CNN describes what four countries did to achieve control over coronavirus. The key to success, it appears, is to be prepared, to test extensively, and to act decisively.
The four countries are Taiwan, Iceland, South Korea, and Germany.
Their infection rates and death rates are well below those in the U.S., where states have had to compete for supplies and testing has been inaccessible for most people.
Taiwan, with a population of around 24 million people, has recorded just over 390 cases and six deaths, and yesterday, it reported no new cases at all. It’s managed to do that without implementing severe restrictions, like lockdowns, or school and nursery closures…
Compare that to the United States — now the world’s hardest-hit nation, at least in raw numbers — which has reported at least 26,000 deaths. Even when you take population size into account, a level of success like Taiwan’s could have meant just 83 deaths in the US.
Although Taiwan has high-quality universal health care, its success lies in its preparedness, speed, central command and rigorous contact tracing.
According to the COVID tracker, the US has thus far tested 3.5 million people, or about 1% of its population.
We are not testing enough people. The coronavirus is highly contagious. There is no vaccine. Many people carry the disease but are asymptomatic. Several states have announced that they are lifting restrictions on social contact without testing or a vaccine. To say this is dangerous is an understatement.
“Anybody that needs a test, gets a test. They’re there. They have the tests. And the tests are beautiful.” –Jabba the Trump, March 6, 2020
Not a word was true then or now.
I received this from a friend in Miami:
History repeats itself
In 1918, Philadelphia prematurely ended its quarantine from the Spanish Flu to throw a parade in order to boost morale for the war effort. Some 200,000 people lined the streets
on that late-September day. Within 72 hours, every bed in Philadelphia’s 31 hospitals was filled and the city ended up with 4.500 people dying from the flu or its complications with a matter of days. What is that proverb? “Those who cannot learn from the past are condemned to repeat it…”
Sure does…with dump.
Putin is laughing. Trump should move to Moscow.
I keep thinking of Darwin.
But hey! Trump can boast that “We’re #1″…..in deaths from Covid-19, in the number of people without health insurance, and climbing to #1 for unemployment rates. But it really isn’t about people at all….it’s about markets and stocks.
The States were woefully unprepared, New York was buying solar panels instead of ventilators, in the years leading up to the pandemic. Many states have laws that actually limit the number of hospital beds. Of course States are trying to shift blame, for their malfeasance. The idea of a lockdown was to flatten the curve, NOT cure the disease. A vaccine may never be found. More people will get this illness, and many more will die, but the country must get back to work, or we will have bigger problems. There are steps that can be taken to minimize risk. Also, to be honest I see very many of the most at risk population out shopping, so apparently they feel like it is worth the risk.
I just wish the “open it up and damn the costs” people would admit they have no earthly idea how their experiment is going to play out.
Has this taught you nothing about humility? You DON’T KNOW. The best trained and most experienced scientists will admit there’s a lot they don’t know, but the President’s supporters refuse to do the same.
It’s hubris and we will all pay dearly for it. The virus doesn’t care about your opinions. It doesn’t care about “an economy”. That isn’t how it works.
Just because they open it up doesn’t mean we have to participate. I will be rethinking all my activities in the coming months and will be slow to re engage. Better to err on the side of caution. Luckily I am retired.
I worry about those who live in the states that did nothing to protect their citizens. The death count is sure to go up and it wasn’t necessary. I wonder if there will be any criminal lawsuits when all this is over (if it ever ends).
What the hell is bigger than tens of thousands of people dying and flooding the hospitals and medical system?! Oh, whoopee, let’s get back to work so that the pandemic can really spread and sky rocket the numbers of infections to unmanageable levels! Of course this is a disaster on every possible level and aspect of our society and nation. The pandemic will probably cause an economic collapse as well as a huge cost to the lives and health of millions of Americans. We still should continue the lock down until we can do more testing as in countries like Taiwan or South Korea.
I agree. It is not a binary decision or demarcation line. Golf, outdoors, hair stylists? Or err more on the side of caution, shut down supermarkets and have the national guard deliver rations for a year.
Any call for continued shut down by people with a stable income is elitist. If the caveat is given, we must first backstop everyone in low paying jobs or the cash economy. But that isn’t happening.
I’m very conflicted on the idea of opening up the country, but I agree that it’s a discussion we need to start having and soon. You’re right that the original justification was “flattening the curve” and yet now “neutralizing the threat of the disease” seems to be the goal instead without much if any talk about what either “flattening the curve” or “neutralizing the threat” mean.
