Coronavirus outbreak

[Ghostsof1915 34,465]

24 minutes ago, coho8888 said:

I think China made offers that companies couldn't refuse.  Relatively cheap skilled labour.  Lax regulations etc..

 

India has much the same. And no communist party to worry about. 

[Me_ 6,554]

2 hours ago, Vegan said:

Confirmed deaths: 243,540. Confirmed cases: 3,525,116. The bodies are not piling up as fast mostly due to under reporting and self quarantine efforts.

 

Expect to see problems like spectator sports and more large groups become a thing of the past. 

 

Hockey will probably change to be more of a televised sport with a lot less cash coming in.

For quite a while for sure.

 

[Me_ 6,554]

The Lincoln Project strikes again.

 

For those who don’t know, the Lincoln Project is comprised of powerful Republicans who say: “not my President” as loud as any Democrat.

 

Led by none other than Kelly Ann Conway’s husband; George Conway.

Dead on.

 

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Me_

[Sharpshooter 8,191]

6 hours ago, The Aquamen said:

It sucks brother, I don’t cry, but can’t stop my tears. Tomorrow will suck more once I wake up, and it all settles in.

I had a German Shepard. I rescued him from an abomination of a family who beat him, starved him and only bought him as some status symbol. I wasn’t looking to get a dog. Didn’t want one. Didn’t need one. A college friend knew that I’ve had GS’s all my life and pleaded with me to take a look even though she knew I was adamant against getting a dog at that time in my life. 
 

I went to the house, just to placate her, because at least she’d finally get off my back about the topic. 
 

I found cruelty, neglect and innocence. 
 

If you‘ll know anything about me ever, it’s this, I cannot abide by cruelty, mistreatment, or bullying of any sort, towards dogs, cats, humans, etc. It’s not in my nature. 
 

I took the dog home that day after seeing his predicament. The family wasn’t even kind enough to give me his bowl or the extra food they had. They still had what I call his ‘leash’, which was the metal wrapped in plastic clothing line that we’ve all seen, around his neck. It had been there for some time and left a scar around his neck. 
 

I wrote up a quick contract on the computer paper I had sitting in the trunk, which stipulated that I wasn’t going to pay anything for him, and that they gave up all claims and visiting rights to him. They signed it as quick as possible. Heathens. 
 

I put him in the car, in the front seat. With a two door hatchback, I put him in the passenger seat as I couldn’t fit him anywhere else. As I pulled away from the hell of a house that he’d known for 10 months, he reached his head over the gearstick, and put his head on my lap....and fell asleep. I loved him from that moment on. His name was Shadow. 
 

Shadow grew into the healthiest and most protective German Shepards I’ve ever had in my life. He protected the house against a burglar one time, that hopped our fence and thought my backyard would be a good place to steal from. He played with the kids in the culdesac like a puppy, even at the ripe old age of 16. 
 

Shadow got ill. The kidneys gave out one day. Black blood everywhere in my basement. I picked him up and put him into the car and took him to the vet. Nothing could be done to save him. The vet allowed me to administer the serum of final sleep. 
 

I never cried so hard as a man, lying to him that everything was going to be ok. 
 

I haven’t had a dog since him. It was over a decade ago. I don’t think I can bring myself to do that again. 
 

I hear your pain. I’ve felt it. And I mourn with you. Grieve. There’s nothing wrong with it. I did as well. Give it time, but don’t let it consume you. Grieve and then recover. I gave myself time to do both. All my best to you. 
 

 

[nuckin_futz 11,690]

4 hours ago, Me_ said:

The Lincoln Project strikes again.

 

For those who don’t know, the Lincoln Project is comprised of powerful Republicans who say: “not my President” as loud as any Democrat.

 

Led by none other than Kelly Ann Conway’s husband; George Conway.

Dead on.

 

 

Rick Wilson also has his hands all over this. Saw an interview with him today. He said with a wry smile on his face that there's more coming.

