Lockdown for thee but not for me.

London (CNN)A leading epidemiologist who advised the UK government on its coronavirus response resigned from his government post on Tuesday, after the Telegraph newspaper revealed he broke the lockdown rules he helped shape by allowing his reported lover to visit his home.

Professor Neil Ferguson, who is based at Imperial College in London, is one of the architects of the UK government's stay-at-home strategy and was a prominent member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) which has been spearheading the country's coronavirus response.

The Telegraph reported Tuesday that a woman whom it described as his married lover had visited Ferguson's home in London at least twice despite social distancing guidelines.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/05/uk/neil-ferguson-imperial-coronavirus-sage-gbr-intl/index.html

Vancouver, such a lovely city.

Victoria is the capital. Even lovelier place. Less crowded.

But to say this already assumes a more lackadaisical attitude towards the virus. If this were the black plague killing everyone in its path, then I think even the most staunchly anti-authoritarian people would balk and would adhere to whatever demands were placed upon them and they'd be just as vocal in their criticism against others who weren't doing their share to limit the disease.

The point being, you don't think this virus is all that dangerous, so you therefore don't think it deserving of a response as if it were the black plague. I truly don't think those who are taking this virus so seriously are just mindless sheep, willing to cede all authority to their leaders, but they think this virus is much more akin to the plague than you do. And, from what I'm discerning from listening, they are at a complete loss how you (and me) can callously just let people die (as if that's what we're advocating).

There's a guy in my office who wears a mask every day, he wipes down everything in his path with Lysol wipes, he closes his office door, and he walks the other way when you approach him in the hall. It's taken some real convincing some here that he's not being passive aggressive and just trying to look holier than thou, but that he's really terrified of the virus.

When I asked about the psychological differences between those like him and those like me, I really was curious. I don't think it comes down to authority versus non-authority types, but perhaps a "don't worry, be happy" attitude, which might just be how some deal with chaos and the unknown.

Yea, that makes sense. It’s true, I do not think the virus is such a threat that it warrants these sorts of lockdowns. I’m of the mind that life is a risk anyways. People die all the time. People get sick. I don’t think we should set our lives to one side in an attempt to save them all. I conform to the rules to make others feel better, not necessarily to avoid contracting the virus, which I think we will all get anyways.

I live in the capital of British Columbia, Canada. The rules here are not as hard elsewhere in the country.

No, because you would not only eradicate suffering, but also joy, love, beauty, etc.

One can only minimize suffering in living beings, so if the greatest ethics is to minimize suffering one must concentrate his efforts on alleviate the suffering, not destroying the sufferers.

Right, the “hammer” is the initial lockdown, the “dance” is what we do afterwords to mitigate. You have told me about this, and it might very well be sustainable. Unfortunately that’s not a world I want to live in.

What happens if the infections continue? I suspect it is unlikely we will get a vaccine.

The policies you advocate are authoritarian. But I don’t think they are effective because they are unsustainable.

There was also a very authoritarian/anti-authoritarian dichotomy. The ease with which so many people in nearly every country accepted authoritarianism surprised me. It is now the prevailing orthodoxy.

Consider that lots of Republicans give Trump a pass on his numerous instances of sexual misconduct but still go after Biden's. Many do the same with gaffs: Trump's gaffs are OK because they like what he's doing, but then they still jump on Biden's. So I don't think that Republican's acceptance of Trump's negatives (present company excepted) will have any bearing on the future. To quote Stephen Tyler: "Dream On!"

I don’t care what republicans think, frankly. In fact the rearranging of republican politics was one of the greatest things of a Trumpian takeover.

Trumps and Kavanaugh’s accusers were given ample time in the media and were used as political cudgel more than a search for justice. So it seems fitting to me that they get to sleep in the bed that they made.

It is routine for the opposition to react to a President's questionable statements. What isn't routine is the number of questionable statements.

I think questionable statements are commonplace outside of the public relations politics we’ve all grown accustomed to. I remember a time when a weird scream would ruin a politician’s electability. That form of political theater is, I hope, destroyed in the wake of Trump’s presence.

Another symptom of coronavirus...falling out of windows?

“Three Russian doctors fall from hospital windows, raising questions amid coronavirus pandemic.”

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/04/europe/russia-medical-workers-windows-intl/index.html

I hope that not all criticism of the federal reserve system is rooted in anti-Americanism and communism. I could be wrong.

You’re speaking my language. Hopefully that doesn’t frighten you.

I think you’re right. Just another reason why governments should keep their hands away from the market.

Right, let’s just forgive all loans. Free money for everyone. Just fucking brilliant.

The fed knows where that money went because the money has to be payed back. Companies are owned by, run by, and employ actual people the last time I checked. Either way the suggestion that we should fund Medicare for All or pay off student loans with short-term loans from the federal reserve is the stupidest thing I’ve heard in a while.

I understand why you’d feel that way and agree that his style may “impassion opposition”. The issue I have is I’m not sure that this differs much from routine snobbery.

“But muh bailouts!”

The Fed’s $1.5 trillion loan injection, explained
The Fed Did Not Just ‘Spend’ $1.5 Trillion

Pay for Medicare for All through short-term loans from the Federal Reserve. Brilliant. Why has no one thought of that?

Doesn't trouble you that Trump lumps all these people together as terrorists, notwithstanding that of those that have their paper work done, we have said they weren't (and don't neglect the issue of our allies). That's like me saying your mother is a terrible person because she had you. Do you see a problem there? Category errors, or anything like that? Applied to classes of people by race, that's called racism. And it's called that because it is that. Trump's actions are a matter of record. But you say he isn't. Please reconcile.

Of course you say you do not believe he is. A little disingenuous maybe? Why would you - such an intelligent person - be that? .

