I was contemplating writing another
post about the Covid-19 pandemic, but I changed my mind. It is what
we are living with daily, so I figured it might be time to take a bit
of a break. I am sure it will still be there when we get back.
The world has been through many trials
and tribulations. I cannot think of anything more devastating than
WWII. Perhaps revisiting that era will take our minds off this one.
Strange as that may seem, it has worked for me.
Recently they have been airing a fiction series
called World on Fire on channel 2 (TPT) under the Masterpiece showcase which was originally
aired on the BBC. It moves fairly slowly so you haven't missed much
if you pick it up now. It is on Sunday nights at 8:00. I have also
seen it out on DVD. Or if you can stream from YouTube you can watch
the full series through there. The following is a trailer.
If you haven't seen it already it's
worth a look. Hard times pass and we will survive.
30 comments:
Took me a second search to realize that "World on Fire" was one of the PBS's "Masterpiece" drama series and was not a documentary.
But, I did find it on the second search.
Oh, yes, you're right, it is under the Masterpiece showcase. I will go up and make that clear in the post for anyone else who may happen along.
It is a fiction series, kind of like Winds of War, another escape piece.
I see that Trump is being Trump and attempting to get rid of the watchdog who warned about the lack of PPE supplies in the US. Can't make him look bad you know. It's an election year.
It is to the point where many in his administration are just acting as mouthpieces praising him in whatever interview they are participating in. They had one on Fareed's show this morning doing that. I just tuned him out.
I am starting to think that even if we manage to get rid of him this election cycle the damage is so deep that whoever gets in will have a tough time mending the holes in the walls and the rips in the fabric of our home.
"Trump is being Trump…"
And he will continue so…
"…the damage is so deep that whoever gets in will have a tough time
mending the holes…"
The flaw predates Trump. And the damage goes much deeper than Trump. The Republican Party was highly damaged prior to Trump coming along (he'd not have been able to pull off his hostile takeover of the party otherwise).
We have a phenomenon here; we have an anti-democratic mass media empire which has developed a hugely successful business by marketing hostility and anger. And it works; it makes them lots of money. (Arguably, Rush Limbaugh discovered it first; Roger Ailes noticed it later. Facebook and Twitter have figured out how to tap into that money flow as well.) That propaganda platform will still be there when Trump goes away, just waiting for new and better front man to promote.
I've been mulling the idea of promoting commercial boycotts of FoxNews advertisers--just for being FoxNews advertisers--anywhere across their platform; if they advertise with Fox News Group Inc. they're doing damage to the nation. (Maybe even expand it into a boycott of all Fox Corporation advertisers.)
The Trump "administration is privately projecting a steady rise
in the number of cases and deaths from coronavirus over the
next several weeks, reaching about 3,000 daily deaths on June
1, according to an internal document obtained by The New
York Times, nearly double from the current level…"
NYT
Somebody leaked. And somebody else is gonna be real pissed about that.
With states reopening despite the fact that cases are still rising it would be no surprise that deaths will rise faster. Minnesota is partially reopening even though we have not peaked yet. Cases are still rising in my county by double digits. The number of deaths is at 428 now. We have surpassed Wisconsin in deaths.
It's a very hard call for any Governor to make. Reopen and risk more infections or stay shut down and risk further damaging the economy and the ability of people to feed their families.
The flaw predates Trump.
*sigh*
That is what makes it so difficult to fix. I know. But we have to start somewhere.
I begin to expect that sometime, probably by fall if not before (September-October, around in there somewhere), most of Europe and maybe even some nations in Asia will impose a quarantine on the United States, refuse to accept flights out of the States.
Maybe we'll get lucky instead. The expert models might be wrong. But that's not the way to bet.
If we are not clear of the virus and they are, yes, that could be coming. I don't know how many people are traveling now, though.
There are a lot of people here who do not want to admit that this is a serious threat to our current well being.
"Trump administration officials are telling members of the coronavirus
task force that the White House plans to wind down the operation
and it’s not clear whether any other group might replace it."
NYT--Coronavirus Updats page
Seems to be the next logical step. The daily event at the White House had long-since devolved into his substitute fix for his Trump Traveling Road Show, and that's back on the road now, as of today's campaign trip to Arizona. Disbanding the task force will distance him from the government efforts to curtail the virus, and he seems to not want to have anything to do with that these days. (Sorta wishing it away as it were, at the very least wishing it to be somebody else's problem now that it's proved intractable for him.)
I saw that. I was just coming here to post about it, but you beat me to it.
Trump's attention span is like that of a gnat. He flits here and there as long as the place he flits to is of benefit to him.
Our Governor is gradually reopening things in our state. I don't know how that will work as we have not peaked yet. But he is dealing with shut down fatigue and a tanking economy. It puts his between a rock and a hard place for sure.
They are finding cases earlier than they had initially thought in France. After going over samples a doctor discovered that what he had thought was the flu was actually Covid-19. This patient was treated in December.
Still think it was in the US earlier too.
Well now, it seems that Trump has had second thoughts on the subject of disbanding the White House's coronavirus task force. He's now going to reconstitute it instead, with new members dedicated to "reopening" the country for business and especially for the reappearance of the Trump Traveling Road Show. Reuters
We can hope that it's not too soon.
Dang! I just came over here to mention that Trump was backtracking on that disbanding. I think too many people protested.
As for reopening the country I have my concerns about that. An ex-CDC Chief is predicting over 100,000 deaths by the end of May. Given we are already over 71,000 I fear he could be right.
Om a more hopeful note there was a gentleman on the news from a city next door to me who has recovered from Covid-19. He was given plasma and credits that with his positive turnaround.
"I think too many people protested."
