Share your experience, tips, advice, questions…
As it seems most communities world-wide are going into voluntary or enforced quarantine that involves staying at home and avoiding physical contact as much as possible, I thought we could have a thread where we could try a bit of mutual support by cheering each other up over the next few days, weeks, months… Who knows?
I don’t know: suggestions on films to watch, books to read, gardening tips, exercise ideas
Usual rules apply plus a guideline. Let’s be kind and supportive to each other.
My antivirus shouts out a warning when I try to access the link!
My antivirus does not provide any detail on why this is considered a ‘known dangerous website’ but the only comment that has been left questions the characterization since Erin Bromage is an associate professor at UMass/Dartmouth
Anyone else get this from their antivirus? I’ve had mine use the ‘precautionary principle’ a bit too aggressively and have had to override the blockage to view specific sites that while labeled dangerous are not. Just curious before I attempt an overide of the antivirus software.
Thanks. Yes, it seems to be good information.
I didn’t notice any problems.
Well, okay, I’m running linux and I don’t use any antivirus. So I suppose this isn’t a good indicator. So I tried with a browser that blocks advertisements (“falkon”), and shows a count of how many ads it blocked. And it did not show any ads for the linked page, which looks like a relatively simple page.
I then tried using “firefox” with “noscript”. It showed that 3 scripts were being blocked. The page displayed fine with those scripts being blocked. The scripts are shown as from “erinbromage.com” and “parastorage.com”.
Hmm, it looks as if two of the blocked scripts are from “parastorage.com”. That’s possibly what bothered your antivirus. Those scripts did not cause problems on linux, but that does not guarantee that they are safe on Windows.
PeterP,
Good point regarding the short treatment course — that will avoid the problems of interferon’s side effects.
PeterP,
We’re seeing some good results with antivirus. I don’t know – I’m not a doctor! – but we’re going to get our people to look into that.
I think it would be interesting to have a thread devoted to the Ferguson model and the code behind it, which is publicly available.
I’m not qualified to judge it, but it’s been discussed a lot.
We have a lot of people here that have done biological modeling.
Please open it to a discussion of Ferguson, because he seems to have provided the rationale for the lockdowns, and is currently taking a lot of heat.
Germany is the latest critic of lockdowns.
petrushka,
The country is a critic of the lockdowns? What does that mean?
I tried injecting disinfectant but all I got for my efforts was some smoke and sparks……patient appears to have succumbed to something or another…musta had a preexisting condition like hyperlinkemia or terminal QWERTYness
It was terminal.
“Abusive, dictatorial, tyrannical’: Republicans ramp up attacks on lockdowns”
Or Why Cooperate?, The unsuccessful attempt to find a dumber citizenry than America.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/abusive-dictatorial-tyrannical-republicans-ramp-083059478.html
I rather enjoyed How Freedom Became Free-dumb in America, which I think gets very close to the core of the issue: it’s not that Americans are dumb or ignorant, but that we are, specifically, deeply stupid about the nature of freedom — that our understanding of freedom is basically pathological. I did get a sad chuckle out of “the bizarre circular firing squad of social suicide that America has become”.
I think you meant that to be a link, but forgot to include the actual link. So I have added it to that quote.
And, yes, it was a good read.
I have seen it noted that when you ask an American “who are you?”, the usual response is a profession. I’m a teacher, lawyer, mechanic, etc. It’s how people think of themselves. And the lockdown, depriving many of them of this identify, is both an economic threat and a personal insult.
I don’t think any of the protesters wish to get sick or make others sick, so they adopt straight denial – those sick and dying people don’t exist/don’t count/are exaggerated/don’t affect me. And their cult leader is out there now insisting that the death counts can’t be real, they’re reported by the fake news.
So long as the worst impacts are being suffered by the elderly, the immigrants and the prisoners, this whole pandemic will appear unreal to those denied their symbols of self-worth – until and unless it hits them directly. If the medical folks are correct, we will have virus blossoms among those on the beaches, in the bars and restaurants, in the pews and protest crowds. If the protesters are correct and remain largely untouched, what this tells us may be worth less than what it tells them.
I think you present a false dichotomy.
I’m skeptical about the degree to which beaches will be an effective locale for transfer, especially if people stay relatively distant.
PeterP,
I’ve been doing regular injections and I’ve found it quite successful; I’ve yet to contract the virus.
What I’ve been hearing is that the virus spreads most effectively indoors, and where people spend some time with one another. So I agree that infections would be harder to spread on the beach than on any of those other occasions. Maybe large outdoor stadiums would be a midpoint.
I do think infections blossoming among protesters is poetic justice.
https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-cia-believes-china-tried-stop-who-alarm-pandemic-1503565
Newsweek is not what it used to be.
An Australian epidemiologist was highly critical of the rationale for beach closure.
This is one of my pet grumbles, the lack of general appreciation and government advice in this area. Some studies use CO2 concentration as a proxy for viral load, because it’s easy to measure, and it obviously cannot climb outside the way it can in. If you’re inside with a shedder, opening windows still helps a bit.
But instead we get outrage at people on hills and beaches, or whizzing past on a bike, as if the merest hint of proximity is enough.
So is my daughter. UV and salt water don’t nurture RNA viruses particularly well, IMHO.
Allan Miller,
In fact during the lockdown in China, even during the most strict time, they did not totally restrict all outdoor activity. I was able to still ride my bike, even during the height of it. I just didn’t get too close to anyone (that was pretty easy) and used my mask.
