I'm no expert, but what I've read is that animal to human virus transmission has always happened, but may be increasing in frequency because as human settlements penetrate more deeply into previously wilderness territories, we come into closer contact with the non-human inhabitants and their resident virus population.
MM I'm also no expert but what you've written (right or wrong) is a lot easier to grasp than the PMC lab report :).
Capitalism isn't killing us. Powerful people are making decisions in what they percieve to be their own best interests. The masses have allowed it and continue to allow it. Capitalism isn't forcing us to vote for Trudeau. Capitalism isn't preventing people from supporting Dimitri Lascaris.
Varafoukis, quoted in the post above yours, is a good example of why it’s not that simple. The Greek people voted his party in and he was made finance minister with the mandate to renegotiate Greek debt. He was probably one of the most qualified people in the world to do that and he'd recently published a book on how the World Bank and the IMF used debt to discipline third world countries and raid their public assets.
I thought ‘Adults in the Room’ was a pretty good inside account on why it is left-leaning elected officials consistently fulfill so little of their democratic mandate. The Capitalist system and those who serve it are extremely ideologically rigid and uncompromising. One of the fascinating things in the book was how many of those in the highest positions of authority privately acknowledge how broken the system is but continue to serve using the rationale that only 'insiders' can enact change. To the point that who is an 'insider' and who is a 'stooge' has become blurry beyond recognition.
And this a good discussion on how Capitalism deals with the 'outsider' critics here in Canada.
Varafoukis, quoted in the post above yours, is a good example of why it’s not that simple. The Greek people voted his party in and he was made finance minister with the mandate to renegotiate Greek debt. He was probably one of the most qualified people in the world to do that and he'd recently published a book on how the World Bank and the IMF used debt to discipline third world countries and raid their public assets.
A powerful person, Alexis Tsipras, betrayed him and the people of Greece.
Money isn't even printed anymore. It's all just records. Money only has the value that people assign to it. Some small places created their own currency so they could trade with each other even if they didn't have official currency. Then came Bitcoin.
The actual physical resources on Earth including labour exist independent from economies. Living in a democracy we don't have to bear arms to overthrow the ruling class. We can just elect other people. It's not going to happen tomorrow. It won't happen in the next five years. It might only happen in 20 years but it's coming. There will be a reckoning.
It's true, things could go really dark instead but that isn't the direction I am sensing from Canadians.
https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2019/08/27/majority-of-canadian...
n a poll of 1,733 Canadian voters, Forum says 58 per cent of respondents said they have a positive view of socialism, whereas four in 10 said they hold negative opinions about it. In contrast, according to a Pew Research study, 55 per cent of people in the United States have an unfavourable perspective.
Forum said those most likely to respond positively about socialism include people aged 18 to 44, women, the most educated, workers earning $40,000 to $80,000, and those living in the Atlantic Provinces. Those most likely to respond negatively include people aged 45 and older, men, the least educated, the lowest earners, people earning $80,000 to $100,000, and Alberta residents.
58% of Canadians and 45% of Americans have a positive view of socialism. I was completely surprised by that because the MSM gives the impression that socialism is fringe and that the centre is fiscally conservative. Those are very encouraging numbers. Those numbers are from 2019 and my guess is support for socialism has only grown since then and will continue to grow.
On the Delta Variant
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n13/rupert-beale/on-the-delta-variant
"More transmission of this virus anywhere in the world increases the chance of a more deadly, more transmissible, more likely-to-evade-vaccination variant emerging. Do we really want to sit like Professor Challenger in his sealed room, watching while the world suffocates?"
More transmission of this virus anywhere in the world increases the chance of a more deadly, more transmissible, more likely-to-evade-vaccination variant emerging. Do we really want to sit like Professor Challenger in his sealed room, watching while the world suffocates?
18 June
So, everyone, don't stop wearing a mask just because you are vaccinated. There is a lot of pressure to "act normal" but the new normal should include mask wearing because if you become a carrier you could become Typhoid Mary without ever feeling sick.
US coronavirus cases rise as Biden, media declare pandemic over
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/07/05/covi-j04.html
"Confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the US rose 17 percent during the two weeks leading up to the July 4th weekend, figures which belie the ongoing campaign by the Biden administration and US media to declare the country's 'independence' from the pandemic..."
