Pandemic Diaries Day 62: America on the verge of collapse? Edward Snowden and the truth.

Day 62

7:04 am. Sunday. If you live in southern Ontario you are waking up wondering WTF is going on with this weather??!! Plus 8 at my place. Rain. But at least the birds are chirping like crazy. Compare that picture from a couple posts ago to today’s. That’s how quickly nature has changed the foliage!

Day of reflection. Day of prayer. Especially now. It really does seem like the United States of America is on the verge of collapse. And the murder of George Floyd was the catalyst. Combined with millions of unemployed frustrated citizens, fear of a pandemic that is nowhere near to being brought under control, and finally and probably most importantly, a President who has become totally unhinged. His actions over the last few weeks confirm that Donald Trump wishes to rule by edict. Ignore democracy. My way or the highway. If you do not agree with him, you are an enemy. Twitter is the latest subject of his wrath. In trying to do a public service, posting warnings about fact checking on his tweet like they do with any erroneous and spurious tweets, they have unleashed another maelstrom of madness by Trump. Now he threatens the very agency which has allowed him to spread his hateful and outrageous messaging to the world. Cities are burning. Protests show no signs of abating. Police and military presence is getting stronger by the day throughout America. God help us all.

I spent a couple hours last night watching the end of Joe Rogan’s dialogue with Edward Snowden. Snowden is the person who released a flood of classified information to the world, unmasking the way US agencies like the CIA and NSA collect information on everybody. Illegally. I highly recommend you take the time to listen to this man. It will change your perception of what he did and why he did it. Snowden is not a traitor. He deserves commendation and support for showing the deep state of America’s surveillance on its own citizens. Scary stuff. I’m going to buy his book ‘Permanent Record’ which goes into detail about this issue. This is not conspiracy stuff, it is real!

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada will invest C$30 million ($21.8 million) to enable its provinces and territories to promote holidays in their “own back yard” because of the closure of the country’s borders due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Destination Canada, the country’s national marketing body which usually focuses on luring international visitors, is due to announce the new funding later on Sunday, according to a statement seen by Reuters before its official release. (ed: What a pittance. We dole out $billions in other pandemic assistance programs and can only throw a little bone at the industry which is in peril of total collapse.)

Another night of unrest in every corner of the United States left charred and shattered landscapes in dozens of cities Sunday as years of festering frustrations over the mistreatment of African Americans at the hands of police boiled over in expressions of rage met with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Cars and businesses were torched, the words “I can’t breathe” were spray-painted on buildings, a fire in a trash bin burned near the gates of the White House, and thousands marched peacefully through city streets to protest the death of George Floyd. (ed: It is a dangerous and scary time in America. And because of the situation in USA, it is scary and dangerous for the rest of the world. Look at the signals China is sending out now! With it’s greatest adversary now in turmoil, it’s only a matter of time before China strikes at Taiwan or elsewhere.)

Brazil registered a record 33,274 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, its health ministry said, raising the total to 498,440 in a country with one of the world’s worst outbreaks. The death toll in Brazil from Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, increased to 28,834, with 956 new deaths in the last 24 hours, the ministry said. (ed: Sadly, the Brazilian people are now paying for the ignorance and stupidity of their leader Bolsonaro. Sound familiar?)

In a dramatic pivot, US president Donald Trump has postponed the Group of Seven summit that he wanted to hold in June. He will also expand the list of countries invited to attend the rescheduled event to include Australia, Russia, South Korea and India. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One during his return to Washington from Cape Canaveral in Florida, Trump said the G7 in its current format was a “very outdated group of countries. (ed: Of all the times this meeting should proceed, it is now. The world is in crisis. I do however agree with expanding the group to include those other nations. Hard to ignore 1.5 billion people.)

The world has passed the milestone of six million confirmed coronavirus cases, with 6,048,384 confirmed infections worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. The US is the worst-affected country in terms of cases and deaths, with 1,769,776 infections and 103,685 fatalities. (ed: mind numbing statistics.)

