Corona virus (1 Viewer)

[jazzeum]

Sadly, the veneer of civilization is very thin. All the Chinese restaurants in our area that we frequented have closed. At first I chalked it up to the fact that a lot of the waiters and chefs live in NY and since you can do takeout only, they decided to close. However, several of them are takeout only and in at least two cases the families who run them live locally so there was no transportation issue. I reluctantly came to the conclusion that they closed because they feared the backlash during this period; there are a lot of ignorant people in our area.

 

[ivanmoe]

this new trend sweeping across America...
of racial discrimination and hate incidents against Asian Americans...
is really disturbing...
these reports of anti Asian assaults to other forms of racial harassment is absurd...
referring to COVID-19 as the Asian/Chinese Flu is certainly not helping...
these incidents of xenophobic behavior seem to be on a rapid rise...
this is a sad comment on America...
the link is a disturbing read...


https://www.adl.org/blog/reports-of...t-and-hate-crimes-rise-as-coronavirus-spreads

Mike,

I was sort of perplexed by this comment from the article:

Meanwhile, extremists continue to spread antisemitic and xenophobic conspiracies about COVID-19, blaming Jews and China for creating, spreading and profiting off the virus.

I put it that way, perplexed, because the author mixes a provable fact, that the PRC facilitated the spread of the virus by allowing vast numbers of Wuhan residents to travel abroad when those same folks were not allowed to travel in China, while stating something that's untrue, that "Jews" are somehow involved. That strikes me as a rhetorical slight of hand, one in which a lie somehow undermines the validity of something that's undeniably true. I'm not sure that the technique proves very effective in this instance, unless the reader is predisposed to grasp at straws like that. As a result, IMO, that one line reads like pure, unadulterated, Chinese communist propaganda.

My wife's best friend is a Vietnamese immigrant. She hates the Chinese. This has always truck me as ironic, insofar as Judy's family became "boat-people" precisely because they were of Chinese descent, and Catholic, an unhappy combination of ethnic and religious baggage in post-war Vietnam. She loves, the USA, BTW, or perhaps she just has me fooled. Her biggest problem, now, isn't that xenophobic natives are mistaking her for a Chinese-national or Chinese American, which she appears to be, and harassing her. Rather, her great dilemma is that the family business, a Cajun-restaurant, is shut down. After all that she'd been through, it's as if China has finally finished her off.

I used the word irony above, in regard to Judy's ethnic heritage, but there's plenty to go around, as many Chinese nationals have fled the USA because it's too dangerous to stay here:

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/covid19-coronavirus-chinese-students-fleeing-us-private-jet-12574624

Crazy world, huh?

-Moe

 

[mikemiller1955]

Moe...
to blame an American minority race for this virus is impossible to justify...
to blame the Jewish community is even farther off the chart...
to discriminate is one thing...
but any hatred that turns to violence is totally unacceptable...
people will believe what they want to believe...
I'm sympathetic to the Asian community...

 

[Poppo]

Just disinfect.....It works for the air-cond systems, so why shouldn't it work for lungs? {sm3}{sm4}[h=1][/h]

 

[ivanmoe]

but any hatred that turns to violence is totally unacceptable...

Couldn't agree more

 

[Warrior]

I spoke to Bob Rourke a short time ago; he and Joe Remnson are the Metal Shed dealers on the East Coast, Bob informed me Joe has the virus and is "very, very sick"...……………….

Thoughts and prayers go out to Joe, Bob also told me a mutual friend of ours who used to be very active in the hobby but has basically dropped out also has the virus and is in worse shape than Joe.

Unbelievable.

 

[Louis Badolato]

Oh my God! Not Joe! He is a good friend and a better person.

 

[Warrior]

I told Bob to keep me posted...……………..again, thoughts and prayers to the both of them.

