A flashback to three days after the first cases in USA were tested positive.
Twitter Link
A flashback to three days after the first cases in USA were tested positive.
Twitter Link
Twitter Link
Trump made a vaccine that he took at Walter Reed, brain genius reports
"One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."
Now a message from America's mayor:
Twitter Link
"One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."
Aunt and Uncle have tested positive. The uncle is blood and the oldest of my grandma's kids and by far the most Boomerish. Can't say I'm surprised in the slightest.
Last edited by Ominous Gamer; 10-14-2020 at 01:18 AM.
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
Bars and restaurants are closing again tomorrow. I can't help but think that if the government had responded a bit more forcefully a few weeks ago when it was clear things were going wrong, this could have been avoided.
Keep on keepin' the beat alive!
This was the essence of my criticism of the British complacency wrt trends a while back: by the time you have evidence that's clear enough for partisan politics, you are already far too late. Many countries are loosening restrictions without adequate preparation for the inevitable surge in cases, and it feels like govts are focused on the politics—managing the public's perception in order to not come across as being too inept.
Recently, two notable articles have been published about Sweden's pandemic response (both from an institutional perspective and from a social/cultural perspective):
1. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020...ierce-backlash
2. https://time.com/5899432/sweden-coronovirus-disaster/
The first article is a little weaker due to its reliance—for part of the piece—on statements from a group of dissidents whose credibility has taken some major hits due to the increasing prominence of, well, cranks. However, the key reporting in both articles is accurate, and they both paint a truly damning picture. There are some important things missing from both, such as an examination of deficient risk analysis at the public health agency (exemplified not only by public messaging and very foolish prioritization, but also by official communications with the civil contingencies agency, in which they answered questions about what potential risks they foresaw with "none"), recent excuses about lack of resources (esp. notable given earlier confidence that there were no risks worth considering), and the much more positive experiences of those few municipal & regional govts that deliberately deviated from the public health agency's official recommendations (and were severely criticized for it). The second article gives a clearer and more comprehensive overview.
Cases are now once again—predictably—on the rise, and our preparedness is still inadequate. Political opposition remains confined to the far right and a small contingent of arch-conservative right-wing derpheads, but the media coverage has changed somewhat, with the most important broadsheet and the second most important tabloid taking a decidedly critical stance. One positive thing I've noticed is a change in discourse in the largest and most prominent covid-focused social media community for Swedish doctors—a greater focus on risks, miscalculations, experiences & evidence from other countries, and a much lower level of arrogant pro-govt exceptionalism. The latter does not seem to be a tenable public posture any longer. My mother is in Sthlm and the risk to her is going to be greater than it was in spring. My sister won't be going back to DC for several months at least, so that's a relief. My only real consolation for my own part is that I'll be on leave until January, and then probably have a few months of research that I can do from home or my office without a high risk of exposure, apart from occasional shifts on call. And my wife will hopefully be able to work from home or somewhere else that isn't her office starting next week. But, this fucking country man. Can't believe idiots all over the west are clamoring to have their govts emulate us.
Last edited by Aimless; 10-14-2020 at 07:26 PM.
"One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."
Twitter Link
If you vote for him his genius rubs off on you
"One day, we shall die. All the other days, we shall live."
If Covid had hit in the 90s, this is hilarious.
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Texas has passed New Jersey in deaths this week, and I believe they are currently the only state still reporting 5000+ new cases a day, so they have a shot of catching New York before this is all said and done.
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
So. I am marrying my partner next weekend. In a small castle which is now a hotel near where she grew up and her folks still live, in a region of Scotland on the west coast, Argyll.
Scotland has stricter Covid rules than much of England. We've been working through the complexities of the rules and how they apply to us and our small wedding party of close relatives and a couple of friends who are all flying in for the weekend. Fortunately this is not in the central belt of Scotland where Covid cases are higher in number and stricter rules are in force.
We are marrying on the saturday, but everybody is flying in on the friday, and leaving on the monday, giving us the weekend for the celebrations.
On the saturday, the day of the ceremony, we have two large rooms in the hotel, one for the ceremony itself, and one next door for the reception.
- 15 people max are allowed to attend, excluding the bride, groom and registrar. This is fine, we had always planned a small ceremony, we don't like a fuss, and by sheer coincidence 15 is the exact number of folk on our invite list.
