tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post1326890406116661785..comments2024-03-29T00:39:31.629-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: Fast-changing times! Whose economy is it? And taxes that could save us.David Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-87881863701321124302020-03-18T16:05:50.416-07:002020-03-18T16:05:50.416-07:00I've pondered the DIY ventilator proposal. I ...I've pondered the DIY ventilator proposal. I could do it faster and cheaper. You just need to modify existing EMS bag ventilators with a reciprocating "squeezer". I got stuff in my basement sufficient for that.<br /><br />But alas, it has some very impractical aspects when considered a bit further. In general people on a vent need to be sedated and paralyzed. This takes constant monitoring and drugs that have a high risk of misadventure. You also have to suction respiratory secretions regularly, safey and with highly contagious biomaterial...carefully. Heart, bp and oxygen sat monitoring, someone to empty the foley, somebody who can actually place and replace the ET tube. I'm not saying this hillbilly tech can't be done, just that the machine alone is not enough to make a difference. It is a whole package sort of deal.<br /><br />Regards attitude and outcomes. It is an interesting proposition. As another fairly recently retired ER MD I have plenty of stories to tell. You'd often see an elderly person die not long after their spouse. I guess what attitude - be it positive or negative - tends to do is fill out detail in informed consent. I just heard today of an acquaintence who died very rapidly from cancer, I'm presuming pancreatic. In that scenario I know how I would approach the prospect of treatment. Morphine and schedule a fun party while I was there to enjoy it. You mighty make a different call and I'd not criticize.<br /><br />The decision to fight on.....or to coast towards a hoped for reunion with your spouse of 70 years....might have some bearing on less dire situations.<br /><br />Well, enough musings. If you hear that I've been pressed back into service then things are off the scale bad. Until then I leave you with the wisdom of my retired self.<br /><br />Life is precious, uncertain and always too short to drink bad beer.<br /><br />TWTacitushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007086196578740689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-6556436827968333392020-03-18T15:56:06.730-07:002020-03-18T15:56:06.730-07:00Snyder is the most FAITHFUL director of source mat...Snyder is the most FAITHFUL director of source material. Which was a blessing in WATCHMEN and an incredible curse in "300."<br /><br />Onward<br /><br />onward<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-51296599239824353122020-03-18T15:52:24.986-07:002020-03-18T15:52:24.986-07:00TCB:
So. This guy, basically.
"...and I...TCB:<br /><i><br />So. This guy, basically.<br /></i><br /><br />"...and I'll whisper, 'No.'"<br /><br />Exactly what came to my mind as well, although I was thinking of the first page of the graphic novel instead of the movie. Same scene, though.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-83213069926654254222020-03-18T15:38:55.925-07:002020-03-18T15:38:55.925-07:00I find it amusing that Locu takes a post about hop...I find it amusing that Locu takes a post about hope and uses it to tear me down. <br /><br />Thank you, Locu. It's always good when I can smile and get a good-natured chuckle over a post. It's even more amusing when you take someone's attempt to spread fear and despair and instead choose to find humor and amusement out of it.<br /><br /><i>Humanity is going to prevail</i>. We may see thousands or millions of deaths from this, but humanity and society itself is stronger and <i>better</i> than you are claiming. We are going to reach out to one another and realize we are neighbors and friends and a community. We're going to stop hating and fearing and we're going to ignore you curmudgeons, naysayers, and defeatists and move forward. <br /><br />You can sink if you want. But you will not make me give up. I will smile at your posts, roll my eyes as your attempts to depress me and encourage me to give up fail time and time again, and I will prevail.<br /><br />And if one day you go silent? I'll raise a glass in toast to you and hope you are living well outside of the Internet... or that if you've passed on that your next life will be more fulfilling and with more joy and happiness. You take care of yourself, Locu.<br /><br />Acacia, who embraces hope.Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-77331285952788052312020-03-18T15:08:55.686-07:002020-03-18T15:08:55.686-07:00@ Larry Hart, So. This guy, basically.@ Larry Hart, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF8zxctevXc" rel="nofollow">So. This guy, basically.</a>TCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08153506222271955110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-56326176454583006462020-03-18T14:48:06.734-07:002020-03-18T14:48:06.734-07:00Ahcuah,