We’re starting to realize that the disease may never go away. The virus seems to mutate faster than we can keep up with it. There are apparently a not insignificant number of people who have had it twice. That being the case, we might always be behind in terms of developing a vaccine. So does that mean the shutdown continues forever?
One problem is that when people start to bring up these sorts of conversations, they are immediately painted as evil – they want people to die for the economy. No attention is paid to the fact that the disease is not the only source of suffering and death we are facing. People can die of homelessness, starvation, poverty, mental health issues, rioting, rebellion and social collapse just as easily as they can die of the disease (maybe more so).
I wish we lived in a country where we could all shelter in place indefinitely and still get enough money to get survive, not have to worry about eviction or foreclosure, have debts forestalled or, even better, forgiven, have their and their families’ physical and mental health and education needs addressed, etc. But we don’t. Neither party has any plan for providing healthcare, wage protection or housing guarantees to the millions of unemployed people who are growing more frustrated, scared and desperate by the day. All they can do is mock those who get in their cars to protest (which such protests have, so far, been peaceful, I’d like to point out).
Those who are advocating on-going quarantine aren’t wrong, but they need a plan for how to take care of people hardest hit, especially those whose jobs may never be coming back. Those who are advocating opening up the country aren’t necessarily wrong either, but they too need a plan – how are we going to get people back to work and still do our best to keep people safe? How can we make testing nationally available? How can we protect those who are most vulnerable?
And most of all we need to stop painting people as evil just for recognizing that many people are, sadly, going to die of the disease before this is all over. Nearly 40 thousand Americans already have died, and we’ve only been dealing with this for about two months (or less). Even the CDC has predicted that as many as 1.7 million people might die of this, yet Trump is mocked for trying to keep the death toll under 200,000.
Teacher Tom, certainly far from a raging right-winger, is also questioning how much longer the quarantine can humanely go on: http://teachertomsblog.blogspot.com/2020/04/i-am-not-afraid-i-am-afraid.html I agree with him (except that I am very definitely worried about the economy): we need to focus on all three of the simultaneous crises we face (the disease, the economy and mental health, especially children’s mental health).
Whatever way we go, we need a plan to take care of people, which we should be able to discuss like human beings all stuck in the same situation, not claw each other’s eyes out over who is “evil” or “stupid” or who is “denying our freedom”.
I agree that the US is so rich, it is possible to shut down for a year, if things were equitably taken care of. Mexico, India, Africa, maybe not. But the reality in the US is that the poor will lose. If public schools aren’t open in fall, I can’t imagine the damage to public education, and students on the low end of the socio -economic ladder.
I don’t think Trump is “mocked for trying to keep the death toll under 200,000.”
I have no doubt that he will claim victory no matter what the number is.
He is mocked for lying day after day.
He is mocked for offering medical advice when he admits he doesn’t know what he is talking about.
He is mocked for encouraging his followers to LIBERATE their states from any restrictions that protect lives.
He is mocked for his flaunting of ignorance.
There are many reasons to mock Trump.
I can’t enumerate them all.
Trump has said he wants to keep the death toll between 100,000 and 240,000, yet people act like he pulled this number out of his, er, left shoe and that he’s saying it’s just swell if 200,000 people die.
I agree there has been a lot about Trump to be appalled by during this pandemic (mocking is something else entirely). But the numbers he cited are quite reasonable and, while I hate to sound glib and I’m certainly not happy about that many deaths, considering the estimates in the millions, I do think we can be satisfied if “only” 100,000 to 240,000 people die from this. No, I don’t wish any of those people to die. I didn’t wish the 38,768 who have died so far to die. But it’s a pandemic and people are going to die.
The question is how to balance how many suffer and die from the disease, vs. how many suffer and die from factors related to the shutdown such as poverty, homelessness, suicide, domestic violence, etc. We could greatly reduce the latter number by offering Medicare for All (for all medical needs, not just coronavirus) along with wage and housing protections and debt forgiveness, but we can’t do that because, I dunno, SOCIALISM!!! If either party could bother to care about people over corporations maybe that would change, but both parties are too busy funneling money into their donors’ pockets, so where does that leave us?
I know this site is all about how evil Trump is, but having an effective opposition party would go a long way toward mitigating that. The “opposition” party, however, just nominated a senile sex offender who thinks that making unemployed people buy insurance on the exchanges is an adequate solution. So maybe you can forgive me for being just a wee bit grim and cynical.
