Coronavirus COVID-19 Thread

NaffNaffBobFace

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China said it in their 2049 initiative and they also said they would double their GDP in the next decade.


In that context, what China wants is a play in three acts.

First, China wants ideally to push the US out of its Asian region, or at the very least reduce its influence, to achieve a regional hegemony that makes all actors ultimately dependent on it. Second, it is acting globally to displace, if not yet replace, the United States wherever it can – including in major parts of Europe – most importantly through its Belt and Road Initiative.

Finally
, it’s clearer than ever that Beijing by the time of the 100th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China in 2049 aspires to be the dominant economic, political and perhaps military power for an era where democracies remain but authoritarian systems are ascendant.

“China is unabashedly undermining the U.S. alliance system in Asia,’” writes Oriana Skylar Mastro of Georgetown University in Foreign Affairs. “It has encouraged the Philippines to distance itself from the United States, it has supported South Korea’s efforts to take a softer line toward North Korea, and it has backed Japan’s stance against American protectionism…It is blatantly militarizing the South China Sea ….It is no longer content to play second fiddle to the United States and seeks directly to challenge its position in the Indo-Pacific region.”

Yet it is beyond Asia where China’s reach has expanded fastest.


China has both geopolitical and economic motivations behind the initiative. Xi has promoted a vision of a more assertive China, while slowing growth and rocky trade relations with the United States have pressured the country’s leadership to open new markets for its goods.


China is on the cusp of keeping a big promise — a vow to double its GDP and income in a decade and take the country to the forefront of the global economic power structure.



UK did fill the US role prior to the industrial revolution.



Why doesn't the UK pay 400 million to a organization that just let the biggest pandemic occur since it was founded.

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Righto 👍

I think we should start a new thread that will cover all the US-Chinese geopolitics stuff.
Agreed, unless it breaches the forums no politics rule.

And on that note, back to the Pandemic and the UK numbers from today Monday 18th May:

Total confirmed 246,406 with 2,684 new, total dead 34,796 with 160 new.

Chartorama18-05-20.jpg


Todays status is bought to us by the UK opening testing to anyone over the age of 5 years old who displays symptoms:


One wonders what course the death toll would have taken if we'd had this up and running for the beginning of April. Best put that thought to the back of ones mind, it's here now, that's a good thing.

The Status Outlook is bought to you by the claim that the UK is now a world champion in testing. Again, one might wonder if it's a little late... I would say however that it's never too late to get the system in place to get good eyes on the situation, so well done to them for that at least.


Colorado update:

1589827585712.png


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Aramsolari

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I disagree. You can't look at this pandemic by science means alone (in a vacuum). You have to factor in the economic and political cost too.
Yeah but we're way off topic. You're going off about a future conflict between China and the US. Posting repeatedly news stories about China's economic, military threat etc. I'm not saying I'm disagreeing with you, I'm just saying we're going way off topic. Just look at the past 2-3 pages of this thread. How much of it is actually about Covid19 and not 'Red China bad'.
 
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ColdDog

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Yeah but we're way off topic. You're going off about a future conflict between China and the US. Posting repeatedly news stories about China's economic, military threat etc. I'm not saying I'm disagreeing with you, I'm just saying we're going way off topic. Just look at the past 2-3 pages of this thread. How much of it is actually about Covid19 and not 'Red China bad'.
Understood... I still think it is relevant but I guess strategy beyond 2021 is not in scope... such is the world we live in.
 

Montoya

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As Wisconsin goes into its first week of reopening, a little reminder why not everybody agrees on the strategy:


This paragraph sums it up, its exactly what I have been saying:

"People don’t really understand how serious this is until they know somebody who's going through it," said Rebecca Patterson, Wilkin's longtime girlfriend. "It's only a matter of time before everyone in the country knows someone."
 
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Montoya

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Aramsolari

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Good to hear Colorado is doing well.

Testing, testing, testing....followed by contact tracing once an outbreak is detected. I think most of the countries that have managed Covid19 well has stuck to this age old strategy.
 
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Montoya

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Testing, testing, testing....followed by contact tracing once an outbreak is detected. I think most of the countries that have managed Covid19 well has stuck to this age old strategy.
Israel took this to the extreme by using cell phone data to find people within a radius of an infected person and texting them that they may have been exposed!
 
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ColdDog

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This poor guy's wife caught it from him. Now his opinion changed.
Still think a managed opening is needed. So far in this thread we have determined 5G towers -- infecting people with a virus is -- a hoax, but on a serious note, it is no joke, but a full shutdown should not be an option either.
 

Aramsolari

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Israel took this to the extreme by using cell phone data to find people within a radius of an infected person and texting them that they may have been exposed!
Yeah I think Singapore did the same thing too.

Both countries are actually quite similar in many ways lol. Rich, high tech, and surrounded by Muslim countries haha. My dad went through conscription in Singapore and he told that the country's earliest military advisors were Israeli.

Anyway I think both countries are also small, that does help limit the spread as it's easier to observe any outbreaks among the population. You don't have to worry about losing track of people over hundreds or thousands of miles.
 

Aramsolari

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Still think a managed opening is needed. So far in this thread we have determined 5G towers -- infecting people with a virus is -- a hoax, but on a serious note, it is no joke, but a full shutdown should not be an option either.
I'm ok with no official shutdown as long as people behave and rise up to their civil responsibilities. The problem is people weren't listening to the guidelines. There were many people out there who were openly flaunting social distancing guidelines like travelling hundreds of miles just to protest. There are also people who still believe the whole thing is a hoax and won't change their minds until they or their loved ones get sick like the man in the story Montoya posted.

The cat's out of the bag anyway and you can't put it back. You probably had a one month window of opportunity where you needed to shut down a country but that shutdown is only effective as long as the bulk of the population follows it. Anyway...Countries are opening up and we need to adapt accordingly. I'll say hang on to your PPE and continue to practice social distancing when possible. You can still go about your daily business, just exercise common sense.
 
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ColdDog

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Lol... China buying the WHO... which is nothing in comparison to the trillions spent world wide.

I know what you are going to say, damned if they do and damned if they don't. They earned their reputation fair and square.
 

ColdDog

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I'll say hang on to your PPE and continue to practice social distancing when possible. You can still go about your daily business, just exercise common sense.
Advisement taken. Still, "China" could have stopped this in its tracks, so now I am being told to hold on to my PPE because a selfish global citizen spread a virus to save face and propel its own ends.
 

NaffNaffBobFace

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Lol... China buying the WHO... which is nothing in comparison to the trillions spent world wide.

I know what you are going to say, damned if they do and damned if they don't. They earned their reputation fair and square.
big-lebowski-rug-really-tied-the-room-together.gif


Think I'll have to call this one a day. Good evening, ladies and gents.
 

Aramsolari

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@NaffNaffBobFace @Montoya @Aramsolari
By the way... I hate msnbc and axios but at least I try to give you info you'll read.
I'm actually not a fond of either lol.

I try to stick to the BBC, CBC (Canadian), The Guardian, and The Washington Post. Granted, they're center left but hey...that's what I read lol. As for more conservative publications I like The Economist and Foreign Policy. Sites that I avoid like the plague include Breitbart, OANN, and The Epoch Times.

As for Covid19 related data, I'm looking mostly at the John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center and good old Wikipedia. Due to the high profile nature of the Covid19 entry on Wikipedia, it's actually quite accurate (due to all the scrutiny).
 
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