[Kanukfanatic 7,385]

10 hours ago, Vegan said:

Confirmed deaths: 243,540. Confirmed cases: 3,525,116. The bodies are not piling up as fast mostly due to under reporting and self quarantine efforts.

 

Expect to see problems like spectator sports and more large groups become a thing of the past. 

 

Hockey will probably change to be more of a televised sport with a lot less cash coming in.

Highly doubtful.

 

Hockey will be back once this has gone through another wave. No need to type stuff based on absolutely nothing.

 

Can't wait to get to my next Canuck game!!

Edited May 6, 2020 by Kanukfanatic

[Boudrias 7,275]

6 hours ago, Sharpshooter said:

I had a German Shepard. I rescued him from an abomination of a family who beat him, starved him and only bought him as some status symbol. I wasn’t looking to get a dog. Didn’t want one. Didn’t need one. A college friend knew that I’ve had GS’s all my life and pleaded with me to take a look even though she knew I was adamant against getting a dog at that time in my life. 
 

I went to the house, just to placate her, because at least she’d finally get off my back about the topic. 
 

I found cruelty, neglect and innocence. 
 

If you‘ll know anything about me ever, it’s this, I cannot abide by cruelty, mistreatment, or bullying of any sort, towards dogs, cats, humans, etc. It’s not in my nature. 
 

I took the dog home that day after seeing his predicament. The family wasn’t even kind enough to give me his bowl or the extra food they had. They still had what I call his ‘leash’, which was the metal wrapped in plastic clothing line that we’ve all seen, around his neck. It had been there for some time and left a scar around his neck. 
 

I wrote up a quick contract on the computer paper I had sitting in the trunk, which stipulated that I wasn’t going to pay anything for him, and that they gave up all claims and visiting rights to him. They signed it as quick as possible. Heathens. 
 

I put him in the car, in the front seat. With a two door hatchback, I put him in the passenger seat as I couldn’t fit him anywhere else. As I pulled away from the hell of a house that he’d known for 10 months, he reached his head over the gearstick, and put his head on my lap....and fell asleep. I loved him from that moment on. His name was Shadow. 
 

Shadow grew into the healthiest and most protective German Shepards I’ve ever had in my life. He protected the house against a burglar one time, that hopped our fence and thought my backyard would be a good place to steal from. He played with the kids in the culdesac like a puppy, even at the ripe old age of 16. 
 

Shadow got ill. The kidneys gave out one day. Black blood everywhere in my basement. I picked him up and put him into the car and took him to the vet. Nothing could be done to save him. The vet allowed me to administer the serum of final sleep. 
 

I never cried so hard as a man, lying to him that everything was going to be ok. 
 

I haven’t had a dog since him. It was over a decade ago. I don’t think I can bring myself to do that again. 
 

I hear your pain. I’ve felt it. And I mourn with you. Grieve. There’s nothing wrong with it. I did as well. Give it time, but don’t let it consume you. Grieve and then recover. I gave myself time to do both. All my best to you. 
 

 

Such a heart felt story of your journey with Shadow, Sharpshooter. I inherited my dog Kobe from my daughter when she moved to Calgary. I was very reluctant to take him as I have had many dogs over the years and inevitably the time comes to say good bye. Like your Shadow, Kobe lived to 16 years which is really good for a big dog. He was my buddy and followed me around the acreage without fail. He started having small strokes with little residual affects but they got progressively worse. He would come down into the basement TV room every night to check on me. He would stay for an hour or two and then climb back up the stairs as all was well. The day came when his time was done and it was almost like he was telling me with his eyes that he wanted to go. I carried him to the TV room with the stove burning and laid him beside it. The vet very kindly came to the house and we gave him the shot with his head on my lap. Like you I cried as the memories of him swirled. Gosh that was 7 years ago and I still get emotional. We haven't had another dog since. I doubt we will.  

[RUPERTKBD 28,105]

Elect a clown....expect a circus. Or in this case, expect the clown's son-in-law.....

