30 Chinese Cities are on Level 1 lockdown

[City Commuter]

The Trump economy is crumbling, and the greedy want the elderly to die so they can have more money.

Texas Republican: ‘Lots of Grandparents’ Willing to Die to Save Economy for Kids

Dan Patrick, 69, said he would “take a chance” on his survival if it meant the immediate end of social distancing and the ramp-up of the economy.

nymag.com

 

[antboy]

The Trump economy is crumbling, and the greedy want the elderly to die so they can have more money.

Texas Republican: ‘Lots of Grandparents’ Willing to Die to Save Economy for Kids

Dan Patrick, 69, said he would “take a chance” on his survival if it meant the immediate end of social distancing and the ramp-up of the economy.

nymag.com

hmmm

First the headline... note where they put the quotes:
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick: ‘Lots of Grandparents’ Willing to Die to Save Economy for Grandchildren

Wow! Who would say something so crazy as that?

Turns out, it's NOT Dan Patrick. You see, what he actually said (and it's in the very same article)...

“No one reached out to me and said, as a senior citizen, ‘Are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren?’ And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in … (he's 69 years old).

He expressed a (IMHO stupid) shower-thought notion that he himself would be willing to take a chance if it meant a little less insanity in the economy and social structure for his progeny, and that he thinks there's a lot of grandparents out there like him.

Not just that, but "willing to die" is far different than "take a chance (on your survival)". The former implies an individual is 100% willing to sacrifice themself for the cause, whatever that may be. "taking a chance" is more of a gamble, where the odds are in their favour.

That doesn't make the Lt. Gov's statement any less dumb as a publicly expressed shower thought, but the egregious use of quotes in the headline is absolutely horribly Buzzfeedy in its naked agenda.

Then again, maybe Noam Chomsky's "Manufacturing Consent" was too much of an influence on me.

 

[Deacon Blues]

Noticed that there are now two lawsuits against China from lawyers in the US. One, from a lawyer in Texas, is for 20 TRILLION dollars!

 

[Handlebars]

The Trump economy is crumbling, and the greedy want the elderly to die so they can have more money.

Texas Republican: ‘Lots of Grandparents’ Willing to Die to Save Economy for Kids

Dan Patrick, 69, said he would “take a chance” on his survival if it meant the immediate end of social distancing and the ramp-up of the economy.

nymag.com

City Commuter,
Do you think that the below statement fairly represents something Patrick said?

death would be a better option than a loss on a quarterly statement

 

[Handlebars]

A sane well spoken take on the fakeness of the outrage mob and dishonest media, regarding Dan Patrick's honorable plea for survival of our way of life.

 

[Browneye]

I wrote this a couple of days ago, but didn't post it. Today it's not just about the stupid comments like below, but a general observation of the lunacy we are faced with each day.
Frankly I'm sick and tired of these brain-dead leftists that twist everything around to suit their agenda. SCREW YOU. And why you're not in charge of running things - you're too inept. GTF out of the way.

The Trump economy is crumbling, and the greedy want the elderly to die so they can have more money.

Texas Republican: ‘Lots of Grandparents’ Willing to Die to Save Economy for Kids

Dan Patrick, 69, said he would “take a chance” on his survival if it meant the immediate end of social distancing and the ramp-up of the economy.

nymag.com

It is hard to imagine a grown adult making such a childish comment. Go back to your room.

It is obvious you fail to understand simple economics, especially for self-employed and small business, and in particular the restaurant industry today. For these Americans, they cannot stay in business if they cannot work and provide their service or product. So while it's all fine and good to limit exposure from person to person, we also cannot allow a third or half of the country, or whatever the numbers are, to just crash and burn, fail, close, and not only lose their own income stream but also anyone they employ. How does that fix anything? This is NOT a partisan issue.

People like you should talk less and listen more, because it serves no purpose to make ill-informed, imbecilic comments.

 

[Ebiker01]

South Korea is doing a magnificent job in making testing available and safe for everyone. They have little tents set up where 1person at a time enters and it's sprayed and sanitized after the person leaves. The staff admin is behind a shield like in a nuke reactor and takes the swabs through a hole with arm gloves.
Do that instead of killing all small business and stealing all freedoms. It's much cheaper and not insane...Justin Trudeau AND FRIENDS in the other parties who are silent on the continued mishandling.
Our ER doctors and nurses are left in incredible danger in North America and the patients are further endangered too.

SK is by far the Nr. 1 in how good &safe they've dealt with this.

They had the experience from Mers.

This is how they did it:

1) Lots of tests( their factories are making now 100k tests/day for export)

2) Contact tracing through cellphones

3) Los of temperature checks everywhere(rest./matkets...

4) All of that while having places open, no lockdown ! .


Here, no organization, an infected bureaucratic system, they are putting all the work on the hospitals and their employees.
Dr. Faucci should be a lot more direct and start blaming people before they let him go.

