lostrune2 comments

As I had hoped, he has also pledged to work with other nations to ensure that Third World countries will also get the vaccines this year.

Those vaccines are actually manufactured in that part of the world, Biden as expected has no clue and is following whatever Fauci is dictating to him..

https://www.wsj.com/articles/indias-vaccine-colossus-is-a-model-for-the-world-to-follow-11609930891

India will mainly only manufacture UK's Oxford-AstraZeneca - and will only get to keep half of it (while exporting the other half to AstraZeneca). Then half of what they keep, they'll give to the poorer nations

"India will supply coronavirus vaccines to the world — will its people benefit? The country will struggle to make and distribute enough doses to control its own massive outbreak, scientists say."

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02507-x

The world’s largest vaccine maker, the Serum Institute of India in Pune, has an agreement to manufacture one billion doses of a coronavirus vaccine being developed by scientists at the University of Oxford, UK, and UK pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca if it is approved for use.

If the vaccine works, the Serum Institute and the Indian government have committed to reserve half the company’s stock of it for India, and to supply half to low-income nations through GAVI, a funder of immunizations for low-income nations, says Adar Poonawalla, Serum’s chief executive.

Scientists have applauded the Indian government for allowing the country’s pharmaceutical companies to export some of their vaccine stocks to other nations. The decision to share supplies contrasts with the stance of nations such as the United States and the United Kingdom, which have each pre-ordered hundreds of millions of doses of coronavirus vaccines under development, enough to supply their respective populations many times over.

The vaccines manufactured by the US and UK have already been purchased to use mainly for their own countries, with some going to their allies (rich developed countries)

Those Pfizer and Moderna vaccines weren't destined to reach the Third World countries for a long time, if at all - that is, until Fauci and the Biden administration decided to join the World Health Organization's COVAX project, which aims to deliver vaccines to poor countries:

"US to join WHO-led vaccine project: Biden’s chief medical adviser - Biden’s chief medical adviser said the US will be part of the COVAX which aims to deliver vaccines to poor countries."

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/1/21/us-to-join-who-vaccine-project-remain-member-of

“President Biden will issue a directive later today which will include the intent of the United States to join COVAX and support the ACT-Accelerator to advance multilateral efforts for COVID-19 vaccine, therapeutic, and diagnostic distribution, equitable access, and research and development,” Fauci told the WHO executive board.

Trump had halted funding to the WHO and announced a process to withdraw from the agency in July 2020. The former president also refused to join the COVAX project.

Biden's tone and plans were in stark contrast to his predecessor, Donald Trump, who often sought to play down the severity of the crisis and left much of the planning to individual states, resulting in a patchwork of policies across the country.

Trump's modus operandi on governing has been to announce something big and grandeur he could get credit for, but leave the grunt work to someone else who'll just follow his lead

Think about it: he started when he announced he'd repeal and replace Obamacare with something better - but he didn't have a plan himself (even though he kept claiming he did) - instead he left it for the Republicans in Congress to figure out the details of a new plan (and that's why the whole exercise ended in failure because there's no main plan to build upon, just ideas)

He did it with immigration reform, North Korea, China trade war, post-Brexit UK trade deal, and again the Covid plan

And now, the new Biden administration has just discovered that Trump's team didn't have a plan for after the vaccine - the plan is just to ride it out until a vaccine. So it's no wonder, during the transition period, that the outgoing Trump administration didn't want to share info with the incoming Biden administration - they'd be found out that they have no plan (too preoccupied contesting the election, I guess)

At least Biden's plan is already laid out right on the White House website for everyone to read and scrutinize - all 198 pages of it:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/National-Strategy-for-the-COVID-19-Response-and-Pandemic-Preparedness.pdf

They'll exclude Australian news content

This is what happens when the virus keeps spreading

Some college teams have outright cancelled their whole season, like the highly rated Duke women's basketball team

When they were on Netflix, the Marvel TV series were highly rated

What a haul! What a haul!

"These are the violent threats that made Amazon drop Parler - A new filing reveals Amazon’s concerns, raised weeks before the Capitol raid"

In a filing on Tuesday, Amazon responded to Parler’s claims that it acted unfairly in taking down the social network — and in the process, gave outsiders a new look at the content that provoked Amazon to suspend Parler’s web services account.

But while many had seen the suspension as a knee-jerk response to the mob attack on the US Capitol, Amazon’s response makes clear that the service had lodged complaints with Parler long before the raid.

“AWS reported to Parler, over many weeks, dozens of examples of content that encouraged violence,” the company argues in the filing, “including calls to hang public officials, kill Black and Jewish people, and shoot police officers in the head,”

In the filing, Amazon emphasized that it had suspended service rather than terminating it entirely and was open to restoring service to Parler if the company began moderating content in compliance with AWS’s terms of service.