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/jared-kushners-pandemic-effort-exposed-as-laughable/ar-BB13GDM0?li=AAggNb9
 

Quote

 

t was nearly two months ago when Politico first reported that Jared Kushner was taking on a key role in guiding Donald Trump on combating the pandemic. CNN's White House correspondent added the same day that Kushner is "becoming more involved" in the administration's coronavirus response, with one source telling the network that the president's young son-in-law is "in total control."

It wasn't long before Kushner was reportedly leading a "shadow task force" of his own, which had the effect of "causing confusion among many officials involved in the response."

As it turns out, that was far from the only problem. The Washington Post reported yesterday:

The coronavirus response being spearheaded by President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has relied in part on volunteers from consulting and private equity firms with little expertise in the tasks they were assigned, exacerbating chronic problems in obtaining supplies for hospitals and other needs, according to numerous government officials and a volunteer involved in the effort.

The article painted a rather brutal portrait, including allegations that Kushner's team, which set out to secure personal protection equipment, "had little success in helping the government secure such equipment, in part because none of the team members had significant experience in health care, procurement or supply-chain operations." Worse, "none of the volunteers had relationships with manufacturers or a clear understanding of customs requirements or Food and Drug Administration rules."

 

The New York Times ran a similarly unflattering report highlighting a blistering memo from a whistle-blower who accused members of Kushner's team of doing work that was "plagued by frequent changes in process, efforts that turned out to be wasted, poor communication and mounting dread about their lack of progress."

 

The Times' article pointed to, among other things, Dr. Jeffrey Hendricks, a South Carolina physician who "had longtime manufacturing contacts in China and a line on millions of masks from established suppliers." When he reached out to FEMA with an offer to help, the doctor was diverted to "a team of roughly a dozen young volunteers,

recruited by the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and overseen by a former assistant to Mr. Kushner's wife, Ivanka Trump."

 

Dr. Valerie Griffeth, an emergency room doctor in Oregon and a founder of Get Us P.P.E., a volunteer effort to match available medical supplies with hospitals and emergency workers, told the Times, "To bring in inexperienced volunteers is laughable when there are professional logistics experts in government who could have helped with procurement and distribution and get us the supplies we need."

Quite right. It appears that Kushner, convinced of the superiority of private-sector outsiders, believed he could teach government bureaucrats a thing or two by turning to consulting and private equity firms to get the job done. Except, that didn't work -- because those government bureaucrats actually understand the health care procurement process in ways the president's young son-in-law and his pals from the corporate world do not.

But that's not the only lesson that's emerged from this unfortunate turn of events. The other larger takeaway is that it's a mistake to keep giving Jared Kushner so many important things to do. As regular readers know, Trump's inexperienced son-in-law has an almost comically broad policy portfolio, featuring incredibly complex challenges that even experienced officials -- those who actually know what they're doing -- would find difficult.

Trump has tasked Kushner with tackling, among other things, foreign policy, trade policy, criminal-justice reform, infrastructure, "reimagining" the Veterans Administration, tackling the opioid crisis, striking a Middle East peace agreement, building a border wall, and more recently, procuring PPE during a pandemic.

Given his paltry lack of successes, maybe it's time to give other, more experienced public officials a try?

 

With Trump bragging about what a "great job" they're doing with the Coronavirus response and Jared calling it a "great success", it remains to be seen how many are (or will be) fool enough to believe it. The truth is, the actions of this administration have been so inept that it borders on comical....

 

....except, no-one is laughing. They're dying instead....

[bishopshodan 10,552]

 

 

 

[RUPERTKBD 28,105]

The Washington Post has created a website that tracks the number of deaths in the US that could have been avoided, had Trump not delayed and downplayed the severity of the pandemic. The figure is based on mathematical models, using input from experts in epidemiology:

 

https://trumpdeathclock.com/

 

For those with an version to clicking links, here is a screen shot, but bear in mind the number is growing as I type:

Trump Death Clock

40,374

Estimated Portion U.S. COVID-19 Deaths Due To POTUS Inaction

In January 2020, the Trump administration was advised that immediate action was required to stop the spread of COVID-19. According to NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, “there was a lot of pushback” to this advice. President Trump declined to act until March 16^th. Epidemiologists now estimate that, had mitigation measures been implemented one week earlier, 60% of American COVID-19 deaths would have been avoided.

