Warning to All MLW Members - Fear and the Cronavirus

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Shady said:

It’s not my meme.  I just like that it listed previous instances of hysteria.

Yeah, I was just being ornery.  Sorry about that.

Edited March 7, 2020 by bcsapper

[Shady]

12 minutes ago, bcsapper said:

Yeah, I was just being ornery.  Sorry about that.

No worries.

[OftenWrong]

26 minutes ago, eyeball said:

I'll take my chances with lazy latte sipping leftists than the authoritarian approach to things that right-wingers fantasize about.

On the contrary, sir, the right is general more anti-authoritarian. Because conservative right wingers do not need to be told what to do. They already know.

28 minutes ago, eyeball said:

you better get on with rounding up the lefties it before its too late and COVID-19 decimates your numbers to the point you're completely irrelevant.

Rounding up would be the Chinese method, and it appears to work. Meanwhile around the world we see the outcome of what is proposed by the peaceniks. CoViD death

 

[Rue]

1 hour ago, eyeball said:

I'll take my chances with lazy latte sipping leftists than the authoritarian approach to things that right-wingers fantasize about.

Besides which most conservatives are old so...you better get on with rounding up the lefties it before its too late and COVID-19 decimates your numbers to the point you're completely irrelevant.

You are a mean young man. Come close so I can throw my diaper at you. You are funny though. You remind me of myself when I could see my feet.

[eyeball]

49 minutes ago, OftenWrong said:

On the contrary, sir, the right is general more anti-authoritarian.

Well now there's a crock o' shit if there ever was one.  You people are famous for your deep adoration for authority and crackin' down and gettin' tough on whatever irks you at the moment. 

Quote

Because conservative right wingers do not need to be told what to do. They already know.

/facepalm  I guess that explains why the most right-wing conservative country on the planet can't muster enough resources to even test its population never mind protect it.

Quote

Rounding up would be the Chinese method, and it appears to work.

See how you admire authoritarianism after all? You just can't help yourself.  It just comes as obliviously and naturally as breathing to you people.

Quote

Meanwhile around the world we see the outcome of what is proposed by the peaceniks. CoViD death.

Yes well notice how peaceful and efficient our way of killing off olde conservatives is?  Meanwhile you'd be resorting to baton wielding authorities with containment camps and enhanced interrogation to root out infected perps.  It's how you guys roll.

[SpankyMcFarland]

3 hours ago, eyeball said:

I'll take my chances with lazy latte sipping leftists than the authoritarian approach to things that right-wingers fantasize about.

Besides which most conservatives are old so...you better get on with rounding up the lefties it before its too late and COVID-19 decimates your numbers to the point you're completely irrelevant.

What about liberals who renounce their lattes and become conservatives as they age? 

[Michael Hardner]

22 minutes ago, SpankyMcFarland said:

What about liberals who renounce their lattes and become conservatives as they age? 

I have decided to commemorate the slide into alt right chaos by declaring myself a conservative.

 

I care about the environment, taking care of people as Jesus taught, and good morals.

 

[eyeball]

27 minutes ago, SpankyMcFarland said:

What about liberals who renounce their lattes and become conservatives as they age? 

Fuck them too.

[-TSS-]

The health services in various countries have been designed on the supposition that a maximum of x % of the population is sick at the same time and that percentage is not very high. 

If it is exceeded the system becomes overwhelmed and it either breaks down or there will be sharp prioritizing, which means that some or even many people are told that they are not worth getting treatment ie not important enough. 

[Argus]

4 hours ago, eyeball said:

I'll take my chances with lazy latte sipping leftists than the authoritarian approach to things that right-wingers fantasize about.

There's no question that if you go far enough to the right you get some authoritarian sentiment. But I think that sentiment is far more popular among the Left these days. There's not only a disdain for different viewpoints, but active hostility and outrage at the very idea people should be able to talk about ideas the Left doesn't like. The 'no platform', cancel culture of the Left would certainly extend to government regulations and laws if these people ever made it into power. We see that in some European cities, where the police show up at your door if you like the wrong items on Facebook. There are progressives on this and other sites who would squeal like little girls at Christmas if they had the chance to get people whose opinions they don't like arrested for those opinions.

