muslim contingent or not, I don't think he's electable. No doubt he disagrees.
Good Lord... I had no idea the muslims had invaded London to such a degree. I feel sorry for you pard, to have lost your once beautiful nation over to such a filthy scourge.

I'd move... or start a rebellion.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

A comforting friend sitting beside me on the desk during these troubling times...

https://i.ibb.co/CVzKccZ/20200326-102809.jpg (https://ibb.co/ss29ffG)

[Drummond]

A comforting friend sitting beside me on the desk during these troubling times...

https://i.ibb.co/CVzKccZ/20200326-102809.jpg (https://ibb.co/ss29ffG)

.... which almost all of us, here, are prohibited from lawfully owning !! Considering our social conditions, here, you can see why that is ...

If you want to apply for a gun permit, one task necessary is to convince the police that you have a specific and unavoidable NEED to do so. No provision for 'gun rights' exist over here !!

Your Lefties dream of inflicting that upon America. Of course they do. That's because they're America's ENEMIES.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

.... which almost all of us, here, are prohibited from lawfully owning !! Considering our social conditions, here, you can see why that is ...

If you want to apply for a gun permit, one task necessary is to convince the police that you have a specific and unavoidable NEED to do so. No provision for 'gun rights' exist over here !!

Your Lefties dream of inflicting that upon America. Of course they do. That's because they're America's ENEMIES.
I couldn't imagine living without a gun. They ever want to try and take that pistol, they'll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands.

I thank God almost daily, and lately more than once a day, that I was born in America.

[Drummond]

I couldn't imagine living without a gun. They ever want to try and take that pistol, they'll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands.

I thank God almost daily, and lately more than once a day, that I was born in America.

That's maybe the biggest single difference between our peoples. Almost all of us (myself included) can't imagine living WITH one.

What I find interesting is that, as conditioned as we are to living 'unarmed', still, our Left finds it necessary to keep topping up the conditioning ! Every single time, without fail, America suffers a shooting incident involving a gun-toting maniac, this gets prominent treatment in our news media ... complete with the inferred (& some of the time not so 'inferred') tut-tutting against an America that hasn't seen the 'civilising' effect of strong anti-gun laws.

Media attitudes here are consistent .. until (they say) you get rid of the 'scourge' of gun ownership, innocent life will always be needlessly lost.

For myself -- I only need think of Khan's ignoring knife crime, to see that people deserve that defensive edge against a knife-wielder. Or, that especially gruesome example of a nutter who slashed around with a machete, decapitating an elderly woman, continuing his rampage unchecked until police arrived with tasers.

[Drummond]

That's maybe the biggest single difference between our peoples. Almost all of us (myself included) can't imagine living WITH one.

What I find interesting is that, as conditioned as we are to living 'unarmed', still, our Left finds it necessary to keep topping up the conditioning ! Every single time, without fail, America suffers a shooting incident involving a gun-toting maniac, this gets prominent treatment in our news media ... complete with the inferred (& some of the time not so 'inferred') tut-tutting against an America that hasn't seen the 'civilising' effect of strong anti-gun laws.

Media attitudes here are consistent .. until (they say) you get rid of the 'scourge' of gun ownership, innocent life will always be needlessly lost.

For myself -- I only need think of Khan's ignoring knife crime, to see that people deserve that defensive edge against a knife-wielder. Or, that especially gruesome example of a nutter who slashed around with a machete, decapitating an elderly woman, continuing his rampage unchecked until police arrived with tasers.

HPD ... you might enjoy this. From the BBC's flagship comedy 'Red Dwarf' ... the remnants of the space (mining) ship Red Dwarf have been invaded by an emotion-sucking monster. Each has already been attacked. Here's the crew, debating how to tackle it.

Rimmer (aka 'goal-post head') could be likened to any stereotypical delusional Leftie peacenik type ....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WgUktfdDy4

You can perhaps see what propagandist message the BBC was striving for; deriding any 'extremes' ....

[High_Plains_Drifter]

HPD ... you might enjoy this. From the BBC's flagship comedy 'Red Dwarf' ... the remnants of the space (mining) ship Red Dwarf have been invaded by an emotion-sucking monster. Each has already been attacked. Here's the crew, debating how to tackle it.

Rimmer (aka 'goal-post head') could be likened to any stereotypical delusional Leftie peacenik type ....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WgUktfdDy4

You can perhaps see what propagandist message the BBC was striving for; deriding any 'extremes' ....
Good Lord, bro... I don't even find that humorous. That's too far out there for me... but you're saying there are those in Britain that actually do think like that?

[NightTrain]

12428

[Drummond]

Good Lord, bro... I don't even find that humorous. That's too far out there for me... but you're saying there are those in Britain that actually do think like that?

Don't you ? Sorry to hear that. I thought it was hilarious.

There ARE those who'll avoid confrontation under any and all circumstances .. they're the kind of people who somehow believe that a good ol' 'group hug' and 'seriously peaceful overtures' are all we need to defeat terrorism, for example.

[They were people who started calling, and VERY seriously and loudly, GW Bush and Tony Blair 'war criminals' for the 2003 Iraq invasion. They were those who marched to stop any possibility of Iraq ever being invaded, and Saddam's dictatorship overthrown.]

But remember, Red Dwarf is a COMEDY. It's meant to find the funny side of whatever it depicts. Rimmer's character (the one with the big 'H' on his forehead) was a highly exaggerated mickey-take of a hippy-fied form of Leftie we have long known of, here.

If there was a propagandist point to the broadcast, and I believe there was, it was to promote the soft-Left attitude of rejecting extremes in dealing with threats. It's what the BBC does !!

For example, for obvious propagandist effect -- in one of the Chris Eccleston's Doctor Who episodes, he went back in time with Rose to the 1980's. He and the Rose character 'just happened' to spend a couple of minutes talking in a 1980's UK city street, with anti-Margaret Thatcher graffiti plain to see in the background.

.... amazing, that .....

My favourite Dr Who 'subliminal message' (ahem) that the BBC managed to get away with inserting in an episode, was an ad for a bottle of Perrier water, of all things. The BBC (or at least, the British incarnation of it) is meant to be free of advertising of any sort. Yet ... they had Colin Baker's Doctor turn round to his assistant, as the last line of the episode, and say .... 'There's nothing like water, Peri, eh !'

He then drank his fizzy water !

[Drummond]

12428:clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::clap::laugh::l augh:

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Don't you ? Sorry to hear that. I thought it was hilarious.

There ARE those who'll avoid confrontation under any and all circumstances .. they're the kind of people who somehow believe that a good ol' 'group hug' and 'seriously peaceful overtures' are all we need to defeat terrorism, for example.

[They were people who started calling, and VERY seriously and loudly, GW Bush and Tony Blair 'war criminals' for the 2003 Iraq invasion. They were those who marched to stop any possibility of Iraq ever being invaded, and Saddam's dictatorship overthrown.]

But remember, Red Dwarf is a COMEDY. It's meant to find the funny side of whatever it depicts. Rimmer's character (the one with the big 'H' on his forehead) was a highly exaggerated mickey-take of a hippy-fied form of Leftie we have long known of, here.

If there was a propagandist point to the broadcast, and I believe there was, it was to promote the soft-Left attitude of rejecting extremes in dealing with threats. It's what the BBC does !!

For example, for obvious propagandist effect -- in one of the Chris Eccleston's Doctor Who episodes, he went back in time with Rose to the 1980's. He and the Rose character 'just happened' to spend a couple of minutes talking in a 1980's UK city street, with anti-Margaret Thatcher graffiti plain to see in the background.

.... amazing, that .....

My favourite Dr Who 'subliminal message' (ahem) that the BBC managed to get away with inserting in an episode, was an ad for a bottle of Perrier water, of all things. The BBC (or at least, the British incarnation of it) is meant to be free of advertising of any sort. Yet ... they had Colin Baker's Doctor turn round to his assistant, as the last line of the episode, and say .... 'There's nothing like water, Peri, eh !'

He then drank his fizzy water !
Well, I apologize for not finding it funny, pard. I think the older I get, the less things I find funny, period. My Dad was more of a serious person, I guess I'm becoming my Dad... :rolleyes:

But for your left to be able to spew war criminal when referring to Blair and Bush, but yet entirely incapable of calling muslims terrorists, and their activities like the raping women and knife attacks in the UK not seen as being COMPLETELY a MUSLIM thing, I find that absolutely STUNNING as far as being a leftist hypocrite, and just blind and incapable of being even remotely able to admit the TRUTH. I think it's brain washing, it's indoctrination, it's mind and speech control, it's draconian and scary. I think you guys need a good old fashioned rebellion. If there's people like you there, then there's other like you, because you didn't remain SANE without someone else to talk to of like mind. You guys need to form a coalition, a vigilante group, a secret order, and start a campaign against this... INSANE leftism that cripples Britain.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Been craving a can of COKE. I hope that's not a symptom of the virus... :rolleyes: ... :laugh:

[Drummond]

Well, I apologize for not finding it funny, pard. I think the older I get, the less things I find funny, period. My Dad was more of a serious person, I guess I'm becoming my Dad... :rolleyes:

But for your left to be able to spew war criminal when referring to Blair and Bush, but yet entirely incapable of calling muslims terrorists, and their activities like the raping women and knife attacks in the UK not seen as being COMPLETELY a MUSLIM thing, I find that absolutely STUNNING as far as being a leftist hypocrite, and just blind and incapable of being even remotely able to admit the TRUTH. I think it's brain washing, it's indoctrination, it's mind and speech control, it's draconian and scary. I think you guys need a good old fashioned rebellion. If there's people like you there, then there's other like you, because you didn't remain SANE without someone else to talk to of like mind. You guys need to form a coalition, a vigilante group, a secret order, and start a campaign against this... INSANE leftism that cripples Britain.

No worries ... not my business to insist that you share my sense of humour !!

You have to remember that our Lefties go out of their way not only to be supportive of Muslims, but to find ways of demonising those who don't. In a society where if you publicly confront a Muslim, you can be accused of 'hatespeech' and earn the interest of the police in what you're saying ... where it can be accepted that the so-called 'real' motivation has to be one of racism, earning only villification ... with the conditioning widespread enough to stick in society as a whole ... well, you said it yourself, when you used the word 'indoctrination'. How do you defeat such a thing, when those indoctrinated think that their thoughts are their own ?

The Left don't care about double standards of any kind. What they want is CONTROL. Control of society. Control of the law-making process. Control over attitudes governing the shape of society. If they have all that, they consider it's a job well done.

As for my own thinking, it's simple. I just remained objective. I started out as a Leftie myself. Then, I saw the great damage it brought, which convinced me that the propaganda was total rot, to be opposed as much as possible. After all, you can't believe in a society where Socialism is meant to improve it, when the reality is that the militant Left are tearing it apart !

Abortion isn't the 'big deal' here that it is in America ... here, abortion is an accepted fact of 'life'. How does killing defenceless children IMPROVE humanity ? Because if you believed the Left, the unborn aren't worth considering.

You'd consider that hypocritical, I think. Our Lefties just wouldn't care, & they've successfully indoctrinated our society into not caring, either.

I think that a clue to the solution is to prove that the Left do not represent the ordinary citizen. This, Brexit did a lot to teach people, and so, Labour lost heavily last December in our election. BUT, next time we have an election, there will be no equivalent of an instructive Brexit in play, so, how will the lesson be RE-taught ?

Because, it will have to be. Again and again.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

No worries ... not my business to insist that you share my sense of humour !!

You have to remember that our Lefties go out of their way not only to be supportive of Muslims, but to find ways of demonising those who don't. In a society where if you publicly confront a Muslim, you can be accused of 'hatespeech' and earn the interest of the police in what you're saying ... where it can be accepted that the so-called 'real' motivation has to be one of racism, earning only villification ... with the conditioning widespread enough to stick in society as a whole ... well, you said it yourself, when you used the word 'indoctrination'. How do you defeat such a thing, when those indoctrinated think that their thoughts are their own ?

