Good morning. Interesting information this morning suggesting that one reason Taiwan was so far ahead of the Covid Crisis was that the deputy director of its CDC found information on the Taiwanese version of Reddit in late December. Some of that information came from doctors within Wuhan, information that was quickly repressed by the Chinese Communist party. Fascinating that even the people in charge need to turn to alternate media to source information these days. Let's continue the conversation.
Comments
Bill provides a pleasant, familiar face and voice but the real doer in the Gates Foundation is Melinda. She is the real engine there distributing Bill Gates billions. She is probably the top virus person there and the supporter of Chinese stooge/nitwit Tedros. Who is massively bribed by the Chinese. Its the UN way!
I had heard that Melinda was the on who wanted the philanthropy. Do you think the Gates mean well, they just let their ambition drive them to some ethical grey areas? Or do you think they are entirely power and influence driven.
I wondered if Tedros was bribed. It’s not as though China is the WHO’s biggest donor, so no reason to cover up for them or refuse to acknowledge Taiwan. Sad how these big global organizations get corrupted so quickly.
Thanks for the response and hope you are well wherever you are.
`How this virus moved from animal to human populations is yet to be determined…’
So, `Conspiracy, cock up or coincidence'?
Has anybody factored in the need of the Chinese Government to `save face' - a far more powerful driver in the East than the West?
Btw, all this American in-fighting is tedious. I thought Nutty said `No Politics’...
I don't know about either Gates one way or the other. It is often easy for people to appear as worthy, does a good job for what you look at and it's later that you find out you were deceived (or worse, you don't want to admit you were deceived).
On the face mask front: I finished the 19 and will be mailing them today. And, I need to make a couple more.
Exerpt: Sweden’s unusual approach to fighting the coronavirus pandemic is starting to yield results, according to the country’s top epidemiologist.
Anders Tegnell, the architect behind Sweden’s relatively relaxed response to Covid-19, told local media the latest figures on infection rates and fatalities indicate the situation is starting to stabilize.
“We’re on a sort of plateau,” Tegnell told Swedish news agency TT.
Sweden has left its schools, gyms, cafes, bars and restaurants open throughout the spread of the pandemic. Instead, the government has urged citizens to act responsibly and follow social distancing guidelines.
The spread of Covid-19 across the globe is triggering different responses across national and even state borders, as authorities struggle to contain an outbreak about which much remains unknown.
It’s unclear which strategy will ultimately prove most effective, and even experts in Sweden warn it’s too early to draw conclusions. But given the huge economic damage caused by strict lockdowns, the Swedish approach has drawn considerable interest around the world.
Here's one from Reuters that isn't hysterical:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-politics/north-koreas-kim-getting-treatment-after-cardiovascular-procedure-report-idUSKBN223011
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is receiving treatment after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure early this month, a South Korean media report said, amid speculation over Kim’s health following his absence from a key anniversary event.
North Korea marked the anniversary of the birthday of its founding father and Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, as a national holiday on April 15, but Kim was not seen in attendance.
One of the more interesting tweets that I read claim that Kim Jong Un's surgeon, imported from China for the surgery, gave him the Chinese Plague. Why do I say "interesting"? Because he's 5'7", 300 lbs., and has cardiovascular problems, maybe diabetes. He is the poster child for bad outcomes for coronavirus (which doesn't exist in his country) so I can see why rumors would be flying if his country has the coronavirus. But they don't (grin).
I remain sceptical because it seems that is something that could be easily proven/disproven by laboratory testing ("I say, did you know that your red blood cells are being destroyed?") and helped by a transfusion and I've yet to see multiple reports on that.
I'll try to find some reports to post later but I must first go feed livestock (I'm late and they are gathering outside the gates and making loud demands about the grain bucket), gather eggs, and convince SwampMan, whose retirement is not going as he planned, that it is probably not a good thing to go out on a lumber-purchasing expedition just yet.
Did you just call Our Dear Leader Lil Kim!! 🇰🇵😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣
You just made me spit out virus-infested spit on my phone screen and now I'm going to have to wipe it with alcohol spray.
If everything I believe to be true about this virus is true, can we just say "backfired"?
Damn. 🤷🏻♀️🐈💜
Hope everybody's doing well & has a well-stocked booze stash~ 🍹
"Brown-Richardson is one of more than a dozen nurses in New York, the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, who detailed their experiences on the front lines in affidavits corroborating three lawsuits filed Monday against the state health department and two area hospitals. The complaints, which were lodged by New York’s largest nurses union, allege that inadequate protective equipment, among other failures, contributed to “compromising the health and safety of the nurses,” according to a news release from the union."