And so I leave you for another day! If you have some greater being to which you look for direction and solace then pray today.

Read Full Post »

Pandemic Diaries: Day 61 Some newspaper columnists just don’t get it.

Day 61

2:18 pm. 19C now, going down to 6 tonight. Stock market weather continues. Nice breeze with occasional sunshine peeking out from the clouds.

Why an I writing in the afternoon? I just finished reading a National Post column and it sparked some anger. Here’s why.

Howard Levitt, an employment lawyer who I usually enjoy reading, wrote a column today trumpeting his recent purchase of a Kent Monkman painting. Monkman is a Canadian Cree artist who has risen in prominence. His highly satirical art makes fun of all things Canadian, particularly our political class. Here’s the paragraph that pissed me off:

“I called Monkman, who I know, and whose large paintings invariably cost six figures, hoping for a deal. Unfortunately none was to be had. If anything, the scandal has increased the Cree artist’s already heady prominence, adding a highlight of notoriety.”

Here we are, living in a time when the vast majority of Canadians, hell, of mankind, is precariously hanging onto what they have, desperately trying to find the cash to survive thru this extended lock-down, and Howard Levitt has the audacity to brag about his six figure purchase of a piece of art! Put a little more thought into your column next time Howard. The rest of us could care less about your surfeit of wealth and how you can readily buy six figure art work! You breathe rarefied air and this column reinforces the perception that there is a chasm between the haves and have nots in our society. So bragging about your frivolous art purchase at a time when unemployment is at record highs and we are on the precipice of a dismal abyss is not what one would expect to hear from an employment lawyer. I’ll chalk it up to an uncharacteristic lack of judgment as your euphoria clouded your sensibility.

I did my little bit to contribute to the GDP today. Bought a new patio umbrella. TSC had such a great sale on, it was worth the drive to town.

And I’ll sign off with some snippets from one of my favorite daily reads, The Guardian.

India reports record daily jump of 7,964 new coronavirus infections
With the latest tally, India has reported 173,763 coronavirus cases and 4,971 deaths, making it the ninth most-affected country globally, according to Reuters. While the fatality rates in India have been lower than in worse-hit countries, experts fear the peak has not been reached. The latest numbers, showing mounting cases of new infections, would appear to confirm that grim prediction.

Global death toll passes 365,000
The global death toll has increased to 365,368, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, which has tracked the spread of the virus during the pandemic. The number of cases currently stands at 5,945,737. The true number of infections is likely to be much higher, however, given the vast number of unrecorded and asymptomatic cases. 

Mosques in Iran to resume daily prayers
The president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, said mosques are to resume daily prayers throughout the country, despite some areas reporting continuing high levels of coronavirus infections. He added that physical distancing and other health protocols would be observed in mosques. He did not say when they were due to reopen.

Read Full Post »

Pandemic Diaries: Day 60 America is burning. Remember George Floyd. Summer of hell coming.

Day 60

6:01 am. 20C already. There is wind, but it looks like another hot day. Some rain ahead, but otherwise fabulous forecast for a few days. The weather is the only positive thing I can find today.

George Floyd. That’s a name you won’t soon forget. And the words ‘I can’t breathe’! Minneapolis is burning and soon much of America will be burning. Again. Tragically, this will become a shameful indictment of America instead of an isolated incident wherein a completely incompetent police officer murdered a citizen. Remember Dudley George? It seems that American history is smeared with similarly atrocious acts of violence against their black brothers. One has to be at least a little sympathetic to black society in America. How can this once glorious country find new lows all the time? Why is that? Poverty? Racism? Class divides? Incompetent leaders? America needs another black leader like Martin Luther King. Someone to galvanize people and give hope. And now with the continued debacle of a mismanaged effort to combat corona-virus, I fear that George Floyd’s murder will lead to another summer of hell. It won’t be just Detroit or L.A. burning. People’s frustration and fear will now explode. Look out. A summer of hell is coming to the United States of America. There is nothing united about the states any more. I’m going to segue away from this story, it is too depressing.