- Bride and groom are exempt from wearing a mask during proceedings, everyone else should be wearing one, though I feel this may be relaxed on the day
- For the reception, the rule of mixed households indoors applies, which means that a max of six people from two households can be together. For our party of 15 people, this means we can't all sit at one large table for reception dining as we had planned, and instead have to sit at three separate tables
- All wedding celebrations must end by 10pm. Alcohol is not allowed to be served past that point
- On the friday when people arrive, and on the sunday, premises including hotel restaurants are only allowed to serve indoors between 6am and 6pm, with no sale of alcohol allowed
- Premises with a suitable licence can serve folk outdoors until 10pm, with alcohol allowed
- We have a lovely restaurant booked on an island a ferry-ride away on the sunday for lunch to continue the celebrations. However the above rules mean we have to again sit at three separate tables, cannot consume alcohol (unless we venture outdoors for a drink, but this is Scotland at the end of October - it will be wet, cold and windy), and have to move on by 6pm
We had until now given the chances of even being able to hold the wedding at 50%, with full lockdowns looming. We have over the last two weeks been close to postponing everything (or just pissing off to the local town hall and getting hitched without any family), but with my partner's mother in very poor health and unlikely to see another year, we are pressing on.
We will make the most of it, and plan to have as much fun as possible given this fucking virus shit going on.
I hope that in five years time, we will look back on the weekend with all the palava, the restrictions, the difficulty in consuming alcohol (my partner's family like a good drink, as do her and I to be fair), the inability for all of us to sit and mix and hug together, and just laugh.
Congrats on your impending nuptials, Timbuk! What a great venue!
Not to be morbid, but you're lucky to be planning a wedding and not a funeral. Both come with all the restrictions and dilemmas...but only a wedding can make people attend a potential super-spreader event and think it might be a fun, or joyous trade-off.
In the end, what matters most is that you married the love of your life....and you didn't expect others to risk their lives for sharing in that celebration. It's hard to get married in the New Cold War among First World nations during the Internet era enduring a global Pandemic, but it sounds like you've managed it quite well.
Peace and Love
https://apnews.com/article/virus-out...08f675617b3bfd
“I personally do not care whether anybody wears a mask or not. If they want to be dumb enough to walk around and expose themselves and others, that’s fine with me,” Kirby said. “Nobody’s wearing the damned mask anyway. ... I’m sitting back and watching them catch it and die. Hopefully I’ll live through it.”
Another member, Allen Banks, denied COVID-19 exists.
“Something’s making these people sick, and I’m pretty sure that it’s not coronavirus, so the question that you should be asking is, ‘What’s making them sick?’” he told the medical professionals who testified.
Keep on keepin' the beat alive!
gg Virus, well played You win.
Lets have another rally.
I could have had class. I could have been a contender.
I could have been somebody. Instead of a bum
Which is what I am
I aim at the stars
But sometimes I hit London
Confirmed cases are still in the rise here the only 'good' news is that the growth is decreasing.. but the numbers are still growing 20% compared to a week ago.
Keep on keepin' the beat alive!
Next door neighbour has it, and rather badly. Bedbound with high-fever for 3 days running, but she seems to be over the worst of it now. She is a teacher 3 days a week so was rather likely to be infected at some point.
Very strangely, neither her husband nor her two kids who are isolating with her have contracted the virus
Hope your neighbour makes a speed recovery Tim.
Interesting trends across Europe. Concerning that as we're going into winter we'll be spending more time indoors and more prone for spread it seems.
France
29/10/20 47,637
22/10/20 41,622
15/10/20 30,621
08/10/20 18,129
Germany
29/10/20 18,492
22/10/20 12,519
15/10/20 7,074
08/10/20 4,401
Italy
29/10/20 26,831
22/10/20 16,079
15/10/20 8,803
08/10/20 4,458
Poland
29/10/20 20,156
22/10/20 12,107
15/10/20 8,099
08/10/20 4,280
Spain
29/10/20 23,580
22/10/20 16,965
15/10/20 15,441
08/10/20 12,161
UK
29/10/20 23,065
22/10/20 21,243
15/10/20 18,965
08/10/20 17,540
Data from worldometer.
UK papers being briefed that an England nationwide lockdown is coming. Probably starting Wednesday till December 1st. JVT says virus is now out of control.
I wish these useless bastards would announce stuff on a weekday, during work hours.
When the sky above us fell
We descended into hell
Into kingdom come
A day after the US passed 100,000 positive tests in a day (thanks Texas!) this is how my neighborhood behaved.
https://imgur.com/gallery/b5zPIKt
Last edited by Ominous Gamer; 11-01-2020 at 08:16 PM.
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
Twitter Link
What a scary cult.
I think Dr. Fauci will fire Trump after the election.
Irony being that some of these people at this superspreader event will have a real personal experience with COVID soon. And then it will be: Please doctor, I don't feel too well, can you help me?
I could have had class. I could have been a contender.
I could have been somebody. Instead of a bum
Which is what I am
I aim at the stars
But sometimes I hit London