OT: COVID-19 thread #2

[samwana]

Kudos to the Gates Foundation, too. I'd like to see some of the other gazillionaires follow their lead.

I don't want to have anything from the Gates Foundation, don't want Gates reducing the world's population with his vaccines and I don't want anything to do with his chipping people through his vaccines.
He is one of the biggest sponsors of the WHO, so I'm glad Trump stopped funding this corrupt organization.
Cui bono, follow the money. Big pharma is loving this whole covid thing. I don't buy it.

If gazillionäres start helping out the little people I start to appreciate that guys. Until then I'll have a look what made them rich and who they manipulate. No thanks to Gates, he is a narcissistic psychopath.

Go look at what he's done, what he's said.

Sent from my POT-LX1 using RealGM mobile app

[dice]

Kudos to the Gates Foundation, too. I'd like to see some of the other gazillionaires follow their lead.

I don't want to have anything from the Gates Foundation, don't want Gates reducing the world's population with his vaccines and I don't want anything to do with his chipping people through his vaccines.
He is one of the biggest sponsors of the WHO, so I'm glad Trump stopped funding this corrupt organization.
Cui bono, follow the money. Big pharma is loving this whole covid thing. I don't buy it.

If gazillionäres start helping out the little people I start to appreciate that guys. Until then I'll have a look what made them rich and who they manipulate. No thanks to Gates, he is a narcissistic psychopath.

Go look at what he's done, what he's said.

look up what a psychopath actually is. if you said gates was a sociopath, even that would be far-fetched. the man is dedicating his life to ridding the world of infectious diseases for christ's sake. he has pledged to give away virtually the entirety of his wealth. what the hell does a person have to do to get a little respect? isn't this what we WANT our billionaires to be doing? "if only he would use his abilities for the betterment of humanity." well, that's exactly what gates is doing. as for what made him rich...let's see...he took money from middle class and rich people in exchange for computer software that changed our lives for the better. what a psychopath!

"reducing the world's population with his vaccines"?

and are you suggesting that COVID is a hoax? what is making all these people sick? and this is because big pharma profits off it? does that make cancer a hoax? the flu? any other condition that might require medication?

as for trump, he didn't give a good goddamn about the WHO until now. didn't care when a pro-beijing guy was elected director of the organization. in FEBRUARY trump was saying that china was doing a great job with regard to COVID because he didn't want to damage trade talks. he has zero credibility here (as with most things). it's all about what affects him in the moment. now THERE's a sociopath. and now is certainly NOT the time to be cutting WHO funding, regardless of their role in protecting china earlier in the pandemic. when this is all over, have those discussions. or put conditions on the funding now

[Dez]

Kudos to the Gates Foundation, too. I'd like to see some of the other gazillionaires follow their lead.

I don't want to have anything from the Gates Foundation, don't want Gates reducing the world's population with his vaccines and I don't want anything to do with his chipping people through his vaccines.
He is one of the biggest sponsors of the WHO, so I'm glad Trump stopped funding this corrupt organization.
Cui bono, follow the money. Big pharma is loving this whole covid thing. I don't buy it.

If gazillionäres start helping out the little people I start to appreciate that guys. Until then I'll have a look what made them rich and who they manipulate. No thanks to Gates, he is a narcissistic psychopath.

Go look at what he's done, what he's said.

Sent from my POT-LX1 using RealGM mobile app

I can't tell if this is satire or not?

[dice]

Well, this should help. We're cutting funding to the WHO.

They are freezing funds, not cutting it. Nothing wrong with what his administration did. An investigation should be done on this. WHO looks very corrupt right now and we're paying our tax dollars to fund them when we're $23 trillion in debt ourselves.

Don't try reasoning with these leftists. Somehow, on Real GM, it's okay for them to **** on your views. You're not allowed to share your opinions if you're not a liberal. However, the mods will allow them to turn every conversation anti-Trump. This place is becoming worse than Reddit.

there is nothing wrong with discussing what the leader of the free world says during a pandemic and pointing out when he attempts to mislead us (which occurs daily). it would be irresponsible not to

[dice]

I do agree that China should be donating more to WHO than they currently are. There's no reason they should pay so much less than what the US contributes.

