Interesting stuff

Is this peak Identity Politics?

no skin off my nose really but I could see Bolt and co getting apoplectic.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-25/menstruation-trans-people-how-fix...

it's kinda out of control a bit.

No this story is peak Identity Politics, absolute gold

Gotta hand it to you Indo, that was worthwhile.

So I was at work last night - pretty diverse workplace, all manner of mild physical and mental disabilities, all ages, openly gay workers and a few different cultural backgrounds, including this one relatively new girl from Kenya called Fiona who is black, as in, very black
So we’re sitting in the staff room and person A says, who’s doing such and such role tonight, and someone else says Fiona’s doing it.
Person A then asks, who’s Fiona.

Well you could have heard a pin drop, apart from the noise of the grinding of cogs in peoples brains.
It was hilarious.
You could see their brains working - “well, Fiona’s that black girl, I mean, that’s by far the most obvious way to describe her but, umm, I’m not sure I can say that...”

So of course I said, she’s the black girl.
And of course there were audible gasps and nervous titters and all of a sudden I’m a racist.

Joe Rogan is right, these people are like piranhas, they’ll turn on you and attack you at the drop of a hat, slander you and throw you under the bus without discussion or right of reply.
Peak sanctimony.

Wow!

Anyway, here's a quandary - call it a hypothetical - about the Chinese virus.

Would you travel to the US, say Oahu, right now without travel insurance that covers any Chinese virus eventualities?

Enquirings minds and all that.

Lennie bruce the (late) jewish anarchic comedian used to call himself a kike, and other audience members offensive racial terms, (yes the n word) on the principle offensive words lose their meaning if in common parlance. I always thought it made sense but he would be "cancelled", no-platformed and probably jailed for that viewpoint today

It's funny with the words black and white when describing skin colour, it's cool to use white, but even i feel kind of uncomfortable with the word black, not sure why, i always try to use coloured (which is kind of weird description when you think of it) i guess you could say ebony but that kind of sounds very porn like, or even dark or light skin and better still using complexion instead of skin, dark compextion instead of dark skin.

It's interesting in Indonesia they tend to say chocolate instead of brown when describing skin colour, but i think that's just because brown in Bahasa Indonesia is cokolat (pronounced chocolate)

It's actually kind of weird in that regard im really conscious of being politically correct, i would have said the girl with Kenyan of African heritage, id even avoid saying from Kenya/Africa incase she was born here or elsewhere. .

I wonder how those of darker skin tones think of these things, two of my wife's good friends are from PNG and Africa both very dark skin but not sure id feel comfortable using them, she has two friends named Julie so when talking of the friend Julie from PNG she says black Julie, but im guessing that's not a description she uses openly to her.

Yeah I think I get your point Blowin, it’s very calculated and passive aggressive at times.
You can be pretty nasty and it’s ok and then you can be totally supportive and positive and use the “wrong” designated word and you’re crucified.
Funny thing is, the young “cool” clique at this place with the slightly fetishised gay guy and gay girl (oh we’re ever so special) don’t like her and snub her, so figure that one out.

Re: the virus and Oahu, yes, I'm leaning towards it being a potential financial disaster at least, let alone any health concerns. Fucking US health system! Insurance companies have barred any cover for the virus in any capacity since the end of January.

I'd like to hear of any that haven't, people!

Oahu is usually good for surfing. You should try it. It can be quite relaxing as well as invigorating for the spirit.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/how-australia-defied-global-heal...

This one was really good!

""With the ongoing China travel ban, I'm very sympathetic about the impact on tourism and farmers, but I'm much less so with the universities," he began. "Because they have been warned for years that they are over-reliant on the Chinese market, and for years they've reassured us that it was all fine, and that if anything happened they'd be able to withstand it. They rode the cycle up, now they can ride the cycle down."

ie you've made your bed, now lie in it. Glad there was testicular fortitude at such high levels.

There's also a very good description of how the chief medical officers guide policy without it being subject to political interference in the formative stages:

"Australia's group of state and federal medical officers, convening daily, usually by phone hook-up, is the peak point of the pure medical advice, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC). No politicians sit in on their meetings.

From there, the medical advice goes to the policymakers in the National Security Committee of the federal cabinet, and this is where the politicians get involved. The NSC is chaired by the Prime Minister. This is where decisions are made and action taken. Or not.

The medical officers' "pandemic" call was a big moment. For a start, they were way ahead of the UN body that is supposedly the lead global agency on international health emergencies, the Geneva-based World Health Organisation.

Why were the Australians ahead of the world? For a very simple reason. They don't trust the WHO. The information from multiple international sources is that the WHO is under intense pressure from the Chinese government, and succumbing to it."

Great article and worth a read. Well done chief medical officers! Well done Govt for listening!

"The political capture of the WHO means, in effect, that it's every country for itself. It also underlines the central importance of keeping politics and other extraneous pressures out of the decision-making processes on a medical matter. "

"The Australian system for dealing with communicable diseases is less prone to politics. Morrison hid from the bushfires; he had no such option on the coronavirus. The Chief Medical Officer, Murphy, does not need the government's permission to invoke the Biosecurity Act. He informed Health Minister Greg Hunt on January 20 that he was triggering the act, automatically setting in train a pre-ordained process of monitoring and advice."

from above article

The EU may be doing that but at least there was Brexit :)

& Davetherave from post on Schumann resonances above, the best I can find is:

https://www.heartmath.org/gci/gcms/live-data/spectrogram-calendar/
https://www.heartmath.org/gci/gcms/live-data/gcms-magnetometer/

looks pretty quiet on 27/2 though there was a big spike in intensity 22-23/2. We are closest to region 005

Do you have a better source?
The rest of you feel free to regard it as woo

Yep. I reckon we're in the reset, it's begun. The Great Reset that all the finance sites have been murmuring on for about 10 years now. It's as if 2020 came and the switch was flicked. Pandemic steals the limelight, so all the aims and motives normally supressed now accelerate. Finance equivalent of it all has been discussed for some time, be ready.
This will descend into chaos. Bet those people don't get into Hungary or Poland... Watch for Turkey to try to annex a whole heap of Syria too.

And Andy M FRIDAY, 28 FEB 2020 at 4:27PM
your questions, answer, why not? If so you will have plenty around you, nothing wrong with that :)

Government working as it should.

After listening to Scott Morrisons press conference there did seem to be an emphasis on early decisions and working with the state agencies and pointing out just how proactive the government is this time around.

Also listening to bureaucrats for a change, a far cry from all the rorts, water buybacks, regional grants etc. that relied on advice from vested interests and political decisions.

Short memories, all is forgiven?

Cant remember if this has ben posted before, but not a bad watch

Corona virus development on the Goldy with possibly 40 people exposed and a travel ban on incoming people from Iran..ABC News

?

20% of the Amazon gone and the place is not even a national park.
https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/1668117059746

Coronakarma.
Is it time to close our borders.
It's a YES from me.

Speaking of 'closed borders', and with no insurance companies touching COVID-19 with a barge pole since the end of Jan, it all makes for an interesting Indo season for the surfing community this year, yes?

""With the ongoing China travel ban, I'm very sympathetic about the impact on tourism and farmers, but I'm much less so with the universities," he began. "Because they have been warned for years that they are over-reliant on the Chinese market, and for years they've reassured us that it was all fine, and that if anything happened they'd be able to withstand it. They rode the cycle up, now they can ride the cycle down."

ie you've made your bed, now lie in it. Glad there was testicular fortitude at such high levels.

[END QUOTE]

So why have a go at the unis but not the tourism industry or farmers? All are exporters. The universities have been bled dry by the government and told to fund themselves. They've gone ahead and done it, setting up a highly successful export market that is currently dominated by Chinese students (but not solely, and different nationalities peak and trough over time in various disciplines).

So why is it that the tourism sector and farmers are not considered "over-reliant on the Chinese market", but the unis are? Either all can suck it up (i.e. "ride the cycle down") or all deserve sympathy/support.

"The universities have been bled dry by the government and told to fund themselves. They've gone ahead and done it, setting up a highly successful export market that is currently dominated by Chinese students (but not solely, and different nationalities peak and trough over time in various disciplines)."

Absolutely. And it has been going on since the Howard era. And let's not forget it was his government that changed policy settings to encourage and facilitate this overseas-student-as-cash-cow. Full fee payment. Various visa enticements. At the same time slashing funding.