Perhaps that's it. Although…
My first suspicion was that Trump had the bright idea that he could "borrow" some of the experts' previously established credibility to slather over Jared Kushner (and whomever else is figuring to get their grubby little hands on some small percentage of the money that's gonna pass hands there).
"…over 100,000 deaths by the end of May."
Probably, and I'm further expecting the daily death rate to be still rising come first of the month (and the rate of rise probably accelerating again) rather than trending down. (I've already picked up some face shields, laid in a re-stock of nitril gloves, and I'm keeping an eye out for when I can get a re-stock on N95s with exhalation valves at something approaching a reasonable price; getting ready for the next wave.)
Knew it had to happen eventually. Maybe a little surprised that it's happening already.
The dedicated Trumpkins are already pumping up the argument that the offical body count is being inflated to damage Trump's reputation. And, of course, the center of the fantasizing is FoxNews. Politico
Probably, and I'm further expecting the daily death rate to be still rising come first of the month (and the rate of rise probably accelerating again) rather than trending down.
I see the death rate rising, yes. We haven't peaked yet.
... getting ready for the next wave.)
This is the part I'm not sure about. Because I'm not sure how long the virus has really been around. If the virus has been around longer than people think that means more people have been exposed to it and have already recovered or didn't have any symptoms at all. Because we have not been testing. We really didn't start until March. So if there has been more exposure then there may be more immunity. The only reason to fear a larger second wave is because there are still a lot of susceptible people out there.
What we really need are the anti-body tests to determine how many people have really had it.
The dedicated Trumpkins are already pumping up the argument that the offical body count is being inflated to damage Trump's reputation.
I did talk to someone the other day who was questioning the count on the CDC site. They break down causes of deaths there due to Covid-19 and combination Covid-19 and pneumonia. She was thinking perhaps those last people would have died anyway from the pneumonia, maybe having it first, rather than Covid-19. While I don't know if she is a dedicated Trumpkin, her argument seemed to imply that slanted view.
I would think the medical community reporting those deaths would know what came first the chicken or the egg.
It seems that one of Trump's valets has tested positive for Covid-19.
"I don't know if she is a dedicated Trumpkin…"
Give her a chance to pontificate on the Wuhan Institute of Virology and you should be able to figure it out pretty quick.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
"The only reason to fear a larger second wave is because
there are still a lot of susceptible people out there."
Yep; I'm prepping now for the second wave.
"What we really need are the anti-body tests to determine
how many people have really had it."
What we need are covid-19 specific anti-body tests that we can know are reliable. There are things the feds simply can't pawn off on the state and local governments, no matter how hard Trump and his dedicated Trumpkins wish for it to be so. And that's one of them.
Give her a chance to pontificate on the Wuhan Institute of Virology and you should be able to figure it out pretty quick.
lol! Yup, that would be a sign. She's smart, though. It might just be because her business is closed and she's hurting financially.
She does tend to lean more toward my thinking that the virus has been around for longer than we think.
Yep; I'm prepping now for the second wave.
We are still stuck in the first wave. In fact, I have to wonder if we aren't opening up a little early. *sigh*
But I can understand the Governor's problem. There are competing issues here that don't make it an easy decision.
So now one of Pence's staffers has tested positive for Covid-19. Given the sloppy nature of the White House's response to the virus I wonder how long it will be before Trump or Pence test positive?
Oh, I see that they are resurrecting Michael Flynn. I suppose it was inevitable that Trump would dig him up.
"Oh, I see that they are resurrecting Michael Flynn."
I didn't see that one coming. I figured it'd wait for Trump to pardon him. Now Barr has saved him (Trump) the trouble.
William Barr is just part of the damage that Trump's done to this country.
"We are still stuck in the first wave."
I'm aware of that. Little late to worry about stocking up for the first wave; I've got what I needed for the first wave. I'm prepping now for when the second wave comes.
Post Script re: Michael Flynn
None of the career prosecutors would sign the DoJ's motion to dismiss the case against Mr. Flynn.
The only lawyer to sign it for the prosecution was a political appointee, one Timothy Shea, the acting United States Attorney for the D.C. Circuit (note the "acting" designation; another of those unconfirmed "acting" job holders whom Trump has said he prefers). The last career prosecutors assigned to the case quit rather than allow themselves to be seen as having acquiesced to the motion to dismiss.
"There are competing issues here that don't make it an easy
decision."
There very well may be competing political issues here. However, it seems pretty clear to me that we are, by default, going to follow the Swedish model going forward. I think the possibility of avoiding that road has passed us by.
The feds botched their first attempts to develop a unique American test for the virus, and Trump has decided to abandon the effort rather than try again.
We can only hope that the extra time acquired as a consequence of the shutdown has enabled our medical personnel and their resources to get better prepared for the virus's spread through the population. With a little luck we won't be treated to a repeat of New York's earliest experience of being overwhelmed with the sick and dying, and having no room in morgues for the result--bodies overflowing in refrigerator trucks pressed into service in hospital parking lots. (And, in some places, not even being able to get enough refrigerated trucks in place in time.)
Don't wanna see that again.
However: Now we get to look at the consequence of the Swedish model. Are we really gonna be able to just power through the epidemic? Will people actually get out there and consume in the extravagant American manner that Trump is depending upon?
I'm dubious. But, I'll have the opportunity to see if I'm wrong there. 'Cause we're gonna follow the Swedish model now. We've run out of other options.
'Cause we're gonna follow the Swedish model now. We've run out of other options.
Yes, you're right. We are going down that path here in Minnesota for sure. My hope is that; one - there is more immunity out in the general populace than we think because the virus has been around longer than we think, and two - plasma transfusions and remdesivir will prove to be treatments that can work for many of the more acute cases.
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