He does not lump them all as terrorists, and he does not apply anything to any group of people by race. Why can’t you prove your accusations, Tim Wood?

I accept your view about Trump's words being irrelevant to you, but do you understand that his words are extremely off-putting and sometimes offensive to others? Even though you don't care what he says, don't you think it's fair to judge his character based on the things he says?

IMO, If he does not get reelected, it will be because of these things. Do you agree?

Most of his words are not irrelevant to me. The ones that are sensationalized by a belligerent press are irrelevant. For instance I doubt anyone can remember any of the important information he gave before or after he wondered about injecting disinfectant. This isn’t because he didn’t say anything relevant—he did—but they were selectively omitted by those who are tasked with informing you.

I understand that some of his words may be off-putting and offensive to others, yes. But I think offensiveness is a common trait among human beings. Most people, right left, of all races and creeds, cannot stand political correctness. So who is more out of touch? History is replete with people who say offensive things. I don’t think they’re evil. Often they are necessary.

I’m not saying you have to believe it, but you suspiciously leave it out. I do not believe Trump is racist.

It might hurt their feelings, sure. It would certainly be awful to have a visa revoked. But the ban on terror-prone countries was done in the interest of protecting American citizens, not for any malicious reason as you pretend.

So it appears you’re fooling yourself, Tim.

French doctors are now saying they found a coronavirus patient in December, which suggests the coronavirus was circulating among the European population a month before they started reporting it.

There's new evidence that the coronavirus may have been in France weeks earlier than was previously thought.

Doctors at a Paris hospital say they've found evidence that one patient admitted in December was infected with Covid-19. If verified, this finding would show that the virus was already circulating in Europe at that time -- well before the first known cases were diagnosed in France or hotspot Italy.
"Covid-19 was already spreading in France in late December 2019, a month before the official first cases in the country," the team at Groupe Hospitalier Paris Seine in Saint-Denis wrote in a study published Sunday in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents.

The first official reports of Covid-19 in France were reported on Jan. 24, in two people who had a history of travel to Wuhan, China.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/04/health/france-coronavirus-december-death-intl/index.html

Unfortunately for us we do know what happens after death and we have the cadaver farms to prove it. But because life is brief makes it all the more priceless. Without death life would be worthless.

You don't get it. and I wonder if you could be that naive. Trump has, and has had, many opportunities daily to do the right thing, and with only one exception I can think of, he not only doesn't do them, but does as many mean rotten low-down, & etc., things as he can in the time he has. For him it's his full-time job it seems: who can he hurt. This is just plain a very bad man. And you were disappointed?

I try not to confuse poor speaking with poor action, and I cannot see why anyone would unless one was fooling himself through blind hatred. But I am open to being convinced otherwise. If, as you say, his full-time job is to hurt others, perhaps you can provide some examples of who he has hurt and how he has done so?

I was admittedly disappointed with Trump's response to a question in his most recent town hall.

The question from a woman about not receiving her federal relief aid while she edged closer to bankruptcy and eviction was met with the typical Trump speak about how good the economy once was and will soon be. I don't blame Trump for her not receiving the aid—it is probably lost in the black-hole of American nanny-state bureaucracy—but the president should have taken her number, stood over the desk of the bureaucrat whose job it is to send those payments, and made it happen. It was a lost opportunity.

DHS report: China hid virus’ severity to hoard supplies

Not classified but marked “for official use only,” the DHS analysis states that, while downplaying the severity of the coronavirus, China increased imports and decreased exports of medical supplies. It attempted to cover up doing so by “denying there were export restrictions and obfuscating and delaying provision of its trade data,” the analysis states.

The report also says China held off informing the World Health Organization that the coronavirus “was a contagion” for much of January so it could order medical supplies from abroad — and that its imports of face masks and surgical gowns and gloves increased sharply.

Those conclusions are based on the 95% probability that China’s changes in imports and export behavior were not within normal range, according to the report.

China informed the WHO of the outbreak on Dec. 31. It contacted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control on Jan. 3 and publicly identified the pathogen as a novel coronavirus on Jan. 8.

Chinese officials muffled doctors who warned about the virus early on and repeatedly downplayed the threat of the outbreak. However, many of the Chinese government’s missteps appear to have been due to bureaucratic hurdles, tight controls on information and officials hesitant to report bad news. There is no public evidence to suggest it was an intentional plot to buy up the world’s medical supplies.

“Gaining money” and using it how one chooses is one thing; taking and distributing that money to others is quite another. The former is just; the latter is unjust.

As for the argument that we should institute a UBI because jobs are becoming automated, the same fears have gripped workers throughout history whenever new innovations threatened industries. In each case there has been no reason to have a UBI.

You’re right. It was an ambiguous statement, and a drunken one at that. What I mean is a wage, an income, money, doesn’t just fall out of the sky. It has to be “earned” or otherwise acquired through some form of work or effort or planning.

Why don’t you give them your money, then?

The notion of unearned income is fundamentally flawed because income is never unearned.

You’re an odd duck, aren’t you?

I doubt that.

No need to pretend I said something I didn't. I'm just saying there is documented evidence of the DNC working with particular journalists for the purposes of influencing an election.

Fox News propagandize to maintain Trump's/Republican's power in the US and CCP propagandize to maintain their power in China

They certainly lean in a particular direction and appeal to a certain segment of the population, but to say they propagandize to maintain Trump's/Republican's power in the US is a little on the conspiracy side. Unlike the documented evidence of hacks working with the DNC, there is no such evidence on the RNC/Fox News side of things.

Unessential workers of the world, unite!

It could all be fake, sure, but I’m not sure why they’d make it up.

I don't trust Fox News or the CCP so this story is moot to me

What’s false about it?