Edited March 7, 2020 by Argus

[SpankyMcFarland]

1 hour ago, Argus said:

There's no question that if you go far enough to the right you get some authoritarian sentiment. But I think that sentiment is far more popular among the Left these days. There's not only a disdain for different viewpoints, but active hostility and outrage at the very idea people should be able to talk about ideas the Left doesn't like. The 'no platform', cancel culture of the Left would certainly extend to government regulations and laws if these people ever made it into power. We see that in some European cities, where the police show up at your door if you like the wrong items on Facebook. There are progressives on this and other sites who would squeal like little girls at Christmas if they had the chance to get people whose opinions they don't like arrested for those opinions.

That happens more on the Left but the Right is learning how to restrict free speech too with the same fits of selective outrage.

Anyway, back to the virus. Canada’s web page on COVID-19 needs some serious work. People are entitled to the same clear information as UK citizens, updated daily, about the total number of people who have been tested in the country and how many are positive and have died. Roughly speaking, Canada should aim to be doing about half the tests of the UK, so around 10,000 people as of now. We are nowhere near that. 

Edited March 7, 2020 by SpankyMcFarland

[OftenWrong]

3 hours ago, eyeball said:

See how you admire authoritarianism after all? You just can't help yourself.  It just comes as obliviously and naturally as breathing to you people.

Yes I know it's a lot to take in and understand, even for those of us of healthy and sound mind and so must be that much more difficult for you. Let me explain it this way, it shows there's a time and place for everything. Using brutality and violent force sometimes is good, if you want to survive. Of course it's debatable whether or not the left truly wants to survive.

3 hours ago, eyeball said:

Meanwhile you'd be resorting to baton wielding authorities with containment camps and enhanced interrogation to root out infected perps.  It's how you guys roll.

Alright I admit it, yes I would approve of that. But only if you and your type were among those rounded up. Because it would be an improvement in any case, virus or no

[Iceni warrior]

1 hour ago, OftenWrong said:

Yes I know it's a lot to take in and understand, even for those of us of healthy and sound mind and so must be that much more difficult for you. Let me explain it this way, it shows there's a time and place for everything. Using brutality and violent force sometimes is good, if you want to survive. Of course it's debatable whether or not the left truly wants to survive.

Alright I admit it, yes I would approve of that. But only if you and your type were among those rounded up. Because it would be an improvement in any case, virus or no

Quote

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

 

[Zeitgeist]

3 hours ago, SpankyMcFarland said:

That happens more on the Left but the Right is learning how to restrict free speech too with the same fits of selective outrage.

Anyway, back to the virus. Canada’s web page on COVID-19 needs some serious work. People are entitled to the same clear information as UK citizens, updated daily, about the total number of people who have been tested in the country and how many are positive and have died. Roughly speaking, Canada should aim to be doing about half the tests of the UK, so around 10,000 people as of now. We are nowhere near that. 

My understanding is that there hasn’t been a shortage of testing, but our hospital system could be overwhelmed.  The plan now is to move some existing patients offsite to free up hospital space and protect patients from exposure.  Regional health authorities are also communicating to suspected cases over videoconference to keep these people at home where possible to prevent spread.  So far no deaths.  
 

Edited March 8, 2020 by Zeitgeist

[Dougie93]

2 minutes ago, Zeitgeist said:

My understanding is that there hasn’t been a shortage of testing, but our hospital system could be overwhelmed.  The plan now is to move some existing patients offsite to free up hospital space and protect patients from exposure.  Regional health authorities are also communicating to suspected cases over videoconference to keep these people at home where possible to prevent spread.  So far no deaths.  
 

Those would be high death rates if they hold, for comparison,  the last two pandemics, Asian Flu & Hong Kong Flu were 0.2%

Again, if that's the death rates, then it is comparable to Spanish Flu, even if not equal, those death rates would make it second only to H1N1 1919

Which didn't actually start killing people in large numbers until the fall of 1919, in the spring of 1919 it was quite mild.

