Coronavirus

[Lord Liaden]

51 minutes ago, Duke Bushido said:

 

A bit off-topic, but I hate looking for any news related to Britain:  I never know if it's under Britain, Great Britain, England (or other country name), United Kingdom, UK  (granted, those tend to be pretty close on the list, usually separated by "United States."  Is the "of America" just not important to the rest of the world?

 

 

Well, how often do you guys call your country, "the United States of America?" What I always hear is, "USA," "United States," "the States," or most often, "America." You've gotten most of the rest of us in the same habit. There's an implication there that "United States of Anywhere Else" doesn't really count.

 

We do sometimes remind your fellow citizens that "America" comprises two whole continents, most of which aren't part of the United States; but most of you aren't very receptive to that. But you did give yourselves a name that doesn't readily lend itself to another shortened designation for your people. "USers?" "Statesians?" Doesn't really roll off the tongue.

[Badger]

8 hours ago, L. Marcus said:

Take It like A Man!

 

Why are you badgerist?

[Pariah]

If you ever meet the Devil, just tell him where to go.

 

[Cancer]

4 hours ago, Old Man said:

COVID-19 R0 = 5.7

 

Authors all based at Los Alamos.

[Old Man]

Landlords demanding sexual favors from tenants in lieu of rent

[Ragitsu]

4 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

Well, how often do you guys call your country, "the United States of America?" What I always hear is, "USA," "United States," "the States," or most often, "America." You've gotten most of the rest of us in the same habit. There's an implication there that "United States of Anywhere Else" doesn't really count.

 

We do sometimes remind your fellow citizens that "America" comprises two whole continents, most of which aren't part of the United States; but most of you aren't very receptive to that. But you did give yourselves a name that doesn't readily lend itself to another shortened designation for your people. "USers?" "Statesians?" Doesn't really roll off the tongue.

 

At some point, rather abruptly, I shifted away from "America" to "United States". How do you feel about "North America"?

[Amorkca]

Just now, Ragitsu said:

 

At some point, rather abruptly, I shifted away from "America" to "United States". How do you feel about "North America"?

Technically both LL and I are part of North America, just more North than you... 🤣

[Ragitsu]

24 minutes ago, Amorkca said:

Technically both LL and I are part of North America, just more North than you... 🤣

 

Of course. It was meant to be an alternative to the potpourri of Liaden's suggestions.

[BNakagawa]

7 hours ago, unclevlad said:

 

Also says nothing good about Britain's NHS.  Or maybe something about the cultures...the people just aren't responding to the message, they're not getting tested when they should be?  Who knows.  I'm just hoping to look at the data and find some positives, and while I'd love to include France, as part of the bigger Western European countries bloc...can't do it with their data.

 

Might have something to do with the messaging that their PM was putting out about trying to gain herd immunity for GB up until he got hopitalized with Coronavirus...

 

https://fortune.com/2020/04/06/uk-boris-johnson-coronavirus-icu-herd-immunity/

 

[Lord Liaden]

1 hour ago, Ragitsu said:

 

At some point, rather abruptly, I shifted away from "America" to "United States". How do you feel about "North America"?

 

1 hour ago, Amorkca said:

Technically both LL and I are part of North America, just more North than you... 🤣

 

1 hour ago, Ragitsu said:

 

Of course. It was meant to be an alternative to the potpourri of Liaden's suggestions.

 

Well, Amorkca brings up the salient point: you share North America with both Canada and Mexico, so that would be no more an appropriate designation for just your part of it than what we have now. But it's not a big deal -- we've all had two and a half centuries to get used to it.

[Duke Bushido]

3 hours ago, Old Man said:

Landlords demanding sexual favors from tenants in lieu of rent

 

Disgusting, but hardly new, is it? 

[Doc Democracy]

12 hours ago, unclevlad said:

Also says nothing good about Britain's NHS. 

 

You know, I always bristle when Americans castigate the NHS, it is why I waited a couple of days before responding.

 

The NHS means that everyone, regardless of geographic location will get the same help (good or bad) and that noone will get a bill when they come home, simply for getting sick in an epidemic.  I also note that NHS staff workers are applauded every Thursday night be the citizens of the UK while some US doctors are having their wages cut because ER staff are making them less money just now?

 

When people talk about British values and what makes them different from other countries, my go to is to point to the NHS and the BBC.  They are not perfect but they are kind of unique to our country and embody a lot of the principles of my nation.  I am proud of both of them and the NHS is the principle reason I moved back to the UK rather than staying in the US when I had the opportunity.

 

I reckon the numbers are much more about the delay of the PM and the government to implement epidemic measures.  We could have been on top of this and now we are playing catch up. 

 

Of course, there is no way the NHS can cope with simple stupidity of British people....

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-52221688

 

Duke - we are competing with your stories of stupid people in a pandemic here.  660 parties in a small city over a weekend and one woman arrested because they had to go back to the SAME party multiple times.  Those people almost certainly deserve to get ill and I would wish it on them if they would not simply clog up the services for more deserving folk...