...Being sued by the company that holds ...Ahcuah,<br /><br /><i><br />...Being sued by the company that holds the patent.<br /></i><br /><br />I wonder if there's some way to allocate royalties to patent holders rather than refuse to let others produce needed products in an existential crisis.<br /><br />Otherwise, as oft noted here, the solution will be guillotines.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-76609550921001545852020-03-18T14:46:01.326-07:002020-03-18T14:46:01.326-07:00@TCB,
His stated wet-dream for years has been th...@TCB, <br /><br />His stated wet-dream for years has been the undeserving rest of the world begging for his help which he can then refuse.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-32036184262855648382020-03-18T14:44:56.014-07:002020-03-18T14:44:56.014-07:00A.F.Rey: Cannibalism is such an ugly term. Call i...A.F.Rey: Cannibalism is such an ugly term. Call it "enhanced human resources repurposing."Zepp Jamiesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03024670772812706971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-56818619419937039572020-03-18T13:51:43.466-07:002020-03-18T13:51:43.466-07:00Since the comments talk about ventilators, here...Since the comments talk about ventilators, here's a story about an Italian company that was able to use 3D printing to produce that special valve needed for ventilators.<br /><br />Their reward? Being sued by the company that holds the patent.<br /><br />https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/03/18/italians-found-way-3-d-print-key-ventilator-piece-1-help-battle-coronavirus-soAhcuahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06514651362748555460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-80042948142259658612020-03-18T13:02:14.993-07:002020-03-18T13:02:14.993-07:00Coronavirus Shows Us Rapid Global Response To Clim...<a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/coronavirus-response-climate-crisis?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=84897805&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_WP-V5XaXo4oB0yedArbRUCAbZuFMovHke-5nmwM--z2YgLFPjDT9MpmXrikGhzF9Ltrp5hoJw0bDxuKziGcjh5Ea-WQ&_hsmi=84897805" rel="nofollow">Coronavirus Shows Us Rapid Global Response To Climate Change Is Possible</a><br /><br />Op-ed in Teen Vogue, which is a really woke media source these days.TCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08153506222271955110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-38431523072144222492020-03-18T13:00:30.940-07:002020-03-18T13:00:30.940-07:00Isn't Locum a just-retired MD? Did I hear that...Isn't Locum a just-retired MD? Did I hear that right? He could make himself REALLY USEFUL right now? Just sayin'.TCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08153506222271955110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-31164360324257371712020-03-18T12:18:38.383-07:002020-03-18T12:18:38.383-07:00locumranch,
You can be very dense at times.
Emot...locumranch,<br /><br />You can be very dense at times.<br /><br />Emotional state and amygdala responses can connect. Fear can be learned by the BLA and drive the amygdala.<br /><br />My interest is to avoid conditioning that leads me to give up too early. What 'too early' is varies among us, but once armed with knowledge of the conditioning process, we can (possibly) notice and counter the affects.<br /><br />Brains are layered structures while minds are recursive structures. We reflect upon ourselves and others in mirrored rooms. What the amygdala is doing depends somewhat on what is happening in the fun house, so stress hormone secretion can be influenced. How much? Less than the people who believe in magical thinking want and more than the people who divorce body and mind imagine.<br /><br />My particular health circumstances just contribute anecdotes, though. I get that. I was asked more than once what caused the onset of my condition and responded each time that we aren't ever likely to know. The experiments needed to find out would be highly unethical. Maybe with a bit of luck we will learn, though the poor soul who contributes THAT anecdote won't think they are lucky. Maybe with a sideways approach we will inch up on the explanation and corner it. There DOES seem to be a lot of auto-immune disorders being found lately.<br /><br />It's not circular reasoning, though. It's recursive reasoning. Big difference.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-27762643460527641812020-03-18T12:12:43.656-07:002020-03-18T12:12:43.656-07:00A.F. Rey said...
