Coronavirus thread

[SimonNZ]

In the cause of re-opening, Gohmert is trying to ensure his staff gets sick
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/playbook-pm/2020/07/29/why-the-capitol-needs-testing-489917

SHORTLY AFTER WE REPORTED that Rep. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-Texas) had tested positive for Covid-19, we got an email from one of his aides saying this:

"JAKE, THANK YOU for letting our office know Louie tested positive for the Coronavirus. When you write your story, can you include the fact that Louie requires full staff to be in the office, including three interns, so that 'we could be an example to America on how to open up safely.' When probing the office, you might want to ask how often were people berated for wearing masks."


What kind of reckless endangerment laws do they have in Texas?

[T. D.]

Wrap your head around this s**t:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53579773

https://www.thedailybeast.com/stella-immanuel-trumps-new-covid-doctor-believes-in-alien-dna-demon-sperm-and-hydroxychloroquine

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-hails-demon-sperm-doc-dr-stella-immanuel-as-important-voice-in-nations-covid-19-battle

And this is truly remarkable:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-29/pandemic-advice-ignored-by-trump-helps-vietnam-fight-coronavirus

Country kept caseload low with CDC-backed plan, unlike U.S.

Even before Vietnam confirmed its first cases in late January, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc ordered officials to break out the blueprint developed in 2014 during a global health security project, funded in part by US-AID and created with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other organizations. Strict adherence to the plan allowed the country to claim victory over the virus this spring, stamping out clusters.

Faced with a resurgence that has similarly confounded Japan, Hong Kong and Australia, Vietnamese authorities are moving to contain a fresh cluster that has led to 36 new cases in the past week, for a total of 459 cases as of Thursday morning. Officials imposed strict quarantines on thousands of people who may have been exposed in the coastal city of Danang, reimposed stay-at-home measures and tightened border and immigration controls to prevent illegal entry. The government is now warning the virus could spread to other regions, including Ho Chi Minh City and the capital of Hanoi, where officials are suspending large gatherings such as religious activities and ordering bars to close.

[T. D.]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-30/melbourne-is-living-the-cold-weather-virus-surge-experts-fear

[Todd]

Dr. Fauci: Wear goggles or eye shields to prevent spread of COVID-19; flu vaccine a must

[T. D.]

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/30/former-gop-presidential-candidate-herman-cain-dies-after-battle-with-coronavirus.html

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Sad to read this article about the effects on indigenous communities and how the virus is effecting them and disproportionally.  But they're fighting back....and on their own.  And about the problems that they are facing too.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200727-how-covid-19-could-destroy-indigenous-communities

[Karl Henning]

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/30/former-gop-presidential-candidate-herman-cain-dies-after-battle-with-coronavirus.html

He died because he didn't know snake oil when it stared him full in the face:

David Frum: "The sad death of Herman Cain, a fatal victim of his need to prove his faith in Trump by attending an unmasked indoor rally, reminds me of this thread back in April about how Trump/Fox have broken faith with those who trusted them."

[T. D.]

Strange coincidence: yesterday, after reading about the lunatic fringe hydroxychloroquin touts, I wondered how Cain was doing. Then the story broke this morning.

I'd like to see COVID contact tracing analysis of the Tulsa rally, but of course the present CDC HHS is not going to publicize (or even conduct ) one.

He died because he didn't know snake oil when it stared him full in the face...

Gee, might the required signing of a release possibly have been a clue? There's a somewhat assholic Wall St. trader phrase "a tax on the stupid", which sadly appears applicable here.

[Karl Henning]

Strange coincidence: yesterday, after reading about the lunatic fringe hydroxychloroquin touts, I wondered how Cain was doing. Then the story broke this morning.

I'd like to see COVID contact tracing analysis of the Tulsa rally, but of course the present CDC HHS is not going to publicize (or even conduct ) one.
Gee, might the required signing of a release possibly have been a clue? There's a somewhat assholic Wall St. trader phrase "a tax on the stupid", which sadly appears applicable here.

Alas, yes!

[T. D.]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-30/new-york-city-steels-itself-for-virus-to-return-in-the-fall

[Que]

Eurozone suffers deepest contraction on record

Coronavirus: US economy sees sharpest contraction in decades


We are toast.....

Q

[Florestan]

Eurozone suffers deepest contraction on record

Coronavirus: US economy sees sharpest contraction in decades


We are toast.....