Republicans refusing to get vaccinated is maintaining the pandemic in the U.S. Republicans are dying of Covid just to oppose Biden because he's a Democrat!
Republicans refusing to get vaccinated is maintaining the pandemic in the U.S. Republicans are dying of Covid just to oppose Biden because he's a Democrat!
Well maybe - but hey, it's only politics; and boys will be boys. ;) .... :(
Dr John Campbell - Coronavirus update
Canada update
"WHO DG Dr Tedros says the world is in a perilous position re: Covid-19. The global toll has topped 4M, vaccine nationalism has left many countries with little access to vaccine..."
https://twitter.com/HelenBranswell/status/1412763947426582528
Deadlier Than Delta: Lambda Strain Detected in Over 30 Countries
"A new strain said to be more dangerous than the Delta variant has reportedly been detected in more than 30 countries, says Health Ministry..."
Everything we know about the Lambda virus so far
https://twitter.com/i/events/1413206603424223240
"The Lambda covid-19 variant is now spreading beyond North America..."
f there are future COVID-19 outbreaks in Quebec, rather than re-imposing lockdowns, the province will only allow fully vaccinated people access to places where the virus could be more likely to spread, including gyms, bars and restaurants.
People with only one dose or no vaccines would be excluded.
https://ipolitics.ca/2021/07/08/unvaccinated-to-be-barred-from-quebec-bu...
The Lambda COVID-19 Variant is Now Spreading in Canada...
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/the-lambda-covid-19-variant-is-now-spread...
"11 cases of variant reported so far across the country - here's what you need to know..."
COVID Canada Updates: 7/10/2021
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/
'This is the way to reopen safely...'
https://twitter.com/IrfanDhalla/status/1413597821496922113
"There have been more deaths from COVID-19 in fully vaccinated people than there were deaths from SARS. We should work hard to get vaccine uptake above 90% in eligible populations. We should also test, trace and limit transmission in schools. This is the way to reopen safely."
Dr John Campbell: Coronavirus Update: 7/10/2021
"Big UK debate: 'Grave concerns about UK's plan to end all restrictions on July 19 even as cases rise exponentially."
Amid warnings of 4,800 daily hospitalisations: UK prime minister Boris Johnson green lights July 19 lifting of all COVID-19 restrictions
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/07/13/couk-j13.html
"Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that all coronavirus restrictions in England will be removed on July 18. Social distancing, already reduced to 1 metre plus, is being ditched and mask-wearing will be voluntary. This takes place as 218,503 new COVID-19 cases have been recorded in the last 7 days..."
Canada has let thousands of AstraZeneca vaccine doses expire - and thousands more will soon
https://twitter.com/i/events/1414927642587975701
"Thousands of AstraZeneca doses are going to waste in this country, at a time when other nations face critical vaccine shortages in their battle against COVID-19. The federal government has no plan in place to redistribute domestically or internationally those doses whose expiration looms..."
See also #2711. First world comes first by fucking over everybody else.
COVID-19 Pandemic LIVE: World Map/Count
(Updating)
Always remember there is a world out there...
Mixing COVID-19 vaccines a 'dangerous trend': WHO Chief Scientist
https://globalnews.ca/news/8021692/mixing-covid-19-vaccines-dangerous-tr...
"The WHO's chief scientist on Monday advised against people mixing and matching COVID-19 vaccines from different manufacturers, calling it a 'dangerous trend' since there was little data available about the health impact. Canada is one of several countries that has been mixing and matching approved vaccines..."
Just as long as they are exclusively from Western BIG PHARMA...
"Calls from a French minister not to register the Russian and Chinese COVID-19 vaccines in the EU are 'unacceptable'....according to the Russian Foreign Ministry."
'The way back to semi-normalcy is a 'vaccines-plus' strategy'
https://twitter.com/IrfanDhalla/status/1415859275331739652
76% of people 12 and over vaxxed and yet...The way back to semi-normalcy is a 'vaccines plus' strategy. The 'plus' includes border controls, testing, contact tracing, supported isolation, outbreak prevention, management and ventilation. And a focus on schools."
COVID Canada Update: 7/16/2021
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/
COVID Canada Update: 7/19/2021
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/
Top US health official warns of rising COVID Infections
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/18/top-us-health-official-warns-of...