Some people also went out to the park. But people understood the severity so everyone was well behaved. I suspect if the US had a better leader during this time, he could have inspired everyone to work together, like during WWII or something, so that the country was unified in fighting together.
We needed a Roosevelt. An Obama probably would have sufficed.
Instead…dickhead.
Clearly, you do not understand the US. There will always be arrogant assholes who make a point of disagreeing.
This is partly due to the first amendment (freedom of speech). The first amendment is one of the great things about the US. The arrogant assholes are an unfortunate side effect.
Neil Rickert,
The whole idea of the first amendment, America is a free country! , nonsense is such a ruse.
There are probably four countries in the whole world that you can’t say what you want. So other than those countries what is so different about America? There are lots of countries that are freer than America. It’s just a slogan and Americans act like it is some kind of uniqueness. It’s one reason they are so dumb, they don’t have a clue about the rest of the world
I can guarantee you even in countries like China, the government hassles you much less than in America. Police don’t go around bossing people around all the time. Then don’t handcuff little kids. They don’t act like they have some divine right of superiority over the citizens. They aren’t chickenshit trigger happy failed bullies.
Furthermore, bank staff, restaurant staff, airline staff, they are all much better and more friendly than in the states. The customs don’t act like you are a criminal that they get to give orders to. In almost every aspect of life people are treated with more dignity.
It’s amazing how long America has been able to sell the fake freedom label crap.
I think they should come up with a new slogan, something fresh. Like ‘Come to America, most places you can wear a hat! ‘.
Some people may disagree. Hong Kong citizens, Tibetans, Uighurs.
Corneel,
You think Hong Kong citizens aren’t more free than Americans? You have no idea what you are talking about.
Furthermore, it sounds as if you are acknowledging that the vast majority of all countries on the planet are free, or else you could have listed 100 that aren’t. So just claiming, well, there are three I think are worse (even if they aren’t) doesn’t say much for America.
Again, its like saying, we have electricity, aren’t we an amazing country.
There are 195 countries in the world. 191 of them should say, we are great, we are a free country!!! And most of them would be more free than America.
Like I said, the citizens themselves may disagree. They have been protesting for months.
Let’s seperate two things: freedom and opportunity.
The USA are a free country in the sense that “government hassle” is pretty modest, i.e. neglible repression, freedom of speech and freedom of press. In fact, I am always amazed by the level of distrust that US citizens raise against the government they themselves elected.
I will concede that this freedom is worthless without opportunity or future perspective. The USA is definitely lacking in that respect, and the current President clearly has no incentive to change this.
What is more free about America than the rest of the 190 plus countries of the world?
Branding.
Tiananmen Square.
newton,
Kent State.
Now, are you going to answer the question, its not a hard one. What is unique about America’s “freedom” compared to 190+ other countries. Feel free to claim five are less free ( I beg to differ), what about the rest?
newton,
Perhaps you would prefer to talk about Sydney Gottlieb? Or Richard Helms?
Or maybe Dr. Leo Stanley? Or Operation Sea-Spray? Or Operation Tophat? Project Artichoke? J. Marion Sims? Or Harold Blauer? Operation Dropkick? Allen Dulles? Guantanamo? The Tuskegee Study…
Let me know.
How many Chinese Muslims are currently in internment camps?
Honestly, phoodoo, you sound like a paid shill for China.
petrushka,
Were you going to defend America’s freedom or not? Are you a paid shill for the CIA?
How many Chinese Muslims are in forced labor, phoodoo?
By the way, you will never see me defending the FBI or CIA.
I am not a stranger to critics of the US. As I have said before, I went to a Quaker college. I lived in a dorm next door to Robert Meeropol (look him up).
What’s interesting is that China has made me rather painfully aware of how the rest of the world sees the United States. I knew it intellectually, but now I can feel it.
The difference, as I can see it, is that people freely discuss American shortcomings. That, and we abolished slave labor some time ago. That’s not a moral difference, but it’s a temporal difference.
petrushka,
So its not a particularly free country then, right? Maybe you can give the name to Canada? Holland? Aruba? Belize? Andorra? Lithuania?…
How could you?
The rest of the world laughs at America. Lately even more so.
All I am asking is why does America harp on all the time about it being a free country? Its like candy for babies. Just tell them they are special and they believe it.
How many countries do you think you are more free than, one?
How many Chinese Muslims, phoodoo? Stop avoiding the question.
Imagine my surprise when I come back after a few hours, and the Chinese Muslim question isn’t answered.
It’s a rather straightforward question, and my understanding of it could be wrong. I’m willing to be corrected.
Yea. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for you living in a country where there is no first amendment.
How many Chinese Muslims in forced labor camps, phoodoo?
petrushka,
How should I know, you work for the CIA, ask them.
Or are you not allowed?
Why are you so embarrassed for your country, I thought Americans love talking about free they are.
petrushka,
I hope your comments don’t get TSZ blocked in China. I’d hate for phoodoo to suddenly vanish.
A friend’s son is head of an epidemiology dept at a US university. About the time Trump was starting the process of becoming president, my friend emailed him a few times expressing amazement and wondering what his son thought. He got a sharp email back, saying do not discuss politics in emails to him. He saw his son in person not long after and asked what was the problem. He was staggered to learn that his son seriously believed that his academic career could be affected if he engaged in political criticism. He was in no doubt his emails were monitored. Paranoia?
And Chinese government treatment of the Uighurs has been pretty despicable.
What was the justification for the invasion and occupation of Tibet?
I am sure there is truth to that.
Alan Fox,
What’s the justification for the US invasion and occupation of Hawaii?