Dienne, your hostility towards Biden only helps Trump.
Bernie Sanders endorsed Biden. They have known each other a long time and have a good relationship.
AOC endorsed Biden.
I assume you no longer trust Bernie.
You call Biden “sex offender.” Was he convicted? I don’t think so. Do you not believe “innocent until proven guilty”?
I recall your rants about how horrible Hillary was in 2016. Are you satisfied with Trump? Now we have a Supreme Court prepared to eliminate access to abortion and to legalize vouchers for religious schools. The terms “climate change” have been stripped from the federal vocabulary. Drilling will commence on public lands. Oversight of the environment is nil. The Ed Department no longer protects college students from predatory for-profit colleges that defraud them. I am so so sorry that Hillary was not elected. Trump wants to restore the 1920s.
“I know this site is all about how evil Trump is, but having an effective opposition party would go a long way toward mitigating that. The “opposition” party, however, just nominated a senile sex offender who thinks that making unemployed people buy insurance on the exchanges is an adequate solution. ”
So is this the start of your campaign to demonize Biden as no better than Trump? AOC and Bernie would be so proud of you (NOT). If you truly care about the future of this country, there are some things better left unsaid, at least in a public forum.
How is it that an unfounded, irresponsible and irrational charge that a person is a “senile sex offender” is not put into moderation and deleted? This is slander, pure and simple. It goes way beyond the bounds of respectful political discussion. Yet I get shit from everyone for rightfully calling this whining, ignorant charlatan a moron? Hypocrisy abounds in this living room.
Well, Greg, I can’t put a comment into moderation after it was posted. I can either delete it or respond and I responded. An accusation is not the same as a conviction. Dienne opposed Hillary in 2016 as she now opposes Biden. Most of us,and I think almost all Democrats see the mortal danger that Trump is and will vote for Biden. I’m sure he will do things I don’t like but I know in my heart that he is not a fascist or a racist or a threat to the survival of democracy, as Trump is. Disagree without name calling.
Question: is calling someone—anyone—a “senile sex offender” without proof or corroboration name calling or disagreement? Legitimate or not? Where’s the line? What if he were called a senile pedophile? Pig fucker? Where’s the limit? What are the standards? Is calling someone a moron based on repeated idiotic, nonproductive comments the limit? Or letting it slide and still allow the slander that he is a sex offender?
Especially when it is not debatable in any way that the current Idiot in the White House is a CONFIRMED sex offender?
The fact that you would equivocate disgusts me. I gave it a chance. This time I’m really done. Last time I got upset, I quit reading the comments for a long time but still read the posts. Then I slowly got sucked back in because of my respect for the vast majority of commentators here. Now I am done. This living room has become tainted beyond respectability if you allow crap like this. When you allow an idiot to spew this garbage, no matter how imperfect he (or she, someday) may be, that he is a sex offender, your credibility is at stake, no matter your track record. I am now erasing the bookmark so that I won’t be tempted to come back here again.
As much as I don’t want to believe my conviction that this abomination will be re-elected and kill this nation and it citizens through much more than a criminal response to the pandemic—folks, don’t you see the hate? they want to kill us—your response above only confirms my worst fears. When you allow this shit to stand and gain traction, you enable fascism in this nation. Goodbye. This is my last comment and last time I will read anything here. I know I won’t be missed. Have fun with your moron and her enablers as you watch your legitimacy wither.
Please don’t go, Greg.
Greg accurately describes the reason the right wing wins.
Republicans say disgusting things that aren’t true. Democrats “politely and courteously” explain that it is not true but the truth gets drowned out in the non-stop dishonest attacks made by those who have absolutely no concern for honesty or decency.
dienne77 said some of the most ugly things I have ever heard about HRC in 2016 — things implying that HRC was intentionally bombing and killing as many babies as she could. dienne77 took long ago actions and support for policies that turned out to be very wrong and spun them into evil deeds. dienne77 painted a woman who had done many good things into one who was entirely evil with not a single redeeming quality — even worse than Trump (who dienne77 is STILL defending)
No person is immune to the kind of character assassination that dienne77 specializes in posting here. Bernie Sanders could be painted in the ugly and disgusting way that dienne77 mischaracterized all Democrats (including Elizabeth Warren whom dienne77 has also tried to paint as evil and basically totally dishonest with no redeeming qualities).