The apocalypse has officially be...A.F. Rey said...<br /><br />The apocalypse has officially begun.<br /><br />A friend of ours is selling her mother's house, and had painters freshening up inside. Her sister came in this morning and discovered the painters had stolen all the toilet paper and liquid soap.<br /><br />Food riots and cannibalism are just around the corner! ;)A.F. Reyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02160750209354337944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-15874951514036126232020-03-18T10:00:32.599-07:002020-03-18T10:00:32.599-07:00Alfred admits that his emotional state could not &...<br />Alfred admits that his emotional state could not & did not influence the events related to his medical circumstance, while simultaneously insisting that his emotional state DID "matter at some point".<br /><br />Acacia admits that she's "been clinically depressed for a long time", while simultaneously claiming a superior understanding of hope & what depression is NOT.<br /><br />Just now, Governor Cuomo (NY) admits that New York has a severe projected deficiency of certified hospital beds & certified medical providers, and his brilliant solution is to abolish the certification process, in the mistaken belief that this will somehow create the CERTIFIED beds & practitioners that he desires out of thin air by verbal legerdemain.<br /><br />All-of-the-above are examples of CIRCULAR REASONING, aka <i>circulus in probando</i>, in which the reasoner attempts to force a false conclusion by beginning with a false premise.<br /><br />Emotions either effect material reality or they do not effect material reality; individuals either possess hope or they experience depression; and NY either possesses sufficient hospital beds or it does not.<br /><br />You can't preserve your cake & eat it, too.<br /><br /><br />Bestlocumranchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06812045410916208141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-45612220976432116552020-03-18T07:59:07.210-07:002020-03-18T07:59:07.210-07:00Oh boy. Here's the Imperial College of London ...Oh boy. Here's the <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/medicine/sph/ide/gida-fellowships/Imperial-College-COVID19-NPI-modelling-16-03-2020.pdf" rel="nofollow">Imperial College of London report: Impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to reduce COVID19 mortality and healthcare demand</a><br /><br />And <a href="https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1239975682643357696.html" rel="nofollow">here's a Twitter thread reader summary.</a> The president and his people were told this, and it's why they finally started taking COVID-19 seriously. It's SO much worse than it seemed. If we do nothing, or not enough, several millions of Americans die. If we relax suppression before there's a vaccine, several millions of Americans die. If we do EVERYTHING right and get a vaccine ASAP, life maybe goes back to normal in as little as 18 months. (We've now entered the Second Great Depression, I suspect.)TCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08153506222271955110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-38699225567185944872020-03-18T07:23:45.210-07:002020-03-18T07:23:45.210-07:00New York Times columnist Thomas Edsall tells us wh...New York Times columnist Thomas Edsall tells us what we already know:<br /><br />https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/18/opinion/trump-republicans-racism.html<br /><i><br />...<br /><br />Nonetheless, Stevens’s forthcoming book, “It Was All A Lie,” makes the case that President Trump is the natural outcome of a long chain of events going back to the 1964 election when Barry Goldwater ran for president as an opponent of the Civil Right Act passed earlier that year.<br /><br />“As much as I’d love to go to bed at night reassuring myself that Donald Trump was some freak product of the system — a ‘black swan,’” Stevens writes, “I can’t do it”:<br /><br />“I have no one to blame but myself,” he declares on the first page. “What I missed was one simple reality: it was all a lie.”<br /><br />What were the lies? That the Republican Party “espoused a core set of values: character counts, personal responsibility, strong on Russia, the national debt actually mattered, immigration made America great, a big-tent party.”<br /><br />And what is the truth? The Republican Party is “just a white grievance party.”<br /><br />...<br /></i>Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-13951926249249921482020-03-18T06:23:46.155-07:002020-03-18T06:23:46.155-07:00In a bizarre and ironic way, it's a good thing...In a bizarre and ironic way, it's a good thing that Republicans are in charge during this crisis, because if Democrats were the ones in control, the chattering classes would be screaming "How are you going to pay for that?" and "The national debt is the biggest threat to our nation's future" at every attempt to mitigate the economic harm caused by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.<br /><br />Because Republicans are in power, they get to hand out checks like candy and no one bats an eyelash. I'm being cynical, but (given the circumstances) am legitimately glad that the party that gets to do whatever it wants with no adverse consequences is the one talking like this:<br /><br />https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/us/politics/stimulus-package.html<br /><i><br />WASHINGTON — The Trump administration called on Tuesday for urgent action to speed $1 trillion into the economy, including sending $250 billion worth of checks to millions of Americans, as the government prepared its most powerful tools to fight the coronavirus pandemic and an almost certain recession.<br /><br />...<br /><br />During lunch on Capitol Hill not long after, Mr. Mnuchin privately told Republican senators that he envisioned the direct payments covering two weeks of pay and going out by the end of April, according to three people familiar with the discussion who described it on the condition of anonymity. Additional checks would be possible if the national emergency persists, Mr. Mnuchin told the group.<br /><br />...<br /><br />Hopes for a more powerful stimulus package, combined with more emergency measures from the Federal Reserve, helped markets bounce back on Tuesday from their worst day in decades. The S&P 500 rose about 6 percent, rebounding from a 12 percent collapse on Monday — its steepest drop since 1987.<br /><br />...<br /></i>Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-62488845164967664222020-03-17T22:12:31.122-07:002020-03-17T22:12:31.122-07:00locumranch,