Had one of the new cleaners in yesterday to prepare the guest house for future guests. Thanks Patty. Great job.

Looks like a grass cutting day is ahead of me. This period of humidity and heat along with smattering of rain has encouraged more growth than normal. I try to space my lawn tractor time to more than a week between cutting in normal times. Otherwise the weed whacker has to be pulled out. And it is now very close to that time. I’ll need to fire up the whacker any way to get some areas where the four wheeled chopper cannot reach. Lawn maintenance day.

Very much enjoying Youtube these days, especially Joe Rogan’s podcast. I like this guy’s point of view. Logical, conservative, thoughtful commentary and interviews. The one with Robert Downey Jr. is particularly insightful. Highly recommend.

And news day today. It’s my day to do the afternoon news on the local radio station, so it looks like I’ll have to revisit that George Floyd story again. Damn. And the pandemic continues its relentless march, thankfully not in this region. But business continues to suffer. The controls imposed by the suits in big cities continue to apply to all communities. The noose gets tighter and tighter. Hard to find any light in the tunnel today.

Read Full Post »

An uncomfortable truth. Covid-19 kills the elderly! We’re not all in this together.

Interesting data from Italy’s national health authority on the characteristics of those who died with Covid-19 in the country.
An analysis of more than 3,000 fatalities found the average age of those who died was about 80, and that 96% had previous medical conditions. Nearly 60% had three or more illnesses.
This underlines what we already know: those most vulnerable to Covid-19 are the elderly and those with certain co-morbidities…..from The Guardian.

And we already know that in Canada 75% of our deaths were in long term health care facilities. So why have we locked down the entire country for so long?? The uncomfortable statistic and reality confirms that Covid-19 kills the elderly, and overwhelmingly those in long term health care facilities! Yet we are torpedoing the future of our youth, hell, the future of everybody, with this prolonged lockdown. Damn it! Protect our seniors, overhaul the nursing home system, listen to the military’s damning report on how those places operate, and get the hell on with the nation’s business. Before it is too late. The statistics don’t lie. We’ve been skirting around this eye popping stat for too long. Covid-19 kills the elderly. It’s that simple. Yes, we have serious self examination and work ahead of us. Fix the nursing home system. Our military has exposed the very dark underbelly of how horrendously we have ignored the needs of our seniors. It is shameful. It is worthy of a national day of mourning. But we have reached a point where pussy footing forward and then stepping back because of moronic behavior of small segments of society in urban centers (ie: Trinity Bellwoods Park) just compromises the rest of us. Understand and accept that there are large swaths of this country that have been free of the virus for several weeks already. Let them get back to normal at an accelerated pace. Keep more stringent rules in place in urban centers. Yes, they will suffer economic harm longer. But rules have to be way more flexible now. We are not going to come out of this together, at the same time. The phrase ‘We’re all in this together’ is bullshit! If we stay under the same rule framework together, we’re all going down! The curve has been flattened. That was the initial rationale for the draconian lockdown. OK. The health care system was not overwhelmed. We succeeded. Now it’s time to get everybody tested so hot spots can be identified. Pour resources into this area. And accept that some regions will be better able to manage the coronavirus than others. But an all encompassing overall strategy can no longer succeed. It will only penalize regions that have been free of Covid-19 and done the right things. Stop the suffering!

Read Full Post »

Pandemic Diaries: Day 58 Enough already, let’s get tested and open up business! We’re not cidiots!

Day 58

5:14 pm. OK. I’m a few hours early, so pretend it is the next day. Hot, hot, hot. I spent my day sitting on the dock and reading. Under the shade of a beach umbrella. What a delight. Warm breeze blowing, not the usual gale force we’re used to here, but a gentle soothing drift. Watered some flowers. But mostly, relaxed and read. Lucky me. Here’s a few snippets culled from the readily accessible internet.