The Left don't care about double standards of any kind. What they want is CONTROL. Control of society. Control of the law-making process. Control over attitudes governing the shape of society. If they have all that, they consider it's a job well done.

As for my own thinking, it's simple. I just remained objective. I started out as a Leftie myself. Then, I saw the great damage it brought, which convinced me that the propaganda was total rot, to be opposed as much as possible. After all, you can't believe in a society where Socialism is meant to improve it, when the reality is that the militant Left are tearing it apart !

Abortion isn't the 'big deal' here that it is in America ... here, abortion is an accepted fact of 'life'. How does killing defenceless children IMPROVE humanity ? Because if you believed the Left, the unborn aren't worth considering.

You'd consider that hypocritical, I think. Our Lefties just wouldn't care, & they've successfully indoctrinated our society into not caring, either.

I think that a clue to the solution is to prove that the Left do not represent the ordinary citizen. This, Brexit did a lot to teach people, and so, Labour lost heavily last December in our election. BUT, next time we have an election, there will be no equivalent of an instructive Brexit in play, so, how will the lesson be RE-taught ?

Because, it will have to be. Again and again.
Do you have any local friends/acquaintances that share your opinions?

[Drummond]

Do you have any local friends/acquaintances that share your opinions?

Good question.

I'm retired from my workplace, so the circle of friends I had there I don't regularly meet (& certainly not in these conditions !). A couple of them share some of them, though not quite with the 'mix' that match my own.

For example, I'm anti-abortion. This is not a common position, here, for people to adopt. It's NOT an issue here. Try to introduce it a a subject to care about, most won't even care about it.

It's accepted by most people that the 2003 Iraq war was an error, brought about by faulty beliefs in WMD's. I believe it was highly necessary, and I know for a fact that WMD's, albeit degraded ones, WERE found. I know this from trawling American sources ... because no British ones ever brought that to light.

My belief that we'd be a lot better off with gun ownership than as we now are: I don't know anyone who believes this.

Peoples' Conservatism varies, and mine is more in line with the American model than pretty much anyone else I know.

British people tend to distrust Labour, but few see them as the pernicious all-controlling social cancer that I do. I know of nobody who'll want them disbanded, as I do.

I think it's true to say that I do know people who believe in ASPECTS of my total philosophy. Their extent of it ... it varies.

I don't know if that answers you.

In fact ... the most regular contacts I have are from those who strongly oppose me. I'm in regular email contact with them, & when I'm not debating or pontificating here, chances are that I'm fighting my ideological 'war' with them !!

I usually win. Of course ...

[High_Plains_Drifter]

I tell ya... I have bad feeling about all this... just a gut feeling... that this is going to get real bad.

I hope I'm wrong... but unfortunately my intuition has been pretty reliable in the past.

[icansayit]

We're spoiled. Really, really, really Miss seeing all of the kiddies (grandchildren). They all are home with their parents...no more school in Virginia, or N. Carolina. Our oldest grandson supposed to Graduate High School in June...THAT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!

Aside from feeling sorry for ourselves...safe here where we are. How sad we are for all of them.

Everone out there in DP land...take care. Stay away from crowds. It's GOTTA get better!

Lord Willin'

https://fbcd.co/product-lg/d58834ac4040cee9a452018743a9d6a9_resize.jpg

[High_Plains_Drifter]

We're spoiled. Really, really, really Miss seeing all of the kiddies (grandchildren). They all are home with their parents...no more school in Virginia, or N. Carolina. Our oldest grandson supposed to Graduate High School in June...THAT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!

Aside from feeling sorry for ourselves...safe here where we are. How sad we are for all of them.

Everone out there in DP land...take care. Stay away from crowds. It's GOTTA get better!

Lord Willin'




Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition...

[Drummond]

Forgive my tasteless 'British spin' ...

12430

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Been texting with some of my friends around the country, from my buddy that I worked with at Reno Harley Davidson that's now driving a truck on the west coast and lives in Oregon, to my old AF buddy that lives in Washington, to my ex wife in Penn, and I'll tell ya, things are starting to get spooky.

I'm beginning to wonder myself how much longer before some people go full blown panic, and that would just snow ball into all out anarchy panic.

[Kathianne]

Been texting with some of my friends around the country, from my buddy that I worked with at Reno Harley Davidson that's now driving a truck on the west coast and lives in Oregon, to my old AF buddy that lives in Washington, to my ex wife in Penn, and I'll tell ya, things are starting to get spooky.

I'm beginning to wonder myself how much longer before some people go full blown panic, and that would just snow ball into all out anarchy panic.

It seems to me that folks are adjusting and most sort of just waiting to see what pans out. My kids and spouses are all working from home. Once they put the stay at home in place, they accepted it and have pretty much stayed in, though taking family/dog walks. My youngest and his wife, both being runners and bikers, stopped before being told to.

I suppose my brother has the most news. He is the Park District Liaison Officer. LOL! They made up the management title 10 years ago when he retired from the police department as Deputy Chief. He does the hiring of what they call Park Ambassadors who make sure that events are scheduled correctly and other departments that need to be given notice or needed to assist are told what, when, and how many people are needed. Most often it is the police that need to assist in one way or another, thus the Park District manager really wanted him when he knew he was coming available. It's always, 'who you know.'

His wife has quite a few health issues and their plans had been to retire to FL when he retired from the police department. Then my dad got sick and then their son, Jay. Obviously it was Jay's health that changed their plans to stay in Chicago area so long. Back in the fall, they found a community they liked in Sarasota area. Their daughter and family live on some island off of Tampa, so they are just over an hour away.

So they decided to build in this golf community, they are supposed to close in August. Paula, my SIL, got sick over the holidays and decided to go to FL after getting out of the hospital. Chicago was just too cold. She went to stay with Julie. She was supposed to come home this Sunday.

Anyways, my brother had decided to meet up with his old gang at Myrtle Beach for golf this past week, fly home, then fly to get Paula and drive back. Last week I went to call him and see if that was still his plan. No answer. Called Paula and she said, "I just talked to him, he cannot fly! He cannot traipse around and then get me." I said, "That is why I was trying to get a hold of him." "Well I told him, Eric (Julie's husband the doctor), told him. No flying! Even if you are healthy enough for no symptoms, not a good idea to come and get in a car with Paula." Then all his friends said their wives wouldn't let them fly either. LOL!

So then the plan became he'd rent a car and drive down earlier. The Park District had closed, but he or one of his ambassadors walked each park every day to make sure all the facilities were locked and in good order. He decided a couple days before to cook all the food left in refrigerator and bring it to Jay's family. One of Paula's docs called when he was at Jay's and heard the kids-being homeschooled. Told Jim he'd have to be self-quarantined for at minimum 14 days before being around Paula. LOL! So, he's still walking the parks.

On a more somber note, 2 of their police officers have tested positive, along with some firefighter/paramedics. So far no symptoms, but they now have a lot of folks that can't work. I think that got him more serious about serious.

So that is what I think is going to be our new normal for awhile. Slow awakenings, some worries, and some just carrying on.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Just surfed the channel over to Water's World and heard what I consider some good news, finally. He had a NYC doctor on that said they're learning by leaps and bounds about how to handle this virus daily, but he went on to say, and this was the important, good news part, he said that after extensive analyzing and crunching the data, that the number one way a person can catch the virus is, touch something or someone that's infected, and then TOUCH YOUR FACE. He said that if you practice social distancing and wash your hands, and keep washing your hands, and DON'T TOUCH YOUR FACE, that you can lower your chances of catching the virus down to virtually ZERO.

[Drummond]

Just surfed the channel over to Water's World and heard what I consider some good news, finally. He had a NYC doctor on that said they're learning by leaps and bounds about how to handle this virus daily, but he went on to say, and this was the important, good news part, he said that after extensive analyzing and crunching the data, that the number way a person can catch the virus is, touch something or someone that's infected, and then TOUCH YOUR FACE. He said that if you practice social distancing and wash your hands, and keep washing your hands, and DON'T TOUCH YOUR FACE, that you can lower your chances of catching the virus down to virtually ZERO.

Is this new ? Our people have been saying this for weeks.

.... Mind you .... you'd have to figure that those 'who know best' aren't nearly as sure of such advice as they'd argue. Otherwise, why the official insistence of keeping 2 metres (around 6 feet) away from other people .. ?

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Is this new ? Our people have been saying this for weeks.

.... Mind you .... you'd have to figure that those 'who know best' aren't nearly as sure of such advice as they'd argue. Otherwise, why the official insistence of keeping 2 metres (around 6 feet) away from other people .. ?
I don't think it's "new," but I think it's something that they now realize is one of the most important factors pertaining to how people catch it, thus how to prevent catching it.

The 6' social distancing is also important, actually all measures are important, but since this doctor was working on the front lines with it, he said they're noticing that the people that keep washing their hands, using the disinfectant, and do NOT TOUCH THEIR FACE, NO MATTER WHAT, they're not getting sick.

[Kathianne]

I don't think it's "new," but I think it's something that they now realize is one of the most important factors pertaining how people catch it.

The 6' social distancing is also important, actually all measures are important, but since this doctor was working on the front lines with it, he said they're noticing that the people that keep washing their hands, using the disinfectant, and do NOT TOUCH THEIR FACE, NO MATTER WHAT, they're not getting sick.
It's good advice and follow it. At the same time, they've been saying that from the start. Healthcare workers, especially doctors and nurses know and I'm sure, follow it. Yet, in some hospitals over 20% of their workers are sick.

2 days ago, we passed the 1k dead. Today we passed 2k.

I'm not trying to be a downer, but we have to try and give good information.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

It's good advice and follow it. At the same time, they've been saying that from the start. Healthcare workers, especially doctors and nurses know and I'm sure, follow it. Yet, in some hospitals over 20% of their workers are sick.

2 days ago, we passed the 1k dead. Today we passed 2k.

I'm not trying to be a downer, but we have to try and give good information.
You can certainly still catch it different ways, especially through the air from someone coughing or sneezing, and not having any PPE.

But as far as not touching your face when you've been out and about, some people don't get it the first time they hear it, or the second, or the third, some people are stupid, and they have to be told a dozen times before it sinks in. Always keep in mind, the average IQ of Americans is only 98.

[Kathianne]

You can certainly still catch it different ways, especially through the air from someone coughing or sneezing, and not having any PPE.
Indeed, but likely the healthcare workers did have PPE, they are concerned much more about coming days. Some have been taking selfies in trash bags and such, but those have tended to be to light a fire under those who can supply.

It's a widespread problem, as I wrote yesterday, the cops my brother told me about had gloves and masks, same with the other first responders in that city.

[Kathianne]

Been seeing park pictures in NYC and LA:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=83&amp;v=e0-2XxgHIXk&amp;feature=emb_logo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=83&v=e0-2XxgHIXk&feature=emb_logo)

[se7en]

https://youtu.be/-tlle0_W9cM

[se7en]

Direct link to his channel really good information


https://youtu.be/y2Y3RyLP8zQ

[SassyLady]

Just surfed the channel over to Water's World and heard what I consider some good news, finally. He had a NYC doctor on that said they're learning by leaps and bounds about how to handle this virus daily, but he went on to say, and this was the important, good news part, he said that after extensive analyzing and crunching the data, that the number one way a person can catch the virus is, touch something or someone that's infected, and then TOUCH YOUR FACE. He said that if you practice social distancing and wash your hands, and keep washing your hands, and DON'T TOUCH YOUR FACE, that you can lower your chances of catching the virus down to virtually ZERO.

He also said wearing mask makes you more aware of touching your face so wear one if you have them.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Direct link to his channel really good information


That's EXACTLY the point I made earlier in the topic of walmart putting up shields for it's checkers. Sure the shields will protect the checker from anyone sneezing or coughing on THEM, but it won't do ANYTHING to protect ANYONE from the checker passing on the virus if they touched an item(s) that an infected person has touched. They're just going to pass it on to everyone's items behind the infected person that checked out in front of them. So if you go shopping, people seriously need to spray, wipe, do whatever to disinfect every single item they buy. Treat it like it's covered with the virus. It just might save your life.