his emotional state influenced the ef...locumranch,<br /><br /><i>his emotional state influenced the effectiveness of his diagnosticians</i><br /><br />Nonsense. They were quite capable of figuring out many things without me. My cooperative state DID help, though, in that they had a high probability diagnosis and I supported collecting more data to nail it down. The doctor who wanted the fluid in my lungs was looking for blood and found it. That distinguished the possible sources for what was showing up when I coughed it up. The doctor who wanted a piece of my kidney told me he didn't really NEED it, but his suspicion could be confirmed with a thin slice on a slide. There was a 1/10,000 chance I'd lose the kidney (infection) and 1/100,000 chance of dying, but one of his patients HAD lost their kidney. I was not to dismiss the possibility. I paused a bit and weighed it against the unknowable odds of doing some drastic therapy on information I could have helped perfect. No brainer.<br /><br />My emotional state DID help, but it wasn't strictly necessary. Turns out they were right. No doubt the extra information helped convince the insurer they were right. My emotional state was needed more for the therapy I chose. That chemo-drug made me want to puke every morning for a solid year all while being aware of the 90% chance something bad was going to happen from it. I flirted with bladder cancer if I didn't do the rest of the cocktail just right. <br /><br />So… you won't convince me that emotional states don't matter at some point. A co-worker's mother did the same therapy, made it through a few years, and then relapsed. She didn't have the heart to try again and accepted death. When he learned what I had, he went white as a sheet. I was walking dead to him… but I'm not his mother… and there is a better, FDA approved, time tested therapy now just in case I relapse.<br /><br /><i>his personal preferences are universal in scope</i><br /><br />Nah. You should know me better than that already. Ask around here if I expect my preferences to be universal. 8)<br /><br /><i>he assumes that all that he considers 'undesirable' is bad</i><br /><br />Now you are just playing your definition game again. I have an autistic son, so I've had to learn a thing or two about languages and how they are learned. The game you play is for toddlers.<br /><br />With three (a magic number) errors of which I am guilty, your incantation is complete. Time to cast it to the aether and see what it does. Surely it dispels my conclusions. It must, right? It doesn't. You are liked the drowning rat in a barrel of water who gives up the fight to survive long before reaching their physical limits. Your mental limits will be your end.<br /><br />I refuse to drown with you. Maybe later… but after I see your carcass sink to the bottom.Alfred Differhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01170159981105973192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-4221765059985450292020-03-17T21:59:16.217-07:002020-03-17T21:59:16.217-07:00Meanwhile, France is warning against the use of NS...Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-france-drug/france-warns-against-use-of-anti-inflammatory-drugs-to-tackle-coronavirus-idUSKBN2110Q8" rel="nofollow">France is warning against the use of NSAIDs in treating fevers caused by COVID-19</a>. I have to wonder if some of the deaths from the virus are due to NSAID use. But then that also wouldn't explain some rumors of mass graves in some third-world and second-world nations <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/iran-coronavirus-outbreak-graves/" rel="nofollow">such as Iran</a>....<br /><br />Acacia Acacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-84496602751845676582020-03-17T20:38:22.861-07:002020-03-17T20:38:22.861-07:00Just saw a SyFy movie on Hulu that turned out to b...Just saw a SyFy movie on Hulu that turned out to be astonishingly good. Intellectually challenging, solid science, good acting and direction. "Arrival."<br />Yes, I looked it up afterward, and my only excuse is that family obligations pretty much divorced me from popular entertainment for 2016 through 2019. Hugo Award winner, Ray Bradbury award, raft of other honors.<br />For me, a totally unexpected surprise (SyFy isn't exactly a great source of movies). Recommend it highly.Zepp Jamiesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03024670772812706971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-14682015333291867582020-03-17T18:11:41.946-07:002020-03-17T18:11:41.946-07:00Niall Ferguson’s Networld: Episode 1 – “Disruption...Niall Ferguson’s Networld: Episode 1 – “Disruption” | PBS<br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnA3WS5iYN0scidatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07152319593457629592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-75510782852881860282020-03-17T17:41:57.693-07:002020-03-17T17:41:57.693-07:00Couple of points -
I love the Putin portrait - bu...Couple of points - <br />I love the Putin portrait - but here or in the UK something similar would not have survived - somebody would have destroyed it!<br /><br />The Chinese (and Asian) response<br />I really do not see it as a result of "despotism" - the people have responded and the Government has led the response and added the bits that only a Government can do<br /><br />The difference to the western approach appears to be that the Government responded fast enough to be actually LEADING <br />The people in Europe and here (NZ) appear to be doing the same but our Governments are trailing and not leading<br />Our own Government appears to be one of the leaders (just)<br /><br />Unfortunately that does mean that we (the west) are going to get hit harder than we should as time is critical to keep this sort of thing under control duncan cairncrosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14153725128216947145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-20372079524595674182020-03-17T16:05:45.699-07:002020-03-17T16:05:45.699-07:00I see Locu's defeatism and I raise with Hope.