Japan’s football league launched a “remote cheering’ app to boost the atmosphere at empty stadiums as teams prepared to resume play. Fans’ voices will reverberate around the ground in real time via loudspeakers.

New Zealand has reported a fifth consecutive day of no new cases of Covid-19 recorded in the country.

India’s top biomedical research body backed the use of the anti-malarial hydroxychloroquine as a preventive against coronavirus, after the WHO suspended clinical trials of the drug over safety concerns. (ed: WTF??)

Business is booming in the sex doll trade. So much so, that suppliers are having a tough time satisfying their customers.
“We have lots of products in stock but we can’t work fast enough to keep up with demand,” Janet Stevenson, the founder of Florida company Sex Doll Genie, told Forbes. A story in the U.K.’s Daily Star also noted that couples are getting in on the action and said sex robots that “breathe” and have a heartbeat are on the way.
Sex dolls were also recently used to fill stadium seats by a South Korean soccer team, but that move wasn’t well received and the club was fined. (ed: What a fkd up world we are moving to!)

Toronto and its surrounding regions account for a disproportionately high number of Ontario’s new cases of COVID-19, according to a CBC News analysis of provincial data on novel coronavirus infections.  
More than three-quarters of the active cases of COVID-19 currently listed in the province’s database are found in the five public health units of Toronto, Peel, York, Durham and Halton regions, an area that accounts for less than half of the province’s population.
This is a clear shift from the first month of the pandemic, when cases were more evenly distributed around the province, and that shift is prompting some experts to recommend that the province relax the lockdown in some regions, while clamping down in areas where cases are rising.

And yet, Ontario extends emergency orders until June 9. Why are circumstances in urban centers driving this policy? We have not seen a new case of Covid-19 here in the County for almost 4 weeks. There is not one person on a ventilator in Belleville nor any Covid-19 patients in ICU. And the County statistics are even better. Yet our businesses must suffer under the same draconian restrictions as those in Toronto! Every municipality should have their own right to govern! Hell, Queen’s Park off loaded road repairs onto municipalities and saddled us with decades of impossibly costly repairs since our small tax base cannot ever fund the miles and miles of road repairs required. Maybe our Mayor should negotiate funding for road repairs in return for a loosening of restrictions here.

But that is a digression into another issue. Back to the pandemic. There is no pandemic in Prince Edward County! There is no coronavirus in Prince Edward County. Yet our restaurants and bars and other small business has to continue abiding by a provincial edict. I doubt very much that any County residents were in Trinity-Bellwoods park last weekend! Those cidiots likely convinced Premier Ford to extend the emergency another 2 weeks.

We recognize that concentrations of people are a hazard. We know that social distancing must be practiced for the foreseeable future. But let our tourism sector open up or this place is gong to die a slow and agonizing death. And if the by-law enforcers see people engaging in dangerous behavior, then fine them! But you cannot go on painting everybody with the same broad brush stroke. We’re not cidiots here!

You are penalizing everybody who writes their own paycheque. It’s easy to pontificate from behind your podium when you never have to worry about where your next paycheque is coming from. Most people in this community, other than the senior crowd who are also guaranteed their income, have to work damn hard to earn a living in the best of times. I sure as hell hope the retired seniors in this area are buying their meals from take-out. Our restaurateurs and bars and service people have been deprived for too long now of the opportunity to make a living. Enough. Open up. Move forward. At least in rural Ontario where we have a handle on this madness and don’t engage in stupid behavior. And how come you cannot even walk on the beach yet? Seriously? Like it’s hard to stay 6ft apart when you have miles of beach to enjoy!

Finally, open up testing for everybody. Every citizen should be tested for this bloody virus! How on earth can we not have adequate testing already so many months into this madness? I want to know if I could be an asymptomatic carrier. We all want to know. We’re not going to hide in our cocoons forever. Get that testing ramped up now, or else you may find that normally sensible people will start to also be a little stupid and then? The second wave could be disastrous. Ruinous.