 

[desk11desk12]

Sadly, the veneer of civilization is very thin. All the Chinese restaurants in our area that we frequented have closed. At first I chalked it up to the fact that a lot of the waiters and chefs live in NY and since you can do takeout only, they decided to close. However, several of them are takeout only and in at least two cases the families who run them live locally so there was no transportation issue. I reluctantly came to the conclusion that they closed because they feared the backlash during this period; there are a lot of ignorant people in our area.

How much of this fear is "REAL" vs "IMAGINED"? If real, then American society is as racists as ever (certainly like 1960's); is it?

How much does the media coverage play in this? Are they simply a benevolent force of good reporting cases for the purposes of informing and being the virtuous moral conscious of America?

Or, is the Media in it to influence and shame America into a political narrative and increase ratings and AD revenue on the way?

FEAR is a powerful weapon of change (more so than pleasure), and is used by those who want to control the message.

Does anyone, know what the truth is anymore?

I haven't watched news sources for 16 months because I'm tired of being told what news is important, what I should think and feel and who I should dislike.

I read the news and therefore hear the news in my head in my own clam voice; discernment is easier that way.

I also ask myself, "What is the sources motivation" and is it noble?

What do you think?

Carlos

 

[jazzeum]

Really sorry to hear about Joe. Hope he can pull through.

 

[Louis Badolato]

How much of this fear is "REAL" vs "IMAGINED"? If real, then American society is as racists as ever (certainly like 1960's); is it?

How much does the media coverage play in this? Are they simply a benevolent force of good reporting cases for the purposes of informing and being the virtuous moral conscious of America?

Or, is the Media in it to influence and shame America into a political narrative and increase ratings and AD revenue on the way?

FEAR is a powerful weapon of change (more so than pleasure), and is used by those who want to control the message.

Does anyone, know what the truth is anymore?

I haven't watched news sources for 16 months because I'm tired of being told what news is important, what I should think and feel and who I should dislike.

I read the news and therefore hear the news in my head in my own clam voice; discernment is easier that way.

I also ask myself, "What is the sources motivation" and is it noble?

What do you think?

Carlos

Carlos,

I agree with you that the majority of American society is no where near as racist or bigoted as it was back in the 60's or before. However, there are certainly pockets of deeply ingrained racists, and unfortunately, their message gets projected loudly for all to hear, thanks, in large part, as you pointed out, to a news MEDIA that is far more MEDIA than news. Every storm is "the Storm of the Century" and every problem is catastrophic, because this makes for ratings. Plus, there is no reporting of facts, only spin doctors giving the editorial line of the sponsor of that news outlet. Its enough to make you weep. I like your suggestion about deciding what news is important for yourself.

 

[Louis Badolato]

With all the bad coronavirus news, I thought I would pass along something nice about a member of this hobby. I received a package from my friend, Nathan Fogt, containing one of his wonderful converted/recasted dime-store figure dioramas, this one with three 1914 French Poilu in a trench sharing a meal of bread, cheese and wine. Along with it was a handwritten note, telling me it was a "quarantine pick me up," and that he hoped it would cheer up my son and I, and that my family would make it through healthy and safe. Just another example of how good natured, thoughtful and generous the members of our hobby are. It may not be as important as all the acts of charity we hear about, but my son and I sure appreciated his wonderful gift. I hope reading this passes along the good spirits I am feeling to some of you.:salute::

 

[Louis Badolato]

I spoke to Bob Rourke a short time ago; he and Joe Remnson are the Metal Shed dealers on the East Coast, Bob informed me Joe has the virus and is "very, very sick"...……………….

Thoughts and prayers go out to Joe, Bob also told me a mutual friend of ours who used to be very active in the hobby but has basically dropped out also has the virus and is in worse shape than Joe.

Unbelievable.

George,

Joe just responded to an e-mail I sent asking about him. He has had a fever all week, and was tested for the coronavirus today. Thankfully, he has not needed to be hospitalized as yet.

