China

[Dinar]

Spek, I got hassled in NYC in Riverside Park by police for not having my mask on.   I told them that according to NYS law, it is prohibited to wear mask (this is actually true), and also why would I need to wear a mask in park when the nearest person was 30 feet away.  They said - these are our orders, you must put on your mask.  I decided not to argue with them further, because I was afraid that I would be arrested.  Bastion of liberty and law NY is not.  

[Gregmal]

3 minutes ago, Dinar said:

Spek, I got hassled in NYC in Riverside Park by police for not having my mask on.   I told them that according to NYS law, it is prohibited to wear mask (this is actually true), and also why would I need to wear a mask in park when the nearest person was 30 feet away.  They said - these are our orders, you must put on your mask.  I decided not to argue with them further, because I was afraid that I would be arrested.  Bastion of liberty and law NY is not.  

You shoulda just murdered someone or stole something. They woulda left you alone. Per orders. 

[Libs]

XI has seemingly boxed himself in, not wanting to lose face by reversing the 0- COVID policy. It's a lose-lose scenario: open up, and the health care system is ravaged ( they are way short on hospital beds); or, stay closed, and infuriate the public / crush the economy. Two terrible choices, driven by bad policy.

 

Buy maybe that's too easy of a narrative. Even China is capable of pivoting. Thus, this Asia Times article rings true. China is not so stupid as to continue this policy indefinitely. 

 

So.......over the next few months:

 

Loosen controls

Import working vaccines for the elderly ( see the German connection)

declare the current wave 'just another flu'

declare victory

 

https://asiatimes.com/2022/11/protests-hasten-chinese-exit-from-zero-covid-policy/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rkbabang]

On 11/28/2022 at 6:26 AM, Spekulatius said:

There are US/western lockdowns  and there are Chinese lockdowns. Compared to chinese lockdowns , the western lockdowns are child’s play. Having to wear a mask in a grocery store is not a lockdown, Imo.
Then there is the duration. US was eased in summer 2020 and mostly over in spring/summer 2021 when the vaccine was widely available. China still doesn’t have a vaccine that works and apparently plans to go on indefinitely.

 

Does the US have a vaccine that works?   I've been vaxed and boosted and I still got COVID.   My neighbors have been triple boosted and still got COVID.  Everyone I know that has caught it in the last year has had multiple vaccines.  Except for my unvaccinated 71 year old parents who were less sick than my wife and I when they caught it.  I disagree that the US has a vaccine that "works".

 

 

Edited November 29, 2022 by rkbabang

[boilermaker75]

14 minutes ago, rkbabang said:

 

Does the US have a vaccine that works?   I've been vaxed and boosted and I still got COVID.   My neighbors have been triple boosted and still got COVID.  Everyone I know that has caught it in the last year has had multiple vaccines.  Except for my unvaccinated 71 year old parents who were less sick than my wife and I when they caught it.  I disagree that the US has a vaccine that "works".

 

 

 

I have been vaccinated, boosted three times, and I am 69 years old. I'm in a room with 50 college students three times a week. I have students next to me in my office all the time. Almost no one wearing a mask for at least a year. As far as I know I have not gotten COVID. (I imagine I could have had it and no symptoms.) Isn't the big difference with those who have been vaccinated that they are not dying or even needing to be hospitalized?

 

Edit: Just about everyone on campus has been vaccinated. I have been made aware of two students who had COVID this semester and would be missing class. There might be more who have not gotten tested but I get the feeling that most have been conscientious about it.

Edited November 29, 2022 by boilermaker75

[rkbabang]

14 hours ago, Gregmal said:

Aint it funny how folks now "stand with Chinese protesters", but were cool with Canadian truckers having their rights trampled?

 

+1 and so many forget the extent to which that took place.  Credit card and paypal donations to the truckers weren't allowed to go through. Another reason that Bitcoin isn't going anywhere.  You're government isn't totalitarian, until it is.

[Spekulatius]

15 minutes ago, boilermaker75 said:

 

I have been vaccinated, boosted three times, and I am 69 years old. I'm in a room with 50 college students three times a week. I have students next to me in my office all the time. Almost no one wearing a mask for at least a year. As far as I know I have not gotten COVID. (I imagine I could have had it and no symptoms.) Isn't the big difference with those who have been vaccinated that they are not dying or even needing to be hospitalized?

 

Edit: Just about everyone on campus has been vaccinated. I have been made aware of two students who had COVID this semester and would be missing class. There might be more who have not gotten tested but I get the feeling that most have been conscientious about it.

Most people have gotten COVID-19 at this point but at least for the vaccinated it's just a mostly mild disease for them. This is very different from early on when hospitals were flooded and people actually were dying. 