US $452m
China $42m

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/09/donald-trump-u-s-spent-452-million-on-who-in-2019-against-chinas-42-million/

Pretty sad how the US forks up the bills on so many things while other countries pay so little.

the US has far more to lose financially during, for example, a pandemic. it has far more to lose when disease doesn't even touch our shores but ravages developing nation, causing chaos. US investment in the WHO is SELF INTEREST. that doesn't mean that we shouldn't put conditions on that money or even pressure other nations to pay a larger share, but half a billion dollars is a pittance for us

[dice]

I do agree that China should be donating more to WHO than they currently are. There's no reason they should pay so much less than what the US contributes.

US $452m
China $42m

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/09/donald-trump-u-s-spent-452-million-on-who-in-2019-against-chinas-42-million/

Pretty sad how the US forks up the bills on so many things while other countries pay so little.

Interestingly, the WHO budget is comprised of two portions. An assessed (I.e. mandatory contribution) and a voluntary portion. In the last two years under Trump, when it was not politically expedient for him to scapegoat them, approximately 70% of the US contribution was voluntary and totaling nearly $660 million.

Amazingly, the second biggest contributor isn’t even a nation. It’s the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation an just over $500 million.

So while I agree that China should be contributing significantly more than they do, two things jump out at me.

1. Trump has been making massive contributions voluntarily for years with full knowledge of the small amounts China contributes.

2. How credible is it that the WHO is in China’s pocket considering they about $50 million while America and a private American foundation gave well over $1 billion?

here's your answer as to why china has disproportionate power in the WHO:

Spoiler:

we've kinda wanted them to have that power

https://www.newsweek.com/how-bush-obama-ceded-world-health-organization-china-increasing-risk-pandemics-like-coronavirus-1497667

[dice]

Don't try reasoning with these leftists. Somehow, on Real GM, it's okay for them to **** on your views. You're not allowed to share your opinions if you're not a liberal. However, the mods will allow them to turn every conversation anti-Trump. This place is becoming worse than Reddit.

While you guys are doing the real work of flaming leftists on the internet, countries like Iran, China and Russia are already capitalizing on this mistake. Cutting funding in the middle of a pandemic reinforces every bad thing those countries say about the US and kneecaps any future claim of authority.

Just ask the liberals at the Heritage Foundation https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/04/14/now-is-not-yet-the-time-to-cut-funding-to-the-world-health-organization/:

“The US has taken pains to counter Chinese disinformation and focus the world on the fact that Chinese actions and inactions facilitated the spread of COVID-19 and impeded the international response, leading to enormous loss of life and economic hardship,” Heritage senior research fellow Brett Schaefer wrote. “Those efforts will be immediately overshadowed by an announcement that the US is cutting funding to the WHO even as other nations, both developed and developing, are expressing anger toward China for its role in the COVID-19 pandemic.”

for those who didn't know or couldn't figure it out from its name, the heritage foundation is a conservative organization

[Dresden]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/thousands-converge-protest-michigan-governors-191743463.html

What's wrong with the people in MI? Ok, I understand if your business is failing you might get pretty desperate. But this reminds me of the case of the minister in VA who kept his church open, saying God will provide, and he just now died of the virus, and his wife is ill, too. His daughter is now saying people need to take this seriously. I have a feeling many of these protesters would change their minds pretty quickly too, if they and some of their loved ones now come down with the virus.

It sounds like most of the protesters did maintain social distancing, but the fact that some weren't as well points to the fact that who ever organized this did put people's well being in jeopardy.

And I do blame the federal govt. for not getting the Paycheck Protection money and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans out faster to people. Those are both excellent ideas that can help prevent most people from having to worry about their businesses or their paychecks for at least 2 months. But that money is not getting out to people fast enough, and that's partly what's causing scenes like what is going on in MI. Congress should have acted faster on that.

[dice]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/thousands-converge-protest-michigan-governors-191743463.html

What's wrong with the people in MI? Ok, I understand if your business is failing you might get pretty desperate. But this reminds me of the case of the minister in VA who kept his church open, saying God will provide, and he just now died of the virus, and his wife is ill, too. His daughter is now saying people need to take this seriously. I have a feeling many of these protesters would change their minds pretty quickly too, if they and some of their loved ones now come down with the virus.

It sounds like most of the protesters did maintain social distancing, but the fact that some weren't as well points to the fact that who ever organized this did put people's well being in jeopardy.