Q

On the long run, we're all dead.  There's much more wisdom in this than you'd think. 

[Que]

On the long run, we're all dead... 

Absolutely, thanks for that... 

But after some eerie (geo)political similarities with the 1930's, we now get a global economic crisis as well.

I mean, I'm not particularly looking forward to living through a similar time period, but I guess we have no choice in the matter.... 

Q

[Florestan]

But after some eerie (geo)political similarities with the 1930's, we now get a global economic crisis as well.

Go ahead, make a prediction, it'll be retrospectively fun after a few years: who is the new Hitler, who is the new Mussolini, who is the new Stalin, who is the new Churchill and who is the new Roosevelt? As a Romanian, I can only hope there'll never be a new Yalta Conference. 

EDIT: If you could also predict the new Franco, Salazar, Antonescu and Filov, that'd be a most welcome bonus. 

[Que]

Go ahead, make a prediction, it'll be retrospectively fun after a few years: who is the new Hitler, who is the new Mussolini, who is the new Stalin, who is the new Churchill and who is the new Roosevelt? As a Romanian, I can only hope there'll never be another Yalta Conference. 

As they say, history has a tendency to repeat itself, but never in an identical way.

So, there won't be a Hitler or Mussolini. But we're looking at a major political (US & EU) and geopolitical crises and shifts, a climate crisis and a global economic crisis. I hope there won't be a major war, though some already make predictions to that effect. Local armed conflicts over natural resources seem not unlikely, like over water... see currently the case of Egypt vs Ethiopia.

Q

[Pohjolas Daughter]

As they say, history has a tendency to repeat itself, but never in an identical way.

So, there won't be a Hitler or Mussolini. But we're looking at a major political (US & EU) and geopolitical crises and shifts, a climate crisis and a global economic crisis. I hope there won't be a major war, though some already make predictions to that effect. Local armed conflicts over natural resources seem not unlikely, like over water... see currently the case of Egypt vs Ethiopia.

Q

I was reading about Egypt and Ethiopia and the dam...I think that it was yesterday (BBC online).  Not looking good for Egypt!  No agreement as to exactly how much water they will be allotted...and if I'm recalling correctly, in terms of what they were getting water-wise in terms of need, it was already slightly less than half for the number of people there.     In any event, yeah, I'm expecting rough times ahead too.

[Todd]

As they say, history has a tendency to repeat itself, but never in an identical way.

Trinity literally changed everything as it pertains to great power warfare.  Smaller regional wars and proxy wars will continue, but the world has a fundamentally different geostrategic reality than it did seventy-five years ago.  Endless comparisons to the 1930s have severe flaws.  A better comparison to today would be the unravelling of the Concert of Europe, but that is also a woefully inadequate analog.  The Britain-US vs Britain-Germany comparisons when considering the US and China may be more instructive, but those are inadequate in scale and cultural differentiation to be as useful as their proponents claim.  It seems that many people cannot get over their Eurocentric or Americentric views.  The world has changed, and there are no true historical analogs.

[Florestan]

As they say, history has a tendency to repeat itself, but never in an identical way.

Whoever they are, they talk nonsense. "Repeating itself but never in an identical way" is nonsense.

So, there won't be a Hitler or Mussolini.

Of course there won't be. Nor will there be any Franco, Salazar, Amtonescu, Filov or Horthy. The analogy with 1930s is deeply flawed.

But we're looking at a major political ... and geopolitical crises and shifts, a climate crisis and a global economic crisis.

[/quote]

Is this really any worrying news? Worse than the Black Death? Worse than the 30 Years War? Worse than the Great War? Worse than WWII? Just today I've overheard on the radio a Romanian philosopher claiming that the history of the humankind is essentially a long list of disasters. I think this is bull. One simple question: how come that after all those many disasters, one worse than the other, the humankind is still alive?

[Que]

Is this really any worrying news? Worse than the Black Death? Worse than the 30 Years War? Worse than the Great War? Worse than WWII? Just today I've overheard on the radio a Romanian philosopher claiming that the history of the humankind is essentially a long list of disasters. I think this is bull. One simple question: how come that after all those many disasters, one worse than the other, the humankind is still alive?

I wasn't suggesting that these are the end times! 

[SimonNZ]

As they say, history has a tendency to repeat itself, but never in an identical way.

The quote attributed to Mark Twain is "history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes"