Coronavirus and General O/T Thread #2

[SniperHF]

 

[Ezekial]

5 bucks says your hospital is near empty.

My friend's girlfriend is a nurse and a month ago she said the pandemic seems overblown because her hospital "only has 4 cases being treated"
I told her that if every hospital in America "only had 4 cases" there would be over 24k hospitalizations nationwide - which is a lot for 1 time. I talked to her last week and she said that they have been seeing more and more ICU cases every week since we last talked.

(This is Illinois, though, not Michigan)

 

[RabidBadger]

Nah, just trying to wake you from your slumber. Thank me later. Or don't

Okay, here we go. Please wake me from my slumber. What am I missing wearing a mask and maintaining a 6 ft. distance from people...all the while living a fairly normal life? Don't get me wrong, I know people are suffering financially from this and I'm well aware many of them got a screw-job with some of the shut downs.

Please do elucidate what I, and everyone should be doing differently?

Spoiler alert: I work for UM medicine and get frequent communiques from from the dean of the medical school. I do speak with doctors, I do know what hospital capacity is, I do speak with investigators involved with covid studies. In fact, I could get in on a zoom meeting with the head of the university (who is a M.D.).

What do you have to offer that these accomplished individuals have not?

 

[Winger98]

Yes that all sounds delicious. Ever since I moved back to MI from Ohio I've really missed Quaker Steak and Lube. Anyone ever been? What say you @Winger98?

Actually, hey @Konnan511, looks like you got one of those near you in Clearwater, FL, eh?

Quaker Steak and Lube has had good food when I've been there, but their service just keeps getting worse. I've sat there for 30+ minutes at a time without seeing a waitress, getting our food, placing our orders, etc. If it happened once or if it happened at the same restaurant, okay, it happens and some places are just poorly ran. It's been at different places and different times, though. Really like the food, so the service was really disappointing. Especially since the first couple of times I went to one, it was fantastic all around. Haven't been to one in a couple of years now, though.

 

[Leadzedder]

Well, I guess I can't come in with a big stick, stir the pot and just bounce. Sorry Bench.

How many doctors and nurses are you talking to? How full is your local hospital?

None, unsure. I spend close to zero time concerned with Covid. I've removed it from things I'm concerned about. Truth is if we didn't have media telling us about it, I doubt anyone would know. Bad flu season maybe.

If there was social engineering and a "plan to steer the massses"... it was going on already, bucko. It's been going on for years and years and years and years. People in power like to hold onto that power and the best way of that is to obfuscate the truth and sow division.

There is a time to question the narrative and there is a time to play along with the narrative. Like the protests against police brutality that happened in the summer this year? Those shouldn't have happened for the very risk of maintaining the spread.

And also... this is where you lose the message. *ALL* of the global institutes are lying?

There is no way on planet Earth that you could convince all countries to play along and maintain a false narrative that wouldn't fall apart within days

When the White House took the reporting from the CDC, I didn't trust those numbers. When literally every agency in the known world is kicking out similar numbers? Sorry, that's not some cabal cooking the books.

Steering the masses... going on for eons.... now we're talking.

I'm with ya. That should be common knowledge. The plandemic is only one tentacle but it's the one that locked down the world this year. And has us all walking around with bandanas on our faces scared of other humans. Old power. Division tactics. Seems you're half way there.

Sweeney, for argument sake replace the word covid with flu and think about how silly that is. I don't need a lesson on covid. I don't need to be told all the things that are repeated at nauseam about it. Oh, it's novel like every strain, every year. Compare it to H1N1 if need be. The reaction to Covid is ridiculous. I understand it's origin, I have a vague understanding of how it acts and more importantly I know the purpose. Among other things, it was put in place to promote mail in voting fraud. Giggle at that if you choose, but that's the truth.

About all global institutes... correct me if I'm wrong but power structures / organizations are usually in the form of a pyramid. The top point is small. Medical. Finance. Intelligence. Anything. The foot soldiers at the bottom aren't the decision makers. Directives, in this example, come from the WHO (World Heath Organization) and the CDC. WHO is a global org at higher up the pyramid than your country / county / city. They give the marching orders. That's how you get all your countries in line. Look into who owns the WHO. What else do they own? Yeah, pretty much everything. Other organizations that feed info back to them? WHO funding (and Planned Parenthood) lost US funding recently. I wonder why.