...I see Locu's defeatism and I raise with Hope.<br /><br />From Tumblr:<br /><br /><a href="https://fangirlinginleatherboots.tumblr.com/post/612694061148700672/say-what-you-will-about-the-world-ending-and-2020" rel="nofollow"><br />say what you will about the world ending and 2020 being hell. since quarantines started, the air is filled with laughter and talk.</a> i hear kids playing in backyards with their family. i hear people talking happily on the phone with loved ones. everyone has their doors open to the porches at our apartment. you smell cooking, see the lights of backyard firepits, hear children delighted to spend time with parents that are never home. i love the videos of people playing music with their neighbors, playing bingo from their balconies, pranking their family members, and streaming with their friends. i love that my mom and dad keep stealing access to netflix because they are home from work and finally have a chance to watch movies together. my neighbors wave at me when i take the dog out while they laugh with each other over a beer. i know more than anything its a commentary on capitalism but it’s still great to see people being people. its good to know there are still humans and that they are being relentlessly, beautifully human, regardless of what happens.<br /><br />and<br /><br /><a href="https://simhealing.tumblr.com/post/612683536484433920/everything-is-terrifying-but-humans-are-so" rel="nofollow">Everything is terrifying, but humans are so strong.</a><br /><br />Societies at my university are doing food bank drives. Italians are singing on their balconies and cheering health workers that go by. My university originally wasn’t going to close so lecturers took matters into their own hands and cancelled their classes, and now the university IS closing. When the government response isn’t strong enough, people are cancelling mass gatherings themselves and isolating to limit the spread. One of my friends is streaming to her self-isolating friends. My mum is going back to work tomorrow in an NHS reception. The Australian Grand Prix got cancelled and now 10,000+ people are watching an esports game version of the race on Twitch and making memes about it. All over the world, people are trying to cheer each other up.<br /><br />My biggest problem with apocalypse movies, with zombie tv shows, has always been the way it portrays a world post-disaster. When humans were living in caves and hunting for survival, they drew art on the walls and told stories that were passed down in oral tradition. When London closed for the plagues, theater troupes would go around the country performing for the smaller villages instead. The human drive to create, to entertain, to adventure, to see and do new things, has always been and will always be unmoved by a crisis. <br /><br />So yes people are panic buying, yes employers and governments are being selfish and cruel. But more than ever this has highlighted that, that is not what humans are. It’s something we’re pushed to be by this society, actual cruelty is an outlier.<br /><br />I’ve been clinically depressed for a long time, so it feels bizarre to say: I love humans. I am overflowing with how much I really, truly, love us. Humans are silly, tender, hopeful, and social creatures. Even something as small as a long train journey, delayed and late at night, is enough for humans to take up solidarity. No matter what happens, what state the world is in, what alterations we have to make to our lives, we will never escape being recognizably, inherently human. Thank god. <br /><br />And finally <a href="https://sekhmet-heart.tumblr.com/post/612867309762166784/falloutcaitlin-weirdrussians-a-russian" rel="nofollow">we have a Russian comedian filming the responses of a residential complex to President Putin's portrait being glued in an elevator car</a>, just to end on a humorous note. :) <br /><br />AcaciaAcacia H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07678539067303911329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-42456984498241513242020-03-17T14:09:10.703-07:002020-03-17T14:09:10.703-07:00The notion that Treebeard 1-believes what China an...The notion that Treebeard 1-believes what China and Russia say and 2-rubs his hands gleefully touting the advantages of despotism is truly elemental to his mix of naivete and treason.David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-26028084632340069342020-03-17T11:22:35.501-07:002020-03-17T11:22:35.501-07:00It sounds like epicenter China has already gotten ...It sounds like epicenter China has already gotten a handle on the coronavirus after some draconian measures. Russia has zero deaths so far; they closed their borders and send every returning citizen to a high security airport, where they’re tested and quarantined. So maybe mean Xi and bad Vlad have a few things to teach us about how to secure your society in a globalized world? Meanwhile, the centers of globalism in the West are struggling to contain the virus, reluctant to do obvious things like seal their borders. One wonders if this could be the death knell of the “Novus Ordo Seclorum” globalist dream and the beginning of a new era, led by states like the aforementioned Eurasian powers who appear to be handling the crisis much more efficiently. Or this may all blow over in a few months and people will be laughing at their absurd over-reactions; I have no idea. But I’m not worried, even here at the American epicenter; my low-population density, somewhat asocial lifestyle has been virtually unaffected. It’s a good excuse to do more reading, raccoon-feeding, bird-watching and laughing at the absurdity of humanity, which I enjoy anyway.Treebeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03418009308135148330noreply@blogger.com