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Celerity
Celerity's Journal
Celerity's Journal
March 12, 2020
For 40 years, US Republicans have been insisting that ‘government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem’. The bankruptcy of this has been laid bare.
https://www.socialeurope.eu/plagued-by-trumpism
As an educator, I’m always looking for ‘teachable moments’—current events that illustrate and reinforce the principles on which I’ve been lecturing. And there is nothing like a pandemic to focus attention on what really matters. The COVID-19 crisis is rich in lessons, especially for the United States. One takeaway is that viruses do not carry passports; in fact, they don’t observe national borders—or nationalist rhetoric—at all. In our closely integrated world, a contagious disease originating in one country can and will go global.
Co-operative response
The spread of diseases is one negative side-effect of globalisation. Whenever such cross-border crises emerge, they demand a global, co-operative response, as in the case of climate change. Like viruses, greenhouse-gas emissions are wreaking havoc and imposing massive costs on countries around the world through the damage caused by global warming and the associated extreme weather events. No US presidential administration has done more to undermine global co-operation and the role of government than that of Donald Trump. And yet, when we face a crisis like an epidemic or a hurricane, we turn to government, because we know that such events demand collective action. We cannot go it alone, nor can we rely on the private sector. All too often, profit-maximising firms will see crises as opportunities for price-gouging, as is already evident in the rising prices of face masks.
Unfortunately, since Ronald Reagan’s presidency, the mantra in the US has been that ‘government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem’. Taking that nostrum seriously is a dead-end road, but Trump has travelled further down it than any other US political leader in memory. At the centre of the US response to the COVID-19 crisis is one of the country’s most venerable scientific institutions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has traditionally been staffed with committed, knowledgeable, highly trained professionals. To Trump, the ultimate know-nothing politician, such experts pose a serious problem, because they will contradict him whenever he tries to make up facts to serve his own interests.
Scientific knowledge
Faith may help us cope with the deaths caused by an epidemic, but it is no substitute for medical and scientific knowledge. Willpower and prayers were useless in containing the Black Death in the Middle Ages. Fortunately, humanity has made remarkable scientific advances since then. When the COVID-19 strain appeared, scientists were quickly able to analyse it, test for it, trace its mutations and begin work on a vaccine. While there is still much more to learn about the new coronavirus and its effects on humans, without science we would be completely at its mercy, and panic would have already ensued. Scientific research requires resources. But most of the biggest scientific advances in recent years have cost peanuts compared with the largesse bestowed on the richest US corporations by Trump and congressional Republicans’ 2017 tax cuts. Indeed, US investments in science also pale in comparison with the latest epidemic’s likely costs to the economy, not to mention lost stock-market value.
snip
Plagued by Trumpism
For 40 years, US Republicans have been insisting that ‘government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem’. The bankruptcy of this has been laid bare.
https://www.socialeurope.eu/plagued-by-trumpism
As an educator, I’m always looking for ‘teachable moments’—current events that illustrate and reinforce the principles on which I’ve been lecturing. And there is nothing like a pandemic to focus attention on what really matters. The COVID-19 crisis is rich in lessons, especially for the United States. One takeaway is that viruses do not carry passports; in fact, they don’t observe national borders—or nationalist rhetoric—at all. In our closely integrated world, a contagious disease originating in one country can and will go global.
Co-operative response
The spread of diseases is one negative side-effect of globalisation. Whenever such cross-border crises emerge, they demand a global, co-operative response, as in the case of climate change. Like viruses, greenhouse-gas emissions are wreaking havoc and imposing massive costs on countries around the world through the damage caused by global warming and the associated extreme weather events. No US presidential administration has done more to undermine global co-operation and the role of government than that of Donald Trump. And yet, when we face a crisis like an epidemic or a hurricane, we turn to government, because we know that such events demand collective action. We cannot go it alone, nor can we rely on the private sector. All too often, profit-maximising firms will see crises as opportunities for price-gouging, as is already evident in the rising prices of face masks.
Unfortunately, since Ronald Reagan’s presidency, the mantra in the US has been that ‘government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem’. Taking that nostrum seriously is a dead-end road, but Trump has travelled further down it than any other US political leader in memory. At the centre of the US response to the COVID-19 crisis is one of the country’s most venerable scientific institutions, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has traditionally been staffed with committed, knowledgeable, highly trained professionals. To Trump, the ultimate know-nothing politician, such experts pose a serious problem, because they will contradict him whenever he tries to make up facts to serve his own interests.
Scientific knowledge
Faith may help us cope with the deaths caused by an epidemic, but it is no substitute for medical and scientific knowledge. Willpower and prayers were useless in containing the Black Death in the Middle Ages. Fortunately, humanity has made remarkable scientific advances since then. When the COVID-19 strain appeared, scientists were quickly able to analyse it, test for it, trace its mutations and begin work on a vaccine. While there is still much more to learn about the new coronavirus and its effects on humans, without science we would be completely at its mercy, and panic would have already ensued. Scientific research requires resources. But most of the biggest scientific advances in recent years have cost peanuts compared with the largesse bestowed on the richest US corporations by Trump and congressional Republicans’ 2017 tax cuts. Indeed, US investments in science also pale in comparison with the latest epidemic’s likely costs to the economy, not to mention lost stock-market value.
snip
March 12, 2020
FUCK YOU TRUMP!! we (the EU) are NOT at fault for your fucking cock-ups, you gaslighting POS
March 11, 2020
The Juventus defender Daniele Rugani has tested positive for coronavirus, the Serie A club said on Wednesday. “The footballer, Daniele Rugani, has tested positive for coronavirus-Covid-19 and is currently asymptomatic,” Juve said in a statement. “Juventus Football Club is currently activating all the isolation procedures required by law, including those who have had contact with him.”