The "endgame" of conspiracy theories is the part I don't understand. Let's pretend for a second that there really is one or more entities bent on subjugating the masses via misinformation, deception, and various other nefarious activities. And let's also say that said plot is uncovered. And the truth is shared throughout the world.

Is the goal to save the planet via internet message board posts? Or to then have all those riled up individuals stand in the street in protest, which will then somehow undo the control of these mysterious powerful entities?

If there is an effort to take control of the world, and it's effective enough to do things like rig a presidential election or fabricate a global pandemic...whether I or dozens of others or even millions of others get upset about it, it's still happening.

I'm not going to live my life in fear of what might be happening behind the curtain. If that makes me a sheeple or whatever term people want to use, then so be it. But I'm going to keep my family as safe and healthy as I reasonably can, treat others the way I'd like to be treated, and let the rest fall where it may, because that's the extent of my responsibility.

Couple thoughts...
1. Inactivity (ignoring) has brought us 2020. To continue to ignore things will only bring a worse future. My kids. Their kids, etc.
2. And you say, save the planet via internet message boards... I'm more of a reader than a typer but if everyone knew of certain things, certain things would cease to exist.
3. Can't argue with your last bit. The choice to know is personal. Every one has their bubble. If you're content with it, continue on. But I like knowing. Not scared at all. Empowered.

Why are people responding to these people? Back in my day we called them trolls. We need to talk about more serious things on this thread.

Can we all agree there is no such thing as a boneless wing? They are all chicken nuggies.

These people? Trolls? Dude, I've been reading these guys / gals posts for 10 plus years. I don't jump in often, as I don't have much to add. Now, I do. If labeling someone a troll, that has a different perspective, then that's a pretty small way of thinking.

 

[Bench]

The reaction to Covid is ridiculous. I understand it's origin, I have a vague understanding of how it acts and more importantly I know the purpose. Among other things, it was put in place to promote mail in voting fraud. Giggle at that if you choose, but that's the truth.

You're just a tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist. And not the fun kind like Agent Mulder looking for aliens, but the dangerous kind that deals in misinformation. Yes, I know, you think you're the woke one and the rest of us are blind. But it's not that. At all. Which is the richest irony. You're beyond help. And you've come out of your white Morpheus safe space to ruin a perfectly good off-topic thread.

 

[Leadzedder]

One of us is wrong. If you think that's me, that's ok.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

No, I'm done laughing at conspiracy theorists. I'm not giggling about it. I am very concerned that wild speculation has found some purchase in the global psyche.

 

[jkutswings]

One of us is wrong. If you think that's me, that's ok.

You've stated, "None, unsure. I spend close to zero time concerned with Covid. I've removed it from things I'm concerned about." As in, you admit you have zero direct information to base your claims upon.

Pretend for a moment that you and I are having a debate about oral hygiene. And your brother is a dentist, and I have no related experience on the subject.

Now imagine that your suggestion to maintain healthy teeth and gums is to brush and floss regularly. And my strategy is to drink bleach, because that's a powerful oxidizer that will whiten anything it touches.

If I shout my theory from the rooftops, I'm doing much more than providing a different way of looking at things. I'm trying to plant an idea in people's heads that will most definitely cause them bodily harm (perhaps death) if they act upon it.

Debate on who the Wings should draft or trade or hire or fire until the cows come home. We can agree or disagree and nobody gets hurt. But to contradict the very tenets of science and the overwhelming majority of doctors and nurses and infectious disease researchers and the public who have actually interacted with those who have had COVID-19? You're messing with the sanctity of human life.

COVID-19 is not the flu. Influenza does not occasionally cause long term problems with the heart or brain or kidneys or other major organs. Research "covid long haulers" and tell me that's just the flu. Now that doesn't mean these drastic symptoms happen often, or that people need to be terrified of their own shadow and never leave their house. But neither fear nor ignorance is going to make this very real medical phenomenon go away.