Apple CEO Tim Cook made a similar point on Wednesday in an appearance on CBS, explaining that Apple had removed Parler from the iOS App Store because of its failure to moderate its content according to Apple’s terms. “All we’re asking is he meet the Terms of Service,” said Cook. “Our hope is that they do that and get back on the store.”

Amazon says it submitted more than 100 such comments to Parler in the weeks leading up to the suspension.

Content warning: these threats are graphic, violent, and racist; use discretion.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/13/22228675/amazon-parler-takedown-violent-threats-moderation-content-free-speech

From that German perspective, it should be the government, and not private companies like Facebook and Twitter, who decides what counts as dangerous speech on social platforms. That approach might be feasible in Europe, but it's much more complicated in the U.S., where the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects freedom of expression from government interference, although not from corporate policy on privately owned communication platforms.

So, the government deciding or the tech company deciding - one way or the other

But Trump had this coming. He was already skirting the TOS rules that would ban any other regular person off the platform - with only the badge of the Office of the President protecting him (but now he really doesn't have that badge anymore). Georgia's Secretary of State official already warned him this could happen back in December:

"Mr. President, it looks like you likely lost the state of Georgia. We're investigating. There's always a possibility, I get it, and you have the rights to go through the courts. What you don't have the ability to do — and you need to step up and say this — is stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence. Someone's going to get hurt. Someone's going to get shot. Someone's going to get killed."

If they can ban Trump ordinary people do not stand a chance when it comes to voicing free speech.

Ordinary people already get banned from these private platforms all the time for violating the TOS rules they agreed to when they signed up. The only reason Trump wasn't banned sooner like any other ordinary person was because he's protected by the badge of the Office of the President

Free speech protects you from the government. It doesn't protect you from private entities

On the other hand, some private entities can be considered "public utilities", but that means adopting "net neutrality" (but Trump's FCC doesn't believe in net neutrality, so..........)

Random mutations happen all the time, but most mutations don't do nothing

But sometimes, a random mutation produces something significant

It's random, but the longer the virus is kept on spreading, the more chances it gets that it produces a mutation that's significant

So do not lengthen the time period that the virus keeps on spreading - the shorter, the less chances it gets. Stop spreading the virus as soon as possible

I quit teaching English after the first week when the boss questioned my abilities.

The boss means "put-out" abilities

The International Monetary Fund is projecting China's economy to surge 1.9% in 2020.

Actually, that's very low compared to the usual 5%-7% (that's what China needs to keep up with the millions of new job-seekers every year)

But in a Covid year where all other major economies are contracting, it is a surge relatively

Another casualty of virus spreading

Stop spreading the virus - otherwise, we will never get out of the virus crisis and its restrictions like here

Spreading the virus puts the kibosh on everybody's lifestyle - mine, yours, everyone's

"I wear a mask to protect you; you wear a mask to protect me"

If you don't protect each other, the virus keeps spreading

If the virus keeps spreading, both of you will never get out of the virus crisis that will restrict both of your lifestyles

Restrictions like:

https://japantoday.com/category/national/update2-japan-to-halt-entry-of-all-nonresident-foreign-nationals

Parler also lost its vendors and businesses that make money on the app, and even its own lawyers:

"Parler CEO Says Service Dropped By “Every Vendor” And Could End His Business"

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/parler-ceo-says-dropped-every-200411770.html

“Every vendor from text message services to email providers to our lawyers all ditched us too on the same day,” [Parler CEO] Matze said today on Fox News.

Trump is a billionaire - why not put his money where his mouth is and pay for Parler

Where are the rich people who believe in Parler to pay for it?

NY is getting the vaccine into people's arms - they've several vaccination centers running 24/7

Nine in 10 respondents said they wanted CEOs to speak out on the pandemic's impact, labour and societal issues and more than two-thirds expect them to step in when the government does not fix problems.

Like Bill Gates if he was still CEO?

^ Shouldn't that be "No lice, No rife"

Here are the Covid-19 mortality rates, so people don't make up stats out of their ass:

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality

Lol the conveyor belt looks like Guiter Hero / Rock Band game

Just anyone, yes

People with power who abuse it, no

"Starving college student" is not just a saying

BTW, here's the basic differences between the Covid-19 vaccines:

https://japantoday-asset.scdn3.secure.raxcdn.com/img/store/a6/3e/35520e8a7f9db9bb84bb691dca479d6ccc6c/a63e35520e8a7f9db9bb84bb691dca479d6ccc6c/_w850.jpg

Who says when people are irresponsible that the virus won't keep spreading

Guess what. the lockdowns didn't work. Like those with a brain have been saying all year, lockdowns only delay the inevitable.

