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Yes, it is fascinating to watch this in Canadian media and reader comments. Deflections to Trump are reflexive and expected, just like any other controversy in Canada. "But Trump is worse !" is the common refrain. Methinks it is a permanent attribute for some (not all) of the Canadian psyche and identity....so why would it be any different now ? American media has been ripping Trump for three years without any need to point at Trudeau's failings (or successes) to compensate.

I'm not completely blaming Trudeau. Yes, his government was horrible, but we can't expect much better from them. I can't say I'm surprised or disappointment they would put political correctness ahead of doing what was smart or right. That's their thing. But Canada's public health 'experts', whether at Health Canada or public health were completely incompetent in both preparing for an epidemic and in warning this was coming. They were smug, cocky, confident and arrogant and didn't even bother to really look into what was going on. They should all be fired, starting with Theresa Tam, and going down the list to all the idiots at Health Canada who advised the minister.

Let me help you put your mind at ease. You don't need to argue this point. I hardly see anyone who thinks it. We can all see how this virus is bad and must be safeguarded against. All viruses that kill in this manner should be, wouldn't you agree? Maybe not. It's the method of total quarantine that's debatable.

He fired members of his administration. For doing their jobs, because it conflicted with his. In fact, I heard that Trudeau was warned about the virus in November. Prove me wrong. See, we can all participate in conspiracy theories. Since they’re unprovable, they’re worthless. But god forbid we have just one topic reserved for the Trudeau government. For some reason every topic turns into Trump. Is it not possible to have a thread that doesn’t drift to Trump by you people? China lies, Europe completely botches the response, but for some reason Trump takes 99% of the criticism on here. It’s absolutely absurd.

Below is a link to Trump calling Covid 19 a "brilliant enemy" and claiming that it's too smart for antibiotics. How did people become so stupid as to vote for a man who doesn't even know that antibiotics are used against bacteria, not viruses? Idiot

US death causes per year, various sources: 600,000 deaths by cancer. 400,000 deaths by smoking related disease 40,000 by second hand smoke 300,000 by obesity 88,000 by alcohol 38,000 by car accidents 840,000 by cardiovascular disease Just to give a context. Seems doubtful that COVID is greater than these, unless someone really jigs with the numbers.

That is the whole world number issued by CDC for 2017. I read it a while ago. First of all, the CDC website now shows this disclaimer. It says there is doubt now in the numbers being reported, and I've heard this concern expressed elsewhere. Hospitals are not differentiating well between COVID and other respiratory viruses. Some data shows that other respiratory viruses are not being reported corretly at all, they are too low for what's normal this time of year and it's assumed they might be added to COVID. Here's the 2017 data i mentioned: Link According to new estimates published today, between 291,000 and 646,000 people worldwide die from seasonal influenza-related respiratory illnesses each year, higher than a previous estimate of 250,000 to 500,000 and based on a robust, multinational survey. The new estimate, from a collaborative study by CDC and global health partners, appears today in The Lancet. The estimate excludes deaths during pandemics. “These findings remind us of the seriousness of flu and that flu prevention should really be a global priority,” says Joe Bresee, M.D., associate director for global health in CDC’s Influenza Division and a study co-author. What shall we do now, Argus. Shall masks become the norm for everybody in the whole world, young and old? Think of the psychological impact of it over the long term. What we are doing is stupid, illogical, unsustainable. Lets pray it doesn't become the new normal, because the shit is trying to become its own economy.

It looks like you put some time in to creating it. but before we get into commenting , do you even qualify to enter the election, how many people are in the party currently, have they all been vetted , I mean vetted for wingnuts something the PPC did not do very well. Are you funded. You have made a lot of promises to Canadians , but have not described how your going to keep them, every party does the same thing, hands out a long list of promises, but fails in coming up with realistic solutions, that bear any fruit when based in the reality of running the country. Military, I get it you've done some time in the reserves and have a sense of loyalty to the military, But lets face it it's not going to draw that many votes, if it did the military would not be in the state it is today, with Vets still in the courts, fighting over dozens of issues you failed to cover, It is that way because Canadians want it that way, and nothing is going to change that, unless you educate them on the befits … DND has more problems than just procurement, there is moral, OP Honor issues, members having no honor, integrity, or NOT looking after the institution before themselves, lack of training opportunities, and training equipment, and ammo the list goes right into the next forum it is that long, ... The Military and everything that goes with it, does not even come up on the top 20 priority's of every Canadian. You should just drop it from your platform altogether, want to do DND a solid get elected and then start making changes. DND has been promised the moon every election, and delivered a bag of SH*t every time... Education, your telling educators what they are doing and not doing wrong , Doug Ford try that, how did he make out, it's a provincial item for the most part, unless your going to make it federal funded and free, does it need to be in the platform at all ? Canada's security apparatus, you briefly talk about the military, but left out some of the other important depts., immigration, coast guard, Customs, CSIS, RCMP all suffering from the same thing DND is plagued with...lack of funding , training, equipment, infra structure, man power....talking about these depts. are going to get you more votes than the military... Coming out of this virus shit show we are going to need a massive plan to get our economy started once again, whats your plan to do that ? and what about the whole China with so much Chinese investment into our industries and resources...on top of our sole source manufacturing capability, how are you going to bring those companies back ? what is the plan for that?