 

[GypsyTreker]

I think Dr Faucci, at this point, is fairly secure, but one never knows. I just hope some of these credited medical experts are willing to continue their service to the rest of us, for surly they have as much right to walk off the job as we would. I am amazed that hospital workers are willing to risk it ( their health) for all of the opinionated arm chair experts sitting behind computer screens. By the way I include myself in that last sentence, something I plan to change, right now. I will no longer engage in the noise and simply comment on the topics the forum was created for.

 

[City Commuter]

Noticed that there are now two lawsuits against China from lawyers in the US. One, from a lawyer in Texas, is for 20 TRILLION dollars!

Thank the republicans and the "Reagan Revolution" for paving the road to China so the wealthy could get even wealthier with the tax payers money. All China did was say sure, we'll make your stuff. Also, thank the Bush regime for starting endless multi trillion dollar wars which have aided in crashing our economy on at least two occasions now. The Bush boys both left the presidency with the economy in shambles, dead service members for sensles wars, and an unpaible debt in the American peoples laps.

But hey, good luck with the lawsuit. LOL!

 

[Yamahonian]

hey guys i work in a hospital and this virus is no joke. don't take it lightly. this is serious.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

hey guys i work in a hospital and this virus is no joke. don't take it lightly. this is serious.

Thank you. And do us all a favor and try to stay alive and healthy.

I have a lot of contacts who are doctors, nurses, and first responders. Their comments on the situation have followed a clear progression:

Late January: This is going to be bad.
Late February: This is Going to be Bad.
First Week of March: This is Bad
Second Week of March: This is VERY BAD
Third Week of March: THIS IS VERY BAD
Fourth Week of March: WE ARE SO F****D

The local ambulance service is now soliciting help to make masks and gowns out of bedsheets.

 

[Handlebars]

The narrative is such that it seems they are pinning everything on a strategy of forced social isolation and shutdown vs carrying on and wearing protective gear in public. The hope is to have a large segment of the population contract the disease but not all at once..that is the "flattening the curve" narrative that complements the "achieve herd immunity" objective.
What assurance is there that it won't behave like the flu and be a moving target, mutating and appearing as a different variant frequently?

The establishment of reference sequence for SARS-CoV-2 and variation analysis - PubMed

Starting around December 2019, an epidemic of pneumonia, which was named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization, broke out in Wuhan, China, and is spreading throughout the world. A new coronavirus, named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by the Coronavirus Study...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Starting around December 2019, an epidemic of pneumonia, which was named COVID-19 by the World Health Organization, broke out in Wuhan, China, and is spreading throughout the world. A new coronavirus, named severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by the Coronavirus Study Group of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses was soon found to be the cause. At present, the sensitivity of clinical nucleic acid detection is limited, and it is still unclear whether it is related to genetic variation. In this study, we retrieved 95 full-length genomic sequences of SARAS-CoV-2 strains from the National Center for Biotechnology Information and GISAID databases, established the reference sequence by conducting multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analyses, and analyzed sequence variations along the SARS-CoV-2 genome. The homology among all viral strains was generally high, among them, 99.99% (99.91%-100%) at the nucleotide level and 99.99% (99.79%-100%) at the amino acid level. Although overall variation in open-reading frame (ORF) regions is low, 13 variation sites in 1a, 1b, S, 3a, M, 8, and N regions were identified, among which positions nt28144 in ORF 8 and nt8782 in ORF 1a showed mutation rate of 30.53% (29/95) and 29.47% (28/95), respectively. These findings suggested that there may be selective mutations in SARS-COV-2, and it is necessary to avoid certain regions when designing primers and probes. Establishment of the reference sequence for SARS-CoV-2 could benefit not only biological study of this virus but also diagnosis, clinical monitoring and intervention of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the future.

13 variation sites in 1a, 1b, S, 3a, M, 8, and N regions were identified, among which positions nt28144 in ORF 8 and nt8782 in ORF 1a showed mutation rate of 30.53% (29/95) and 29.47% (28/95), respectively. These findings suggested that there may be selective mutations in SARS-COV-2, and it is necessary to avoid certain regions when designing primers and probes.

No assurance at all to support that singular aim of having most people become infected. If the aim is to have vaccine, then why aim for herd immunity?

Why are RNA virus mutation rates so damn high?

The high mutation rate of RNA viruses is credited with their evolvability and virulence. This Primer, however, discusses recent evidence that this is, in part, a byproduct of selection for faster genomic replication.

journals.plos.org

 

[Browneye]

It's the been said the 'herd immunity' thing is bogus. Not realistic. I get it, but you're not going to see even 20% of the population infected, unless it's true that the majority are asymptomatic. And if that's true, then the numbers should start dropping soon, just as fast as they spiked.
It's also been shown that it does not mutate, so any future vaccine will prove effective moving forward. Now if we could just get one one sooner than later this would all go away.

For the vast majority of the country, outside of NYC, the numbers are simply not even close to what they are or were expecting, or projecting. So, are we behind the curve? Or are there erroneous statistical modeling assumptions?