[Drummond]

He also said wearing mask makes you more aware of touching your face so wear one if you have them.

This definitely counts as a significant difference of approach between your country and mine.

Official advice has always been to say that masks obtainable (if they even are) by the general public have limited usefulness at absolute best, and most probably none at all. So, were you to walk around on British streets, or (God forbid !!) travel on the London Underground, mask-wearers would only be a small minority. It's also been pointed out that such masks aren't made to be for general sale, anyway.

Listening to the radio, just minutes ago, a presenter came out as strongly 'anti'. He just said that if you buy a mask, that's one less mask available to a health worker: the point being that damage caused by buying one is potentially far greater than not doing so.

could buy one, if I tried ... I definitely won't.]

[Drummond]

That's EXACTLY the point I made earlier when the topic of walmart putting up shields for it's checkers. Sure the shields will protect the checker from anyone sneezing or coughing, but it won't do ANYTHING to protect ANYONE from the checker passing on the virus if they touched an item(s) that an infected person has touched. They're just going to pass it on to everyone behind the infected person that checked out in front of them. So if you go shopping, people seriously need to spray, wipe, do whatever to disinfect every single item they buy. Treat it like it covered with the virus.

I've heard of ONE chain of supermarket (not sure, but it might be Morrisons) who've put up shields. More generally, supermarkets on relying on strictly governing how many people can be in the store at any one time, and this leads to queues outside them ... with 2-metre distances (6 feet, in non-EU money !!) insisted upon between customers queuing.

They're also strongly encouraged to pay for goods by card, not cash, to help stop the contact that handling money would require.

[Must check to see what Asda are doing: they're the British chain owned by Walmart !]

[Drummond]

I've heard of ONE chain of supermarket (not sure, but it might be Morrisons) who've put up shields. More generally, supermarkets on relying on strictly governing how many people can be in the store at any one time, and this leads to queues outside them ... with 2-metre distances (6 feet, in non-EU money !!) insisted upon between customers queuing.

They're also strongly encouraged to pay for goods by card, not cash, to help stop the contact that handling money would require.

[Must check to see what Asda are doing: they're the British chain owned by Walmart !]

--- Just did check ... found this:

https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/asda-new-measures-prevent-coronavirus-3979841


Asda will increase its social distancing measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus by limiting the number of customers in its stores.
From Wednesday, Asda will implement social distancing measures to ensure customers and staff are follow the Government guidelines to stay two metres apart.

The supermarket chain will limit the number of customers entering its stores, with members of staff at entrances maintaining how many shoppers can enter.

Customers are also being asked to only touch what they intend to purchase and to use cashless payment methods wherever possible.

Asda will also be installing Perspex screens at its checkouts, pharmacies and service desks to minimise contact. It will also close all Scan and Go checkouts.

CEO and president Roger Burnley said: “It has never been more important for us to work together to keep our distance.

The 'Scan and Go' closures interest me ... Iceland, another supermarket chain, have been busily converting all of their business to Scan and Go ... it's been seen, here, as the future of supermarket shopping ! After all this, I think our people will need to have a big rethink !

[Kathianne]

It looks like Brazil is going to give herd immunity build up a try from the get go. Drummond:

https://hotair.com/archives/jazz-shaw/2020/03/29/brazillian-president-well-rely-natural-immunity/


Even if you’re one of the people who has been dissatisfied with the coronavirus pandemic response from the White House, look on the bright side. Things could always be worse. For example, you could be living in Brazil. Their president, Jair Bolsonaro, is taking a decidedly different approach from virtually every other country. And that response is to do basically… nothing. That’s right. He’s declared that the “natural immunity” of Brazilians will see them through this “little flu” and everything will be just fine. (Associated Press)


On Thursday, Bolsonaro told reporters in the capital, Brasilia, that he feels Brazilians’ natural immunity will protect the nation.


“The Brazilian needs to be studied. He doesn’t catch anything. You see a guy jumping into sewage, diving in, right? Nothing happens to him. I think a lot of people were already infected in Brazil, weeks or months ago, and they already have the antibodies that help it not proliferate,” Bolsonaro said. “I’m hopeful that’s really a reality.”


A video titled “Brazil Cannot Stop” that circulated on social media drew a rebuke from Monica de Bolle, a Brazilian senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.


Bolsonaro claims that he’s modeling his response after that of Donald Trump. I take it they don’t get CNN in Brazil? Trump just threatened to forcibly quarantine one of the biggest cities in the world.


While I’m not sure if vivid descriptions of Brazilians jumping into sewage is the sort of image that the country’s tourism board is going for, their president is placing a substantially large wager here. He’s banking on herd immunity to carry them through, somehow mixed with a belief that Brazilians have a stronger, superior natural immunity than everyone else. It’s natural for a president to want to display pride in his fellow countrymen, but I’m pretty sure there’s no medical science to back up that claim.


He’ll be finding out soon enough. Brazil is already closing in on 4,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 100 have already died. If he’s telling people to disregard the social distancing and isolation precautions being urged by his provincial governors and everyone is back out on the streets, those numbers will swell.


Or will they? We keep hearing that the novel coronavirus will be less prevalent in the warmer summer months. And it’s currently late summer in Brazil. As crazy as it sounds, Brazilians may have to hope for some sort of benefit from that fact. Looking over their statistics, it’s a bit early to tell. They didn’t begin recording any infected patients until roughly three weeks ago. As of yesterday, of the 3,784 active, confirmed cases of the disease, 3,488 (92%) reported mild symptoms while 296 (8%) were listed in serious or critical condition.


Meanwhile, The Atlantic has declared Bolsonaro the “leader of the coronavirus denial movement.” History will be the judge of this (along with the country’s voters at the next election), but if the wheels start coming off entirely, Bolsonaro will be seen as doing far worse than simply having an “insufficient response.” He’s actively criticizing his governors who imposed lockdowns to slow the spread of the virus, accusing them of destroying the country’s economy.


If the death toll surges dramatically, Brazil’s president will be taking almost all of the blame. In the meantime, for the sake of the people of Brazil, we should all be hoping that he’s not as entirely crazy as he sounds and the summer heat keeps the spread of the epidemic to a minimum.

[Drummond]

It looks like Brazil is going to give herd immunity build up a try from the get go. @Drummond (http://www.debatepolicy.com/member.php?u=2287):

https://hotair.com/archives/jazz-shaw/2020/03/29/brazillian-president-well-rely-natural-immunity/

Yes, well ...

Where Brazil's leadership is concerned, certainly compared with that of the UK ... there's a big difference.

Bolsonaro is an escapist idiot. Moreover, clearly, a dangerous one.

Exactly the opposite is true of Boris Johnson.

Bolsonaro's mindset seems to be one of deciding whatever he wants, believing that no consequences come of it. His dismissal of the threat posed by unrestrained logging activities in the Amazon, for example, sets the pace for observing a leader whose ego overcomes any association with reality, purely out of choice.

So it is with Covid-19.

The herd immunity principle IS scientifically sound, and ultimately would've worked. The big problem with it, as our people belatedly realised, is that it would have been too expensive to human life in its earlier stages.

I regard Bolsonaro as a disgrace to the Conservative Cause (.. & yes, I'm well aware that Tailfins likes him !). A decent Conservative is, and always will be, one dealing in, and being grounded in, REALITY. This is true for Boris, and it's why he changed course.

Bolsonaro is dangerous to his own people. His people, given a high infection rate, AND any ability to spread it beyond Brazil, may become a danger to the wider world, and certainly NOT one any of us needs !

[Kathianne]

Listening to the presser of the virus group, including the President.

Social distancing continues now until 4/30. Easter was an aspiration, 'we're not taking a chance that we get the line down, to have it rise again. Everything would start over again, can't do that.'

'Without the mitigation, multiple models had the US deaths over 2M deaths, too high. I feel much better about what we did last week. 2.2T doesn't seem so much looking at over 2M dead. Looking still at close to 200T dead, hoping to keep it lower, but that's so much better than 2+M.'

More explanation from Birx: Model we have most confidence in, WITH MITIGATION we are looking at 80T-200T dead-peak should be in around 2 weeks. WITHOUT MITIGATION we are looking at the 2M loss.

It's bad, but without mitigation, doing nothing, it's much worse.

We're hopeful that the end of April will be late in the downward movement of the curve, to prevent a new rise when the mitigation is eased.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Wisconsin up to 1,157 cases, 606 of those in Milwaukee Co, and 172 in Dane Co, where our 2 largest cities are located, 18 dead. A mortality rate of 1.56%

Still only 1 case in my county, still only 3 in the county east of me, but 2 cases now in the county to the north. Still feeling pretty good about that. That's a lot of area, and since the "safer at home" order was given in WI, I should be relatively safe to shop in our local grocery store, but regardless, I'd spray and wipe anything I buy, and treat it as though it was infected.

[se7en]

Wisconsin up to 1,157 cases, 606 of those in Milwaukee Co, and 172 in Dane Co, where our 2 largest cities are located, 18 dead. A mortality rate of 1.56%

Still only 1 case in my county, still only 3 in the county east of me, but 2 cases now in the county to the north. Still feeling pretty good about that. That's a lot of area, and since the "safer at home" order was given in WI, I should be relatively safe to shop in our local grocery store, but regardless, I'd spray and wipe anything I buy, and treat it as though it was infected.

The problem i see is , they are not even giving the town the infected person is in , Putting everyone at risk .
As that town now has people carrying it around with out knowing it ,

This is Almost the perfect weapon to overthrow the USA ..Just add a EMP and the takeover will be complete in 6 months ,once winter hits again
Let the Hunger Games Begin ,

[Kathianne]

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-doctor-in-italy-says-new-innovative-treatments-flattening-the-curve/

Finally, some good news out of that country.

[Kathianne]

Early, but possibly very good news.

https://www.captainsjournal.com/2020/03/29/the-current-trajectory-of-confirmed-covid-19-cases-in-america/

The Current Trajectory Of Confirmed Covid-19 Cases In America
BY HERSCHEL SMITH
14 hours, 40 minutes ago
In my ongoing coverage and analysis of Covid-19 in America (updated almost daily), I included a much earlier graph with a curve fit, at the time, exponential and with a very high correlation coefficient. The graph from 3/23 looked like this.

https://www.captainsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/Covid-19_3-23-300x155.jpg

The doubling time was computed as:


ln(2) / 0.2988 = 2.32 days


The graph has been unsettled lately, until last night and today. I have received requests to update the curve. I said I would have to jettison the exponential curve fit and go with a polynomial (see original post), and today I did that. The exponential model was massively over-predicting cases going forward and the correlation coefficient had begun to degrade. The revised curve is below.

https://www.captainsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/Covid-19_3-29-300x155.jpg

There is a remarkable difference. The doubling time depends on where you are on the graph. It’s a third-order polynomial. Currently, the doubling time is 4.1 days, versus the value of 2.32 days computed not too many days ago. The correlation coefficient is very high, and the curve is stable and well-behaved.


Here I am not weighing in on or performing analysis of the reasons for this. There could be many, or only one, or some combination of causes. Some readers may posit “social distancing,” others may point out that the testing rate has change because slightly symptomatic patients are not being tested, others may postulate that herd immunity may be playing a factor (i.e., it’s possible that many millions of Americans have already been exposed to and infected with the virus and had little to no problem with it), and still others may postulate that PPEs, hygiene protocol and the reluctance to go to hospitals may be playing a role (my own daughter, a surgical NP and first assist who also has to spend copious time in the ER) observes that numbers of patients entering hospital care is down.


Again, I am making no claim whatsoever as to reasons for this. I am only mathematically modeling this phenomenon, and I can conclusively say that there is a remarkable difference between doubling time and trajectory today and a week ago.