It sure as hell don't account for shrinkage from being in cold water.

Or, we can be more selective in who needs to wear the mask to be protected, since we have some decent data that shows who is at high risk and who is not. A smart person should be able to figure out a way to allow the people at risk of respiratory illnesses to be protected the most, and let those who have minimal risk, for whom all these precautions present minimal return, go back to work. That means the age demographic below about 45 - 50 years, which are the parents of families. Not saying go completely without PPE either, saying the amount of quarantine and isolation is potentially far worse than the risk of this disease. But I understand the notion, every life must be saved. Even a 90 year old man, despite the fact some of them would say to the devil with this crap, I'll live what little is left of my life a free man. Or, stuck in a small room with no one to talk to. He dies either way, maybe earlier, and very likely lonelier. But who am I to judge that we stop the whole world on a dime, instant, no plan was prepared, and watch many peoples lives go down the toilet. Shall we tear their lives apart, under the guise that this is good for them? I say it's a judgement call, not absolute. That is why we fight the flu but only to a point, or else the war against the virus also kills. Looking ahead, as is so desperately needed here, does this mean we must go this route for the already existing viral threats that are present? Or do you think it's fine now after having done all this to continue to accept the 600 - 700 thousand flu deaths reported per year, worldwide, as we have done?

Other news coming out of Japan , also concerned with the global supply chain , and how it was disrupted without of any thought to the rest of the world. Japan in it's new economic package is setting aside 2.2 bil us dollars to have Japanese parent companies move back to japan, they are also putting aside millions to have any company move any where else in the world. Since trump has been shaken the trees more than 50 companies have moved back to the US, with added pressure from trump many more are considering moving...things are starting to move from one global supplier to perhaps many.

I do not know anyone from family to friends who have gotten this phony virus yet. But I be that you know plenty, right? I pretty much go out every day and I am still free from this seasonal flu bug. You appear to be another one of those people who are suffering from what is being called now CVS(Covid Virus Syndrome). Apparently, it is a terrible disease to try and get rid of. The way to get rid of it of course is to stop listening to the media and your dear leader politicians. They are the spreaders of this phony virus. Just saying.

Yes, but a lament is an emotional release, and therefore pre-supposes the existence of a human being with a heart. This has some heart but not enough head. I need head.

You are crediting Mr Dressup and the Sesami Street cabinet with enough intelligence to be ABLE to be responsible. Any real blame lies with the Canadian voters who put such a band of dolts into parliament, never mind power. BTW: seems that the Canforce medical intelligence bunch were writing papers and screaming their heads off about this around the New Year. Heard on some news cast while working this morning, but can't find a citation.

I’ve said for a long time that Trump makes people behave in ways they normally wouldn’t. This goes for politicians, media and journalists, and regular people.

Sorry your platform is not necessarily centralist. It is a hodge podge of reactions lamenting a return to a childhood where things seemed more understandable and safer. So I agree with Monsieur Harder.

Might be people do see the same failures in Trudeau, Trump, Dr. Tam, whoever, but don't need an apology because they realize with some issues even the smartest people make mistakes or have no perfect aswers so there aint no point pissin on a man or woman trying to do their best. Regards, Will Rogers

So was Australia. But the information was there easy to see. You didn't have to be a genius, especially when it's your job to watch out for such things, especially, as in Public Health Canada, when your whole agency was created for such a thing. Yet there was Tam blithely telling us not to worry, carry on, don't block the borders, don't screen people, don't make them isolate, don't wear masks. And she was the one advising that hapless idiot Trudeau. Talk about the blind leading the blind!

I’m not sure others would have done much better though. I don’t think even the so called experts saw this coming. Perhaps they should have. Few sounded the alarm. There was no Churchill. Maybe South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore were more tuned in.

We should have imposed a travel ban immediately, first for China, then Iran, and we should have done airport and border screening and imposed quarantines on those returning. We didn't do that because of political correctness, because the Liberals didn't want to annoy China or be seen as singling out Chinese-Canadians - much less Iranian-Canadians who are big Liberal Party supporters.