EDIT: Here's a recent article from the editor in chief of the Harvard Health Letter (a doctor) about long term effects of COVID-19:

The tragedy of the post-COVID "long haulers" - Harvard Health Blog

 

[Ricelund]

Wow, this global pandemic was orchestrated by the Deep State to remove the president from office? What a unique, well-informed take. It must’ve taken lots of research to free your mind. What’s especially amazing about this take is I could log in to literally any social media platform and find the same take being circulated by other “free thinkers” in minutes. That’s how suppressed this narrative is!

I saw a quote recently that I think sums this phenomenon up well:

In every era, there are individuals who are prone to question received narratives and ideals, and in every era, such thinkers bifurcate. There are those who use that questioning spirit to seek out truths with integrity and rigor, and others who allow themselves to be snowed by propaganda, to enter harmful, self-serving orbits of errant belief. And, in every era, the latter confuse themselves with the former.

What do you have to offer that these accomplished individuals have not?

He reads/watches some combination of Breitbart, OAN, InfoWars, Project Veritas, Newsmax, etc. and thinks he’s learning about some truth that’s being hidden from the rest of the sheeple. It’s an alluring feeling. It’s the same reason yoga moms are getting sucked into QAnon on Facebook.

I’ve posted this article about conspiracies a few times in this thread - it’s really worth reading for those that haven’t yet: Welcome to the era of the Great Disillusionment

 

[jkutswings]

I’ve posted this article about conspiracies a few times in this thread - it’s really worth reading for those that haven’t yet: Welcome to the era of the Great Disillusionment

The article makes some good points, and I agree with at least some of the overall message. But while greater accountability is sorely needed, I don't see any universe where an overhaul results in a new system - of government, or of information sharing - where profit does not play a role at all.

But I'm definitely in favor of consequences for spreading information that is independently verified to be false. That's gone from being a problem with debatable magnitude to now being a constant danger.

 

[FabricDetails]

Anyone shopping for a new cell phone like me?

My phone is almost 6 years old, haha. It's definitely time to upgrade.

 

[Leadzedder]

I'll bump this in a year or two so we can all laugh at the crazy conspiracy guy.

Stay safe.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Anyone shopping for a new cell phone like me?

My phone is almost 6 years old, haha. It's definitely time to upgrade.

Nope. Perk of job. They pay for the bill and the replacement. We did just alter our contract, I think due to Rona, that we just get them replaced if non-functional, not on a 10 month time frame. On an Iphone X for foreseeable future.

 

[Claypool]

But I'm definitely in favor of consequences for spreading information that is independently verified to be false.

There are plenty of health experts that say COVID isn't that serious and research that suggests masks aren't making much of a difference. However, the media will go lengths to discredit these claims and how information scrubbed from YouTube and Twitter.

 

[jkutswings]

There are plenty of health experts that say COVID isn't that serious and research that suggests masks aren't making much of a difference. However, the media will go lengths to discredit these claims and how information scrubbed from YouTube and Twitter.

I'd say the third leading cause of death in the US (after heart disease and cancer) deserves more consideration than, "isn't that serious".

Are there often comorbidities? Yes. But there are often comorbidities with heart disease, cancer, and other causes of death as well.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Anyone shopping for a new cell phone like me?

My phone is almost 6 years old, haha. It's definitely time to upgrade.

Apple or Android?

 

[FabricDetails]

Nope. Perk of job. They pay for the bill and the replacement. We did just alter our contract, I think due to Rona, that we just get them replaced if non-functional, not on a 10 month time frame. On an Iphone X for foreseeable future.

Nice. Not sure how I'd feel about that. I'd kind of want work out of my phone even though that doesn't happen 100%.

Apple or Android?

Android. I'm looking at mid-tier options. "Flagship killers," apparently is the label assigned to the ones I've been browsing. It just seems like they haven't quite yet figured out how to make phones use 5G effectively so I'm not quite going nuts over all those 5G phones. I'm thinking a 2-3 year phone for the time being (which is kind of what they're built for anyways it seems).