Here's another clinical trial going on that I hadn't seen previously: https://www.physiciansweekly.com/anti-inflammatory-drug-colchicine-on-deck-for-covid-19/
Colchicine is used for inflammatory conditions such as gout. Commenter Jocelyn did say how extremely, agonizingly painful her joints were during her COVID 19. I am currently reading another account of a man with the same agonizingly painful joints.
Turkish gvt. has apparently banned all exports of PPE without, it seems, the courtesy of telling HMG. It was, I understand, to have been delivered in 3 consignments, of which 2 arrived OK.
An RAF plane has been sent to collect it and is currently sitting on the tarmac at Ankara... God/Allah alone knows when it'll return and if it will have the goods.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/turkish-ppe-flight-only-slim-103900892.html
Apparently, we sent them PPE earlier when their need was greater than ours and we assumed that it'd be OK just to order more from them to arrive when if was needed. As if!
So much for globalism & international cooperation.
Meanwhile, back in the USA, the Pig-Ignorant Prince, who is clueless about the disease and what's going on here (and is very dim at the best of times), has been spouting rubbish. Do not believe him. He has been shot down by top medical opinion.
His woman is no better, for all that she thinks she's `whip smart'. She too speaks from a part of her anatomy that is not connected to her brain. She has no clue about the regulations regarding making food for people outside one's circle of friends & family - not that she has any of the latter anyway.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/raf-delivers-uk-aid-to-turkey-for-syrians-in-crisis
I think your country's leadership needs to produce/procure needed PPE and other needed items. Maybe the Queen and Charles can donate some of their wealth to this end. Certainly it would be a better investment than pouring money into the UK's 'Pig-ignorant Prince' (PIP) and his atrocious wife. Just imagine what that 32 million for their wedding could of bought for PPE.
There is still time for the BRF to do more than snap happy chats. Hopefully this will be the last folly but I rather doubt it since Charles is funding The PIP. Did the Harkles ever repay the 2 million for the renovation of Frogmore? That money could buy a lot of masks and gloves.
I would hope that your government and industries will be able to do the same (and they are probably working on it at the moment) BUT President Trump is cutting regulations with a chainsaw instead of a surgical scalpel in order to allow this to happen. I was frankly amazed at how quickly he was able to get things done because government moves at the speed of a glacier.
I think this is a huge wake up call that globalism works until it doesn't and outsourcing so many things to the Chinese was a huge freakin' mistake, no doubt facilitated by large bribes to politicians from the Chinese government.
Good for you on the face mask front! 19 masks is quite a feat! I’m sure your friends and family will be very grateful. Hopefully they won’t tell too many more of your family and friends ;)
Lil Kim is 37 which is why I find all this so interesting. So young. 5’7” and 300# is no joke; however, and I’ve also heard he smokes heavily. According to the Sun KJU May have syphillis, diabetes, and gout.
They’ve been saying he went in for a ‘cardiac procedure,’ which makes me suspect either he had an arrhythmia that they were trying to ablate (burn the pathway to stop the arrhythmia from occurring in the future) or (more likely due to his unhealthy lifestyle) a cardiac stent (possibly even multiple stents) due to blocked blood flow in an area of the heart. This is only my speculation but if he did have one of these procedures it makes me wonder if he went into an arrhythmia they could not get him out of, they perforated (poked through) one of his blood vessels, or they lost his airway (he’s very heavy and does look like he could be a difficult airway). How could they lose his airway, you ask? Several ways, one would be if they only intended to use sedation for the procedure and keep him breathing on his own, but the stimulation from the procedure became so great that they needed to give him more and more sedation to the point where he stopped breathing on his own and then they were unable to get a breathing tube in. Or they had a breathing tube in and it got dislodged during the procedure, or they took it out at the end and he wasn’t quite ready and they were unable to get the tube back in. Once someone is not exchanging oxygen, you have FOUR minutes to figure out what you’re going to do about it before you start losing brain cells.
This would be my top theories. Keep in mind this is my speculation as Lil Kim has not kept me in close confidence, which may have been a fatal mistake as we know now.
Had a mouthful of tea at the time and spluttered with laughter about `Shall we mug them?' and it went all over the keyboard. Mopped up as best could, then confessed (more or less - I said I'd caught my breath) and Himself turned the keyboard upside down to drain the rest of the tea out, then reached for the hair dryer.
