I have some scattered thoughts I want to put down in front of me, based mostly on intuition.
A virus is a virus is a virus. A microorganism with, simply speaking, the ability to transfer through the air from person to person, and quickly. I know its just a game, but pandemic is a really straight forward and simple way to present the concept of how a virus spreads. We knew once a few people had it in china and they said they were having a hard time containing it that it just wouldnt be stopped.
Masks help. Washing your hands helps. Staying away from each other helps. By how much has yet to be determined.
Nursing homes have high infectivity rates. Why? Poor hygiene, compromised immune systems, ignorant staff, releasing the elderly from the hospital to go back to the nursing homes. (I wonder if depression has caused a spike in deaths in the nursing homes. Lots of old people go downhill quick when they dont have their loved ones coming to visit them.)
It seems households would be the biggest place of transmission, everyone intimately close to each other every day, stuck inside, bringing home whatever they picked up while they were out.
If you are an 84 year old finnish lady who goes to the busiest places in the area every day, you're probably completely immune (based on my own observations lol)
I still don't trust the data. Not that I'm saying its fake, I just have to question the collection method and the chain of custody, which from the beginning has been fucked. No one was prepared for this and theres incentive to fudge the numbers for financial reasons (maybe political? but then were talking malice, and I don't think that's the case, just incompetence.) If I remember correctly, new rules for data collection were imposed retroactively in some places, which makes me question the accuracy of the data even more. If I were in charge of anything, perfect data collection and analysis would be at the top of my list.
I'm not sure if the protests are really contributing to the rise in cases like some are saying. I mean at face value it would make perfect sense seeing you have a lot of people in close proximity. However, being outside, wearing masks and being young all seem to be a factor as well. I'm still convinced its not a good idea to stay in the house day after day, mainly for people who dont wash their hands, or they hug and kiss their loved ones a lot. Im not certain of the exact circumstances, but I believe house arrest is a problem. Im not saying they should all go to the store or restaurants, just that people need to spend more time outside and away from each other. Get some fresh air, try to maintain your sanity, etc...
UNEMPLOYMENT - Holy S*** , gee golly gosh Batman. I think were in for a slow economic collapse. A slow boil into global turmoil. Im looking 20 years down the road. Sooner if we get into a war, which has never been more likely IMO.
Speaking of war:
The carrier strike force was joined by an Air Force B-52 long-range bomber from Barksdale Air Force Base's 2nd Bomb Wing.
www.navytimes.com
Liu Xiaoming, China's top envoy in the UK, told The Times that as London cuts trading ties with the European Union later this year, it should not "gang up with the United States on the Chinese" with military deployments.
economictimes.indiatimes.com
Supposedly only 6% of China's population is under CCP control? I just heard that during this testimony from Sec State Pompeo over the State Dept budget. They have no interest in disengaging with the Chinese people, and I don't think anyone would want that. We have no quarrel with the Chinese people, just the CCP and their efforts to become the worlds hegemon. We made it clear not long ago that we recognize none of their territorial claims in the South China sea, and thats where the tension comes from. I guess I have to include the threat to Taiwan and the current assimilation of Hong Kong back into complete Chinese rule. Just keep an eye on this.
On Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China has reported that the Chinese military is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to the U.S. sending military personnel to Taiwan for exercises and exchanges.
defence-blog.com
If you want more news, just typing in "china" to google search and clicking on the news tab will give you several significant news articles on a broad range of topics.
Food banks. Just type that into twitter search to see local reports about food banks across the country.
TBH I would highly suggest paying attention to everything you can gather from congressional hearings, Testimony, the actions of this government and the language of policy.
That's all for now.