 

The original story, that explains the genesis and methodology is here:

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/opinions-trumps-covid-19-inaction-killed-americans-we-built-a-counter-to-find-how-many/ar-BB13GySU?li=AAggNb9

 

Quote

 

The National Debt Clock hangs above New York City’s Avenue of the Americas as a persistent reminder of a clear message: The United States is recklessly living beyond its means, and this will have grave future consequences. In the same symbolic spirit, it is time for the establishment of a national “death clock” to measure the cost in human lives of President Trump and his team’s reckless handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Reports show that as early as January 2020, the President was advised by both his own experts and the intelligence services of the need for urgent mitigation measures against the spread of the virus. Instead, he engaged in petty political feuds and pollyanish predictions minimizing its significance. Finally, on March 16th, he reversed his previously dismissive stance and announced “new guidelines for every American to follow.”

 

But by then it was too late; America was already the world leader in its rate of COVID-19 infection and has since become home to one-third of the world’s cases and five times as many as any other country. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has stated that, had the guidelines been implemented earlier, a crucial period in the exponential spread of the virus would have been mitigated and American lives saved. Leading epidemiologists have put a finer point on this, estimating that 50 to 80 percent of covid-19 deaths in New York and approximately 90 percent of all American covid-19 deaths can now be attributed to the administration’s delay between March 2nd and March 16th.

This suffering cannot be forgotten. As of today, tens of thousands of Americans have lost their lives as a consequence of the administration’s failure to act sooner, so it’s no wonder the President excoriates reporters who ask him why he waited so long to implement the guidelines. Trump’s fallback when he is under scrutiny is to deflect, attack, and distract. But will this work when his decisions have led to a loss of American lives? How will the President be held responsible?

It’s all in the branding, that stuff the President himself does so well when he applies derisive nicknames to his rivals or attaches the name of a foreign power to a global pandemic. Accountability needs a brand, and the National Debt Clock is a helpful precedent. It demonstrates how to plant a symbolic flag in the numbers -- one that can’t be knocked over by bluster or misleading campaign videos. This pandemic is ongoing, and the lives already unnecessarily lost demand we seek more responsible crisis leadership. Just as the names of fallen soldiers are etched on memorials to remind us of the cost of war, quantifying the lives lost to President Trump’s delayed coronavirus response would serve a vital public function.

Designing a death clock must be based on mathematical models. The President and his defenders may wish to assign blame to other countries, individuals, and institutions. His detractors, on the other hand, may wish to assess the consequences of his statements, decisions, and actions earlier than March 2020. But a death clock must not reflect conjecture and needs to exist outside the news cycle, identifying only that portion of deaths which, according to experts, have resulted directly from the President and his team’s delayed response.

Conservatively, according to epidemiologists, had the Trump Administration simply implemented mitigation guidelines by March 9th, 2020, approximately 60 percent of American covid-19 deaths could have been avoided.

To let the numbers speak for themselves, my team and I have constructed an online counter at www.TrumpDeathClock.com, estimating the toll of the White House’s delayed response. The site displays both the number of people who have died in the country from covid-19 and an estimate of that portion whose lives would have been saved had the President and his administration acted just one week earlier.

What a powerful statement it would be if this clock could be displayed on billboards and projected on buildings in cities and small towns across America. This would begin to honor those who lost their lives and, in their memory, demand more responsive and responsible leadership.

 

 

[Boudrias 7,275]

6 minutes ago, bishopshodan said:

 

 

 

Only as Jimmy can do. Absolutely beautiful. Thankyou.