Of course part of the difference is that treatment options besides the vaccine have improved (blood thinners, antibodies etc) but the vaccine are part of why this is more of a nuisance than a severe health threat now.

 

As for the Chinese vaccine, some countries like Thailand had both the chinese vaccine and Pfizer/Moderna and people there are voting USA USA. Maybe it's all marketing but the efficacy in some studies I have seen for the Chinese vaccine was underwhelming.
 

FWIW, both my wife and I have not gotten COVID-19 at this point but pretty much everyone else who we know did, including our son.

 

I mentioned this before but the Zero COVID-19 at this point is a Chinese communist party ldogma and it does not matter if it makes sense or not from a health point of view, I think. They can do this a long time, until something breaks (which may or may not be the case with the protests right now).

[rkbabang]

14 hours ago, drzola said:

What rights were trespassing truckers parking on non trucking routes in Canada denied Gregmai? I amust be ignorant in my own Country of origin's legal rights here ha.

 

Like having bank accounts frozen?  How quickly people forget that China isn't the only totalitarian regime which freezes the bank accounts of political dissidents.  

https://www.businessinsider.com/trudeau-canada-freeze-bank-accounts-freedom-convoy-truckers-2022-2

 

Edited November 29, 2022 by rkbabang

[Investor20]

57 minutes ago, boilermaker75 said:

 

I have been vaccinated, boosted three times, and I am 69 years old. I'm in a room with 50 college students three times a week. I have students next to me in my office all the time. Almost no one wearing a mask for at least a year. As far as I know I have not gotten COVID. (I imagine I could have had it and no symptoms.) Isn't the big difference with those who have been vaccinated that they are not dying or even needing to be hospitalized?

 

Edit: Just about everyone on campus has been vaccinated. I have been made aware of two students who had COVID this semester and would be missing class. There might be more who have not gotten tested but I get the feeling that most have been conscientious about it.

The problem is the excess mortality today for younger people is more than in 2020. 2020 has least excess deaths of 2020, 2021 and 2022. Below data given for 0-24 for similar trend for 24-44 years too.

 

From USmortality.com 

For 0-24 year olds:

United States reported 64,467 deaths, for the 52 weeks of year 2020 (0-24 years of age). Expected deaths were 60,263. That is an increase of +4,204 deaths (+7.0%).

United States reported 68,264 deaths for the 52 weeks of year 2021 (0-24 years of age). Expected deaths were 59,022. That is an increase of +9,242 deaths (+15.7%).

Year to date, United States reported 56,075 deaths for the 45 weeks of year 2022 (0-24 years of age). Expected deaths were 50,429. That is an increase of +5,646 deaths (+11.2%).

Edited November 29, 2022 by Investor20

[Gregmal]

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/29/twitter-stops-policing-covid-19-misinformation-under-ceo-elon-musk.html

 

See how the media frames this?

 

Whereas the real issue is, wasn't like 90% of the COVID related info and discussion that was popular and spreadable on MSM ultimately found to be wrong? So we've just been cherry picking which info we deem "misinformation", with ZERO real effort to actually focus on what misinformation is. 

[cubsfan]

17 hours ago, Gregmal said:

Restaurant owners weren't allowed to go beyond 25% occupancy. Offices were either forced shut, had occupancy limits thrust upon them or shamed into staying shut. All while the leaches in government still demanded full or even increased taxes be paid. It was a disgrace that half the country is all too quick to forget and move on from. 

Shit - worse than that - the leaches in the government get full pay and work from home for doing nothing basically. These local county & city officials were hardly available by phone. What a scam, they wanted to keep it all going - like a 2 year paid vacation.

[drzola]

The CDn Trucker blockades were an illegal infraction on fellow Businessman Canadians by a bunch of independent rucking Hicks  and was not supported by large trucking Comapnies fyi.

 

https://calgaryherald.com/business/local-business/headaches-grow-for-trucking-sector-as-coutts-blockade-hits-13-days

[rkbabang]

7 minutes ago, drzola said:

The CDn Trucker blockades were an illegal infraction on fellow Businessman Canadians by a bunch of independent rucking Hicks  and was not supported by large trucking Comapnies fyi.

 

https://calgaryherald.com/business/local-business/headaches-grow-for-trucking-sector-as-coutts-blockade-hits-13-days

 

"illegal"  The ruling elite always calls protests illegal.    When you agree with a protest it is a "mostly peaceful protest by people with legitimate complaints" even if it burns down a portion of a city.  When you don't agree with a protest it is a "illegal insurrection by terrorists", even if it is basically a bunch of smiling people walking around a building taking selfies.