UPDATE:


Per request, this is a picture of the previous exponential fit versus the polynomial fit. It’s QAD (quick and dirty), with no bells and whistles.

https://www.captainsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/CurveFit_Comparison-300x153.jpg

[High_Plains_Drifter]

The problem i see is , they are not even giving the town the infected person is in , Putting everyone at risk .
As that town now has people carrying it around with out knowing it ,

This is Almost the perfect weapon to overthrow the USA ..Just add a EMP and the takeover will be complete in 6 months ,once winter hits again
Let the Hunger Games Begin ,
Yeah I keep looking to see if I can find where the infected person is from. They don't have to give out any names, or even a home address, but the TOWN would be nice to know. Grant Co is a big county. I'd like to know if the person infected here is in Muscoda or some town way down by Dubuque. There's a lot of area between here and there. But, they're not saying, and I agree, I think the public has the right to know what town the infected people are from. I'd like to know the reasoning behind NOT telling us.

[Drummond]

Early, but possibly very good news.

https://www.captainsjournal.com/2020/03/29/the-current-trajectory-of-confirmed-covid-19-cases-in-america/

The Current Trajectory Of Confirmed Covid-19 Cases In America
BY HERSCHEL SMITH
14 hours, 40 minutes ago
In my ongoing coverage and analysis of Covid-19 in America (updated almost daily), I included a much earlier graph with a curve fit, at the time, exponential and with a very high correlation coefficient. The graph from 3/23 looked like this.

https://www.captainsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/Covid-19_3-23-300x155.jpg

The doubling time was computed as:


ln(2) / 0.2988 = 2.32 days


The graph has been unsettled lately, until last night and today. I have received requests to update the curve. I said I would have to jettison the exponential curve fit and go with a polynomial (see original post), and today I did that. The exponential model was massively over-predicting cases going forward and the correlation coefficient had begun to degrade. The revised curve is below.

https://www.captainsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/Covid-19_3-29-300x155.jpg

There is a remarkable difference. The doubling time depends on where you are on the graph. It’s a third-order polynomial. Currently, the doubling time is 4.1 days, versus the value of 2.32 days computed not too many days ago. The correlation coefficient is very high, and the curve is stable and well-behaved.


Here I am not weighing in on or performing analysis of the reasons for this. There could be many, or only one, or some combination of causes. Some readers may posit “social distancing,” others may point out that the testing rate has change because slightly symptomatic patients are not being tested, others may postulate that herd immunity may be playing a factor (i.e., it’s possible that many millions of Americans have already been exposed to and infected with the virus and had little to no problem with it), and still others may postulate that PPEs, hygiene protocol and the reluctance to go to hospitals may be playing a role (my own daughter, a surgical NP and first assist who also has to spend copious time in the ER) observes that numbers of patients entering hospital care is down.


Again, I am making no claim whatsoever as to reasons for this. I am only mathematically modeling this phenomenon, and I can conclusively say that there is a remarkable difference between doubling time and trajectory today and a week ago.


UPDATE:


Per request, this is a picture of the previous exponential fit versus the polynomial fit. It’s QAD (quick and dirty), with no bells and whistles.

https://www.captainsjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/CurveFit_Comparison-300x153.jpg

Yes, I'd be 'guardedly hopeful' that what you're seeing is good news for the virus's spread.

The UK's position is different. Our stats are copying Italy, the trend nearly identical, at least for now. We're bracing ourselves for an approaching 'tsunami' of infections needing treatment.

The official approach, too, is rather more pessimistic than what we're seeing of America's. We have a review of our position due in two weeks from now, but speculation is strong that we may not relax our lockdown fully for another SIX MONTHS.

We're being prepared for such an eventuality. Thinking here is that, if/when a relaxation of our lockdown occurs, it'll need to be phased, to see if the steps taken are merited, or, provably too premature.

Boris has arranged for every UK address to receive an official letter in the next few days. Reportedly, it warns that our lockdown may become MORE draconian still in the coming days and weeks.

James O'Brien, on LBC, in an anti-Trump tirade, 'reminded' his listeners that 'Trump said the virus problem would be over by Easter'.

[Kathianne]

Yes, I'd be 'guardedly hopeful' that what you're seeing is good news for the virus's spread.

The UK's position is different. Our stats are copying Italy, the trend nearly identical, at least for now. We're bracing ourselves for an approaching 'tsunami' of infections needing treatment.

The official approach, too, is rather more pessimistic than what we're seeing of America's. We have a review of our position due in two weeks from now, but speculation is strong that we may not relax our lockdown fully for another SIX MONTHS.

We're being prepared for such an eventuality. Thinking here is that, if/when a relaxation of our lockdown occurs, it'll need to be phased, to see if the steps taken are merited, or, provably too premature.

Boris has arranged for every UK address to receive an official letter in the next few days. Reportedly, it warns that our lockdown may become MORE draconian still in the coming days and weeks.

James O'Brien, on LBC, in an anti-Trump tirade, 'reminded' his listeners that 'Trump said the virus problem would be over by Easter'.

They don't get to vote for Trump, so he won't care. I don't think most here are surprised, the left jumps on his talk, the right doesn't care. Those in the middle just get distressed at the extremes and find themselves flinging back and forth in support and distancing on his choices.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

UPS just dropped off my oxycodone refill. It's still laying on the back porch. I'll treat it as though it IS infected and give it the whole treatment, spray it with disinfectant before I touch it, then empty the bottle into one of mine, then throw the bottle away, then WASH MY HANDS GOOD.

Far as I'm concerned, that is the ONLY way I'll catch the shit, is TOUCH something that's INFECTED.

Just sprayed it down with disinfectant, going to let it lay there for a few days.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Here ya go... WHY I HATE Madison, WI. The ASS CLOWNS over at the UW just can NOT QUIT with their STUPID leftist games...

----------------------

U. of Wisconsin: Blaming Chinese Virus on China Is “Racist”

Administrators at the University of Wisconsin, Madison condemned a series of “anti-China” chalk messages that appeared this week. One chalk message referred to the “Chinese virus” while another blamed the ongoing pandemic on the Chinese government. The University’s chancellor referred to the chalking as “racist behavior.”

According to a report by Campus Reform, the University of Wisconsin, Madison is fighting back against a series of anonymous “anti-China” chalk messages that appeared on campus this week.

In a statement, University of Wisconsin, Madison Chancellor Rebecca Black argued that China is not responsible for the pandemic. She went on to suggest that the chalk messages were “racist.”

BULL SHIT!!

“No one person, country, or ethnicity created this pandemic — disease does not discriminate,” Chancellor Blank stated in the email to all students and faculty. “We want to be clear that racist behaviors or stereotyping of any kind are not tolerated at UW-Madison — no matter if we are online, passing others in public, or quarantined at home.”

SORRY, "Blank," but you don't get to DICTATE to ANYONE what they do when NOT ON YOUR SICKENING LEFTIST INDOCTRINATION CENTER'S grounds... FUCK OFF.

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2020/03/29/u-of-wisconsin-chalking-blaming-chinese-virus-on-china-is-racist/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3OCeCa_PD6pipUSdY2fd_FI2v47WGtsCy-jVgf-6hTMvvDvKma7kV5rdA

This shit just ticks me off. It's why Wisconsin has it's GRAND share of LEFTIST ASS CLOWNS. They come out of that BRAIN WASHING UW campus.

[Black Diamond]

Are Spaniards angry about the Spanish flu being called that?

[Kathianne]

Another very positive sign, Seattle flattening the curve?

https://hotair.com/archives/allahpundit/2020/03/30/signs-emerging-seattle-flattened-curve/

Signs Emerging That Seattle Has Flattened The Curve
ALLAHPUNDITPosted at 11:31 am on March 30, 2020

I remember a researcher who’s tracking the genomes of strains in the Seattle area saying earlier this month, “January 1 in Wuhan was March 1 in Seattle.” Washington state could experience the same disaster that China did, he said — if nothing was done urgently to mitigate the disease’s spread. But something was done. Seattle was among the first places in the U.S. to encourage stringent social distancing.


Result: Wuhan had to be locked down on January 23 in an urgent attempt to stop the virus’s spread. Whereas Seattle is now 29 days removed from March 1 and the contagion has slowed, based on the available (and incomplete) evidence. Hospitals there aren’t overrun. There’s no Wuhan scenario brewing for the moment. And there might not be one if people there continue to hunker down this month.


How easily can Seattle be replicated elsewhere, though?


Deaths are not rising as fast as they are in other states. Dramatic declines in street traffic show that people are staying home. Hospitals have so far not been overwhelmed. And preliminary statistical models provided to public officials in Washington State suggest that the spread of the virus has slowed in the Seattle area in recent days.


While each infected person was spreading the virus to an average of 2.7 other people earlier in March, that number appears to have dropped, with one projection suggesting that it was now down to 1.4…


With so many states now deep in crisis, the signs of provisional success in the Seattle area offer a lesson for other cities and regions that are just beginning to see the onset of the coronavirus: Early and aggressive action to contain the spread may help lower the trajectory of a virus that could otherwise overwhelm health systems.


...

There’s another story of social-distancing success on the wires today but I don’t know how replicable that is either. Remember that one-mile “containment zone” that Andrew Cuomo ordered for a hot spot in New Rochelle? Locals were able to go in and out, but teams of medical workers were sent in to test residents aggressively for coronavirus while the National Guard was tasked with deep cleaning spaces and handing out food. Three weeks later, New Rochelle appears to have flattened the curve too as nearby NYC is exploding with infections. Residents have become true believers in social distancing — and widespread testing:


“In the beginning, it felt like house arrest,” said Samuel Heilman, a New Rochelle resident whose family was among those ordered to self-quarantine on March 3. The families had all attended the same synagogue, Young Israel of New Rochelle, as a lawyer who was the first person diagnosed with the coronavirus in the community.


“In effect, it felt like we were being punished,” Mr. Heilman said. “But the punishment turned out to be a blessing in disguise. This is really a case of perspective.”…


Westchester County has adopted an aggressive testing philosophy: More than 29,000 of the county’s less than one million residents have been tested, according to the county Department of Health, with 7,187 positive for Covid-19 as of Friday. Statewide, about 138,000 people have been tested.


NYC has eight times the population of New Rochelle but has done only twice as many tests. Over the past four days, there have been just 38 new cases in New Rochelle. All we need to do now is set up a containment zone for every hot spot in America and test the hell out of them to determine who’s sick and needs to self-quarantine and who isn’t. Piece of cake.


Or, alternately, we could be disciplined this month about social distancing. Which not all of us are being:

...

and on a personal point:

One more data point for you and everyone else who might be in a state right now, like Arizona (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/30/arizona-coronavirus-covid-19-lockdown-shelter-in-place), that’s taking its time to close down big gatherings:

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1241544249046380544/_BbWntWr_bigger.jpg (https://twitter.com/StephanieJolly)Stephanie Jolly@StephanieJolly
(https://twitter.com/StephanieJolly)

(https://twitter.com/StephanieJolly/status/1243995698980405249)


As of March 27th. Governor @AndyBeshearKY (https://twitter.com/AndyBeshearKY) announces KY residents should avoid traveling across the border unless essential. University testing continues in both states: KY reporting + only; TN reporting + and -

High-res PDFs: http://bit.ly/March27PDF (https://t.co/dtxqKC2tXp) #TogetherKy (https://twitter.com/hashtag/TogetherKy?src=hash) #TNStayApart (https://twitter.com/hashtag/TNStayApart?src=hash)
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUONowWXgAAQpOr?format=jpg&name=small (https://twitter.com/StephanieJolly/status/1243995698980405249/photo/1)https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EUONowWXYAEqrxF?format=jpg&name=small (https://twitter.com/StephanieJolly/status/1243995698980405249/photo/1)




18 (https://twitter.com/intent/like?tweet_id=1243995698980405249)
1:17 PM - Mar 28, 2020 (https://twitter.com/StephanieJolly/status/1243995698980405249)
Twitter Ads info and privacy (https://support.twitter.com/articles/20175256)





See Stephanie Jolly's other Tweets


(https://twitter.com/StephanieJolly)







Click on the image in the tweet to enlarge it, and note the difference on when schools were asked to close. It’s only a few days, but a few days is all it takes to make a difference with something that grows exponentially.