It was an narrow escape. Beverages & food are now banned from the landing where the desk top sits. The thought of not being able to toddle off to PC World for new kit was daunting - what about the grocery orders?
Taught me a lesson anyway.
ROFL! I thought it was curious that there were a flurry of tweets about Lil' Kim (his rapper name) overnight. Now, it *could* be deliberate disinformation and bad haircut guy will pop up today and proclaim that he is fine and rumors about his health are imperialist lackey running dog CNN and NBC LIES!
If he is really 'pining for the fjords' (Monty Python reference for those that are Monty Python impaired), I don't expect we will hear more about it until the power struggle in NK is over and/or China has a new puppet installed.
The rumor about the Chinese surgeon and the WuFlu was intriguing, though.
There hasn't been any appeal for volunteer dressmakers to sew scrubs (well within my ability) but theatre costume departments are taking it on eg Royal Opera House.
I've no idea what the supply of fabric is like - our textile industry more or less collapsed years ago in face of foreign competition. I suspect that even pretty cotton fabrics that say `Made in England' are spun and woven elsewhere and it's only the design that gets printed here.
As you said, Swamp Woman, globalisation works fine until it doesn't. In the case of Turkey, nice to know who your friends are...
I'm not sure if it's lack of cash that's the problem, CatEyes, more lack of somebody willing to make a decision.
There's all that cash from Captain Tom's effort for a start. Even if the Royals did make a big donation, we wouldn't be told about it.
There's always the sensitivity that any Royal comment on how the Government is performing is seen as party political. That was one of the big mistakes by Duke of Windsor when Prince of Wales. He visited the depressed mining areas of Wales in the 1930s and publicly declared `Something must be done'.
Not a good move. The Baldwin government certainly didn't like it.
This is something the Diabolical Duchess doesn't understand and never will, whether it's approving of abortion in Catholic Ireland or her perceived partisanship in supporting that community kitchen.
As you said, Swamp Woman, globalisation works fine until it doesn't. In the case of Turkey, nice to know who your friends are...
Erdogan is *not* a friend, IMO. A frenemy at best. And, yes, most of our fabric mills have been exported. No, really, the machinery, everything sold and shipped.
It gets into the body through the respiratory system (we breathe in the droplets containing the virus). From the respiratory system I assume it gets into the blood system and then 'attacks' various parts of the body so complaints are actually varied (joints, organs such as liver or kidney ...). But, it is assumed that it can also get into the blood system through the mouth (i.e. droplets swallowed) or eyes. However, there seems to be no evidence that it gets spread to others by blood, but that does not make sense to me at all.
Let's think this through: for the virus to make its way from your lungs (assuming you breathed in the droplets through your nose) to your liver, it uses the circulatory system (i.e. blood) so if you are highly infectious with the virus would it not be resent in your blood?
I am not a medical person at all so my conclusions may be highly suspect and reveal an astonishing level of ignorance.
Has anyone come across any other research such as that below:
https://www.rt.com/news/486458-france-coronavirus-kid-no-transmission/
A child was infected, developed symptoms but did not pass it on to anyone at all (172 contacts traced). Is there something about the virus and children or maybe that kid is fastidious about hygiene and social distancing because of autism or some other characteristic? What kind of virus distinguishes between the old and young and how does it do so?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2019/05/04/what-china-wants-from-africa-everything/
China wants everything from Africa: its strategic location, its oil, its rare earth metals, and its fish, leaving African nations indebted to Beijing.
In its long history, Africa has served the global ambitions of many foreigners. Foreigners have reached out to Africa as missionaries, financiers, and infrastructure builders.They have promised to place the continent on the globalization map and help its people grow out of poverty. But they ended up grabbing Africa’s riches, colonizing one nation after another, and letting their people steep in poverty.
That may end up being the case again, with China’s recent infrastructure investment projects in the continent.
On the surface, these projects seem to serve the quest of African nations to build a sound infrastructure. But on closer examination, they serve China’s ambitions to write the rules of the next stage of globalization.
China wants to use Africa as a location to secure maritime roads (and the OBOR projects) thatfacilitate Chinese exports, as evidenced by Beijing’s large military presence in Djibouti.
That's quite an assumption right there!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tedros_Adhanom
(I'm not sure that I put much stock into either theory as children are little viral factories of influenza and norovirus for me!)
1. They 'sell' themselves as benevolent, helping countries and financing projects that no one else in the world will touch.