The biggest question right now are the numbers of asymptomatic vs numbers of infected. We just started testing, so the numbers are going to spike - which they have. It may well mean they'll spike down just as quickly, if it's already moved thru the population, which is also viewed with skepticism.

I still think Dr. Chris Martenson has the best objective information on this. I would encourage readers to view his daily reports. His claim is for EVERYONE to wear a mask in public - that will tamp this thing down in a big way. He still thinks there's going to be a million deaths though. Which means this will have to carry on for months, even years.

Here's yesterday's:

 

[Handlebars]

It's also been shown that it does not mutate, so any future vaccine will prove effective moving forward. Now if we could just get one one sooner than later this would all go away.

It's only said to be slow to mutate in certain regions, so those regions would be targeted for vaccine development and test development and the fast mutating regions would be avoided for vaccine development and for test development.

The biggest question right now are the numbers of asymptomatic vs numbers of infected. We just started testing, so the numbers are going to spike - which they have. It may well mean they'll spike down just as quickly, if it's already moved thru the population, which is also viewed with skepticism.

I still think Dr. Chris Martenson has the best objective information on this. I would encourage readers to view his daily reports. His claim is for EVERYONE to wear a mask in public - that will tamp this thing down in a big way.

Yep, he's good...they should just open up business and make everyone wear a mask, put people at doorways with hand sanitizer - end of story

We can't survive as relatively free countries with lockdown for years..forever. Dooming our children to be housed as virtual slaves in work camps for the type of people who can't even seem to keep themselves from being infected.

At the grocery store the cashier asked how many bags I want. I said none, because I had my backpack. She said I had to take plastic bags no food is to be loaded into reusable bags. Just the opposite of what they have been preaching.
First, it was "Come out to support the Chinese community with Asialicious" (the food festival). Next from the mayor, "Get back in your holes, scum! I can still see you outside!"
This from the absolute turd that just jetted to London, contacted a virus victim, didn't practice hygienic measures, and now is in isolation.

First it was "Low risk, just carry on as usual. Wash your hands often. Do not wear masks in public"
Now it's "Enough is enough. Don't make me put you in cages"

 

[Browneye]

Surely the mixed messaging is very frustrating for many. "Stay in your homes", but go out for groceries, drugstore, booze, guns, pot, and walk fido, but don't go to work. Well, unless you're 'essential'. Geebus. Could they be anymore confusing? The latest comment going around is that the hiway patrol is stopping people on the freeway asking them where they're going. I've heard this but I don't believe it. Unless they just have absolutely nothing else to do cuz everybody is holed up at home.

Last week we went to 7 stores to find a dozen eggs. Last night we went to our local whole-foods type store, hardly a soul there, empty parking lot, shelves were well stocked. We got what we wanted and needed and were on our merry way within minutes. But yeah, I had to hold 'our' shopping bag while wife filled it with the items off the scanner. Traffic is light, plenty of parking spots, it's rather refreshing. (tongue-n-cheek).

Next week will be interesting for sure. It's interesting to see fed admin doctors saying the results on the ground are not even close to what's been predicted. Not even in the same realm.

My company is in the business products distribution business for government and private sector corporations. New customer sign ups are at a record pace, and our business volume and backorders are through the roof for 'jan-san' products. Mind boggling, really. Wife works for a hospitality industry recruiting company and they have turned over their clientele and are as busy as ever. The fast-food industry is on fire.
She works from home - she says if I bring that s*it home to her she's gonna kill me. LOL

 

[Deacon Blues]

I've noticed that the two countries that have had to most success with curtailing the virus have been South Korea and Taiwan and that almost everyone in those two countries wear face masks. Where I live 99.9% of the population still doesn't wear masks.
For Americans and Canadians it might be a good idea to start wearing one. Sound crazy, but these are crazy times we live.

It didn't help the the W.H.O. told everyone that there was no point in wearing a face mask.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

It didn't help the the W.H.O. told everyone that there was no point in wearing a face mask.

The CDC also advised that. I think a lot of the motivation, in fairness, was to save as much PPE as possible for health care workers and first responders who were going to desperately need it.

For myself, I am wearing a bandana or a Buff (tm) whenever I go into any enclosed space where other people are present. At a minimum it keeps me from touching my face with contaminated hands. And also keeps folks from freaking out when I sneeze.

Stay safe, everyone, This is going to get ugly. Uglier.

 

[Handlebars]

The hospitals are beginning to show signs of imminent failure already and health workers are falling ill. Disinformation from the "authorities" is rampant.
The health workers were left relatively or totally unprotected for so long, it's criminal.

 

[Browneye]

We are now getting offers from China for facemasks of every type, wholesale.
Hand sanitizer products locally.

A lot of products still have long lead times. Most glove products still sold out.

We have sold orders for 50k masks. CA heath authorities claimed today they had stockpiled 100million.

 

[Handlebars]

We are now getting offers from China for facemasks of every type, wholesale.
Hand sanitizer products locally.

A lot of products still have long lead times. Most glove products still sold out.

We have sold orders for 50k masks. CA was talking 100m.

Good work, guys.