...

[Kathianne]

and just moments later, THIS comes across my news alerts:

https://www.abc15.com/news/state/coronavirus-in-arizona-tracking-latest-cases-covid-19-updates-in-our-state?fbclid=IwAR3s_bspKbJRmm2yoEVdL-GuVEd2VB-K8VHRIbsukgERyPDhqS2IRqVTuBY

Coronavirus in Arizona: Tracking latest cases, COVID-19 updates in our state
Posted: 2:25 PM, Mar 21, 2020 Updated: 9:12 AM, Mar 30, 2020
By: abc15.com staff

NUMBER OF CASES IN ARIZONA


According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, here are the latest totals of those tested and those who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Arizona. This was last updated on March 30, 2020.


Number of deaths: 20
Number of cases: 1157
Number of total tested: 16,759, at both private and state labs


Community transmission:
Widespread


Case locations by county:
Maricopa: 690
Pinal: 64
Coconino: 71
Pima: 187
Navajo: 88
Yavapai: 15
Apache: 17
Cochise: 4
Graham: 2
Santa Cruz: 2
Yuma: 6
Mohave: 7
La Paz: 2
Gila: 1
Greenlee: 1
Gila River Indian Community: 1
Navajo Nation: 128 cases, 2 deaths
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community: 1

[Abbey Marie]

and just moments later, THIS comes across my news alerts:

https://www.abc15.com/news/state/coronavirus-in-arizona-tracking-latest-cases-covid-19-updates-in-our-state?fbclid=IwAR3s_bspKbJRmm2yoEVdL-GuVEd2VB-K8VHRIbsukgERyPDhqS2IRqVTuBY

Coronavirus in Arizona: Tracking latest cases, COVID-19 updates in our state
Posted: 2:25 PM, Mar 21, 2020 Updated: 9:12 AM, Mar 30, 2020
By: abc15.com staff

NUMBER OF CASES IN ARIZONA


According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, here are the latest totals of those tested and those who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Arizona. This was last updated on March 30, 2020.


Number of deaths: 20
Number of cases: 1157
Number of total tested: 16,759, at both private and state labs


Community transmission:
Widespread


Case locations by county:
Maricopa: 690
Pinal: 64
Coconino: 71
Pima: 187
Navajo: 88
Yavapai: 15
Apache: 17
Cochise: 4
Graham: 2
Santa Cruz: 2
Yuma: 6
Mohave: 7
La Paz: 2
Gila: 1
Greenlee: 1
Gila River Indian Community: 1
Navajo Nation: 128 cases, 2 deaths
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community: 1

Are you Pinal?

[Kathianne]

Are you Pinal?
Yep, we're just outside of Maricopa.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Uh-oooh... @Drummond (http://www.debatepolicy.com/member.php?u=2287) ... looks like the UK is setting up a snitches hotline...

--------------------

Corona Snitches: Police Create Web Portal to Inform on Neighbours

A local police force in the United Kingdom has established an online portal for members of the public to inform on people suspected of breaking national lockdown measures.

Humberside Police in northern England has built a website for citizens to inform on their neighbours for violating the government’s rules on daily exercise and social distancing.

The website was crafted after the police force was inundated with reports of alleged violations to their non-emergency phone line, according to ITV.

“Reports will be assessed based on the information provided and we would ask people to please consider the circumstance before making their report,” said Chris Philpott of the Humberside Police.

“However it may be some of the reports are referred on to our partner agencies, our Local Authorities [councils] for example, who could take further action to stop gatherings in certain places,” he added.

Under the lockdown measures implemented by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, citizens permitted to leave home for their daily exercise only once per day, and public gatherings of more than two people, with the exception of families who live in the same household, have been banned.

Those who break the social distancing rules face an initial fine of £60 and £120 for a second offence.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/03/28/uk-police-create-web-portal-to-inform-on-lockdown-violations/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1-nivFEZIFJ4KMn-zxgAT06vLAsDAbtcrLOlxdZb0bxZivtxTVB34RENc

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Yep, we're just outside of Maricopa.
Have you been out at all, Kath?

I remember the through town traffic in Phoenix being 6 lanes of bumper to bumper inch worm... curious if it's gone down...

[Kathianne]

Have you been out at all, Kath?

I remember the through town traffic in Phoenix being 6 lanes of bumper to bumper inch worm... curious if it's gone down...
It's not like that here. I haven't been to Phoenix since Spring, for some shopping and entertainment. ;) It's there when I want it, but not going to live there. Never lived in Chicago or Cook County, but I still loved the city offerings.

[Kathianne]

Just a good, 'damn they're good!' Abbot again.

https://www.engadget.com/2020-03-28-abbott-covid-19-lab-in-box-test-fda.html


Lab-in-a-box test can detect COVID-19 in 5 minutesThe FDA has cleared the device for use during the pandemic.

The FDA has scrambled to allow numerous COVID-19 tests (https://www.engadget.com/2020-03-26-alphabet-verily-coronavirus-drive-thru-testing.html) in a bid to control the pandemic, but one of the latest may represent a big step forward in technology fighting the disease. Abbott (https://www.engadget.com/2017-09-28-fda-freestyle-libre-flash.html) has received (https://www.abbott.com/corpnewsroom/product-and-innovation/detect-covid-19-in-as-little-as-5-minutes.html) emergency use authorization for a variant of its toaster-sized ID NOW lab-in-a-box that can provide positive results in as soon as five minutes, and all-clear results in 13 minutes. On top of this, it's one of the few tests of its kind that can be used outside of a hospital, such as at a clinic.




The key is its use of molecular testing that looks for a small section of the SARS-CoV-2 virus' RNA and amplifying that segment until there's enough to detect. Other testing methods can take hours or days to produce viable results.
Abbott is in the midst of ramping up production and expects to deliver 50,000 of the tests per day in the US as of next week. However, one of its greatest advantages may be its existing footprint. The ID NOW platform already has the "largest" molecular testing presence in the US, and is already "widely available" in doctors' offices and emergency rooms. If all goes well, the US could both have a more accurate representation of the pandemic's scope and ensure that the infected get the right care as quickly as possible.

[Kathianne]

Not so happy reading-a long slough is right!

https://hotair.com/archives/allahpundit/2020/03/30/birx-100-200000-dead-best-case-scenario-almost-perfect-social-distancing/


Birx: 100-200,000 Dead Is The Best-Case Scenario, If We Do Almost Perfect Social Distancing
ALLAHPUNDITPosted at 1:31 pm on March 30, 2020

[High_Plains_Drifter]

It's not like that here. I haven't been to Phoenix since Spring, for some shopping and entertainment. ;) It's there when I want it, but not going to live there. Never lived in Chicago or Cook County, but I still loved the city offerings.
Yeah I lived on the far outskirts of Phoenix too, first Apache Junction and then Deer Valley to go to school. I stayed away from Phoenix at all cost. I had enough problem with the stop lights every block that seemed to last FOREVER!

[Abbey Marie]

Kind of adds a different meaning to Glen Campbell’s lyrics, “By the time I get to Phoenix...”.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

So... just got back from making the rounds downtown. Stopped at our little minimart to get some beer and told the very appreciative clerk to keep the change, $5 and something... she's kinda hot anyway so... ;)

Anyway, I'd say there's still plenty of traffic moving about, but there was people in the hardware store, and the grocery looked pretty deserted, although the shelves were all stocked.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Evidently the chinese have learned NOTHING... this is just beyond the pale...

----------------------

BACK IN BUSINESS: Chinese wet markets that unleashed coronavirus on globe have reopened — and they're still selling bats

'The markets have gone back to operating in exactly the same way as they did before coronavirus'

As the coronavirus pandemic ravages the world, China has reportedly reopened its infamous wet markets.

Wet markets are distinguished from dry markets by the selling of fresh meat, produce, and other perishable items. However, China's wet markets are notorious because exotic animals are often sold in unsanitary conditions.

In fact, the COVID-19 outbreak has been traced back to a Wuhan wet market. Horseshoe bats and exotic mammals, such as civets and pangolins, which act as hosts to the dangerous viruses that bats carry, are often sold at these markets and consumed by local Chinese people.

But that hasn't convinced China to permanently shut down the markets.

According to the Daily Mail, wet markets have reopened across China after China's communist government publicly declared victory over COVID-19.

At one market in Guilin, a southern Chinese city, a Daily Mail correspondent watched as cats and dogs were waiting to be sold for their meat.

At another market in Dongguan, a second Daily Mail correspondent photographed signs advertising the sale of bats, scorpions, snakes, lizards, and other exotic wild animals.

"Everyone here believes the outbreak is over and there's nothing to worry about any more. It's just a foreign problem now as far as they are concerned," one of the correspondents said.

The Dongguan correspondent reported that the markets are operating just as they were before the COVID-19 outbreak — except now security is stopping people from taking pictures.

"The markets have gone back to operating in exactly the same way as they did before coronavirus," the Dongguan correspondent said. "The only difference is that security guards try to stop anyone taking pictures which would never have happened before."

The Associated Press reported in February:

SARS and the current outbreak of COVID-19 are not the only diseases in people traced back to animals. The killing and sale of what is known as bushmeat in Africa is thought to be a source for Ebola. Bird flu likely came from chickens at a market in Hong Kong in 1997. Measles is believed to have evolved from a virus that infected cattle.

Scientists have not yet determined exactly how the new coronavirus first infected people. Evidence suggests it originated in bats, which infected another animal that spread it to people at a market in the southeastern city of Wuhan. The now-shuttered Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market advertised dozens of species such as giant salamanders, baby crocodiles and raccoon dogs that were often referred to as wildlife, even when they were farmed.

Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed in February to "resolutely outlaw and harshly crack down" on the illegal exotic wildlife trade in China — just as China did in the wake of the SARS outbreak nearly two decades ago — but it appears the promise was hallow.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/back-in-business-chinese-wet-markets-that-unleashed-coronavirus-on-globe-have-re-opened--and-theyre-still-selling-bats?utm_content=buffer1b9d8&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=fb-theblaze&fbclid=IwAR2M7MJq5VXuL7Oze76aQ8dyvg0S34NXj6fURoR8b 6Lh0mU1XsBvomiMORc

[Drummond]

Uh-oooh... @Drummond (http://www.debatepolicy.com/member.php?u=2287) ... looks like the UK is setting up a snitches hotline...

--------------------

Corona Snitches: Police Create Web Portal to Inform on Neighbours

A local police force in the United Kingdom has established an online portal for members of the public to inform on people suspected of breaking national lockdown measures.

Humberside Police in northern England has built a website for citizens to inform on their neighbours for violating the government’s rules on daily exercise and social distancing.

The website was crafted after the police force was inundated with reports of alleged violations to their non-emergency phone line, according to ITV.

“Reports will be assessed based on the information provided and we would ask people to please consider the circumstance before making their report,” said Chris Philpott of the Humberside Police.

“However it may be some of the reports are referred on to our partner agencies, our Local Authorities [councils] for example, who could take further action to stop gatherings in certain places,” he added.

Under the lockdown measures implemented by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, citizens permitted to leave home for their daily exercise only once per day, and public gatherings of more than two people, with the exception of families who live in the same household, have been banned.

Those who break the social distancing rules face an initial fine of £60 and £120 for a second offence.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/03/28/uk-police-create-web-portal-to-inform-on-lockdown-violations/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1-nivFEZIFJ4KMn-zxgAT06vLAsDAbtcrLOlxdZb0bxZivtxTVB34RENc

First and foremost: 'the UK' hasn't set up a snitches hotline. This is not Government run, at all. This initiative has come from one police force in Humberside, and applies specifically to Humberside Police's local jurisdiction.