 

I'm sure in the eyes of CCP the Hong Kong protests are "illegal" and in the eyes of the government of Iran the Iranian protests are "illegal".   It's all tribalism.  When your tribe agrees they are freedom fighters, when your tribe doesn't agree they are terrorists and criminals.    I applaud anyone protesting their government whether it be BLM, the Jan 6th protesters, the Canadian truckers, or people in Hong Kong, China or Iran.   Governments are the real criminals and "illegal" just means something the real criminals don't like.

 

[cubsfan]

^^^ Hey , it's the same here in America - and getting worse by the day.

[boilermaker75]

1 hour ago, cubsfan said:

Shit - worse than that - the leaches in the government get full pay and work from home for doing nothing basically. These local county & city officials were hardly available by phone. What a scam, they wanted to keep it all going - like a 2 year paid vacation.

 

It took my daughter over 6 months to get building permits for a condo remodel in West Hollywood during covid. She might still not have them but the former mayor of West Hollywood lives in her complex and helped her. 

[Spekulatius]

2 minutes ago, boilermaker75 said:

 

It took my daughter over 6 months to get building permits for a condo remodel in West Hollywood during covid. She might still not have them but the former mayor of West Hollywood lives in her complex and helped her. 

Yeah, one of my sons teachers (Spanish) was zoom "teaching" from his hang math from what looks like a beach. it definitely wasn't a zoom background. Probably sipping margaritas too.

 

But that doesn't change the fact that the epidemic is long over here (or even Europe) since mid 2021 and in China they keep fumbling along.

 

Autocrats can do their non-sense for a long time, until, they die of natural or unnatural causes. At least Democracies have elections and tend to get rid of lunacies eventually.

[Jaygo]

37 minutes ago, drzola said:

The CDn Trucker blockades were an illegal infraction on fellow Businessman Canadians by a bunch of independent rucking Hicks  and was not supported by large trucking Comapnies fyi.

 

https://calgaryherald.com/business/local-business/headaches-grow-for-trucking-sector-as-coutts-blockade-hits-13-days

 

You sir are an embarrassment. I hope in your lifetime you are not treated like shit and discriminated against. But many of your fellow Canadians were, myself included. The "truckers" had a lot of support from other human beings desperate for their liberty. This was evident by the thousands of people gathered on highway overpasses across the country cheering them on, and the the amount of money raised in support. The protests were peaceful and the extreme nature of the protest was justified since the government overreach was also extreme. 

 

Your calling other people hicks shows you are clueless, and all together completely unsympathetic to other peoples plight. My guess is you think you are shrewd, educated and all together on a higher level than a man who drives a truck for a living. 

 

Our government turned from reasonable to tyrants in a matter of months. Every Canadian, you included, had their rights taken away and you seem blind to that. 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Jaygo
spelling

[drzola]

Guess all you want JAYGO but, maybe count to ten before your reptile  brain responds in the future maybe eh?

[Jaygo]

More insults...well played

[Dinar]

12 minutes ago, drzola said:

Guess all you want JAYGO but, maybe count to ten before your reptile  brain responds in the future maybe eh?

May be you should take your insults to another website.    

[drzola]

Comments by Norman Levine on twitter today fyi folks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Norman Levine

 

@levinepmc

·

4m

 

I have to agree with Jason Kenney. What started off as legitimate protest by truckers over a mask mandate that singled them out got taken over by a bunch of ultra-radical wackos with a whole different agenda. I disagree with Trudeau for invoking the EA but the convoy was hijacked

[Gamecock-YT]

Protests going to lead to a spread of the virus only for all the protestors to go home for a relatively early Lunar New Year in January and spread it amongst the elderly. 

[Xerxes]

Very awkward

 

 

[crs223]

FYI there are some weird cuts in the video.  it may have been edited to cause the exchange to look different than it actually was.

 

For comparison, watch this clip (a hilarious sketch for those of us old enough to know GWB) starting at 2:20:

 

 

 

[Luke]

China investing triple the amount of the Chips Act for semi development. As i see it this is a straight trade war act from the US trying to impair growth and competition for the global economy. Why cant China order EUV tools from ASML? Because of US national security? Where did china attack the US? The us has been on an imperial move, establishing naval bases all around east asia because of the ,,danger of china,,. 

 

Imagine if China establishes naval bases close to US, around the Caribbean. They would get nuked away

 

It is clear that the US fears china as a competitor for global domination. China is on their way to establish themselves in great ways to grow their country, investing in infrastructure all over the world etc. We see chinese imperialism happening every day. The US does the same in every way, maybe they are smarter in hiding it but i dont see big differences. Media biases and what not. 

 

Imagine if china opens up to the world, their businesses going global. The S&P 500 wouldnt outperform so hard anymore. Right now we saw how much chinese ETFs crashed. Imagine china producing chips, dram etc with EUV tools. Intel, Micron, AMD would all get severe competition. 

 

Amazon vs Alibaba. We have to big nations with huge great tech players. One of these nations is not allowed to play.