CDN/US Covid-related political discussion

[daftandbarmy]

Funny how nobody has ever polled or asked myself, or anybody I've ever known, for their opinions.  Where do these numbers ACTUALLY come from?

I highly doubt anybody would be okay with the government monitoring and spying on them via their cell phones, especially for an indefinite period of time. 

There already is a limit to personal freedom of movement.  Retail stores, movie theatres, malls, restaurants, social get togethers, etc are all closed.  Only grocery stores, drive through fast food, and pharmacies open here for the most part.  Other than that, people are just outside walking the dog or going for a jog.


Most Canadians have got with the program.  Yes, there are some issues in Vancouver & BC, as well as Toronto.  But for the most part, Canadians are doing a decent job of physical distancing & the curve is starting to flatten.

.... IMHO, because we are conditioned to do what our government tells us to do.

It’s no surprise that we are the only country in the world whose national symbol is a policeman in an imperial red jacket

 

[ballz]

I highly doubt anybody would be okay with the government monitoring and spying on them via their cell phones, especially for an indefinite period of time.

I'm more pessimistic, I can see Canadians lining up for this kind of thing....

 

[Kat Stevens]

Canadians will roll over, bite the pillow, and take it, just like they always have.

 

[FJAG]

They can do whatever they want. My cell phone is so old that they will never find me.

;D

 

[Journeyman]

... every time the government tries to do something for the common good.

Let me know when that starts. 

 

[Jarnhamar]

Well if they check out, they check out.  But I do like to check sources.

Probably a good move! I can't see where the $400 million comes from either.

 

[Remius]

Regardless, the point i guess is that the US is the number one contributor.

 

[brihard]

US is about 15% of WHO’s budget, over $440m a year through various US federal departments. Note for the WHO’s website below that they work on a two year budget

http://open.who.int/2018-19/contributors/contributor

 

[PuckChaser]

China is 0.21%, but yet the WHO won't acknowledge Taiwan as a country. The paused funding will either allow China to make up the difference, or push the WHO away from placating CCP positions. Money talks.

 

[MilEME09]

China is 0.21%, but yet the WHO won't acknowledge Taiwan as a country. The paused funding will either allow China to make up the difference, or push the WHO away from placating CCP positions. Money talks.

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/insta-star-wars%3A-china-tensions-in-southeast-asia-flare-online-2020-04-14-0
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/14/834431383/taiwan-reports-no-new-coronavirus-cases-adding-to-success-in-fighting-pandemic
https://hongkongfp.com/2020/04/12/blocking-taiwan-from-helping-the-world-tackle-covid-19-is-a-travesty-for-the-who/

The online war of words continues, I see a shift in the region away from Chicom and towards Taiwan, which if strong enough could lead to some tense years in cross straight relations, especially if Taiwan makes a formal declaration of independence (even though they really are their own country, its more semantics against Beijing)

 

[daftandbarmy]

Oh goodie, 'Middle Power' Leadership is back!  ;D


How COVID-19 will reshape global politics

By Eric Miller. Published on Apr 14, 2020 12:59pm
 
"Both China and the United States will likely emerge reputationally weakened from the COVID-19 crisis. This will open space for enhanced middle power leadership, particularly by those with strong brands and networks."

Pandemics have long been a part of the human experience. One common result is that the structure of international relations is transformed through both amplifying existing trends and creating new ones.

The Black Death led to the collapse of the Mongol Empire, which stretched from China to Turkey, and the closing of the Silk Road trade corridor. The Spanish Flu’s impacts ranged from aiding India’s independence movement, killing Lenin’s probable successor and facilitating U.S. acceptance of punitive terms toward Germany in the Versailles Treaty.

While it is still very much unfolding, the legacy of COVID-19 could be equally far-reaching. A central outcome is likely to be a profound shift in the United States-China relationship and in their relations with the rest of the world.

This will likely coalesce into something resembling a new Cold War that could hasten a substantial de-integration of the world biggest economies.

The current mad scramble for medical goods is making western governments skeptical of an over-reliance on China as a production location. Much like after 9/11, when governments designated certain sectors as “critical”, so too will there be a push to require sufficient domestic manufacturing capacity to produce goods in a crisis.