More generally .... under normal conditions, cries of 'Police State' might be appropriate. But these are not, by any stretch of the imagination, normal times. Indeed, today's situation over Covid-19 could amount to the justification of a 'war footing' psychology. Normal laws and liberties can't fit.

Lockdown rules need to be kept to. Failure to, can needlessly and avoidably, KILL.

Here's a story which may have (& probably did) precipitated Humberside Police's draconian approach:

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-police-break-up-massive-karaoke-party-during-covid-19-lockdown-measures-11965352


Coronavirus: Police break up 'massive' karaoke party during UK lockdown

Derbyshire officers said they were in "absolute shock" when they attended the address on Saturday night.

The British public have been under an unprecedented lockdown for nearly a week, with people told to stay inside and avoid gatherings to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

But the government measures weren't enough to stop 25 adults and children gathering for a "massive" karaoke party on Saturday night.

Derbyshire Police said they were in "absolute shock" when they visited the address, before dispersing those in attendance and speaking with the organisers.

Group 1 Officers have just attended an address in absolute shock to find 25 adults and children having a massive party with speakers and karaoke. Everyone dispersed and hosts dealt with.

It is clear people are still having complete disregard for the Government advice and rules.

The force said on Twitter: "Officers have just attended an address in absolute shock to find 25 adults and children having a massive party with speakers and karaoke.

"Everyone dispersed and hosts dealt with.

"It is clear people are still having complete disregard for the government advice and rules."

The party came on the first weekend of the nationwide lockdown in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, where the British people have been told to stay at home for at least three weeks except for "very limited purposes".

Derbyshire isn't Humberside. But I think that Humberside were likewise shocked at the sheer irresponsibility of those revellers, and felt they had to apply a counterweight to their own community, maybe to pre-empt its equivalent happening in their own territory.

Had those revellers never been dealt with, had the participants never been identified, how many ordinary, innocent people would've suffered possibly fatal illness from ongoing infections ?

Had Humberside not acted, again, how many lives might have been needlessly put at risk ?

These are not normal times. REALISM requires a proportional and appropriate response to a lethal threat to any community.

Note -- our Government has indicated that it may feel it necessary to add to the existing lockdown rules, to tighten them. It may well be that the Derbyshire incident has forced our Government into wondering if it hasn't been quite tough enough.

[Drummond]

Evidently the chinese have learned NOTHING... this is just beyond the pale...

----------------------

BACK IN BUSINESS: Chinese wet markets that unleashed coronavirus on globe have reopened — and they're still selling bats

'The markets have gone back to operating in exactly the same way as they did before coronavirus'

As the coronavirus pandemic ravages the world, China has reportedly reopened its infamous wet markets.

Wet markets are distinguished from dry markets by the selling of fresh meat, produce, and other perishable items. However, China's wet markets are notorious because exotic animals are often sold in unsanitary conditions.

In fact, the COVID-19 outbreak has been traced back to a Wuhan wet market. Horseshoe bats and exotic mammals, such as civets and pangolins, which act as hosts to the dangerous viruses that bats carry, are often sold at these markets and consumed by local Chinese people.

But that hasn't convinced China to permanently shut down the markets.

According to the Daily Mail, wet markets have reopened across China after China's communist government publicly declared victory over COVID-19.

At one market in Guilin, a southern Chinese city, a Daily Mail correspondent watched as cats and dogs were waiting to be sold for their meat.

At another market in Dongguan, a second Daily Mail correspondent photographed signs advertising the sale of bats, scorpions, snakes, lizards, and other exotic wild animals.

"Everyone here believes the outbreak is over and there's nothing to worry about any more. It's just a foreign problem now as far as they are concerned," one of the correspondents said.

The Dongguan correspondent reported that the markets are operating just as they were before the COVID-19 outbreak — except now security is stopping people from taking pictures.

"The markets have gone back to operating in exactly the same way as they did before coronavirus," the Dongguan correspondent said. "The only difference is that security guards try to stop anyone taking pictures which would never have happened before."

The Associated Press reported in February:

SARS and the current outbreak of COVID-19 are not the only diseases in people traced back to animals. The killing and sale of what is known as bushmeat in Africa is thought to be a source for Ebola. Bird flu likely came from chickens at a market in Hong Kong in 1997. Measles is believed to have evolved from a virus that infected cattle.

Scientists have not yet determined exactly how the new coronavirus first infected people. Evidence suggests it originated in bats, which infected another animal that spread it to people at a market in the southeastern city of Wuhan. The now-shuttered Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market advertised dozens of species such as giant salamanders, baby crocodiles and raccoon dogs that were often referred to as wildlife, even when they were farmed.

Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed in February to "resolutely outlaw and harshly crack down" on the illegal exotic wildlife trade in China — just as China did in the wake of the SARS outbreak nearly two decades ago — but it appears the promise was hallow.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/back-in-business-chinese-wet-markets-that-unleashed-coronavirus-on-globe-have-re-opened--and-theyre-still-selling-bats?utm_content=buffer1b9d8&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=fb-theblaze&fbclid=IwAR2M7MJq5VXuL7Oze76aQ8dyvg0S34NXj6fURoR8b 6Lh0mU1XsBvomiMORc

This is disgusting. Also outrageously arrogant.

SARS was thought to have come from a market not unlike the one responsible for the Covid-19 outbreak. With such a careless attitude in place, it's probably only a matter of time before the Chinese Authority's irresponsibility, its refusal to act toughly to fix this problem, causes another pandemic.

What if the next Coronavirus has the killing capability of bubonic plague, or, in time, mutates to become that lethal ??

There are times when, realistically speaking, only the toughest and most uncompromising of actions will be good enough.

[Kathianne]

First and foremost: 'the UK' hasn't set up a snitches hotline. This is not Government run, at all. This initiative has come from one police force in Humberside, and applies specifically to Humberside Police's local jurisdiction.

More generally .... under normal conditions, cries of 'Police State' might be appropriate. But these are not, by any stretch of the imagination, normal times. Indeed, today's situation over Covid-19 could amount to the justification of a 'war footing' psychology. Normal laws and liberties can't fit.

Lockdown rules need to be kept to. Failure to, can needlessly and avoidably, KILL.

Here's a story which may have (& probably did) precipitated Humberside Police's draconian approach:

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-police-break-up-massive-karaoke-party-during-covid-19-lockdown-measures-11965352



Derbyshire isn't Humberside. But I think that Humberside were likewise shocked at the sheer irresponsibility of those revellers, and felt they had to apply a counterweight to their own community, maybe to pre-empt its equivalent happening in their own territory.

Had those revellers never been dealt with, had the participants never been identified, how many ordinary, innocent people would've suffered possibly fatal illness from ongoing infections ?

Had Humberside not acted, again, how many lives might have been needlessly put at risk ?

These are not normal times. REALISM requires a proportional and appropriate response to a lethal threat to any community.

Note -- our Government has indicated that it may feel it necessary to add to the existing lockdown rules, to tighten them. It may well be that the Derbyshire incident has forced our Government into wondering if it hasn't been quite tough enough.
They chose poorly at having/attending that party. Here was another, in Washington state, held before the stay in place was established, it doesn't have a good ending:

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-03-29/coronavirus-choir-outbreak


A choir decided to go ahead with rehearsal. Now dozens of members have COVID-19 and two are dead

MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — With the coronavirus quickly spreading in Washington state in early March, leaders of the Skagit Valley Chorale debated whether to go ahead with weekly rehearsal.
The virus was already killing people in the Seattle area, about an hour’s drive to the south.


But Skagit County hadn’t reported any cases, schools and businesses remained open, and prohibitions on large gatherings had yet to be announced.


On March 6, Adam Burdick, the choir’s conductor, informed the 121 members in an email that amid the “stress and strain of concerns about the virus,” practice would proceed as scheduled at Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church.

“I’m planning on being there this Tuesday March 10, and hoping many of you will be, too,” he wrote.

Sixty singers showed up. A greeter offered hand sanitizer at the door, and members refrained from the usual hugs and handshakes.


“It seemed like a normal rehearsal, except that choirs are huggy places,” Burdick recalled. “We were making music and trying to keep a certain distance between each other.”

After 2½ hours, the singers parted ways at 9 p.m.


Nearly three weeks later, 45 have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or ill with the symptoms, at least three have been hospitalized, and two are dead.


The outbreak has stunned county health officials, who have concluded that the virus was almost certainly transmitted through the air from one or more people without symptoms.


“That’s all we can think of right now,” said Polly Dubbel, a county communicable disease and environmental health manager.


In interviews with the Los Angeles Times, eight people who were at the rehearsal said that nobody there was coughing or sneezing or appeared ill.

...

[Drummond]

They chose poorly at having/attending that party. Here was another, in Washington state, held before the stay in place was established, it doesn't have a good ending:

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-03-29/coronavirus-choir-outbreak

Exactly. This says it all. Point - tragically - proven.

No further comment is necessary.

[Kathianne]

Want to talk about fake news? Lies being spread by our MSM in favor of China, out of hatred of Trump? Here you go, what they'll work with:



Here's How China Is Rewriting the History of the Coronavirus Pandemic to Make Itself the Hero
The Chinese government has waged a months-long disinformation campaign to portray itself as the country that defeated the virus, when it attempted to hide it for months.
By David Gilbert
Mar 30 2020

At midnight on Friday, China closed its borders to the rest of the world as it tries to stop a resurgence of the coronavirus.


The move was the culmination of a months-long PR and disinformation campaign waged by the Chinese government to rewrite the history of a pandemic that has spread to almost every corner of the planet, killed more than 34,000 people, and infected almost three-quarters of a million.

China initially ignored the outbreak that first surfaced in Wuhan in early December, silencing doctors who tried to raise the alarm before eventually enacting a draconian and restrictive lockdown that impacted 50 million people.


But the Communist Party of China (CCP) is now seeking to portray itself not as the country that allowed the coronavirus to spread unchecked for weeks but as the country that has defeated the virus and is now on hand to save the rest of the world.


To do this, the Chinese government has employed a unique mixture of tactics including disinformation, soft power, conspiracy theories, and even a book that tells the heroic story of China’s victory over coronavirus — all of which are designed to reframe the narrative around the virus and Beijing’s role in allowing it to get out of control in the first place.


“In the last few weeks, the CCP has stepped up its propaganda efforts to shape the narrative with respect to COVID-19, both within China and internationally,” Adam Ni, director of the Australia-based research organization the China Policy Centre, told VICE News.


“In essence, the party wants to make the best out of a terrible situation and spin the story in favor of the party by deflecting blame, sowing doubts on its culpability, whipping up nationalism, and highlighting the superiority of the Chinese party-state,”


Here’s China’s playbook:

...

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Guess I better shut up... and take a break... I'm just stepping on all kinds of toes pissing people off.

[Kathianne]

Guess I better shut up... and take a break... I'm just stepping on all kinds of toes pissing people off.
Oh no! Don't do that! No one can respond to anything that isn't in line with 'Democrats suck!'

If you read above, there was none of that.

[Drummond]

Guess I better shut up... and take a break... I'm just stepping on all kinds of toes pissing people off.

I don't agree ! You're making great contributions. Keep going with them ...

[Drummond]

Want to talk about fake news? Lies being spread by our MSM in favor of China, out of hatred of Trump? Here you go, what they'll work with:

I'm not sure that there's a lot to say that isn't perfectly obvious.

China is ruled by a bunch of authoritarian Lefties. This basically sums it all up.

Being authoritarian, and being Lefties, means that (a) wielding power without restraint borne of decency and humanitarianism being mandated, is a 'given' ... and (b) Lefties never admit error, since to do so is a failure to defend the sacrosanct basis (as they see it) of perceived infallibility.

Admit fallibility, and you admit the correctness of being able to question. Question authority. Question dogma. Authoritarian Lefties can never allow such a thing.