Read Full Post »

Pandemic Diaries: Day 57 Ferrets Covid-19 and Facebook

Day 57

6:31 am. Already 22C and going into the 30’s today with a humidex of 40! Stay in the shade today folks, there is no doubt we are going to have a crazy hot summer.

From a University of Saskatchewan study on a Covid-19 vaccine….ferrets in their study were able to fight off the disease after receiving two doses of the team’s in-house vaccine. The positive outcome sets the stage for tests with human subjects, which could begin as early as this fall.
Apparently ferrets have a pulmonary system that is similar to humans. I don’t know about you, but I avoid those little buggers like the plague. Remarkable though, that science can use species other than us, to study impacts of initial viral vaccines. I know, animal rights activists find it abhorrent, but rather them than us. So good for you ferrets! And the U Sask team.

Here’s an amusing snippet from one of my blog posts 8 years ago.

Archive for May, 2012
Hey stupid, did you invest in Facebook?Posted in Rants on May 29, 2012|  

As Facebook continues its slide, ($28.80 at time of writing) I can’t help but wonder at the stupidity of those who invested into this silly company.  How a chat room with pictures could ever rise to such prominence is beyond me.  It reminds me of the tech boom in the 90’s.  Anything remotely connected with the internet attracted investment capital.  Money kept pouring in, because people were too lazy to accept that only through hard work and discipline and often sacrifice, would you realize profit.  Whatever happened to those principles?  Have we become such a slothtful society, that we expect, no demand, like little children, to receive without giving any kind of sweat in return?  You’d think a society built on the hard work and sacrifice of pioneers would adopt some of the principles that got us here.  But no, like petulant spoiled brats, we continue to take, take and take.  Give nothing in return, just keep collecting.  But of course, a phalanx of lawyers will now line up to pursue your grievance against Facebook and Morgan Stanley.  How could they so distort the potential of Facebook?  Oh my, they lied to us.  And you swallowed the sales pitch like a ripe strawberry.  Yummy!  It tastes so good, sounds so fabulous, it must be the truth.  Ever heard of due diligence people?   So poo on you if you were dumb enough to pour money into Facebook.  Get back to sending emails with attachments.  Or pick up the phone  or Skype your friends.  Hey, here’s an idea.  How about making plans to meet for lunch, or is that old school?  I say get rid of Facebook altogether!

Do I feel stupid now!!? Facebook traded yesterday at $232!!! So remember, whatever you post on the internet is there forever! Stock markets are so out of synch with reality now it really is a crap shoot. But hey, what do I know?! Have a happy pandemic day y’all.

Read Full Post »

Pandemic Diaries: Day 56 Some snippets of newsworthy items

Day 56

Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) will invest 500 billion yuan ($70 billion) over the next five years in technology infrastructure including cloud computing, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, the company said Tuesday.
The announcement comes after call by Beijing last month for a tech-driven structural upgrade of the world’s second-largest economy through investment in “new infrastructure” and a boom in demand for business software and cloud services. (ed: As China continues it’s relentless march to world domination)

A sequel to James Cameron’s sci-fi movie blockbuster “Avatar” will go back into production next week for the first time since it was shuttered by worldwide efforts to contain the coronavirus, producer Jon Landau said on Friday. (ed: Great news! Anticipating another fabulous big screen adventure. Let’s hope theaters will be open)

New York Knicks great Patrick Ewing was released from hospital on Monday and sent home to recover after he tested positive for COVID-19 last week, his son has said. The 57-year-old Ewing, who played 17 seasons in the NBA and is currently the head coach of the Georgetown University men’s basketball team, had shared his diagnosis on Twitter on Friday in a bid to encourage people to stay safe. (ed: Remember those epic battles between Michael Jordan’s Bulls and the Knicks back in the 90’s. Will the NBA get functioning soon so we sports junkies can get our fix?)