Agreed. Which leads us to the primary problem that led to all of this crisis. China. Regardless, the WHO shouldn’t be making assertions that they cannot validate. And they shouldn’t be denouncing travel restrictions either.

...or... You need to reread that. Then quickly realize why it is, proof, that humans should never throw their Bible away.

You need to read this, and throw your Bible away. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Good_and_Evil

Those problems are occurring in countries that already have poor health care, are already almost at 100 % capacity before the virus came along. You are blissfully unaware of that of course. We get flu deaths up to 700,000 a year, and that's year on year and without you cowering under the bed. Now that you and other unwashed people know that viruses exist, I hope you will treat them with respect in the future. But naah, you probably won't. The virus will fizzle out and within a short time people will go back to routine. They will learn that a virus is far too inconvenient to deal with like this in the long run. They will learn to live with the virus in peace and harmony.

True....American media is not obsessing over PM Trudeau and Dr. Tam. They are not responsible for what happens in the U.S. Nevertheless....Trump...Trump...Trump ! (in Canada)

I don't follow up on Trump.....and, what news we get out of our mainstream media about him have been usually edited to suit their narrative. So, I don't really care what media says about him. :shrug: Our media is infected with TDS! TDS is everywhere. It's worse than covid-19! Just look at the posts on threads that keep bringing up irrelevant Trump! Tam, on the other hand, is supposed to be our Federal medical expert. We - including our PM - rely on her expertise. Her decisions (and statements) directly affect us Canadians. That's the difference!

Just because you don't like reality, doesn't mean reality is going to bend to your will. You simply have too much faith in the effectiveness of government intervention, wishful thinking is a helluva drug.

True, so I wonder what they have in mind, if anything. One thing coming out of this is the recognition that we should not be relying on China and that manufacturing should return home. Japan is looking at this also, so Karma for China. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-08/japan-to-fund-firms-to-shift-production-out-of-china

Some social distancing will continue, but there is no way in hell they can keep the economy half shut down for eighteen months, nor even six.

I don't need to look any smarter BubberMIley. That is your problem.

He is the leader argus and leaders lead, they don't hide. Why cant you get thar thru your skull. Just imagine if stephen Harper was hiding under his wife's dress. All he had to was get the test and he would know. But I guess he wanted a little lovin at night ,so he stayed put. Sorry argus but that is not right for a leader to do. But then He has been regulated to be the face only of the party only. Freeland was still out there doing her thing, with the help of doug ford.

It can be both at the same time. You won't deny it nor will you admit it. So I take it, you are ashamed to admit that you put more responsibility on others than you do on yourself.

I have seen studies which say otherwise. The question is how much of the virus is needed to infect. The larger fragments/droplets/whatever don't hang in the air, but the microdroplets can for some time, spreading out. That does not necessarily mean they are large/strong enough to cause an infection. The scientists don't know yet. Observe.

Can't speak to that, but my partner had to go to the ER for a non-covid related issue last week. Nobody waiting in emergency or in triage. At the very least, this is an indication of how many people unnecessarily visit ER on any given day.

About twenty people in Canada died each day, on average, from influenza or pneumonia in recent past years, according to this Statistics Canada link. About five people in Canada, per day on average, are reported to have died with this novel coronavirus, from February 15 to April 3, 2020.

It is not his fault that the virus started. But to suggest he cannot be blamed despite having plenty of warning and doing NOTHING to prepare for this is flat out wrong.

I do not agree that this anyone's fault. Looking for scapegoats is pointless. I hate Trudeau as a politician but to blame him for what is happening is pointless. He is doing what he is being advised to do. He is doing his best.

Toronto has assessment centres where they're testing people with symptoms. That's why cases are going up.

The first error in the assumptions is that Tur...TRUdeau is or can provide any sort of leadership. His selection of a cabinet based on political correctness and racial/minority inclusiveness was and is a recipe for disaster, and disaster we have. In all fairness, the political opposites South of 49 did an even worse job. The time to manufacture critical things was 2 months ago. Instead, we see the idiot child trying to score points by telling us HE is going to get business to manufacture ventilators etc. when nobody has even started to tool up for the purpose. Leaving airports open to international and even domestic flights with NOTHING in place to monitor condition of travelers was IMHO a criminally negligent lack of action. NOBODY can or could stop the virus, but those in position of power were and are obligated to delay long enough to put in place what they/we did not and do not have - adequate preparedness. IMHO: the world's gold standard in this has been Taiwan. The turd standard will probably be African nations.

He moved faster than most of his contemporaries with many of the actually necessary measures, and actions that destroyed the economy to stall for time is counter-productive, so waiting to do that also scores him points, though not as many as if he didn't engage in them Keeping the economy shutdown until a vaccine is developed is not doable, and even if it was, the economic damage will vastly outweigh the damage done by the virus