The difference between the Democrats and people like dienne77 is not their policies but their core beliefs. The reason you don’t hear Elizabeth Warren or even Joe Biden supporters taking actions that Bernie Sanders did long ago and just this year and spinning them into a character assassination of Bernie Sanders is because other people have scruples.
dienne77 has none. She does not argue on policies. She makes character attacks based on the most specious evidence that anyone with her willingness to bend the truth could make on Bernie Sanders.
It’s just that the people who might prefer a different candidate to Bernie Sanders would never stoop so low. That’s what Trump does. I don’t think it is a coincidence that the very same people who dishonestly character assassinate any Democrat just happen to be the same ones who NORMALIZE Donald Trump.
And I believe when we are “polite” and “courteous” to people who spew dishonest character attacks, it gives every thing they say a legitimacy that has been very dangerous and may very well be the end of democracy.
Greg I hope you have reconsidered, your opinions are valuable and I would miss them. If I were blog host I too would have let Dienne’s comment stand and responded to the out-of-line part, for 2 reasons. #1, as with most of Dienne’s posts, it’s full of reasonable & spot-on points [particularly the section w/ “SOCIALISM”]. Tho the Biden-trashtalk is contradictory, she generally tries to pull us away from Trump-trashtalk toward rational discussion, which I think is OK. #2, her comments may rattle, but often cause others to sharpen their pencils and come up with cogent responses.
I’m sorry, Bethree but I can’t agree. “In the older days,” some of dienne’s comments would be consider slander. Just because the standards have been lowered does not make them any less important. Diane may call this blog her living room, but her living room has become a street corner soapbox. There are ways to express diverse political opinions that do not involve vicious trash talk.
I am disgusted with Dienne’s slanders about Biden. She is going into moderation and I will not post her vicious attacks on the man I will enthusiastically support for President. Four more years of Trump and this country will be back in the 1920s.
Thank you. I hope Greg sees this.
Taiwan’s aggressive efforts are paying off in fight against COVID-19:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/taiwans-aggressive-efforts-are-paying-off-in-fight-against-covid-19
Watching the Trump Administration deny, deflect and assign blame to anyone other than themselves is amusing. The virus doesn’t care about their political ambitions and self-serving narratives. It will do what it will do.
This bunch of liars have finally met reality. They stumbled right into it and all the clever politicking in the world can’t get them out of it.
Trump long denied that there was a pandemic and that this would be a problem. Then he very briefly switched to using the rhetoric of war. Then he went right back to saying that we need to open things up again and has even been fomenting outright rebellion against stay-at-home orders in the states. Trump’s mini-me in Flor-uh-duh just ordered our beaches open again, in the middle of a pandemic.
Let’s consider, for a moment, that rhetoric of war. When a country is at war, it commits resources to it. During the Second World War, in response to the threats from Germany, Japan, and Italy, the United States increased production of aircraft from 5,856 per year in 1939 to 96,318 per year in 1944. The single year increases are astonishing–from 5,856 in 1939 to 12,804in 1940, from 12,804 in 1940 to 26,277 in 1941, etc. From 1940 to 1943, the U.S. increased armaments production by 25 times!!! (These figures are from Paul Kennedy’s superb The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers.)
How did this happen? Well, Roosevelt put the country on a war footing. Trump, in contrast, has strutted about, playing the “wartime president” role while refusing to use the powers of his office to order companies to make tests, PPE, ventilators, and tracking websites available and passing the buck to the governors while at the same time saying that he, and not they, has superior authority, that his authority as President is, in fact absolute. In other words, Trump talks the talk, but that’s it. And the talk he talks is contradictory, confused, unscientific gibberish–whatever he thinks, on a given day, might improve his ratings or fire up his base base.
Roosevelt was a leader. Trump is an insane clown who plays a leader, farcically, on TV.
We were “at war” against an “invisible enemy” weeks ago. War over. Back to work, at your own risk. The invisible enemy is still here.
Trump is now saying that protestors against stay-at-home orders are ‘very responsible people”. He is a complete IDIOT!!! Our lives are in danger and all he can think about is opening up the country so he can be re-elected. This lunacy will blow up in his face when more people continue to get infected and more die.
This is an article from The Times of NW Indiana.
[NWI Times] Virus week in review: When will life reopen? States diverge on plans. Plus more to know today
–President Trump defended his support for civil unrest against states that are implementing social distancing practices—saying protesters who have gathered to demand an end to stay-at-home orders are “very responsible people.”