[Zeitgeist]

15 minutes ago, Dougie93 said:

Those would be high death rates if they hold, for comparison,  the last two pandemics, Asian Flu & Hong Kong Flu were 0.2%

Again, if that's the death rates, then it is comparable to Spanish Flu, even if not equal, those death rates would make it second only to H1N1 1919

Which didn't actually start killing people in large numbers until the fall of 1919, in the spring of 1919 it was quite mild.

The death rate is worrisome at around 3.4%.  Also, about 15% of people with the virus require hospitalization.  It is not a typical flu.  This is serious.  

I think the question will soon be whether it’s worth accepting the spread and keeping businesses, schools, etc open versus shutting down to wait the virus out.  Might be a helluva long wait.  Not sure what the economy would look like then.  We’re not there yet, but we could get there.  

Edited March 8, 2020 by Zeitgeist

[eyeball]

4 hours ago, Argus said:

There's no question that if you go far enough to the right you get some authoritarian sentiment.

Some authoritarian sentiment when you go far enough...

It sure doesn't look like it took you long to get there when you started calling for the scoop-trucks on day one or two when it came to blockades.  There's a good reason why people refer to the term reactionary when describing right-wing conservatives.  What's really funny is listening to you people going on about how out of control and compulsive left wingers are.

Edited March 8, 2020 by eyeball

[Zeitgeist]

1 minute ago, eyeball said:

Some authoritarian sentiment when you go far enough...

It sure doesn't look like it took you long to get there when you started calling for the scoop-trucks on day one or two when it came to blockades.  There's a good reason why people refer to the term reactionary when describing right-wing conservatives.  What's really funny is listening to you people going on about how out of control and impulsive left wingers are.

Good idea.  We should have those trucks ready to rock and roll next time.  

[Dougie93]

Just now, Zeitgeist said:

The death rate is worrisome at around 3.4%.  Also, about 15% of people with the virus require hospitalization.  It is not a typical flu.  This is serious.  

Contrary to WestCanMan's assertion, I'm not trying to scare anybody, no two pandemics are the same, "comparable" simply means similar, not equal

I'm just doing the math as it presented, I don't say what is worrisome, I'm just comparing it to the three previous pandemics.

 

[Dougie93]

It's also having huge effects in the markets, so it's worth monitoring its lethality in just relation to that, factoring in the disproportionate effects on jittery investors

[bush_cheney2004]

Great COVID-19 scoreboard over at John Hopkins University.    Lowest score wins !

"This isn't some damn football game!"  - Fail Safe (1964)

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

 

 

 

[Dougie93]

In terms of Proud Conservative running off to some isolated place, that might not be such a good idea

The worst effected place on earth in 1919 was tiny Western Samoa, where 30% of males, 20% of females, 10% of children died of the flu.

Canada was a relative safe area, 50,000 killed out of 9 million was 0.6%

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by Dougie93

[bush_cheney2004]

Canada would be even safer if travel was curtailed to hot zones like Iran and Italy in addition to China.

We just got the first confirmed COVID-19 case from another cruise ship.

I do not understand why people keep flocking to those massive floating "petri dishes" (cruise ships).

 

[SpankyMcFarland]

36 minutes ago, Zeitgeist said:

The death rate is worrisome at around 3.4%.  Also, about 15% of people with the virus require hospitalization.  It is not a typical flu.  This is serious.  

I think the question will soon be whether it’s worth accepting the spread and keeping businesses, schools, etc open versus shutting down to wait the virus out.  Might be a helluva long wait.  Not sure what the economy would look like then.  We’re not there yet, but we could get there.  

The country that has arguably done best so far with its testing, South Korea, has one of the lowest fatality rates. I suspect the rate will trend down in the US once it gets testing ramped up and starts finding more people with COVID who were asymptomatic. Even if 0.6 turns out be the true number, it’s still a lot higher than regular flu. 

[SpankyMcFarland]

At this stage in the US, a jump in positive cases should occur when testing increases - it’s not necessarily a bad sign. There is almost certainly a large group of cases out there yet to be diagnosed. The nettle has to be grasped on both sides of the border if we are going to control this thing. BTW any head of government in this crisis should try and lead the nation in working together and exercise restraint on the negative comment front. Calling the state governor at the heart of the epidemic a snake ain’t really helping matters. 

Edited March 8, 2020 by SpankyMcFarland