Monday, May 04, 2020
Sunday, May 03, 2020
Todays' Tweet
Redneck Wright Brothers - are we finally gonna get our flying cars?
— because men live less (@menlivesless) April 8, 2020
COVID-19 Update
see: Worldometer Coronavirus Update
100,000 dead Americans by about May 18th - it's good news whenever that date recedes, even a little.
But the fear now of course is that Americans are getting bored with it, and too many are resisting the urge to stay cautious, so they're heading out to celebrate the good weather - which could trigger a second wave.
The Hill:
The U.S. saw its largest one-day death toll from the coronavirus pandemic to date on Thursday, as several states began to reopen parts of their economies.
100,000 dead Americans by about May 18th - it's good news whenever that date recedes, even a little.
But the fear now of course is that Americans are getting bored with it, and too many are resisting the urge to stay cautious, so they're heading out to celebrate the good weather - which could trigger a second wave.
The Hill:
The U.S. saw its largest one-day death toll from the coronavirus pandemic to date on Thursday, as several states began to reopen parts of their economies.
According to data from the World Health Organization, 2,909 U.S. residents died on Thursday, shattering the previous record of 2,471 deaths that were reported on April 23, CNBC reports.
The grim news comes as Americans grow weary of the stay-at-home measures that have shuttered businesses and put millions of people out of work. State leaders around the country continued to see protests from demonstrators who want to reopen the economy and return to their jobs. Demonstrations took place in California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee and Washington on Friday.
Reuters:
The Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus has coalesced in recent days around the same message - the need to reopen quickly. The White House did not renew federal guidelines on social distancing that expired April 30, and President Donald Trump is expected to go to Arizona next week, after a month without travel.
Just as the virus has infected the states unevenly, some state and local governments are opening malls, movie theaters and hairdressers while others remain in the stay-at-home posture that at one point kept most of America’s 320 million people indoors.
Both the White House and the groups advising it are missing detailed, centralized plans for virus testing and containment, which many health officials, historians, and economists say are needed to avoid a new surge of infections and longer-term economic damage.
A Harvard University study published last week argued that 5 million tests per day by early June would be needed to deliver a “safe social reopening.” Such testing would need to ramp up to 20 million a day to fully remobilize the economy, the researchers said.
Reuters:
The Trump administration’s response to the coronavirus has coalesced in recent days around the same message - the need to reopen quickly. The White House did not renew federal guidelines on social distancing that expired April 30, and President Donald Trump is expected to go to Arizona next week, after a month without travel.
Just as the virus has infected the states unevenly, some state and local governments are opening malls, movie theaters and hairdressers while others remain in the stay-at-home posture that at one point kept most of America’s 320 million people indoors.
Both the White House and the groups advising it are missing detailed, centralized plans for virus testing and containment, which many health officials, historians, and economists say are needed to avoid a new surge of infections and longer-term economic damage.
A Harvard University study published last week argued that 5 million tests per day by early June would be needed to deliver a “safe social reopening.” Such testing would need to ramp up to 20 million a day to fully remobilize the economy, the researchers said.
Saturday, May 02, 2020
Today's Tweet
There is great talent abroad in this land.
I'm not sure who done this, but I love you!!!! 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/iXV4RgKIJP— Louie G 🇩🇪🇲🇽🇺🇲 (@LouGarza86) May 1, 2020
COVID-19 Update
COVID-19 continues apace, although the Growth Rates seem to be steadying up at about 1.03. Which means they're still in line with the Exponential thing, but it's low.
And I can't believe I just wrote that - "People are still dying at an alarming rate, but hey - it could be worse - it's not as bad as it was a while ago" (?)
And there you have it. That's pretty much the entire message we've been getting from President Stoopid's daily episodes of Gaslight Theater for months now.
I must atone.
The crowd that descended on the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street was significantly larger than a demonstration at the same site near the Huntington Beach Pier two weeks ago. The raucous protest included people carrying banners that read “All jobs are essential” and “Freedom: We the people.” One person had a sign that said “Recall Gavin Newsom.”
Parents walked hand-in-hand with children to the now-closed beach, while protesters, some bringing their dogs, arrived on bikes, skateboards and scooters. Several shared their grievances through chants, signs and occasional songs.
While some protesters wore face coverings, most neither wore masks nor followed social distancing guidelines of six feet of separation. Police officers on horseback monitored protesters while others ushered attendees across Pacific Coast Highway in an effort to keep traffic moving.
And I can't believe I just wrote that - "People are still dying at an alarming rate, but hey - it could be worse - it's not as bad as it was a while ago" (?)
And there you have it. That's pretty much the entire message we've been getting from President Stoopid's daily episodes of Gaslight Theater for months now.
I must atone.
And it looks like California's about to get it's 2nd wave.
The crowd that descended on the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street was significantly larger than a demonstration at the same site near the Huntington Beach Pier two weeks ago. The raucous protest included people carrying banners that read “All jobs are essential” and “Freedom: We the people.” One person had a sign that said “Recall Gavin Newsom.”
Parents walked hand-in-hand with children to the now-closed beach, while protesters, some bringing their dogs, arrived on bikes, skateboards and scooters. Several shared their grievances through chants, signs and occasional songs.
While some protesters wore face coverings, most neither wore masks nor followed social distancing guidelines of six feet of separation. Police officers on horseback monitored protesters while others ushered attendees across Pacific Coast Highway in an effort to keep traffic moving.
Luckily, the idiots are relatively few, but that's kind of a big fucking problem when it comes to infectious disease. Plus, it makes us look like The Stoopid States Of America.
Friday, May 01, 2020
Foil Hatters
I get really tired of debunking this shit.