–Hospitals and state health departments say they’ve been scouring the globe to find swabs and lab chemicals used for coronavirus testing, competing against each other in a system New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo described as “mayhem.”
–Scant testing of detained immigrants for the novel coronavirus may be spreading the disease through the United States’ sprawling system of detention centers, advocates say.
–More than 160 South Koreans have tested positive a second time for the coronavirus, a development that suggests the disease may have a longer shelf life than expected…
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/national/virus-week-in-review-when-will-life-reopen-states-diverge-on-plans-plus-more-to/article_97aeb88b-a9e3-598c-b958-b159c102583e.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share
Carol,
He said the KKK demonstrators in Charlottesville included “some very fine people.”
Diane: Trump has a very limited vocabulary: “very fine people” and “very responsible people”.
Was it Bob Shepherd who said Trump has the vocabulary of a fourth grader?
I think a Lexile analysis would place him in fourth grade.
James Mattis, Trump’s former Secretary of Defense, said that Trump had “the understanding of a fifth- or sixth-grader.” Lexile analysis of Trump’s off-the-cuff speech brings it in at about a fourth-grade level. Sometimes he gives a speech prepared by Miller. Those speeches are at a higher level, but they are shot through with lies and racism.
Why is Fox looking for people to blatantly support Trump and his fuzzy headed idea of getting back to normal? The US is still having many people die and there is no slowdown of those getting infected.
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Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz aren’t coronavirus experts. So why are they talking about it on TV news?
April 18, 2020
Dr. Phil had much to say about the coronavirus lockdown the other night on Fox News.
“Look, the fact of the matter is we have people dying — 45,000 people a year die from automobile accidents, 480,000 from cigarettes,” the talk-show host said Thursday, “but we don’t shut the country down for that. But yet we’re doing it for this?”
Social media quickly erupted with fury and derision as viewers pointed out the hopeless apples-to-orangeness of his argument: Cars and tobacco aren’t exactly communicable diseases; and both, in fact, have inspired extensive government regulations to limit injuries and death. (The TV shrink was also widely mocked for making a comparison to swimming-pool deaths using a bogus statistic inflated by a factor of nearly 100.)
But the interview raised deeper concerns: Why was Dr. Phil — not a medical doctor but a clinical psychologist with no special knowledge about the politics, science or economics of the shutdown — on a TV news channel talking about the topic in the first place?…
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/media/dr-phil-and-dr-oz-arent-coronavirus-experts-so-why-are-they-talking-about-it-on-tv-news/2020/04/17/09c2c410-80bb-11ea-a3ee-13e1ae0a3571_story.html
“Why was Dr. Phil — not a medical doctor but a clinical psychologist with no special knowledge about the politics, science or economics of the shutdown — on a TV news channel talking about the topic in the first place?”
Good question. Do you know how he got his show in the first place? He consulted with Oprah regarding jury selection in the Texas beef case. And, voila, suddenly he’s doing on-air counseling. So the man has a habit of stumbling into “expert” positions like that.
Oprah should be ashamed to have promoted a “Dr.” who gives medical advice without a degree in medicine.
What in the world does using a psychologist on matters that relate to psychology have to do with using a psychologist to talk about medicine and science? Jury consultants are often psychologists. “On air counseling” by a psychologist is normal. Having psychologists as experts on science and medicine is not normal.
Bringing up Oprah for using a psychologist for something that psychologists do in order to defend Fox News for using him as a medical and science expert is really grasping at straws to both cast blame on a powerful African-American woman and normalize what Fox News is doing.
nycpsp: nope, Oprah does not get a pass as a “powerful African-American woman,” she is just an entertainer , a mixed bag like her spin-off Dr Phil. Her “power” is bunches of money made from productions that dilute redeeming social value with equal amounts of ratings-grabbing pap/ soap-opera/ Springer-level sideshows– his show, painted large. Phil should have already been chastened by his mentor’s face-down philanthroflops into the socio-political sphere but he steps on the banana peel anyway. Like her, he’s a genius at what he does well, & would have an untarnished reputation if he could just stay in his lane.
bethree,
I don’t understand what your post has to do with my reply.
Oprah Winfrey used Dr. Phil as a psychologist. Because he IS a psychologist.
Fox News uses him as an expert in medicine, science and pandemics, which he is not.
