Fear and Loathing, a Rat Flu Odyssey

[Mr. Mike]

Is this English? WTF


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

someone hijack your login? You have been a relatively consistent fanboy in this thread previously.

[Mr. Mike]

Same with the mayors and/or county commissioners of Atlanta, Macon, Cobb, Roswell, Marietta, Savannah and every other non-bumfuck part of this state. It made for a neat meme that I wholeheartedly shared, but the reality is, those with common sense seem to be prevailing. YMMV.

similar in TN. Our conservative, living just outside of "the city" governor has announced an imminent re-opening, except that he left it up to the 6 most populous counties in the state that have their own health department. Davidson County (Nashville) has already announced a staged plan of re-opening that sounds rational and is designed to be able to react reasonably quickly to flare ups. Former (R) senator Bill Frist, who was a medical doctor for decades, has endorsed the plan which he says accommodates an "accordion approach" as data is reviewed. Frist was an early supporter of the pressure on our state government to adopt more stringent controls.

I'll admit to suffering from TDS, and I'm a firm believer that our state legislative body has been overrun by idiots for at least a decade, but what is proposed so far in our state sounds reasonable to me.

[Bozo T. Clown]

Technically, in science, that is known as a complete clusterfuck.

"I’ve read the plans to reopen the economy. They’re scary."
https://www.vox.com/2020/4/10/212154...n-unemployment

[BmillsSkier]

So, just read that these have been popping up in the more artsy parts of town



Not sure if the Winnie the Pooh image of Chairman Xi is more offensive than the mass texting/emailing/social media-bombing by the CCP that this is all a US based pandemic is more offensive, but I'm sure you'll all have opinions.

[Lvovsky]

Surprised no one has mentioned this yet:
https://unofficialnetworks.com/2020/...ns-for-skiing/

Kind of surprising a mountain in California is the first to reopen.

calling it a mountain or resort is a bit of a stretch. Lift museum, yes. I skied it once in the 90s.

[rideit]

This is priceless.

https://twitter.com/Cromwell606/stat...94293504954368

[Tri-Ungulate]

So, just read that these have been popping up in the more artsy parts of town



Not sure if the Winnie the Pooh image of Chairman Xi is more offensive than the mass texting/emailing/social media-bombing by the CCP that this is all a US based pandemic is more offensive, but I'm sure you'll all have opinions.

Yeah you can always cite "whataboutism" but aren't we, as exceptional 'Murricans, s'posed to be above that? Oh, I guess not. The title of this thread is proof.

[BmillsSkier]

Yeah you can always cite "whataboutism" but aren't we, as exceptional 'Murricans, s'posed to be above that? Oh, I guess not. The title of this thread is proof.

Sure. Like I said. There will be opinions. This looks expertly "weathered" and I don't know of any Trumpfag that could have crafted such artwork. Strikes me like a Shepherd Fairy work that is intended to get you worked up but is a bit snarky. These were not posted in Trumptown. I also don't give a shit about the geographically China-specific insult to Chairman Xi that he looks like Winnie the Pooh. Your opinion may vary.

[Tri-Ungulate]

Yeah, well that's what makes it all the more insidious. With a few exceptions, I wouldn't call TGR a Drumpf redoubt, and I suspect Rideski isn't a MAGA-ite, but again, based on the title of this thread, these invidious signals exist even here.

TBH, I resisted posting in this thread for a long time, even though I felt I had something to add to the conversation, mostly because as an insufferable SJW, I was offended by the title. I didn't wanna post in it any more than I would wanna post in a thread about Ebola entitled Negro Monkey Flu.

But here I am on page 599. I think having several drinks tonight pushed me over the edge.

[neufox47]

if true, I am liking Sweden more and more !

Quite the role you’ve been on as our resident ignorant KKKlansman. First you confidently proclaim that the death rate is 1/1000000 now you cheer the death of brown people.

[gretch6364]

someone hijack your login? You have been a relatively consistent fanboy in this thread previously.

I have not, but keep preaching the rhetoric.

I am for a bit of slow opening however while still maintaining our social distancing guidelines, then cranking down on pockets of infection.

I personally don’t think it is a good idea to continue keeping the entire country on maximum lockdown for months on end. There has to be a happy medium with restricted travel, monitoring, etc. but still allowing as many businesses as possible to operate.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[BmillsSkier]

Yeah, well that's what makes it all the more insidious. With a few exceptions, I wouldn't call TGR a Drumpf redoubt, and I suspect Rideski isn't a MAGA-ite, but again, based on the title of this thread, these invidious signals exist even here.