Chinese lab conducted extensive research on deadly bat viruses, but there is no evidence of accidental release
It goes on to tell of certain activities concerning genetic modifications of some viruses in order to make them easier to study - which involved making the viruses more capable of infecting hosts, including humans.
Since the novel coronavirus pandemic began, misinformation has proliferated on the Internet — par for the course during a crisis. People took to social media in droves to share false claims that covering your body in chlorine or eating garlic were effective methods of fighting the virus, both of which were disproved by the World Health Organization.
The pandemic has also sparked a wave of more insidious conspiracy theories, such as the false claim that 5G mobile networks spread and worsen the coronavirus, which has led to dozens of instances of arsonists setting fire to cell towers across Europe.
Misinformation spreads online much like a virus itself. Though various types spread slightly differently, the transmission of the 5G conspiracy theory offers some insight into how false claims grow online.
A “calamitous event” like the pandemic creates a “very fertile breeding ground for conspiracy theories,” said John Cook, an expert on misinformation with George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication.
The onslaught of information and misinformation on social media, on cable news and in general conversation may create confusion, but it’s made even worse by human discomfort with ambiguity, especially when our lives are at stake.
Kate Pine, an assistant professor in the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University, is currently interviewing people around the United States on how they’re navigating covid-19. She said people “feel like they’re inundated with information, but they don’t have the information they want,” and as a result, they might be more willing to believe outlandish claims.
“When people feel threatened or out of control or they’re trying to explain a big significant event, they’re more vulnerable or prone to turning to conspiracy theories to explain them,” Cook said. “Somewhat counterintuitively, it gives people more sense of control to imagine that, rather than random things happening, there are these shadowy groups and agencies that are controlling it. Randomness is very discomforting to people.”
Chinese lab conducted extensive research on deadly bat viruses, but there is no evidence of accidental release
WaPo:
On Thursday, the U.S. intelligence community released an assessment formally concluding that the virus behind the coronavirus pandemic originated in China. While asserting that the pathogen was not man-made or genetically altered, the statement pointedly declined to rule out the possibility that the virus had escaped from the complex of laboratories in Wuhan that has been at the forefront of global research into bat-borne viruses linked to multiple epidemics over the past decade.
“The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said, using a common initialism for the U.S. intelligence community.
On Thursday, the U.S. intelligence community released an assessment formally concluding that the virus behind the coronavirus pandemic originated in China. While asserting that the pathogen was not man-made or genetically altered, the statement pointedly declined to rule out the possibility that the virus had escaped from the complex of laboratories in Wuhan that has been at the forefront of global research into bat-borne viruses linked to multiple epidemics over the past decade.
“The IC will continue to rigorously examine emerging information and intelligence to determine whether the outbreak began through contact with infected animals or if it was the result of an accident at a laboratory in Wuhan,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said, using a common initialism for the U.S. intelligence community.
Most of us find this pretty alarming because it sounds like it came straight out of a Michael Crichton novel. But the real point is that because you have to acknowledge the "possibility" of something going horribly wrong - and things do go wrong with near-shocking regularity - you end up giving just enough daylight for the Foil Hat Brigade to run amok.
You can't say absolutely that there's no chance of something happening, so the nutballs seize on that and lickety-split, the villagers are destroying everything they associate with the monster, including all the information they need to make sure they can fight it and beat it.
They just burn everything and hope for the best.
"It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it."
But wait - there's more.
Since the novel coronavirus pandemic began, misinformation has proliferated on the Internet — par for the course during a crisis. People took to social media in droves to share false claims that covering your body in chlorine or eating garlic were effective methods of fighting the virus, both of which were disproved by the World Health Organization.
The pandemic has also sparked a wave of more insidious conspiracy theories, such as the false claim that 5G mobile networks spread and worsen the coronavirus, which has led to dozens of instances of arsonists setting fire to cell towers across Europe.
Misinformation spreads online much like a virus itself. Though various types spread slightly differently, the transmission of the 5G conspiracy theory offers some insight into how false claims grow online.
A “calamitous event” like the pandemic creates a “very fertile breeding ground for conspiracy theories,” said John Cook, an expert on misinformation with George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication.
The onslaught of information and misinformation on social media, on cable news and in general conversation may create confusion, but it’s made even worse by human discomfort with ambiguity, especially when our lives are at stake.
Kate Pine, an assistant professor in the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University, is currently interviewing people around the United States on how they’re navigating covid-19. She said people “feel like they’re inundated with information, but they don’t have the information they want,” and as a result, they might be more willing to believe outlandish claims.
- and -
In the mean time - don't forget that 45* needs to make us look the other way. He's desperate to get the economy back up and running. And while he can easily blame COVID-19 for the economy going in the shitter, he has to get us thinking away from his total fuckup-itude, so he's desperately spinning the yarn about how COVID-19 is all China's fault.
He invites the inference that China "attacked" us with the virus and so none of the bad shit that happens as a result is his fault - everything he does is justified because he's just being a strong powerful leader - a wartime POTUS.
Today's Tweet
"Blursday"
>Another day, another #TrumpMeltdown.— Social✽Fly (Gov Cuomo's #StayAtHome Girlfriend) (@socflyny) April 30, 2020
NYC is still locked down.
US death toll surpasses 62,000.
30 million are unemployed.
No state has had 14 consecutive days of #COVID decline.
Biden has an 8% lead over Trump.
Everyday is now Blursday. pic.twitter.com/eFz3xApRyV
COVID-19 Update
Notice how the Rent Collectors are clamoring for us to get back to work?
I'm wondering if we actually learn something - like how a general strike scares the fuck outa the plutocrats.
I'm wondering if we actually learn something - like how a general strike scares the fuck outa the plutocrats.
Who's essential now, bitch?
(6AM EDT)
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