CDN/US Covid-related political discussion

[The Bread Guy]

And give kudos to our other political parties in Ontario who have stood back and let him drive the bus.  No posturing just for posturing sakes....

Good point - not being partisan for the sake of being partisan applies to everyone, not just ruling parties.

 

[mariomike]

Anyone considering "walking off the job" in Ontario may wish to read this first,

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/lawyers-warn-doug-ford-coronavirus-advice_ca_5e7e60bdc5b66149226743cc

"Employees must follow a process if they feel unsafe working during COVID-19."

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I don't think PSAC won themselves any favours with employees walking off the job at the Service Canada centres, regardless how they felt at risk.

 

[Remius]

PSAC employees walk off the job

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawa-considers-shutting-down-service-canada-centres-as-employees/

I didn’t know this had happened...

 

[daftandbarmy]

Dr. Anthony Fauci Predicts Hundreds Of Thousands Of U.S. Coronavirus Deaths

The head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases predicted 100,000 to 200,000 Americans could die and millions more could be infected.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, predicted on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that hundreds of thousands of Americans could die from COVID-19 and millions of others could also contract the disease.

“Looking at what we’re seeing now, I would say between 100,000 and 200,000 [deaths], but I don’t want to be held to that,” Fauci said, cautioning that the number is a “moving target” that could change depending on a number of social and ecological factors.

“What we do know,” Fauci added, “is that we’ve got a serious problem in New York, we have a serious problem in New Orleans and we’re going to be developing serious problems in other areas.”

After initially referring to the coronavirus as a “hoax” designed by Democrats and downplaying its threat to Americans, the Trump administration has tried to coordinate a belated federal response to supplement individual state efforts. But the federal government’s slow acknowledgement of the coronavirus crisis has led to insufficient testing nationwide, complicating any efforts to truly control the disease.

In the past week, President Donald Trump and several of his conservative allies have called on states to ease up on their social distancing measures now or in the near future in an effort to spur the economy, arguing that the costs of a faltering economy outweigh the benefits of tamping down the pandemic.


https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/anthony-fauci-predicts-hundreds-of-thousands-american-coronavirus-deaths_n_5e80c707c5b6256a7a2c7df7?ri18n=true&ncid=engmodushpmg00000003

 

[Jarnhamar]

PSAC employees walk off the job

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawa-considers-shutting-down-service-canada-centres-as-employees/

I didn’t know this had happened...

Story goes they didn't feel safe and people were being very rude, obnoxious and belligerent to them. Can't really blame them for not wanting to work in that kind of environment.
On the other hand Service Canada employees weren't exactly known for their spectacular customer service and pleasant attitude before all this pandemic stuff so..

 

[Jarnhamar]

Politics of the WHO.

Pretty damning video.


Canadian WHO official appears to dodge reporter’s questions about Taiwan in viral video
https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/canadian-who-official-appears-to-dodge-reporters-questions-about-taiwan-in-viral-video

Official ignores the reporters question pretending not to hear it but says move on to the next question when the reporter said she would repeat the question, then hangs up on her when she presses.

Video
https://twitter.com/HKWORLDCITY/status/1243865641448169474

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Story goes they didn't feel safe and people were being very rude, obnoxious and belligerent to them. Can't really blame them for not wanting to work in that kind of environment.
On the other hand Service Canada employees weren't exactly known for their spectacular customer service and pleasant attitude before all this pandemic stuff so..

and with Phoenix, part of me can't blame them, however it's not going to help PSAC in the future, and will be brought up in the PR war later on. A lot of people right now are putting up with a lot of abuse and no union to protect them. PSAC needs to get ahead of the horse on this one.

 

[Remius]

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-trump-outbid-states-on-medical-supplies-2020-3?fbclid=IwAR3nEzlOvWNe81z8jBNs3CX6J0G-s8wsvKjtCe06-wHsbdf_Nqucpxkzilc


How does this make any sense?

 

[Good2Golf]

If FEMA doesn’t then immediately redistribute that equipment in part to States in need, it could be seen as deliberate hoarding...It doesn’t make sense logically.  Perhaps there is an irrational factor at play?