TBH, I resisted posting in this thread for a long time, even though I felt I had something to add to the conversation, mostly because as an insufferable SJW, I was offended by the title. I didn't wanna post in it any more than I would wanna post in a thread about Ebola entitled Negro Monkey Flu.

But here I am on page 599. I think having several drinks tonight pushed me over the edge.

Understand and respect your opinion. I for one have no issue with making fun of a totalitarian leader that denied the outbreak in his country to the world any more than I do making fun of a wannabe totalitarian leader denying that the same outbreak is any kind of a big deal in this country.

Hold those in power accountable, laugh at snarky art, breathe, repeat, hug your family. That's how I'm getting by. YMMV.

Oh, drinking too, but like me it seems you've got that covered. Cheers.

[Adolf Allerbush]

I have not, but keep preaching the rhetoric.

I am for a bit of slow opening however while still maintaining our social distancing guidelines, then cranking down on pockets of infection.

I personally don’t think it is a good idea to continue keeping the entire country on maximum lockdown for months on end. There has to be a happy medium with restricted travel, monitoring, etc. but still allowing as many businesses as possible to operate.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

I would venture a guess that just about zero people here think it's a great idea to keep the economy shut down unnecessarily. A slow roll to full restart seems reasonable. the question is, when do you start that slow roll? if you start it too soon you're back to square one...if you wait a couple of weeks there is economic hardship, but that might be what's best. I don't have the answers, and no one here does.

Trump said something dumb, shocker, suggesting people inject disinfectant such as bleach and somehow inserting UV lights into our bodies to kill the virus. The fact that you, a trump supporter or at least fan of the GOP, could identify this is actually really great. It makes me think there is hope for us in the U.S.A. thank you.

[Adolf Allerbush]

Understand and respect your opinion. I for one have no issue with making fun of a totalitarian leader that denied the outbreak in his country to the world any more than I do making fun of a wannabe totalitarian leader denying that the same outbreak is any kind of a big deal in this country.

Hold those in power accountable, laugh at snarky art, breathe, repeat, hug your family. That's how I'm getting by. YMMV.

Oh, drinking too, but like me it seems you've got that covered. Cheers.

I have to say, pointing out the origin of the virus as being in China doesn't seem racist to me. Maybe I'm not woke.

Also, calling it "rat flu" doesn't seem offensive either.

IMV it isn't equivalent to someone characterizing Ebola as "negro monkey flu". Again, maybe I'm misunderstanding Tri's point tho.

[Tri-Ungulate]

Skip to 5min in.

Okay, I actually sat through most of the talk, skipping through some of the explicatory Bio 101 sections, but getting most of the gist as well as the substance of it.

My personal critique as a posturing bitch who really oughta stay in my dentist lane:

Yes, in the reductionist terms Farzan puts it, SARS COV2 is a "dumb" virus with "simple" solutions. But the problem is the reductionism. He makes a lot of blanket statements about SARS COV2 that are currently felt to be likely true by the scientific community, but not necessarily fully established. Yes, I understand he has to do so in order to present a simplified streamlined presentation in an hour that is easily accessible, but glossing over subtleties with happy face spin can lead to undue optimism on how well we actually understand the virus and its interactions.

Also, he simplifies the physiology and feedback loops between virus and host, that are far more complicated than he lets on. To be sure, he makes a statement that as a bench scientist, he defers to his clinical colleagues on certain points, but again this is a gross oversimplification of processes we're still figuring out as a scientific/clinical community.

Finally, as OG mentions:

I only listened to the intro of his talk--I'll come back to it later, but his message seems to be that the scientific challenge of defeating the pandemic is simple but that testing, manufacture of therapeutics and vaccines, and distribution is the bottleneck. Since we can't seem to figure out testing, can't manufacture simple masks, and can't distribute food it would seem that that bottleneck is formidable.

Sure, Farzan acknowledges that scaling up bench findings to actual solutions that are safe and effective for a tremendously large worldwide population is difficult. But again, the scope of this endeavour is not really appreciated by his talk - it brings to mind the Underpants Gnomes business plan.

Sorry to throw cold water on what is overall an encouraging discussion by Farzan.

Page 600 beyotches.