So, China's authoritarian Lefties will see it as absolutely necessary that they come out of all this smelling of roses.

That lies are told, injustice is perpetuated, and a great many die where otherwise they might not have done ... to a Leftie, ALL THIS is subordinate to the reputation and unassailability of Leftieism !!

[Abbey Marie]

Meanwhile, the Governor of Pennsylvania has decided to make elective abortions an exception to his ban on all elective surgical/medical procedures. I read a comment that said someone’s sister was told her kidney transplant was not allowed.

Let that one one sink in.

[FakeNewsSux]

Want to talk about fake news? Lies being spread by our MSM in favor of China, out of hatred of Trump? Here you go, what they'll work with:

Here's more on China' culpability and its' global sycophants participation and support. I found a clip that didn't jump, story starts just before the 3:00 min mark:


https://youtu.be/2-g676jhggc

[FakeNewsSux]

The worldwide march of "science" over hate:


https://youtu.be/WslBRY9B-n4

[SassyLady]

I've heard of ONE chain of supermarket (not sure, but it might be Morrisons) who've put up shields. More generally, supermarkets on relying on strictly governing how many people can be in the store at any one time, and this leads to queues outside them ... with 2-metre distances (6 feet, in non-EU money !!) insisted upon between customers queuing.

They're also strongly encouraged to pay for goods by card, not cash, to help stop the contact that handling money would require.

[Must check to see what Asda are doing: they're the British chain owned by Walmart !]

Fry's in Tucson have shields up and won't use customer personal reuseable bags. I could use them if i wanted to pack my own.

If I come down with virus it will be from grocery shopping.

[Drummond]

Fry's in Tucson have shields up and won't use customer personal reuseable bags. I could use them if i wanted to pack my own.

If I come down with virus it will be from grocery shopping.

Shopping in today's UK has its good and bad points (within the context of virus-contaminated territory !).

Go to a supermarket, they'll have checks and balances in place and will rigidly apply them. Of course ... travel to those supermarkets involves increased travel, therefore, an increased chance you'll be stopped by police to ask you the purpose of your travel (and our police generally do NOT observe the 2-metre distance obligation, person-to-person).

Go round to the corner shops to avoid interception by police ... generally, in those shops, no screens are in place. No more than 2 customers allowed in-store at a time, but also, no distancing rules are applied, either. Outside them, on the street ... same story. My last two trips to the corner shops have each involved encounters with people not at all interested in observing distancing-rules .. one was a tramp (you call them 'bums' ?) who approached me for money. The other was somebody queuing up behind me about one foot away (I suspect him of being a Leftie) !

I'm doomed, I tell you ... doomed !!!

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Well, just took garbage to the dump, then headed over to the grocery store to get cat litter and check things out, and you'd really never know anything was going on around here. Life seems to be going about as normal, and our little grocery is fully stocked.

I don't know if people around here feel pretty insulated from the virus or what, but the fact of the matter is, we are. Other than locals, people really have no reason to come around here right now, so if we don't have anyone infected here, we won't have so long as other people stay out, or the someone from around here is stupid enough to travel to where the virus is more prevalent and carry it back. I wouldn't say that can't happen.

[Drummond]

In London, Sadiq Khan, London's Mayor, has resisted all suggestions that London's transport facilities be returned to normal levels of services (especially on the Tube). Bus and Tube services are reduced to the point that crowding on those services that exist is nearly inevitable.

So, to today, Khan claims to be 'heartbroken' that five bus drivers have died from their infections.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/coronavirus/sadiq-khan-absolutely-devastated-after-five-london-bus-workers-die-with-coronavirus/ar-BB12bfWs?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=mailsignout&fullscreen=true#image=1


London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said he is “absolutely devastated” after five London bus workers died after testing positive for Covid-19.

Mr Khan tweeted on Sunday that “lives depended” on people following Government rules to stay at home unless travel was essential.

It comes as people were pictured flouting lockdown rules with London, with a major London park forced to close after thousands ignored Government advice.

Mr Khan said: “I have been clear that our incredible public transport staff – on the buses, tubes, trams and trains – are critical workers, making a heroic effort to allow our NHS staff to save more lives.

“But we need to play our part too and that means fewer Londoners using the public transport network.

“Please follow the rules. Stay at home and do not use public transport unless it is absolutely unavoidable.”

Khan has been immovable on his stance. He says that any instances of infection come about because people insist on travelling. He accepts no responsibility, no blame, for creating crowds through reducing availability of services.

Perhaps those five bus drivers would still be alive, had concentrations of people they'd have dealt with, been far less ??

12488

[SassyLady]

Really sad that those bus drivers felt they had to keep working and expose themselves to the virus. Have the other drivers walked out in protest yet?

[Drummond]

Really sad that those bus drivers felt they had to keep working and expose themselves to the virus. Have the other drivers walked out in protest yet?

I've heard nothing about any walkout. But I'm guessing that there's no prospect of it.

For one thing, people who walk out of doing their jobs will want to know that it'll achieve something. With so few people travelling, the thinking will probably be that it won't.

There's the consideration of what a walkout would achieve for the specific individuals who do. What if their numbers are few enough that they can see their employment terminated without this making any great impact on services, once they're fully restored ? No job ... a far less certain jobs market in the future than before the infection started ... they may not want to risk it.

Last but by no means least, they'd want their Union to back them. But their Union will be a Left wing one (the vast majority are), and it'd be acting against a Left wing Mayor. The chance that the Union would choose to fight a notable LEFT winger, as Khan is, must be miniscule.

How would a vote be taken to call drivers out on strike ? If attempted, how long would it take ? They couldn't call a mass meeting to debate it ! By post ... well, some postal services are undermanned ....

[Abbey Marie]

12491

[Drummond]

12491

Not completely sure that 'liking' your post was entirely appropriate ! Still, you know what I mean .....

[Kathianne]

Not completely sure that 'liking' your post was entirely appropriate ! Still, you know what I mean .....
But your comment was worth liking, actually laughing. :laugh2:

[Drummond]

But your comment was worth liking, actually laughing. :laugh2:

Yes. Well ... I felt a little bit of a berk at the time ... :uhoh: :pieface:

[Kathianne]

This virus seems to be quite adaptable, now moving from humans to animals-at least mammals. Brooklyn Tiger tests positive of virus-got it from asymptomatic trainer:

https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-coronavirus-bronx-zoo-tiger-tests-positive-20200405-klkhvxxyyfhyln7rswjf5dbckq-story.html


Bronx Zoo tiger is first U.S. animal to test positive for coronavirus
By MOLLY CRANE-NEWMAN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
APR 05, 2020

A tiger at the Bronx Zoo is the first animal to test positive for coronavirus in the U.S., officials said Sunday.


Nadia, a 4-year-old female Malayan tiger, was tested “out of an abundance of caution” after coming into contact with an infected staffer who was asymptomatic, according to officials at the zoo.

"This is the first time we know of, or from any of the people we’ve been in contact with, that an animal has gotten sick with COVID,” Paul Calle, chief veterinarian at the Bronx Zoo, told the Daily News.


When Nadia began exhibiting symptoms of respiratory difficulties and other issues, vets at the zoo ran a number of tests before considering coronavirus.

...

The tiger’s sister, Azul, two Amur tigers, and three African lions have also shown symptoms of the virus but have not been tested, Calle said.

Calle said vets at Bronx Zoo will share all the information they have about the remarkable test result with the global veterinarian community.


“Because this is so new, we definitely will be sharing this information with our professional colleagues so that everyone can benefit from this,” he said. “Everyone caring for lions and cats in other zoos needs to know this information.”


“It surprised us all because in this global pandemic (and the SARS pandemic in 2002) animals didn’t get sick," Calle added. “They might have been occasional ones but animals have not played a role in either of these pandemics.”

...

[High_Plains_Drifter]

In London, Sadiq Khan, London's Mayor, has resisted all suggestions that London's transport facilities be returned to normal levels of services (especially on the Tube). Bus and Tube services are reduced to the point that crowding on those services that exist is nearly inevitable.

So, to today, Khan claims to be 'heartbroken' that five bus drivers have died from their infections.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/coronavirus/sadiq-khan-absolutely-devastated-after-five-london-bus-workers-die-with-coronavirus/ar-BB12bfWs?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=mailsignout&fullscreen=true#image=1



Khan has been immovable on his stance. He says that any instances of infection come about because people insist on travelling. He accepts no responsibility, no blame, for creating crowds through reducing availability of services.

Perhaps those five bus drivers would still be alive, had concentrations of people they'd have dealt with, been far less ??

What a convenient way for a POS muslim to kill off a bunch of native Londoners without even firing a shot, or wielding a knife.

[Kathianne]

What a convenient way for a POS muslim to kill off a bunch of native Londoners without even firing a shot, or wielding a knife.

While the mayor of London may well be playing games, it all pales in the light of what the Chinese have done.

[Drummond]

While the mayor of London may well be playing games, it all pales in the light of what the Chinese have done.

Depends on how you view it !!

In terms of the sheer numbers of people affected, and how widespread the consequences of the action have been, you've obviously got a point.

But, how about seeing it this way ? Let's assume that the virus escaping Chinese territory wasn't intentional (& most people would believe that was the case). HOWEVER .. what Sadiq Khan is doing, is very deliberate. He can restore public transport in the Capital to normal or near-normal levels, if he chooses to (he's even had Boris offering him help with that, if he wants it !!).

BUT .. Sadiq Khan refuses to increase availability of travel. Nothing stops him from arranging the increase, and he's had pleas that he does. But Khan just won't do it.

China = accidental viral contamination.

Khan = transport levels kept so low, DELIBERATELY, so as to make crowding impossible to avoid during 'rush hour' travel.

Which is worse ?

[Drummond]

An interesting development, just heard on LBC News: and Sadiq Khan will no doubt use it to argue his case for maintaining less transport !

We have a report that TEN people have now died of the virus, all involved in London's public transport. The five bus drivers dead has now become eight. Another is a Tube train driver. The other is a 'TFL worker' (Transport for London) ... exactly what he worked on, not specified.

Sadiq Khan's been heard on the radio, highlighting the risks those workers undergo. Apparently he asked whether 'being issued protective gear' for them would make a difference, and was officially told 'No, no difference'.

Khan will, of course, make the case to say that increasing transport levels will encourage people to travel, and increase the mortality rate of TFL workers, be they driving buses, Tube trains, whatever.

The point that increased transport will decrease crowding, and so, DECREASE exposure for every driver out there, seems to have been entirely overlooked .....

[Kathianne]

About the masks and why to use:

https://reason.com/2020/04/06/the-cdcs-revised-face-mask-advice-is-based-on-information-that-was-available-months-ago/

[LongTermGuy]

*A little something different..

....The virus is making people do strange things... Boredom ???


`Kazakh bodybuilder's 'marriage' to sex doll girlfriend on hold because of coronavirus`https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EU8Qt7NXQAAq5yT?format=jpg&name=small

Most weddings are getting postponed now, and this unfortunately includes the planned wedding of Pro Bodybuilder Yuri Tolochko of Kazakhstan!


https://cdni.rt.com/files/2020.03/xxs/5e72617285f5405cef79a7f2.jpeg
The couple apparently remain determined to tie the knot however.
“As soon as they remove the quarantine, within a few days we’ll have the wedding,” Tolochko added.
“In general, we are determined and our mood is good.
“The quarantine has been announced until mid-April."

Much more to the Bizarre story...Pic`s & video...
https://www.rt.com/sport/484358-kazakh-bodybuilder-sex-doll-marriage-coronavirus/

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Well, just back from voting. Things were a little different. I had to wait outside until they said come in, but I was the only one there at the moment so I didn't wait long, and they had a clean pen to hand out to each person, although I had brought my own, and they had spit shields up, and they used paper ballots this time. All pretty painless, no big deal. I wore my bandanna, and used my disinfectant wipes when I got out to my truck.