Fox News should rightly be criticized for putting Dr. Phil on and presenting him as an “expert” to spew untruths about the pandemic.
Trying to scapegoat Oprah Winfrey for Fox News improperly presenting Dr. Phil as a science and medicine expert seems strange when the subject is Fox News using someone as an expert who is not one.
Now if you can find an example of Oprah presenting Dr. Phil as a medical and science and pandemic expert or herself as an expert in something that she is not, then I could understand your point. But you didn’t. So I don’t understand your crack about how Oprah should “stay in her lane”.
I also think it is rather insulting to refer to Oprah Winfrey as “just an entertainer”. Unlike Trump, Oprah SUCCESSFULLY built up a multi-million (billion?) dollar business that actually made a profit, and she did it without getting a million dollar loan from her parents and then losing it all and getting even more money to subsidize her business.
I am not a fan of her programs, but she has made a contribution to this country that is worthwhile and Dr. Phil is an ant compared to her. Dr. Phil, however, mouths whatever the right wing wants him to mouth, so he is held up as an “expert” in whatever the right wing needs him to be an expert in so they can delude their viewers into believing whatever Trump says.
That is not Oprah’s fault. It is Fox News’ fault.
I used to watch Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday program all the time. Now I do it very occasionally, but the programs are still being recorded on my DVR. She has been voted one of the 10 most influential spiritual people in the world. Top living spiritual leaders: Number one is The Dalai Lama but includes Pope Francis, Greta Thunberg, Eckart Tolle, Oprah Winfrey, Russel Brand, Thich Nhat Hanh, Desmond Tutu, Marianne Williamson and David Lynch in the top 10 spot of the list.
Dr. Wayne W. Dyer was on that list but he died at the end of August 2015 from a heart attack from his home in Maui.
I personally can’t stand Dr. Phil. In my opinion, his ‘cures’ come too easily. I had therapy twice a week for five years and it has taken me a life time to completely overcome the severe emotional and mental abuse that I lived through from my mother.
I used to watch Dr. Oz but now have no respect for him since its fine for 2-3% of the population to die to get the economy growing again.
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Tibetan Journal
An open portal where you can read and contribute on themes; news, reviews and opinions. Most commonly dealt in Tibet News
http://www.tibetanjournal.com
Dalai Lama Voted as the World’s Most Influential Living Person
February 29, 2020
Editor TJ
100 Most Influential People, Dalai Lama, Watkins Bookshop, World’s Most Influential Person
The Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been voted the most influential spiritual leader. A UK magazine has published it annual list of 100 most spiritually influential living people and His Holiness has topped the list. The Watkins Mind Body and Spirit magazine published the list in their Spring issue #61 on February 29 this year.
Watkins Mind Body and Soul in its official website of Saturday published the 2020 list of 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People which comprises of spiritual teachers, activists, authors and thinkers. They are people who can actually change the world.
“We are delighted to share with you Watkins’ 2020 list of the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People – spiritual teachers, activists, authors and thinkers that change the world. The list came out in print in the Spring issue, #61 of Watkins Mind Body Spirit magazine on February 29.” said the report on Saturday.
Watkins bookshop in London has been encouraging spiritual discovery and providing seekers with esoteric knowledge for over 120 years. It started publishing the 100 list with the goal of celebrating the world’s living spiritual teachers. The special magazine issue features 16 pages dedicated to interesting details, bios, photos and highlights about each person on the list.
While His Holiness was voted as the third most influential person last, the Buddhist spiritual leader is the most spiritually influential living person. The list also features Pope Francis, Greta Thunberg, Eckart Tolle, Oprah Winfrey, Russel Brand, Thich Nhat Hanh, Desmond Tutu, Marianne Williamson and David Lynch in the top 10 spot of the list.
Indiana has Trump supporters who want our state to no longer be on lockdown. It’s hard to understand some people. Countries who have done the best job of containing this pandemic don’t have such problems.
I read that having no lockdowns in some states is equivalent to having a peeing section in a swimming pool.
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[NWI Times] Protesters gather at governor’s mansion
INDIANAPOLIS — More than 200 people upset over restrictions on Indiana residents because of the coronavirus protested Saturday outside the state mansion of Gov. Eric Holcomb, urging him to back off and restart the economy.
People carrying signs and American flags stood close together along the street outside the home in Indianapolis. Cars passing the scene honked in support, although the rally wasn’t as large as a similar event Wednesday in Michigan.