[Tri-Ungulate]

I have to say, pointing out the origin of the virus as being in China doesn't seem racist to me. Maybe I'm not woke.

Also, calling it "rat flu" doesn't seem offensive either.

IMV it isn't equivalent to someone characterizing Ebola as "negro monkey flu". Again, maybe I'm misunderstanding Tri's point tho.

Okay, does African Monkey Flu work better for you? I mean, common perception is EVD/EHF's origins are from Africa and from Monkeys. But really, it's just a problem for those shithole countries anyway, none of our concern.

[altasnob]

Seems to be agreement that there was an animal reservoir for the SARS-CoV-2 virus: bats, civet cats, whatever. And a jump to humans. But when?

Fred Hutch scientist Trevor Bedford, who is cited a lot for his genetic mapping of the virus, says a lack of genetic diversity suggests an emergence in Wuhan, China sometime in Nov 2019. If it was earlier than that, we would see more mutations and more genetic diversity.

https://nextstrain.org/ncov/global?c...:B1&r=division

[Adolf Allerbush]

Okay, does African Monkey Flu work better for you? I mean, common perception is EVD/EHF's origins are from Africa and from Monkeys. But really, it's just a problem for those shithole countries anyway, none of our concern.

Not to turn this into an Ebola thread, but yes, that does seem like it's offensive, "African Monkey Flu", but that has to do with African Americans being called "monkeys" as a racial slur. I'm truly not trying to split hairs, but saying Ebola originated in Africa doesn't seem like it should be offensive, would you agree?

I have spent time in China and I would hardly call it a shithole.

[Viva]

He makes a lot of blanket statements about SARS COV2 that are currently felt to be likely true by the scientific community, but not necessarily fully established.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. .....ect.

[Ripzalot]

How about we call it what it is - CCP Virus.

In other news

https://youtu.be/J0GK_TpQ7yM

Sent from my SM-A505FN using Tapatalk

[rideit]

How about we call it what it is - CCP Virus.




Sent from my SM-A505FN using Tapatalk

I’ll stick with Trump Flu.

[garyfromterrace]

How about we call it what it is - CCP Virus.

In other news

https://youtu.be/J0GK_TpQ7yM

Sent from my SM-A505FN using Tapatalk

From Wikipedia re the Epoch Times:

"Though the newspaper is known for general interest topics with a focus on news about China and its human rights issues, it has become known for its support of U.S. President Donald Trump and favorable coverage of far-right politicians in Europe; a 2019 report showed it to be the second-largest funder of pro-Trump Facebook advertising after the Trump campaign"

So, I'm not buying what they're selling man.

[grinch]

^^boom!! Slow clap
Pipzalot will believe anything on teh utubes after a few javex shooters, especially if its racist and really dumb

Sent from my SM-G950W using TGR Forums mobile app

[Tri-Ungulate]

Not to turn this into an Ebola thread, but yes, that does seem like it's offensive, "African Monkey Flu", but that has to do with African Americans being called "monkeys" as a racial slur.

Just as a lot of Asian folks have to deal with racial slurs about being rat- or bat-eaters by the mouthbreathers.

It's well established that especially during pandemics people tend to become insular, xenophobic and clannish, which is why the WHO (love 'em or hate 'em) is trying to move away from "origin" based names for outbreaks.

I'm not in the least trying to excuse the behaviour of Xi Jinping or the CCP, or deny that the most likely origin of the virus was Wuhan. I'm just bagging on the stereotypes promulgated by terms like Chinese Rat Flu and exacerbated by Drumpf and the right-wing noise machine in order to point fingers and blame others when we really oughta be working more closely together.

[LeeLau]

Yeah, well that's what makes it all the more insidious. With a few exceptions, I wouldn't call TGR a Drumpf redoubt, and I suspect Rideski isn't a MAGA-ite, but again, based on the title of this thread, these invidious signals exist even here.

TBH, I resisted posting in this thread for a long time, even though I felt I had something to add to the conversation, mostly because as an insufferable SJW, I was offended by the title. I didn't wanna post in it any more than I would wanna post in a thread about Ebola entitled Negro Monkey Flu.

But here I am on page 599. I think having several drinks tonight pushed me over the edge.

That's what I say to my relatives in the US. Remember if there's ever a shooting war with China there'll be yellow people swinging from lampposts. It's nothing personal.

Gweilo will be Gweilo