 

 

Doc

[Mightybec]

15 hours ago, Ranxerox said:

 

So, what is the plan?  To have half of you work in morning  and the other half work in the afternoon to permit social distancing?

 

Half days for those who want to be here.  About a week before working from home, they spread us out all over the building for the required space.  I got my own office...  a 5 by 6 meeting room lol.

[Cygnia]

[Ranxerox]

27 minutes ago, Mightybec said:

Half days for those who want to be here.  About a week before working from home, they spread us out all over the building for the required space.  I got my own office...  a 5 by 6 meeting room lol.

 

Hey, maybe you will get your office back!  You laugh at it but 5 by 6 is more space than I can claim where I work.

 

[pinecone]

13 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

 

Well, how often do you guys call your country, "the United States of America?" What I always hear is, "USA," "United States," "the States," or most often, "America." You've gotten most of the rest of us in the same habit. There's an implication there that "United States of Anywhere Else" doesn't really count.

 

We do sometimes remind your fellow citizens that "America" comprises two whole continents, most of which aren't part of the United States; but most of you aren't very receptive to that. But you did give yourselves a name that doesn't readily lend itself to another shortened designation for your people. "USers?" "Statesians?" Doesn't really roll off the tongue.

Seems like a lot of folks go with A-holes, or s.o.b.s........

[Doc Democracy]

13 minutes ago, pinecone said:

Seems like a lot of folks go with A-holes, or s.o.b.s........

 

And a lot of people use Yanks, which annoys more than half the population (as my short tenure in Tennessee taught me!). 🙂  

[ScottishFox]

17 hours ago, death tribble said:

England has roughly half the number of cases as Germany but roughly 3.5 times the number of deaths. Which means whatever Germany is doing it should be looked at.

 

I thought England had banned the use of Hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 and was only allowing Paracetamol (Acetaminophin) and Oxygen.  That might be a factor.  It might also be a non-factor.  Time will tell.

 

Though an article this morning says that Boris Johnson's doctors declined the alternate medications and he seems to be on the mend anyway.

 

I know one factor was the Germany tested a broader population sample earlier (not just people sick enough to seek out help) and the relative ratio of hospitalized people getting tested to asymptomatic carriers can really throw your numbers around.

[Doc Democracy]

1 minute ago, ScottishFox said:

I thought England had banned the use of Hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19

 

It is a fine point of detail but it is less that the UK banned the stuff, we just have not come to a positive decision to allow it to be used.

 

All medicines allowed to be used have to go through some analysis by NICE that shows they are efficacious for the money they cost (side effects and the treatment of those would come into the equation).

 

Doc

[Cancer]

10 hours ago, Old Man said:

Landlords demanding sexual favors from tenants in lieu of rent

 

Man, is that the recurrence of an old, old phenomenon.  Read Madame Bovary to see a reference to what must have been a rather common thing.

[Hermit]

6 hours ago, Duke Bushido said:

 

Disgusting, but hardly new, is it? 

 

Not new at all.

 

And I admit, there is something in me that thinks all proper young ladies should be taught how to use a shotgun, or at least a taser just in case of such 'demands'

 

"But that would be WRONG"- Kentucky Fried Movie

[Mightybec]

Looks like the USS Nimitz is affected too.  I don't miss my berthing at 01-44 frame at all.

 

https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2020-04-09/military-warns-of-coronavirus-breakouts-aboard-uss-nimitz-aircraft-carrier

[unclevlad]

53 minutes ago, Doc Democracy said:

 

It is a fine point of detail but it is less that the UK banned the stuff, we just have not come to a positive decision to allow it to be used.

 

All medicines allowed to be used have to go through some analysis by NICE that shows they are efficacious for the money they cost (side effects and the treatment of those would come into the equation).

 

Doc

 

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-clinical-trial-hydroxychloroquine-potential-therapy-covid-19-begins

 

We know why the FDA went along with allowing it here, even on the conditional basis they did....

 

Oh, and here's something I dug up.  Remember the big, exciting paper from Marseille that pushed this all forward?  

https://retractionwatch.com/2020/04/06/hydroxychlorine-covid-19-study-did-not-meet-publishing-societys-expected-standard/

[unclevlad]

3 minutes ago, Mightybec said:

Looks like the USS Nimitz is affected too.  I don't miss my berthing at 01-44 frame at all.

 

https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2020-04-09/military-warns-of-coronavirus-breakouts-aboard-uss-nimitz-aircraft-carrier

 

This seems to vindicate Capt. Crozier that much more, but probably too late to help him.

[Mightybec]

4 minutes ago, unclevlad said:

 

This seems to vindicate Capt. Crozier that much more, but probably too late to help him.

Crozier's mistake was to make his boss, the Rear Admiral of the carrier fleet, look bad.  It shouldn't have been a career ender, for sure, but it was.