Then hit the store, which is odd, our grocery has NOTHING as far as precautions up, no shields, employees not wearing masks or gloves, nothing. But, since the alcohol thread, I decided since I was slacking, I got me a jug of 101 Proof Wild Turkey Bourbon and a 12'er of Coke. So after wiping everything down and putting it away and vigorously washing my hands, I'm having a Wild Turkey and Coke... ;)

Alcohol kills the virus right? ... :alcoholic:

[jimnyc]

Alcohol kills the virus right? ... :alcoholic:

Absolutely! But it needs to be over 60% alcohol. So you need to drink Everclear. :)

I highly recommend the 190 proof bottle (they have quite a few) as that one is made in the same manner as the N95 masks - only that version is 95% alcohol.

And who knows, it may work if it doesn't kill you!!!!!

** In case anyone reads this, guest or not, this is a joke!! Alcohol will not do a damn thing. But too much Everclear very well can kill you!! **

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Absolutely! But it needs to be over 60% alcohol. So you need to drink Everclear. :)

I highly recommend the 190 proof bottle (they have quite a few) as that one is made in the same manner as the N95 masks - only that version is 95% alcohol.

And who knows, it may work if it doesn't kill you!!!!!

** In case anyone reads this, guest or not, this is a joke!! Alcohol will not do a damn thing. But too much Everclear very well can kill you!! **
60%? I thought hand sanitizer and such had to be 70% alcohol to kill the virus?

Yeah, I'm just dumping a couple Wild Turkey and Cokes down as an excuse to kill the virus, even if it's a lie... :laugh:

We used to pound the Wild Turkey when I was in the AF back in tech school at Chanute. Base Class V stores have a great selection of booze, at least the AF bases did. They usually had Everclear too, but I haven't seen that stuff for sale for decades. I WOULD buy a bottle if I ever saw it.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Me heading out to go vote today amid the pandemic...

https://i.ibb.co/chsqMtn/vote.jpg

[Black Diamond]

Me heading out to go vote today amid the pandemic...

https://i.ibb.co/chsqMtn/vote.jpg

An outlaw ready to rob a bank.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

An outlaw ready to rob a bank.
LOL... naaaah... just a typical biker... that's hung around a lot of clubs in his life. Came with the territory being a Harley Tech.

[Black Diamond]

LOL... naaaah... just a typical biker... that's hung around a lot of clubs in his life. Came with the territory being a Harley Tech.

Stay safe

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Stay safe
Always... and you do the same brother... all of us should.

I do feel a little better off than some others though, isolated here in little backwoods Podunk, WI with hardly a handful of infected cases for 60 miles in any direction of me. The 4 county area around me has only 12 confirmed cases. That's a huge area, but still, they keep slowly adding 1 here and 1 there. I actually wonder how that is. Were they infected before and the symptoms are just starting to show so they got checked and were found positive? IDK... unless there's still some people around here that don't give a rats ass about social distancing, and let me tell ya, this is back woods, if they don't want to follow what Ever's says, they won't, and there's really no way to catch them because they're back in the freakin' hills. Just so they keep out of our grocery store... :laugh:

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Sheeeezuz... 3 Wild Turkeys and I'm lit... haven't drank for awhile... putting the freakin' bottle away... mannn... I'm a light weight.

[jimnyc]

Sheeeezuz... 3 Wild Turkeys and I'm lit... haven't drank for awhile... putting the freakin' bottle away... mannn... I'm a light weight.

Same here bro, I'm a cheap date for sure!

But hell, you could have had just one or 2 of everclear to get there quicker!

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Same here bro, I'm a cheap date for sure!

But hell, you could have had just one or 2 of everclear to get there quicker!
I'm putting the oxycodone away too. Been taking that shit for a long time now and it's not good anymore. I used to get a cool buzz and wow and all kinds of energy, well, not anymore. Not after probably 14 years of the shit. I take a couple and I don't even feel it. But what I am feeling is some of the side effects of prolonged usage, and I don't like it. So the oxy is on the shelf. Not taking anymore of the shit for awhile, it ever.

[pete311]

I'm putting the oxycodone away too. Been taking that shit for a long time now and it's not good anymore. I used to get a cool buzz and wow and all kinds of energy, well, not anymore. Not after probably 14 years of the shit. I take a couple and I don't even feel it. But what I am feeling is some of the side effects of prolonged usage, and I don't like it. So the oxy is on the shelf. Not taking anymore of the shit for awhile, it ever.

holy shit, you're a god damn junkie.

[Drummond]

holy shit, you're a god damn junkie.

This, from a LEFTIE !!

Are you for real ??

If my mind had been totally addled and twisted by long-term drug taking, that could -- with a GREAT stretch of credulity involved -- perhaps excuse the Leftieism I might therefore, consequently, find myself believing in.

Are you saying that this is not true for you, Pete ? Because, if not, I challenge you - here and now - to explain your Leftieism to me ! How ON EARTH can you excuse your belief in it ??

Leftieism requires a disconnect between a Leftie and the real world. You're required to see the world in 'preferred' terms, rather than as it really is. If realism intrudes, you have to fight it, and those who make you face it.

How do you excuse that in yourself, Pete ? I'd really like to know.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

holy shit, you're a god damn junkie.
You're a little faggot.

[Drummond]

Pete's gone quiet again.

He really can't handle challenges, can he.

I almost sympathise. Leftieism takes one hell of a lot of 'excusing'.

[jimnyc]

holy shit, you're a god damn junkie.

No need for this kind of crap, removed from this thread.

[Abbey Marie]

holy shit, you're a god damn junkie.

Who are you to say such a nasty thing?

[jimnyc]

Who are you to say such a nasty thing?

That makes 2 folks that I can recall that started personally getting on people about their medications and making a joke of it. Some folks will joke about their meds and what not to downplay things they take. It's not our place to judge other fellow members for their health issues. But a couple think calling folks junkies and bad parents as a result or telling people to take their meds, I can tell you're off your meds.... They think it's funny to laugh about others and their health issues and to poke at them using the meds in some manner.

Some will take the worst of times, whether of our nation, or of an individual, and find joy in it and troll with it.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Who are you to say such a nasty thing?
Thank you Abbey, but I just consider the source. He's a nasty little punk.

Not to mention a junkie would "need" to take whatever it is they have, as in "addicted" to it. Big difference from me taking a tiny little bit every 2 or 3 days, or more. That's not "addicted," and certainly not a "junkie."

But Pete just showed his true self one more time to everyone here, what kind of a little wise ass prick he truly is.

I used to think I'd engage him with legitimate debate, but it's painfully obvious after this last return that he isn't worth it, period.

[Kathianne]

Some lol'd when I brought up the Spanish flu as something to look at with this China virus outbreak, not so funny, others are starting to look at what was done then:

https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2020/03/07/during-spanish-flu-milwaukee-closed-churches-schools-not-saloons/4979405002/

Keep in mind, there wasn't much in the way of airplanes in 1918, though there was a war. Big mistake made by federal government, they wanted to get sailors 'over there,' so they kept the bad news quiet, making viral missiles out of our troops.

Meanwhile, some local areas had more success than others.
It’s that kind of day, finding new info for old posts:

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2020/04/08/how_woodrow_wilson_let_death_run_viral_in_the_grea t_war_123047.html?mc_cid=2cd3caba12&mc_eid=fba478624c

[Drummond]

It’s that kind of day, finding new info for old posts:

https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2020/04/08/how_woodrow_wilson_let_death_run_viral_in_the_grea t_war_123047.html?mc_cid=2cd3caba12&mc_eid=fba478624c

Woodrow Wilson; believer in racial segregation. Yes, well ... he was an American example of an early 20th century Leftie, wasn't he ?

Seems to me that his thinking was typical of a Leftie. He saw what he chose to see, at any one time, and ignored any reality not fitting his worldview. He wanted to concentrate on the war effort, so he did just that .. to the exclusion of other considerations.

His task achieved, THEN, he moved his attention to other matters.

Typical Leftie in action, incurring consequences out of his selective myopia. Oh, yes !

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Ya know what we haven't heard a peep about... any in depth demographics about what sort of person has seen the most deaths.

We're they white, black, Asian? We're they young, middle aged, old? We're they FAT? If so, what specific underlying health issues did they have? We've heard virtually none of that information. We've only been TOLD that it effects OLDER people, and especially those with "underlying health issues."

Well, WHAT, SPECIFICALLY? I think this sort of information is being held back because it might not be POLITICALLY CORRECT. I just heard that Michigan has more cases than THIRTY SEVEN STATES COMBINED. Well, Michigan is full of black people, and some of the most morbidly obese people in America are female blacks, and it's common knowledge that the morbidly obese have heart and lung issues, and more often than not, Diabetes. So... there will be more COVID deaths in that demographic.

The simple matter is, the better health you're in, the better your chance is of surviving the virus. So take this time to reassess your health and what you can do to improve it... eat better, get off the couch, walk, run, do something to increase your heart rate, try and lose some weight... anything... everything... get fit... or get fit'er. You're life may just depend on it. Yes I practice what I preach.

[High_Plains_Drifter]

Hearing on the radio this very second, that a GRANT COUNTY RESIDENT HAS DIED FROM THE VIRUS. That's my county. They said the person was over 80 years old. So there we go, one dead in my county, out of the 3 reported infected.

We'll see what the numbers for today are after 2:00PM.

EDIT: And they just CLOSED DOWN all our state parks too, because "people weren't following social distancing rules."

[Abbey Marie]

Ya know what we haven't heard a peep about... any in depth demographics about what sort of person has seen the most deaths.

We're they white, black, Asian? We're they young, middle aged, old? We're they FAT? If so, what specific underlying health issues did they have? We've heard virtually none of that information. We've only been TOLD that it effects OLDER people, and especially those with "underlying health issues."

Well, WHAT, SPECIFICALLY? I think this sort of information is being held back because it might not be POLITICALLY CORRECT. I just heard that Michigan has more cases than THIRTY SEVEN STATES COMBINED. Well, Michigan is full of black people, and some of the most morbidly obese people in America are female blacks, and it's common knowledge that the morbidly obese have heart and lung issues, and more often than not, Diabetes. So... there will be more COVID deaths in that demographic.

The simple matter is, the better health you're in, the better your chance is of surviving the virus. So take this time to reassess your health and what you can do to improve it... eat better, get off the couch, walk, run, do something to increase your heart rate, try and lose some weight... anything... everything... get fit... or get fit'er. You're life may just depend on it. Yes I practice what I preach.


Black males.

[LongTermGuy]

......Just so everyone knows, Senate Democrats just objected to extending funding for the Paycheck Protection Program.

More games keeping more workers from getting paychecks.


#coronavirus (https://twitter.com/hashtag/coronavirus?src=hashtag_click)#covid19 (https://twitter.com/hashtag/covid19?src=hashtag_click)

[Black Diamond]

Ya know what we haven't heard a peep about... any in depth demographics about what sort of person has seen the most deaths.

We're they white, black, Asian? We're they young, middle aged, old? We're they FAT? If so, what specific underlying health issues did they have? We've heard virtually none of that information. We've only been TOLD that it effects OLDER people, and especially those with "underlying health issues."

Well, WHAT, SPECIFICALLY? I think this sort of information is being held back because it might not be POLITICALLY CORRECT. I just heard that Michigan has more cases than THIRTY SEVEN STATES COMBINED. Well, Michigan is full of black people, and some of the most morbidly obese people in America are female blacks, and it's common knowledge that the morbidly obese have heart and lung issues, and more often than not, Diabetes. So... there will be more COVID deaths in that demographic.

The simple matter is, the better health you're in, the better your chance is of surviving the virus. So take this time to reassess your health and what you can do to improve it... eat better, get off the couch, walk, run, do something to increase your heart rate, try and lose some weight... anything... everything... get fit... or get fit'er. You're life may just depend on it. Yes I practice what I preach.

Michigan has more cases than 37 states combined because its governor is an idiot.