And I do blame the federal govt. for not getting the Paycheck Protection money and the Economic Injury Disaster Loans out faster to people. Those are both excellent ideas that can help prevent most people from having to worry about their businesses or their paychecks for at least 2 months. But that money is not getting out to people fast enough, and that's partly what's causing scenes like what is going on in MI. Congress should have acted faster on that.

part of the reason for the delay might be that trump has insisted that his name be printed on the checks. except that it's illegal to do so in the body of the check, so his name will be in the memo line, like it's a check from your grandma:

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/492963-pelosi-shameful-for-trump-to-order-his-name-on-coronavirus-stimulus-checks

[Dresden]

Several European countries- Germany, France, Denmark to name a few- just started making direct payments to workers, so that basically nobody lost their job or their paychecks. Seems like a much simpler way to do things.

[dice]

Several European countries- Germany, France, Denmark to name a few- just started making direct payments to workers, so that basically nobody lost their job or their paychecks. Seems like a much simpler way to do things.

less disruptive to the economy as well, i would imagine. no massive employment shuffle

[dice]

nationwide testing somehow on the decline for the last week and a half:

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/commercial-coronavirus-testing-drops-30-percent-in-one-week/

[Dresden]

So here's a column explaining why it's taking so long to get relief money into the hands of people who need it most- antiquated banking rules, bank's greed, and yes, possibly even the re-designing of the checks to include Trump's signature on the front of each one:

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/15/opinion/coronavirus-stimulus-check-payment.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

And to put the cherry on the top, despite being urged to do so by both branches of congress, the administration is refusing to tell banks they are not allowed to deduct past unpaid charges (such as overdraft fees) from customer's stimulus checks. So many people may see a few deductions from their aid, as banks make sure they get their share first.

[Jimako10]

NPR came out with a pretty good timeline of events (with linked sources) of what the WHO was doing, and what Trump was saying at that time. I suggest reading the linked press releases from the WHO as well, that's if you actually want to be informed.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/15/835011346/a-timeline-of-coronavirus-comments-from-president-trump-and-who

[Dresden]

NPR came out with a pretty good timeline of events (with linked sources) of what the WHO was doing, and what Trump was saying at that time. I suggest reading the linked press releases from the WHO as well, that's if you actually want to be informed.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/15/835179442/we-alerted-the-world-to-coronavirus-on-jan-5-who-says-in-response-to-u-s

So according to this article, the technical lead for COVID 19 at the WHO is an American doctor, while the executive director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, Mike Ryan, is Irish.

This doesn't exactly fit with the narrative of that Newsweek article that was posted above, claiming that the WHO has fallen under Chinese domination. Nor does it lend much credence to Trump's argument that the WHO has been favoring China.

[Jimako10]

NPR came out with a pretty good timeline of events (with linked sources) of what the WHO was doing, and what Trump was saying at that time. I suggest reading the linked press releases from the WHO as well, that's if you actually want to be informed.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/15/835179442/we-alerted-the-world-to-coronavirus-on-jan-5-who-says-in-response-to-u-s

So according to this article, the technical lead for COVID 19 at the WHO is an American doctor, while the executive director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, Mike Ryan, is Irish.

This doesn't exactly fit with the narrative of that Newsweek article that was posted above, claiming that the WHO has fallen under Chinese domination. Nor does it lend much credence to Trump's argument that the WHO has been favoring China.

I linked the wrong article, but edited my original post. Your point still stands.

[dice]

NPR came out with a pretty good timeline of events (with linked sources) of what the WHO was doing, and what Trump was saying at that time. I suggest reading the linked press releases from the WHO as well, that's if you actually want to be informed.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/15/835179442/we-alerted-the-world-to-coronavirus-on-jan-5-who-says-in-response-to-u-s

So according to this article, the technical lead for COVID 19 at the WHO is an American doctor, while the executive director of the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, Mike Ryan, is Irish.

This doesn't exactly fit with the narrative of that Newsweek article that was posted above, claiming that the WHO has fallen under Chinese domination. Nor does it lend much credence to Trump's argument that the WHO has been favoring China.

there is no conflict between the newsweek and npr reporting so far as i can see

[Fantastik_Goat]

If the argument is that the WHO has been corrupted by the Chinese, who only give them 42 million a year, against the U.S. who give about 600 million a year. Isn’t the story really about how w bad the U.S. is at corruption.

[dice]

If the argument is that the WHO has been corrupted by the Chinese, who only give them 42 million a year, against the U.S. who give about 600 million a year. Isn’t the story really about how w bad the U.S. is at corruption.

any disproportionate power that the chinese have within the WHO is because that power has been ceded to them by other nations in exchange for trade considerations. it has nothing to do with corruption...unless there are under-the-table payoffs going on, but nobody is hinting at that

[dice]

business leaders telling trump they'd be hesitant to re-open their doors prematurely in the event that they are sued by employees who get infected at work