2. Human rights abuses of employees is quite common, in complete violation of a country's laws.
3. They don't integrate. Admittedly, integration takes years, but they stick to 'their own kind'.
4. If they open a shop, they will import family from China to work in the shop and fulfil the requirement for local employment to get a permit to open the shop by employing one local to sweep and clean the floors at below minimum wage. If the Department of Labour is vigilant, they will be monitored and you will find the local also restocking shelves.
5. African governments love the Chinese, but locals are not that enamoured of them. How much bribery is involved I do not know but there was one huge case a few years ago where the Chinese were involved in a very blatantly corrupt deal (i.e. they paid a huge bribe to get a contract).
6. As tourists, they come in busloads, take a lot of photos and then go and eat at a Chinese restaurant. I used to live in a historical tourist spot and a Chinese restaurant opened to ONLY cater for Chinese tourists (i.e. I could not go and eat there or get a takeaway - I tried and got shouted at ... 'fully booked' is what I think she was saying).
7. There are some Chinese who have been in Africa for generations. They are different ... in how they behave and how they speak ... but most Chinese in Africa are recent immigrants.
The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases has increased by 165, with no new reported fatalities, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced on Tuesday evening.
The country has now recorded 3 465 confirmed cases of the virus, with the death toll still at 58.
According to Mkhize, the number of tests had increased, with 5 427 conducted in the last 24 hours. The number of tests conducted to date stands at 126 937.
Gauteng remains the epicentre with 1 199 confirmed cases followed by the Western Cape with 1 010.
Mkhize, who was in the Eastern Cape on Tuesday, said the rapid rise of cases in the province was a concern.
According to the statistics provided on Tuesday, the Eastern Cape recorded 345 cases, an increase of 35 compared to Monday's statistics.
Five people have died in the province.
Two things seem to be driving the spread in Eastern Cape:
1. Funerals (there is a generous limit of 50 people at a funeral but South Africans are ignoring this)
2. Prisons (a warden gets infected and it quickly spreads throughout the prison)
South Africa is interesting in that it is such a diverse country so what caused the first infection and then the spread in one province is different from what is happening in another province.
What makes this statistic particularly noteworthy is that the entire death toll for 41 of the other 47 states is 7,661. In other words, while New York has 52% of all COVID-19 deaths in America, 41 states put together have only 21% of the COVID-19 deaths. And all the 47 states other than New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have less than half (48%).
Source: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/if-half-the-countrys-covid-deaths-were-in-montana-would-new-york-shut-down/
I think that this is statistically noteworthy and something people should know about America.
As the article states, in the US, the media is particularly New York Centric.
I particularly liked the ending so I’m going to paste it here:
In his latest column, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman inadvertently revealed how New York-centric his view of America is. Friedman, like virtually all his colleagues at The New York Times, opposes opening up any state in America at this time. He writes: "Every person will be playing Russian roulette every minute of every day: Do I get on this crowded bus to go to work or not? What if I get on the subway and the person next to me is not wearing gloves and a mask?"
Only a New Yorker would write those two sentences. In the 40 years I have lived in the second-largest city in America, I have never ridden on the subway or any other intraurban train or bus. In fact, it is common for New Yorkers to look at Los Angeles with disdain for our "car culture." Like the vast majority of Americans everywhere outside of New York City, in Los Angeles, most of us get to work, visit family and friends, and go to social and cultural events by car -- currently the life-saving way to travel -- not by bus or subway, the New Yorker way of getting around.
But Friedman is a New Yorker, and because his fellow New Yorkers walk past one another on crowded streets and travel in crammed buses and subway cars, South Dakotans should be denied the ability to make a living.
Amen.
DELAWARE COUNTY, Pa. – More than 40 employees lived at a Pennsylvania manufacturing plant for nearly a month to ensure that material needed to make much-needed medical gear was produced.
Braskem America says the team of workers volunteered to live on-site at their plant near Philadelphia for a 28-day rotation. The team recently went home to their families after eating, sleeping and living at the facility.
Joe Boyce, operations shift supervisor at the plant, told WPVI that the group was split into two 12-hour shifts and their only outside contact was through TV or the occasional drive-by from family members.
The workers spent their time producing polypropylene, a raw material used to produce a non-woven fiber used to make N95 masks, hospital gowns and sanitary wipes. The protective medical gear is direly needed as healthcare workers combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We're truly honored to be able to give back and support people we will never meet in some way," Boyce told WPVI.