Rugani has made seven appearances for Juventus this season – the last being in the 2-1 win against Spal on 22 February – but was an unused substitute for Juventus on Sunday in their behind-closed-doors victory against Internazionale. Rugani was also seen training with the first team on Tuesday (pictured below, second right).
https://twitter.com/bonucci_leo19/status/1237433572706975744
https://twitter.com/juventusfcen/status/1237864053059379208
Juve are due to take on Lyon in a Champions League quarter-final second leg next week, with European and internaional competition excluded from Italy’s domestic ban on all sport until 3 April.
The news of Rugani’s condition could throw more pressure on Uefa to rearrange Juventus’s match with Lyon, with two Europa League matches involving other Italian clubs, Milan and Roma, being postponed.
snip
Juventus defender Daniele Rugani tests positive for coronavirus
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/mar/11/juventus-defender-daniele-rugani-tests-positive-for-coronavirusThe Juventus defender Daniele Rugani has tested positive for coronavirus, the Serie A club said on Wednesday. “The footballer, Daniele Rugani, has tested positive for coronavirus-Covid-19 and is currently asymptomatic,” Juve said in a statement. “Juventus Football Club is currently activating all the isolation procedures required by law, including those who have had contact with him.”
Rugani has made seven appearances for Juventus this season – the last being in the 2-1 win against Spal on 22 February – but was an unused substitute for Juventus on Sunday in their behind-closed-doors victory against Internazionale. Rugani was also seen training with the first team on Tuesday (pictured below, second right).
https://twitter.com/bonucci_leo19/status/1237433572706975744
https://twitter.com/juventusfcen/status/1237864053059379208
Juve are due to take on Lyon in a Champions League quarter-final second leg next week, with European and internaional competition excluded from Italy’s domestic ban on all sport until 3 April.
The news of Rugani’s condition could throw more pressure on Uefa to rearrange Juventus’s match with Lyon, with two Europa League matches involving other Italian clubs, Milan and Roma, being postponed.
snip
March 11, 2020
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that up to 70% of the country's population - some 58 million people - could contract the coronavirus.
Mrs Merkel made the stark prediction at a news conference on Wednesday alongside Health Minister Jens Spahn.
She said since there was no known cure, the focus would fall on slowing the spread of the virus. "It's about winning time," she explained.
Her remarks came as Italy entered its second day of a national lockdown. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the closure of schools, gyms, museums, nightclubs and other venues across the country, which on Wednesday passed 10,000 confirmed infections.
snip
BBC: Coronavirus: Up to 70% of Germany could become infected - Merkel
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51835856German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that up to 70% of the country's population - some 58 million people - could contract the coronavirus.
Mrs Merkel made the stark prediction at a news conference on Wednesday alongside Health Minister Jens Spahn.
She said since there was no known cure, the focus would fall on slowing the spread of the virus. "It's about winning time," she explained.
Her remarks came as Italy entered its second day of a national lockdown. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced the closure of schools, gyms, museums, nightclubs and other venues across the country, which on Wednesday passed 10,000 confirmed infections.
snip
March 10, 2020
Pelosi/Schumer statement calls for:
- Paid sick leave
- Enhanced unemployment insurance
- Food security
- Protections for frontline workers
- Widespread, free coronavirus testing
- Affordable treatment for all
- Anti-price gouging protections
- Increase medical system capacity
6:56 PM · Mar 10, 2020
This is a very good legislative package
https://twitter.com/coldlawgic/status/1237437184019517440Pelosi/Schumer statement calls for:
- Paid sick leave
- Enhanced unemployment insurance
- Food security
- Protections for frontline workers
- Widespread, free coronavirus testing
- Affordable treatment for all
- Anti-price gouging protections
- Increase medical system capacity
6:56 PM · Mar 10, 2020
March 10, 2020
https://twitter.com/lhfang/status/1237109079241142275
https://twitter.com/lhfang/status/1236762417222176768
Bernie's campaign doesn't even understand why voters are rejecting him. They are doubling down on
esoteric activist speak. This is the rhetoric to win over subcultures on the highly educated left, not how the average voter speaks or thinks.https://twitter.com/lhfang/status/1237109079241142275
https://twitter.com/lhfang/status/1236762417222176768
March 10, 2020
The orange fucker's going to try & bribe his way out of the COVID-19 crisis, via tax cuts and raids
on the federal treasury.
Coronavirus live updates: Trump promises economic relief plan
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/coronavirus-live-updates-passengers-begin-disembarking-grand-princess/story?id=69478497
March 9, 2020
Bernie taking more shots at Biden
https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1237067549688332290
March 9, 2020
I GUARANTEE the Rethugs are putting FAR more effort into how to use COVID-19 to steal the election
than they are into how to combat the pandemic.
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Member since: Sun Jul 1, 2018, 07:25 PM
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