And it all unravels and comes undone? Surprise!

As for COVID-19, again let me reiterate, travel insurance cannot be obtained now that covers any eventualities - lockdowns, flight disruptions, medical treatment etc etc - pertaining to it.

Whatever country you are travelling to.

If anyone knows any different, let me know.

Yeah Indonesia is only denying any cases because if it tells the truth it will really be a big blow to tourism in Bali especially if there is cases in Bali that is very likely.

Surely sooner or latter the truth will have to come out though numbers will build up too big not too.

Indonesia would be damaging and dangerous if you were there and actually contracted the virus.

Oahu, say, would be destructive economically if you got stuck there. And bankruptcy beckons if you end up in hospital!

Either way, with no travel insurance cover, it's a very, very risky business to go anywhere overseas right now!

Please someone, anyone, change my mind!

"We [Australia] need to be thinking about tripling the ED [emergency department] capacity and doubling the ICU [intensive care unit] capacity. And the staff to run these things are not available at the moment.”

I’m not expecting a huge death toll but I’m foreseeing pretty serious disruptions.

https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2020-03-01/australia-records-first-corona...

WA?

Well...

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/janelytvynenko/police-spreading-fal...

...you do the meth.

Andy M: "I’m not expecting a huge death toll but I’m foreseeing pretty serious disruptions."

Based on a population of 25,000,000 and a mortality rate of 2%, if everyone in Oz were infected (highly, highly unlikely I'm guessing but I'm no medico), the death toll would be in the order of half a million people.

Let's try something that's hopefully a bit more realistic.

"In Australia, influenza on average causes 3,500 deaths, about 18,000 hospitalisations and 300,000 GP consultations each year."
- http://www.isg.org.au/index.php/clinical-information/influenza-fast-facts-/

If we extrapolate from the 300,000 GP visits for the flu, and estimate that 600,000 people located in Australia will get COVID 19, and run with the 2% mortality rate, that would be 12,000 deaths.

Still wild guesses but the government understandably won't put out any estimates.

*edited to up the estimate of potential number of infections

how many cases so far in Aus?

https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov...

As at 06:30 hrs on 1 March 2020, we have 26 confirmed cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Australia

9 in Queensland
4 in New South Wales
8 in Victoria
3 in South Australia
2 in Western Australia

15 of these cases are reported to have recovered. The remaining cases are in a stable condition.

10 cases are associated with the Diamond Princess repatriation flight from Japan.

9 of these people have returned to their home states for medical treatment. The most recent case will return to their home state today.

1 of these people has sadly died.

Hey ID, I’m with you on that - I think there is certainly an element of national self-interest for a tourism dependent nation. There is also questionable capacity to actually diagnose covid19 and to be able to pass that information to a central authority. Places like Indo, PNG etc will have a bunch of cases under the radar.

“40% of the country’s workforce could be sidelined by illness or caring for family members. Australia’s GDP could take a 10% hit.”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/27/austr...

That’s a huge disruption.

I still have no idea about deaths.
A lower estimate is that 40% of people will get it, as separate to 40% of workers getting sidelined.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/607000/

That’s 10,000,000 Australians infected, with a death toll of 100,000 using 1% instead of the accepted 2% mortality rate.
Big numbers and hard to imagine.
Maybe I should take back what I said about not expecting a huge death toll.

Andy,

It's just so hard to know. If they close schools, unis etc (which I think is on the cards at some point) and a vaccine is developed and distributed before it kicks in too hard, you could be right and it could be more disruption and not so much death. If none of that happens and it just spreads, or if it spreads widely regardless, we've got the evidence of the Spanish flu early last century to point to what could happen. But still so many unknowns

@ etarip

Yeah i agree to an extent about the under the radar factor.

But that said lot of other similar countries are picking them up, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia.

And quite a few cases in Malaysia and lots of Indonesians go there.

Indonesian quarantine is pretty crap too.

Well, it’s uncontainable and is almost certainly already well established here.
Last thing I heard is that a vaccine is 12-18 months away.

What do they say, hope for the best and prepare for the worst?

I heard Corona beer sales in America have serious tanked because of the virus ... dumb arses

Corona should have gone for my viral marketing campaign, would’ve been sweet.

Head in the sand or what?

Who's going to Indo...say, this year?