It is also making the “Produce in China. Sell Globally” model for other manufactured goods less tenable. Supply chains will likely fragment more into customized channels by intended market, including the United States, China, Europe, Japan, and India. “Reliability”, including from a political risk perspective, will become a factor in assessing future production locations.

In addition to supply chain realignments, much of the economic conflict will turn on technology competition and scrutiny of investment flows, especially in strategic sectors.

https://ipolitics.ca/2020/04/14/how-covid-19-will-reshape-global-politics/

 

[MilEME09]

Sounds like opportunity for Canada, if we could position our selves as the gold standard for western medical production coming out of this, which could lead to a new manufacturing boom in this country.

 

[PuckChaser]

Sounds like opportunity for Canada, if we could position our selves as the gold standard for western medical production coming out of this, which could lead to a new manufacturing boom in this country.

Doug Ford is pushing for that. As long as we dont allow UAW and CAW to push the wages so high that it's impossible to manufacture in Canada like they did with the auto industry, Ontario is positioned well to take advantage. Lots of empty production facilities, favourable government looking for growth, skilled labour pool and hydro rates that are starting to even out after the Green deal failures.

 

[Eaglelord17]

China is 0.21%, but yet the WHO won't acknowledge Taiwan as a country. The paused funding will either allow China to make up the difference, or push the WHO away from placating CCP positions. Money talks.

WE (and most of the world) don't acknowledge Taiwan as a country...

 

[PuckChaser]

WE (and most of the world) don't acknowledge Taiwan as a country...

What a chance for us to tell the CCP we won't be dictated to.

 

[Remius]

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/trump-says-canada-s-doing-well-restrictions-at-border-could-ease-soon-1.4898545?fbclid=IwAR2ZrR2ukMKosWx070iiOKoTDP1BRxDbsr0UPFST1C-ratdkj78gOal5MGE


Not sure opening the border to the US is going to play well here at this time.

If strict testing is in place maybe.

 

[OceanBonfire]

Look who's on the US task force to reopen the economy:

https://twitter.com/SenatorLoeffler/status/1250836976237977601

Background:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/sen-burr-defends-stock-sales-fellow-republicans-call/story?id=69712143

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kelly-loeffler-senator-liquidate-stocks-coronavirus-briefing-uproar/

 

[OceanBonfire]

Virus-fueled conspiracy theories take aim at hospitals

The people taking and posting videos of quiet scenes outside hospitals are promoting a right-wing conspiracy theory that fear-mongering media outlets and Democrats are intentionally exaggerating COVID-19's deadly toll.

Hospitals aren't the only targets of the far-right fringe during the pandemic. The coronavirus has breathed fresh life into old conspiracy theories and inspired a mishmash of new ones, with a cast of villains that includes Bill Gates, 5G wireless technology, the United Nations and President Donald Trump's political foes.

New York is also the setting for one of the wildest virus-related conspiracy theories circulating on social media - that the pandemic is masking a military operation to rescue thousands of deformed "mole children" from the clutches of sex traffickers in underground tunnels beneath medical tents recently erected in Central Park.

Other new conspiracy theories being fueled by the virus include one that claims maps show a link between 5G networks and coronavirus outbreaks. Another holds that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates intends to use a COVID-19 vaccine to track and control the world's population. Fox News host Laura Ingraham amplified the narrative with an April 7 tweet that said, "Digitally tracking Americans' every move has been a dream of the globalists for years."

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/virus-fueled-conspiracy-theories-aim-hospitals-70209403

 

[BDTyre]

New York is also the setting for one of the wildest virus-related conspiracy theories circulating on social media - that the pandemic is masking a military operation to rescue thousands of deformed "mole children" from the clutches of sex traffickers in underground tunnels beneath medical tents recently erected in Central Park.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/virus-fueled-conspiracy-theories-aim-hospitals-70209403

Seems legit... :

 

[dimsum]

Seems legit... :

Haha yeah, I had to read that line a few times to really get through my head how ridiculous it was.