Signs said, “If Holcomb’s job is essential, everyone’s job is essential!” and “Open Indiana Now!” Another said, “Not here for Trump here for freedom!”
Holcomb said a stay-at-home order that expires Monday will be extended to May 1 while he works on a plan to reopen businesses.
https://www.nwitimes.com/news/state-and-regional/protesters-gather-at-governors-mansion/article_38380988-c14b-5262-9357-bdf0b5ba89ba.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share
Utah is having protests, and Utah never went into state-wide lockdown. Try to explain that. I sure can’t. https://www.ksl.com/article/46742853/business-leaders-divided-over-salt-lake-city-rally
Wow, T.O.W., how does that happen?
Having read your past comments, I understand your handle, but living w/this kind of ignorance, as well, is really threatening.
(This is why I haven’t called IL “ILL-Annoy” for a while. We have some grown ups in charge now. Not only is our governor eloquent {a word unknown/too big for WH occupant}, his daily news briefing is factual, concerned & honest. Yesterday he made an extremely encouraging speech to high school seniors, which, I’m sure, brought tears to many parents’ eyes.)
retiredbutmissthekids: Just wanted to let you know that I have listened to some of Pritzker’s news briefings and find them to be honest. I also like the medical experts who speak out.
Would that we had a president who was as honest and respected medical experts.
I was especially impressed that Pritzker spent $1.7 million secretly to bring needed medical equipment back to Illinois from China. He was afraid of letting that deal ‘out of the bag’ because then the Federal government would interfere.
It is a sad commentary on the ‘leadership’ in Washington, D. C.
Yeah, it’s crazy out here. Sometimes I wonder what I’m doing here.
Notice that the test results were available in 10 minutes.
We can’t even test people in this country who get symptoms. Just go home and if they get worse then see a doctor. How many are bringing this into their homes and killing their family members? Now its time to ‘open up the country’ when we have no idea of how many people are infected. I wonder how many older people have died alone inside their homes?
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Airline passengers undergo Covid-19 blood tests before boarding Karla Cripps, CNN • Published 16th April 2020
(CNN) — Perhaps a sign of what the future holds for air travelers, Dubai-based airline Emirates has begun carrying out Covid-19 blood tests on passengers at the airport prior to flights.
According to a statement released by the airline, the first rapid Covid-19 blood tests took place on Wednesday at Dubai International Airport, with passengers on a flight to Tunisia all reportedly tested before departure.
The tests were conducted by the Dubai Health Authority at the Group Check-in area of Terminal 3 and results were available within 10 minutes.
Emirates claims to be the world’s first airline to conduct such tests.
“We are working on plans to scale up testing capabilities in the future and extend it to other flights,” said Adel Al Redha, Emirates Chief Operating Officer, in the statement.
“This will enable us to conduct on-site tests and provide immediate confirmation for Emirates passengers traveling to countries that require COVID-19 test certificates.”…
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/emirates-passengers-blood-test-covid-19/index.html
Forbes:
…He said that because “the federal government seems to be interrupting supplies that are being sent elsewhere in the nation” he “wanted to make sure that we received what we ordered,” and also told CNN that he had “given up” on receiving help from the Trump administration.
White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere responded, telling RealClearPolitics that Pritzker, “through ignorance or incompetence or a propensity to politicize everything,” was wrong, and that the administration had been providing Illinois with resources.
CRUCIAL QUOTES
“We have gotten very little help from the federal government,” Pritzker told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Tuesday. “It’s fine. I’ve given up on any promises that have been made.” In his rebuke of Pritzker’s comments that Illinois was “doing what we need to do despite” the president, Deere insisted that Trump didn’t see a distinction between red or blue states and had directed federal aid to “every state regardless of the political affiliation of the state’s governor.”
BIG NUMBER: 171.2 MILLION.
That’s how much Illinois has spent on its coronavirus pandemic response so far, according to the comptroller’s report.
TANGENT
Earlier this month, Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said in an interview with MSNBC that Pritzker was calling CEOs of major airlines and begging them for help in organizing airlifts of PPE and medical supplies from China to Illinois. “They couldn’t get flights, cargo flights out,” he said. “You know, I’ve got a very talented governor here… but to think it’s his responsibility to airlift what should have been in the national stockpile is incredible.”
KEY BACKGROUND
Pritzker, like other state leaders such as New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, have for weeks been publicly voicing their frustration about a lack of supplies, funding and assistance from the federal government. Both governors have expressed outrage that states are forced to compete against themselves in bidding for PPE and other supplies to deal with the coronavirus.