Regards
G2G

 

[daftandbarmy]

If FEMA doesn’t then immediately redistribute that equipment in part to States in need, it could be seen as deliberate hoarding...It doesn’t make sense logically.  Perhaps there is an irrational factor at play?

Regards
G2G

Stalin exerted control over a fractious empire by controlling food supplies, amongst other things. Maybe this is kind of the same thing, which is a criminal act of course.

On the other hand, if one state is allowed to gobble up limited supplies it would be bad for everyone else too.

 

[Remius]

Sure, but how do you explain the direction he gave governors to go out and get stuff themselves only to outbid them. 

Weird.

 

[FJAG]

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-trump-outbid-states-on-medical-supplies-2020-3?fbclid=IwAR3nEzlOvWNe81z8jBNs3CX6J0G-s8wsvKjtCe06-wHsbdf_Nqucpxkzilc


How does this make any sense?

:facepalm:

 

[Jarnhamar]

It's classic Trump.

He's going to horde the supplies then when people are desperate he's going to give it to them to save the day. Then he'll demand they appreciate him and thank him for giving (or probably more likely selling) them the life saving medical equipment he told them to buy for themselves (which he turned around and bought from under their nose, of course)

 

[FJAG]

It's classic Trump.

He's going to horde the supplies then when people are desperate he's going to give it to them to save the day. Then he'll demand they appreciate him and thank him for giving (or probably more likely selling) them the life saving medical equipment he told them to buy for themselves (which he turned around and bought from under their nose, of course)

I honestly don't think that they are thinking that far ahead. It's just another example of a screwed up federalist system where the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing.

:cheers:

 

[Remius]

And it isn’t even states vs the feds.  Cities and their states seem to be at odds.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/31/politics/red-states-blue-cities-coronavirus/index.html


So Arizona have some restrictions but exempted golf courses and beauty parlours. W.T.F.

 

[mariomike]

And it isn’t even states vs the feds.  Cities and their states seem to be at odds.

Doesn't sound like rural hospitals in the US were doing that great even before this thing hit,

NBC

Coronavirus strains rural hospitals 'to the absolute limit'

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/coronavirus-strains-rural-hospitals-absolute-limit-n1172416

"Even before all this happened, we had a rural hospital crisis in America," one official said. "This situation is going to compound that."

LA Times: Trump’s reelection campaign advisors are terrified that the coronavirus outbreak, which so far has hit largely Democratic coastal cities hardest, will soon scythe across the rural areas that remain deeply loyal to Trump
https://twitter.com/JesseRodriguez/status/1244834243831881729

 

[FSTO]

Doesn't sound like rural hospitals in the US were doing that great even before this thing hit,

Canadian rural health care is in the same boat. For example most babies in western Manitoba are born in Brandon which means anywhere from 1 to 3 or 4 hrs drive. There is a severe lack of doctors and services outside of very large communities. And we have pretty much sucked dry all the South African Drs who wanted to move to Canada. It seems to be pretty rare for any Canadian Dr grad who wants to move to a rural community.

 

[OceanBonfire]

EU warns Hungary not to flout democracy with coronavirus laws

The European Union warned Hungary on Tuesday that emergency measures adopted by its nationalist government to fight the coronavirus crisis must not undercut democracy.

Hungary’s parliament on Monday granted Prime Minister Viktor Orban an open-ended right to rule by decree and introduced jail sentences for anyone hindering measures to curb the spread of the virus or spreading false information about the pandemic.


https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-eu-democracy/eu-warns-hungary-not-to-flout-democracy-with-coronavirus-laws-idUSKBN21I1JV

 

[OceanBonfire]

Serbia’s coronavirus state of emergency measures draw eyes of human rights groups

Since President Aleksandar Vucic announced an open-ended state of emergency on March 15, parliament has been sidelined, borders shut, a 12-hour police-enforced curfew imposed and people over 65 banned from leaving their homes — some of Europe’s strictest measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

In ex-communist Eastern Europe and elsewhere, populist leaders are introducing harsh measures including uncontrolled cellphone surveillance of their citizens and lengthy jail sentences for those who flout lockdown decrees.


https://globalnews.ca/news/6755350/coronavirus-serbia-president/