Braskem says it also has teams working similar rotations at other facilities in Texas and West Virginia.
The company says it’s supporting its employees with enhanced compensation, on-site kitchens and supplies to sustain the teams as they to operate the facilities in isolation.
To protect the workers, Braskem says it has deployed stringent facility cleaning protocols, social distancing practices and restrictions on plant visitation.
Mark Nikolich, the CEO of Braskem America, said in a statement that the company’s commitment to meeting the needs of medical manufacturers has never been stronger.
“We have deployed a range of measures across our manufacturing plants in Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia to secure the supply of essential grades of polypropylene polymers for the production of respiratory masks, protective medical gowns and other gear,” said Nikolich. “In parallel, we have positioned 'live-in' manufacturing teams operating in isolation at key facilities, among other measures, to help ensure the health and safety of our team members who are working as an essential service throughout this crisis to keep these key supply lines running.”
In case you are wondering about shearing PPE, for me it was long sleeves, long pants, knee high rubber boots, mask but no gloves. For him, long sleeves, long pants, running shoes, a bandana mask and no gloves for him, either. Couldn't wear those lightweight gloves with the sheep.
Shearer is a great guy. I hope he'll be okay. I tried to talk him into staying home this year but shearing supports his farm. I haven't heard that the Australian sheep shearers are in Florida this year, but we haven't exactly had livestock meetings, either.
Now it's 1:00 a.m. and I need to go out and (yawn) sort and bag my wool, take down the lights, disconnect the electrical connections before something chews on a live wire and fries, and feed the dogs and cats. That shouldn't take more than about three hours because I'll be moving in slow motion. Then I'll need to shower (AFTER bagging the wool, not before). Maybe I'll just feed and bag the wool. If something chews on a live wire, well, one less varmint.
While I was out with the sheep and the mosquitoes were swarming, I remembered when the West Nile Virus first arrived. Everybody was warned to stay inside at dusk and dawn due to the danger, particularly to older people, from the virus. (Apparently the risk of adverse effects raises at age 60+.) Since I was *never* going to be able to only venture out midday, I stayed out at dusk and dawn and was bitten by countless mosquitoes. I assume that I acquired immunity. It (WNV) isn't really something that you hear about anymore.
I understand the young people that are frustrated because their livelihoods are being curtailed to take care of the older people due to a virus. Young people, do what you need to do. I can take care of myself. Except from that nice young UPS delivery guy that is so solicitous that he wants to carry the package to my doorstep with me on it and personally place it in my hands so that I am not inconvenienced in any way by bending over or walking to get it. Maybe I should hit him with pepper spray.
* 64 years old
* being treated for bowel cancer
* mild symptoms after being infected with virus
* recovers relatively quickly and is back at work
What about this virus are we missing? Is it about viral load? Are the Chinese figures (other than fatalities ... they adjusted those figures in a major way) relatively accurate because they all wore face masks so number of people infected were reduced? Does viral load influence how sick you get? (Small does ... your immune system can get ahead of the fight and defeat the virus before it spreads and overwhelms you?).
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8241415/George-Alagiah-beats-coronavirus-gets-hosting-BBC-news.html
Hit him with the Bend and Snap. ;)
I did hear early on that viral load did have to do with how ill you get and that’s why so many healthcare workers were getting so sick even when young and healthy.
https://www.statnews.com/2020/04/14/how-much-of-the-coronavirus-does-it-take-to-make-you-sick/
@Leela
Posters who are on opposite ends of this Virus blog dispute But Both of you Bashed me when I was bullied on the other Nutty site. You did not come to my defense.
@Anon-Anoymous
Feeling depressed and have anxiety. Bullying me caused those symptoms and even cardiac symptoms and went to my physician; I reported it to the Nutties in hopes they would stop and got bashed more! I am ill, elderly and disabled and Nutty even bashed me for complaining and saying I started the trouble when I did not adress any comment to anyone to start the mayhem. I reacted to the criticism and I told people to leave me alone.
No offense, but your posts are aggressive in that you are complaining about comments about New York and the powers-to-be there, they are not about you personally (until you slam specific people and they try to defend themselves). Just ignore the New York comments I think is best (if this happened in my case there never would have been a problem). Now before, where I was a valued contributor, the Nutty mob has made me a pariah.
I suggest not reacting to the commenters and remarks you find objectionable. Of course I did not see the start of this feud and don't know for sure you so-called 'started it'.