Louis

 

[mikemiller1955]

[h=1]Lakers return $4.6 million loan they received as part of government's small-business program[/h]
So............
the Lakers got a 4.6 million dollar loan from the government's small business stimulus package...
really?
okay...so they gave it back...
but........
it makes me wonder who considers the Lakers...
a professional sports team...
with a current value according to Forbes of over 4.6 billion dollars...
a small business...
and how many other billionaires qualified for this assistance and didn't return it...

just gotta wonder who is in charge of this money...
our government needs some better control over their stimulus package...
this is absurd...
this money should be allocated to those that really need it...
this is a joke on how they throw money away...

https://sports.yahoo.com/lakers-ret...ernments-smallbusiness-program-162704516.html

 

[Warrior]

George,

Joe just responded to an e-mail I sent asking about him. He has had a fever all week, and was tested for the coronavirus today. Thankfully, he has not needed to be hospitalized as yet.

Louis

I asked Bob to keep me posted...………………………...hoping it passes and he makes a full recovery, Joe is a class act, one of the good guys out there.

 

[marco55]

Lakers return $4.6 million loan they received as part of government's small-business program


So............
the Lakers got a 4.6 million dollar loan from the government's small business stimulus package...
really?
okay...so they gave it back...
but........
it makes me wonder who considers the Lakers...
a professional sports team...
with a current value according to Forbes of over 4.6 billion dollars...
a small business...
and how many other billionaires qualified for this assistance and didn't return it...

just gotta wonder who is in charge of this money...
our government needs some better control over their stimulus package...
this is absurd...
this money should be allocated to those that really need it...
this is a joke on how they throw money away...

https://sports.yahoo.com/lakers-ret...ernments-smallbusiness-program-162704516.html

I agree Mike.How in the world did they and those universities get it.Did they apply for it or was it just given to them.This is something that should be investigated.
Mark

 

[Combat]

Lakers return $4.6 million loan they received as part of government's small-business program


So............
the Lakers got a 4.6 million dollar loan from the government's small business stimulus package...
really?
okay...so they gave it back...
but........
it makes me wonder who considers the Lakers...
a professional sports team...
with a current value according to Forbes of over 4.6 billion dollars...
a small business...
and how many other billionaires qualified for this assistance and didn't return it...

just gotta wonder who is in charge of this money...
our government needs some better control over their stimulus package...
this is absurd...
this money should be allocated to those that really need it...
this is a joke on how they throw money away...

https://sports.yahoo.com/lakers-ret...ernments-smallbusiness-program-162704516.html

I think it is based on the number of employees. According to the SBA you can have quite a few employees and still be deemed a "small business" regardless of how much money the business makes. So the Lakers apparently qualified. A really stupid PR move though. Some slick lawyer probably advised them to file the paperwork and thought he was a genius. To their credit I gather the Lakers haven't fired or furloughed any of their employees.

 

[mikemiller1955]

remdesivir...

a glimmer of hope...
this seems to be very encouraging...

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/16/health/coronavirus-remdesivir-trial/index.html

some very good results reported on this drug in studies...



FDA reportedly will approve Covid-19 treatment remdesivir, which US-funded trial shows has 'positive effect' on recovery

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/29/health/gilead-sciences-remdesivir-covid-19-treatment/index.html
FDA reportedly will approve Covid-19 treatment remdesivir, which US-funded trial shows has 'positive effect' on recovery

 

[hotel3alpha]

Good morning all,

On April the 6th the US death toll from COVID was at 10,764 and as of today the toll is 63,871. Which means in 24 days 53,107 Americans have passed.

The last time I checked the world death toll was April the 1st which was at 45,497 and I rechecked today and the world wide total is 233,688. Which translates to 188,191 deaths have occurred in one month due to COVID-19.

According to NAT GEO more people have died in 4 months than the Vietnam War (58,220) and World War I (53,402). If the death toll exceeds 100K then more people would have died in a year that both wars combined. I think we are going to exceed 100K if not more and I think it will happen in this year 2020. Frankly, these numbers are stunning and in the short time that I checked out of the forum, to today, this is a sobering reality.