Canada is concerned about China’s proposal to impose national security laws on Hong Kong and called for real dialogue in order to de-escalate tensions, the prime minister said on Friday. “We are concerned with the situation in Hong Kong. We have 300,000 Canadians who live in Hong Kong and that’s one of the reasons why we want to ensure that the one country, two systems approach continues for Hong Kong,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in his daily news conference. “We have long called for a de-escalation of tensions and genuine dialogue between Hong Kong citizens and Beijing, and we continue to call for that, and we will keep monitoring the situation closely.” (ed: How much drivel and meaningless chatter must we be subjected to from this Prime Minister? He is such a disappointment.)

China does not appear to understand that Canada’s judiciary is independent, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday, taking a rare public swipe at Beijing at a time when bilateral ties are poor. (ed: well, Duh! Hey Prime Minister, tell us something original please. Better yet, a no comment would help restore some faith in your leadership.)

Inside the small-scale Iowa abattoir Stanhope Locker and Market, owner Shaunna Zanker yawns with exhaustion as she listens to yet another farmer asking her to slaughter his pigs. “I’m so sorry, but we’re booked through March of next year,” Zanker said on the phone. “How about next June?”
Slaughter operations like Zanker’s are booming as novel coronavirus outbreaks at major U.S. and Canadian meat plants force farmers and meat-loving consumers to seek out alternatives to a crucial supply-chain link. (ed: Now that is great news. Time to scale down industrial meat processing and beef up the small-scale business. I’d pay more for meat knowing I was supporting small guys. Some good will come out of this pandemic yet.)

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said on Tuesday Beijing’s proposed national security law for the city, which has raised alarm in the global financial centre and abroad, would not trample on its cherished rights and freedoms. (ed: Sure Carrie. We believe you.)

Have a great pandemic day y’all!

Read Full Post »

Pandemic Diaries: Day 55 Coursing thru my blood

Day 55

Searching for some comfort inside the bottle clear
Looking for redemption but it never gets too near
Grasping for some answers to a problem not yet understood
This coronaviral plague keeps coursing thru my blood

An overwhelming deluge of information bleak
Robs your natural capacity to reason and to speak
Retreating and escaping from the contact we so crave
Inside our personal cocoons we trust that we’ll be saved

The future has been stolen from the ones who need it most
A lost generation wandering, everyone a potential host
Where once the light shone brightly to uplift and give them hope
There now is dangling from each branch the end of hangman’s rope

Variety of opinions but of value there is none
A contradictory cavalcade that changes on the run
You scroll thru screens and pages of the scientific flood
No peer reviews nor time to think, nothing yet to cleanse my blood

It’s like a neighborhood that’s over run by gangs that rule with force
They shout their dominance over all in voices raw and hoarse
No escaping from this scourge, it finds your thin cocoon
Jaws snap shut and grip intense, you’re now on the edge of doom

The joy that should be prevalent in every season’s spring
Has crumbled and dispersed like pollen in the wind
We’re left with little but a blackened sense of dread
Those aromatic loaves devolve to hardened darkened bread

Its biblical, relentless in its march to bring an end
To life and love that once was pure and whole in every friend
This coronaviral plague keeps rushing place to place
It finds a way to get behind the camo on your face

Is there an end or will it be a loss of innocent reverie
Can we fight a foe so strong and if so what’s the end
How long before we gain, the upper hand and say
We beat the plague, we overcame, we killed the pain today

Read Full Post »

Pandemic Diaries: Day 54

Day 54

2:39 pm. Windy from south east. Looks like weather is changing. We’ve had a few days of spectacular sunshine and hot. Still beautiful but rain is coming.

I got geared up this morning to go for ride. Flat tire. At least at home, so I did not have to call anybody for a pickup. So off to the Bloomfield Bicycle Company. It’s the front tire so easy removal. KT and Rick are back in the County. And of course the usual pandemic protocols in place there. So I left the tire and went tooling over to Barley Days. Ordered a lamb beef gyro from Mike’s food stand, adequate. But it paired nicely with the Burlesque IPA! Hot deal if you are in the area. Buy six cans of beer and they throw in 2 freebies! You get to choose the free ones too.