[CBH1926 6,762]

Got my Trump letter where he is taking credit for advancing me my own tax refund money.

This guy is something else!

 

[Wilbur 5,615]

1 minute ago, CBH1926 said:

Got my Trump letter where he is taking credit for advancing me my own tax refund money.

This guy is something else!

 

Would you describe it as a beautiful letter?  Trump likes his beautiful letters...

[Jimmy McGill 41,791]

36 minutes ago, RUPERTKBD said:

The Washington Post has created a website that tracks the number of deaths in the US that could have been avoided, had Trump not delayed and downplayed the severity of the pandemic. The figure is based on mathematical models, using input from experts in epidemiology:

 

https://trumpdeathclock.com/

as much as I dislike the orange pig I just can't see this helping anyone. The alt-facts crowd won't care, they might even celebrate it somehow. People who do care will just feel more despair. 

[Fanuck 7,388]

Horgan giving daily update at 3pm today.

Media expect him to reveal plans to re-open province including loosening social restrictions and restarting economy.

 

On a related note, my old hockey teammate told me his wife (a teacher) is being told to report back to work next week - there would be no reason for this other than they expect schools to re-open (to some degree).  Not sure how I would feel about this as a teacher (or parent of a school aged child) but logically, the economy cannot fully re-open without the provinces single largest child-care provider (that's not how I feel personally about school or teachers - but I know it's what a lot of society feel) being reopened also? 

 

[Tre Mac 10,392]

I hope they re-open hair salons soon before I become a resident of Mulletville.  

[Lateralus91 515]

14 minutes ago, Tre Mac said:

I hope they re-open hair salons soon before I become a resident of Mulletville.  

Here in Germany hair salons and others were allowed to open on Monday. Football matches will be allowed the weekend after next as well. Curious to see if that was the right time or too early. No way back now I guess.

[bree2 2,896]

44 minutes ago, Fanuck said:

Horgan giving daily update at 3pm today.

Media expect him to reveal plans to re-open province including loosening social restrictions and restarting economy.

 

On a related note, my old hockey teammate told me his wife (a teacher) is being told to report back to work next week - there would be no reason for this other than they expect schools to re-open (to some degree).  Not sure how I would feel about this as a teacher (or parent of a school aged child) but logically, the economy cannot fully re-open without the provinces single largest child-care provider (that's not how I feel personally about school or teachers - but I know it's what a lot of society feel) being reopened also? 

 

 I have 11 grandchildren and I know my children will not be sending their kids back to school this soon. 

[coastal.view 6,945]

3 hours ago, RUPERTKBD said:

The Washington Post has created a website that tracks the number of deaths in the US that could have been avoided, had Trump not delayed and downplayed the severity of the pandemic. The figure is based on mathematical models, using input from experts in epidemiology:

 

https://trumpdeathclock.com/

 

For those with an version to clicking links, here is a screen shot, but bear in mind the number is growing as I type:

Trump Death Clock

40,374

Estimated Portion U.S. COVID-19 Deaths Due To POTUS Inaction

In January 2020, the Trump administration was advised that immediate action was required to stop the spread of COVID-19. According to NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, “there was a lot of pushback” to this advice. President Trump declined to act until March 16^th. Epidemiologists now estimate that, had mitigation measures been implemented one week earlier, 60% of American COVID-19 deaths would have been avoided.

 

The original story, that explains the genesis and methodology is here:

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/opinions-trumps-covid-19-inaction-killed-americans-we-built-a-counter-to-find-how-many/ar-BB13GySU?li=AAggNb9

 

 

will it also factor in

aggressive too early reopening of so many states ?

or does he get a pass on that

since it is dependent on governor decisions primarily

(we all know trump wants to avoid all responsibility wherever possible}

[Me_ 6,554]

2 hours ago, Jimmy McGill said:

as much as I dislike the orange pig I just can't see this helping anyone. The alt-facts crowd won't care, they might even celebrate it somehow. People who do care will just feel more despair. 

It’ll help at The Hague.