In the past, Trump has criticized both governors for “complaining.” Earlier this week he lashed out at Cuomo in a tirade on Twitter, and earlier this month he said that Pritzker was “complaining all the time” and “couldn’t do his job, so we had to help him.” Both governors have responded to criticism from the president by telling him “to do his job” and help the states….
Here is the headline from this article.
Illinois Gov. Pritzker Secretly Bought Medical Supplies From China. And The White House Is Not Happy.
Sergei Klebnikov
Sergei KlebnikovForbes Staff
Markets
I cover breaking news, with a focus on money and markets.
Updated Apr 18, 2020, 05:00pm EDT
TOPLINE The White House issued a sharp rebuke Saturday to billionaire Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, who reportedly spent over $1.7 million on flights bringing medical supplies from China in secret—out of fear the Trump administration would seize the cargo for the federal stockpile.
The thing that shocks in reading the CNN article is that TESTING has been such a huge part of the 4 nations’ success – and that we STILL have barely scratched the surface.
We are just… scrambling. We’re scrambling for PPE and ventilators because we missed the front-end window for testing. Making us the epicenter of the plague. We’re playing “chicken” and “After you, my dear Alphonse” because we don’t have the testing required to safely phase back into business. Which will bring our economy to its knees.
There are so many lessons to learn here about how badly we’ve governed ourselves.
Oklahoma didn’t expand Medicaid and the governor hasn’t put out a lockdown for the state. What is wrong with this state when it ranks among the 10th unhealthiest state and doesn’t care?
……………………………….
FRONTLINE: Experts: Oklahoma, Among the Unhealthiest States, Faces Heightened Risks for COVID-19
…“Now that the virus is moving from the coast towards middle America, where there is a lot of poverty, obesity and lack of access, I think we are going to see a lot of tragedy in those states,” she said. “I hope it will be a real wake-up call, but I’m not sure it will be.”
How Oklahoma Ranks
For the 23rd consecutive year, Oklahoma in 2019 was ranked among the 10 unhealthiest states in America’s Health Rankings, an annual report from the United Health Foundation, a nonprofit organization that ranks states according to health policies and outcomes.
Oklahoma was the fifth unhealthiest state overall and had the second highest cardiovascular death rate, the fourth highest cancer death rate and the 10th highest obesity rate. The state also is one of the 10 highest in smoking and lung cancer rates.
Oklahoma’s death rate was also highest in the nation for heart disease and second highest for chronic lower respiratory disease, according to 2017 data from the CDC.
Its potential vulnerability to COVID-19 is also evident in how the state handles the seasonal flu season. According to CDC data, the state had the 12th highest influenza and pneumonia death rate in 2018.
Couple all of that with having the nation’s second highest rate of people lacking health insurance — 14.2% in 2018 — and the conditions are ripe for Oklahoma to struggle in its fight against COVID-19, Blewett said.
“If you don’t have health insurance, you are more likely to delay seeking care, which can give coronavirus enough time to spread,” she said. “And when you do get sick, you are more likely to delay until the last minute to seek care, when you are now in a crisis. And that can contribute to severe outcomes, including death.”…
Some studies suggest that COVID-19 survivors will have long-term health problems after they have recovered….
An order from Gov. Kevin Stitt in March underscored the dangers to more medically fragile Oklahomans. He mandated that people with serious underlying conditions shelter in place, although he hasn’t issued the same order statewide for the rest of the population.
Stitt announced Wednesday that he is extending that order though May 6…
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/experts-oklahoma-among-the-unhealthiest-states-faces-heightened-risks-for-covid-19/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share_button
Actually we were suffering from the SARS about ten years ago, by that time, Taiwan was not part of WHO and is still not, so we fought against the virus on our own. Some of our neighbored countries even banned our flights to their airports due to SARS. One of the majors even ordered to shut down the hospital where the SARS was first found, causing hundreds of people died and negative nurses, doctors were included. Some of the experts now say that the past experience helps us this time, others think the unknown international status may be the reason. Luckily, one of the doctors in CDC found the post on Chinese website, saying the kind of new virus has been found. From that moment, the CDC in Taiwan started to do something and followed the U.S for banning all the flights from and to the Wuhan. Without the States, we would not stop the Wuhan flights so decisively because of untangling political issue.