Then killed some time in Picton, got a coffee at the Bean Counter. Sat outside to watch the world go by, but not a lot of world moving around Picton. Very little vehicle traffic and the occasional pedestrian strolling by. Damn. Let’s get into another phase soon. Gotta open up some more. I’m starting to sound like you know who from down south! Oh nooo!

Back home to do some more gardening. Weeding. It’s a relentless march. Seems like my gardening is a non stop cavalcade of pulling weeds. I did spread a bunch of straw around the veggie garden though. Not only does it look good, but as I noted in an earlier post, it should do marvels to cut down on the weeds and preserve moisture. With the rains coming tonight it’ll be a good test to see what happens.

I have not watched news today, so no pandemic update. Thank God for that! Have a happy pandemic day y’all.

Read Full Post »

Pandemic Diaries: Day 53 We are trying to eradicate that which is impossible to eradicate

Day 53

6:53 am. Sunshine again. Temps going to high 20’s today. Summer, has it finally arrived?

I enjoyed some relaxing social distance socializing at the neighbor’s yesterday. Wonderful food and beverages. Everybody conscious of standing and sitting a safe distance apart. And thankfully the conversation was not focused entirely on pandemic topics. Hopefully a sign that we are returning to normal.

Which brings me to this thought. Have we delegated too much responsibility for deciding when to re-open to our public health officials? I understand their input was critical in formulating some kind of plan about a virus which seemed to be on a path of destruction. But how destructive has Covid-19 really been? Yes, the world has lost over 330,000 human beings already. Look at the stats. In Canada, at least 75% of deaths have been in long term health care facilities. Yes, we have grossly neglected oversight and health and safety measures in those facilities. So now that eyes have opened to this problem, it can be addressed and corrected. So that no seniors or their families will ever have to fear placement in seniors homes going forward. Do whatever is necessary to ensure the mortality statistics in future are not because of our failure to protect our seniors.

But should the rest of society be locked down forever because of a virus that frankly, does not kill everyone in its path and is impossible to eradicate? We have so compromised our economies, that future generations will be paying for our failure to plan. So we’ve learned that now. And it is questionable that decisions on re-opening are left in the hands of those who enjoy guaranteed incomes. There should be a balance in decisions that have such profound impact on the economy. Introduce people who generate their own wealth into those decision making corridors. The self employed. The amount of risk someone is willing to assume, in terms of their health, is very much influenced by how their income is generated. When a pay cheque is guaranteed, it is easy to choose the draconian lock down measures we have been suffering under. I dare say, that if your income does not come from a guaranteed source, you will be willing to tolerate a degree of risk far greater than your neighbor.

We will not eradicate Covid-19 entirely. And it seems that all our efforts to date have been predicated on this objective. Like seasonal flu, Covid-19 is here to stay. Can we survive economically for another 18 months while waiting for vaccines to be developed and distributed? I think not.

John Robson of the National Post wrote an excellent essay and I reprint part of it here. He quotes Thomas Sowell who wrote decades ago in “Is Reality Optional?” as follows;

Very few problems can or should be solved, in the sense of wiping out every vestige of them – not even crime or disease. Would anyone really spend half the Gross national product to wipe out the last vestige of shoplifting, or every minor skin rash?…..the anointed don’t like to talk about painful trade-offs. They like to talk about happy ‘solutions’ that get rid of the whole problem…” And as he concludes, as long as we’re trying to avoid any negative medical results from a plague, we’re going to keep digging and end up in a hole deep enough to bury the economy and the budget. And for what?

Well worth reading the entire article and reflecting on these points of view. How much pain are we willing to endure in this impossible effort to eradicate that which is impossible to eradicate?

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/john-robson-we-cant-eradicate-covid-and-wed-bankrupt-ourselves-trying?video_autoplay=true

Read Full Post »