 

[Claypool]

I'd say the third leading cause of death in the US (after heart disease and cancer) deserves more consideration than, "isn't that serious".

If something has a 99.9% survival rate, I would classify that as not that serious. Since we're locking down the country (again) instead of protecting the most vulnerable, let's lower speed limits significantly, ban fast food and soda, ban the sale of tobacco, and ban the sale of alcohol. Think of all the lives we'll save.

 

[jkutswings]

If something has a 99.9% survival rate, I would classify that as not that serious. Since we're locking down the country (again) instead of protecting the most vulnerable, let's lower speed limits significantly, ban fast food and soda, ban the sale of tobacco, and ban the sale of alcohol. Think of all the lives we'll save.

Somebody could take a sledgehammer to my arm, and I might have 99.9% odds of surviving. It doesn't require death to make a situation serious. And there likely should be at least some reform to nutritional guidelines in this country, so good idea there.

You make it sound like nobody on the planet is allowed to leave their bedroom just because a handful of people have the sniffles. I feel bad for the businesses that are struggling or even going bankrupt - I agree that more thought and resources are needed to address that issue - but the basic tenets of this situation (mask up, social distance) are a very minor inconvenience.

Or do you have a detailed strategy for, "protecting the most vulnerable"? That's a conversation worth having, as opposed to just railing against what is.

 

[Wingsfan 4 life]

Meanwhile, in Canada.........


Now Canada Has Road Signs Telling People Not to Let Moose Lick Their Cars

 

[Wingsfan 4 life]

Anyone shopping for a new cell phone like me?

My phone is almost 6 years old, haha. It's definitely time to upgrade.

Been occasionally looking whenever I pass a kiosk, but unless my phone completely conks out beforehand, probably won't actually commit to a new one until sometime in the new year.

Don't use it for work, so as long as I can still do the basic smartphone stuff without wanting to throw it into rush hour traffic out of frustration(not at that point yet, but definitely getting there), I'm good.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Anyone shopping for a new cell phone like me?

My phone is almost 6 years old, haha. It's definitely time to upgrade.

I got the iPhone SE2 earlier this year. Cheap, smaller screen which I like, and really good processor. It should be good for 5 years easy.

 

[The Zermanator]

I'll bump this in a year or two so we can all laugh at the crazy conspiracy guy.

Stay safe.

Nobody's going to laugh because there's nothing funny about it. Over 1/4 million Americans have died of it in less than a year, 1.4 million worldwide. There is currently a 9/11s worth of casualties in the US every 2 days or so.

Just because something is a joke (which is what I would call the reaction to COVID from people like yourself, a pathetic joke), doesn't mean it's funny. Once the dust settles on this era I sincerely hope you and your ilk will not dare bring it up even in jest, because you'll be too embarrassed and preoccupied with pretending you were never one of the absolute fools who decided to stick their head in the sand and pretend there wasn't a problem during a deadly global pandemic, all so they could pretend they weren't 'one of the sheep'. What about the countless doctors and health care professionals, the same you would go to if you ever become seriously ill, saying it's a serious issue and needs to be dealt with as such? Are they sheep too? Yeah I'm sure the Einsteins who are being socially conditioned with social media disinformation know what's really going on maaaan, not the medical professionals who spent years and years to achieve even basic mastery of their profession.

We should really bring back tar and feathers.

 

[The Zermanator]

If something has a 99.9% survival rate, I would classify that as not that serious. Since we're locking down the country (again) instead of protecting the most vulnerable, let's lower speed limits significantly, ban fast food and soda, ban the sale of tobacco, and ban the sale of alcohol. Think of all the lives we'll save.

Few points on this:
1. What is your qualification for saying it's not serious at 99.9% survival rate, when that flies in the face of what top medical professionals are invariably saying?
2. Regardless of what the survival rate of COVID is, if the emergency rooms and ICUs are at capacity with COVID patients, and you come in with some other condition necessitating intensive care, guess who's shit out of luck?
3. You can't ban alcohol because then all the alcoholics would be in the hospital suffering from withdrawal. Did you not think of that? Perhaps that's why these things should be left to the professionals and the rest of us should just shut our big narcissistic mouths and heed their advice.