Now, lets look at it like this. Can you imagine going to war and within four months you lost 63,871 soldiers? Let alone 45,497 of those deaths happened in 24 days. The reaction would be absolute shock at the amount of lives lost in such a short period of time. We would question the why? How could our military sustain so many casualties in such a short period of time? Were they not equipped properly? Were they not trained properly? How is it that the greatest military in the history of the world was dealt such a sever blow? Where are the Generals and Admirals in all this? Who sent them into battle against an enemy with no intelligence to know what they were up against? Where is the President in all this? How did he let this happen on his watch? What was the plan IF this were to happen?

The answer is no; no our medical personnel were not prepared for this nor the states nor the Federal Government. No they were not equipped properly nor trained properly. And no, we as a people were not prepared for this.

The answer is yes; yes we had intelligence that this unseen enemy was ruthless and a threat to National Security. Yes, it wasn't taken seriously from the get go and yes, it is shock to our way of life.

The answer is of course the we as a society would not be able to stomach so many deaths and YES our leadership has failed us.

There was no plan. Hell there wasn't even a contingency plan. For as much as we prepare for war through training and funding our military for "normal" world wide threats, nobody planned for a threat that had no bullets or geo-political agenda. With the exception of a few scientist and doctors who said "you need to listen to me here". To which nobody did. This virus is a stone cold killer that stops at nothing in its path and does not give two hoots how many bombs you got. Or what country, political system or religious beliefs you may have. It is truly a alien force that is attacking and killing the human race with impunity.

I know it may sound like some dystopian novel that I am talking about here but it is not. This is the reality of what we are living in and the fragility of our society is being tested every day, hour and minute. Patience is at premium. The will to "win" is so overpowering that is blinding our leaders into relenting to the worship of the almighty dollar. Some politicians have clearly said that they would sacrifice lives for the "good" of the economy. This "oh well" attitude clearly shows how heartless and ignorant some people in the face of adversity and use such quips to justify their reckless (if not feckless) decisions.

In a crisis the easiest thing to do is point fingers and lay blame to give an answer as to "why" something happened. And sadly racist tendencies and xenophobia are simplest of solutions for simpletons. They disgust me and unfortunately they have been and will continue to be around till Kingdom come and when this is all over those same simpletons who survived unscathed on the backs of the brave will say "see, it was nuthin". They are cowards...the lot of them.

Its never too late to make a plan, regroup and re-take the hill. However, when your Captain is in his quarters looking at himself in the mirror and admiring how good he looks in uniform versus taking the helm, the ship sails aimlessly and the moral of the crew suffers. The result? One long boat ride to no where.

I wish I could close my eyes and wake up tomorrow knowing that every health care worker had all the ammunition they needed to fight the battle of the day, just like a soldier would. I wish IV bags were not on restriction so my wife could get her chemo medicines on a drip versus an injection. I wish my kids could walk the stage for their high school graduation and I wish I could take pictures of them for prom all deck out in gowns and tuxedos. I wish I could go to the movies and watch a good flick. Eat some popcorn and have a cold one. I wish I could go shopping at the mall for Mothers Day and then go to Mothers Day brunch. I wish I could see all of you at the Toy Solider convention. I wish a lot of things, but for right now all of that is wishful thinking and frankly I am content pouring concrete in my backyard for yet another summer project.

Its going to be 90 degrees today in San Antonio and you can still get a Margarita through the drive-thru. After todays backyard work, I think I will get a Margarita to go...take a pic...and post it here.

John from Texas

 

[marco55]

On a average year with the population of 7.7 billion people worldwide 58-60 million people die every year. https://ourworldindata.org/births-and-deaths
In the US I believe it's 2.5 million
That's a normal year.
That's a lot of people!
Mark