Lockdowns flatten the curve - and flatten the curve it did. It delayed hospitalizations to more manageable timeframes; hospitals finally got open space again; military medic ships have returned to port; economies were able to loosen restrictions. For a time.

As experts have predicted like those with a brain have been saying all year, we are now on the 2nd or even 3rd wave. They expected this because previous pandemics experienced multiple waves. So now, "flatten the curve" is needed again

Its one reason why Africa, with their archaic healthcare systems have been doing relatively well. The other is a very young population and low obesity.

The virus is gonna virus. Protect the elderly and let the young live their lives. They can look beyond the 99.9%+ survival rate.

And here are the other reasons:

"Why Africa's COVID-19 Outbreak Hasn't Been as Bad as Everyone Feared"

https://time.com/5919241/africa-covid-19-outbreak/

Preparation is the best preventative - Many African countries have poor medical infrastructure, but they also have longstanding experience with infectious disease... “Ebola knocked us over, but now we know not to underestimate anything; we know how important it is to prepare.”

Masks were not politicized - An August 2020 poll by the Partnership for Evidence-based COVID-19 Response found that among respondents in 18 African countries, more than 85% said they had worn a face mask in the previous week.

Early shutdowns - Businesses were closed, borders shut, gatherings were banned, and in-person schooling stopped. Curfews were enforced. The moves were unpopular, and economically destructive, but they also bought time for medical personnel to prepare hospitals, source supplies and learn from treatment innovations perfected elsewhere, such as using oxygen instead of scarce ventilators, and turning severely ill patients on their stomachs. Preventing that spread of the virus through lockdowns while also preparing to treat the sickest effectively is paying dividends now.

So follow Africa's lead - do not underestimate the virus; wear masks when necessary; early decisive shutdowns

Ya agree then?

The Chinese official said Beijing remained concerned the opposition could still muster a majority in the legislature should the polls go ahead, given a lingering groundswell of public support.

Um......... that's how democracy works - letting people decide who they want

Chinese officials were now discussing ways to change the electoral system to address "deficiencies" in the political structure, he said, and elections might be further delayed.

Then it's no longer democracy when the population don't get to decide

That's not "Democracy, Chinese-stye" - that's "Authoritarianism, Chinese-style" (authoritarianism in the guise of democracy)

You know, I remember back around Easter last year. We were told that a two week shutdown was necessary to "flatten the curve" so that health care wasn't overwhelmed. And by and large a vast majority of people complied.

It didn't work. And it doesn't work now. Just look at the states who do it. They still suffer.

Ah, yes it did. Do ya know what "flatten the curve" means? Likely it doesn't mean what you think it means

"Flatten the curve" means to give the healthcare system, hospitals, and staff a relief by slowing down the rate of patients going to the hospitals, such that the # of patients goes below the # of hospital space available

What "flatten the curve" does not mean is to end the pandemic - if that happens along the way, then that's good, but that's not its primary goal

And "flatten the curve" it did - hospitals finally got open space again; military medic ships have returned to port; economies were able to loosen restrictions. For a time.

As experts have predicted, we are now on the 2nd or even 3rd wave. They expected this because previous pandemics experienced multiple waves. So now, "flatten the curve" is needed again

So now, the only answer is yet more shutdowns and lockdowns?!? For a disease that has been linked to the deaths of 0.1% of Americans? A disease that is little more than a minor inconvenience for the vast majority who catch it? Sorry, but no.

First of all, the death rate in America is 1.7% (116.35 per 100k population)

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality

But why is death all that people think about? Look around you, it affects practically everything:

Can't visit relatives regularly; schools have to go online; colleges keeping students off dorms; sports games have limited spectators or postponed; many theaters are still closed; public events are getting cancelled; traveling requires quarantining; other countries won't even let you in if you're coming from a worse-affected country, etc. Because nobody and no business wants to be known as a virus-spreader in their public record - or worse, be accountable for people's deaths

And it may be a "minor inconvenience" for the vast majority who catch it, but (a) all those who catch it become carriers, (b) the vast majority do have parents and grandparents for whom this won't be a minor inconvenience, and (c) the longer people keep spreading the virus, the longer we don't get out of this pandemic (and who would want to keep this pandemic staying longer?)

So don't keep spreading the virus! We won't get out of this pandemic as long as people keep spreading the virus - there's no two ways around it

Supermarket staff have voiced concerns over the risks they face during the outbreak, with shop workers' union Usdaw urging tougher in-store measures.

Workers don't want to get infected too from irresponsible customers

Beijing has dismissed these charges, saying it is operating vocational training centers to counter Islamist radicalism following a series of attacks it attributed to the Muslim group.

If Beijing has nothing to hide, then let international monitors into the programme

Ya have to ask the question why they are not

Pompeo has to stay to protect against the troubles that Trump started

Streaming is booming

It's Hollywood productions