"The US surgeon-general has said he is concerned about what lies ahead as COVID-19 infections are rising in every state, millions of people remain unvaccinated despite widely available jabs, and a contagious new variant of the virus is spreading..."
The Olympics Opens in the Shadow of Mass Deaths
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/07/24/pers-j24.html
"The summer Olympics opened Thursday against the backdrop of a massive surge of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like the 1936 Berlin Olympics that preceded the outbreak of WWII and its attendant horrors, this year's games have the aura of a looming human tragedy.
Around the world, daily new COVID-19 cases have surged by 47 percent over the past month to more than 523,000 cases a day, with daily deaths standing at 7,900. Cases among the tens of thousands of Olympic athletes and staff are also spreading..."
"Canada will likely face a fourth wave of the pandemic as the highly contagious delta variant continues to spread ahead of borders and schools reopening."
https://twitter.com/picardonhealth/status/1418912467460177929
"Vaccines in Africa are so limited that only 3% of Africans have managed to get even a single dose, but the United States worries about unvaccinated zoo animals..."
COVID-19 Pandemic LIVE: World Map/Count
(Updating)
Always remember there is a world out there...
Thousands around the world protest against covid restrictions: Personal or public welfare?
"People are weary..."
McQuaig: Justin Trudeau is letting Canada get played by Big Pharma
https://breachmedia.ca/justin-trudeau-is-letting-canada-get-played-by-bi...
"...The Trudeau government has shoveled hundreds of millions of dollars into Big Pharma, trusting, hoping and praying that foreign pharmaceutical companies will take care of us in a future pandemic. Good luck with that..."
Not sure I buy the 'trusting, hoping and praying' bit. In such matters one shouldn't assume Justin Trudeau is ill informed but well intentioned, but well informed and ill intentioned. Trudeau serves power not people.
The Pandemic Won't End Until There is Global Solidarity on Vaccines
https://rabble.ca/news/2021/07/pandemic-wont-end-until-there-is-global-s...
"As Canadians savour a 'return to normal' this summer - our decision makers seem largely oblivious to the fact that almost three-quarters of the world's population has yet to receive even a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
According to 'Our World in Data,' an online data base maintained by researchers at the University of Oxford, only 1.1 per cent of people in law-income countries have received a vaccine dose. This inequity is a result of the most powerful, wealthier countries in the global North hoarding the bulk of the available vaccines to cater to their own domestic populations.
Big Pharma has clearly prioritized profit over people's needs and has sold limited vaccine supplies to those who can pay. Pfizer has been selling vaccines at an 80 per cent profit margin. The Canadian government has been the biggest hoarder of all, even dipping into the COVAX vaccine supply. Canada has ordered 10 doses per-capita, more than any other country..."
Disgusting.
CDC warns that delta virus is as contagious as chickenpox and may make people sicker than original covid
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/30/delta-cdc-warns-variant-is-as-contagious...
"The CDC warned House lawmakers that the delta variant sweeping across the country is as contagious as chickenpox, has a longer transmission window than the original covid-19 strain and may make older people sicker, even if they've been fully vaccinated..."
COVID-19 Pandemic: Japan Widens Emergency over 'Frightening' Spike
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58024158
"Japan is extending a state of emergency in Tokyo and expanding it to new regions as the Olympic Games host faces a surge in COVID-19 cases. Japan's PM Yoshihide Suga warned infections were spreading at an unprecedented rate, urging the country to watch the Games from home..."
America Still COVID #1! (thread)
https://twitter.com/heather_haq/status/1421287987514593282
"So we are on the front end of a huge COVID surge. But the difference this time compared to previous surges is we are simultaneously dealing with an unheard of summertime RSV surge - creating a 'surge upon surge' situation."
Notice Trudeau has acquiesced to Washington's demand American visitors can cross into Canada even while Canadians are refused the same rights to visit USA. Yet it was American visitors that were the original, primary source of Canada's COVID epidemic. Clearly the power-relations are not in our favour, especially under the servile idiotic vassal regime in Ottawa. It will soon become obvious just what we are 'opening' ourselves to.
"New modeling published in JAMA Health Forum shows that aiming for elimination in 2020 was likely the optimal strategy for both health and the economy."
COVID Canada Updates: 8/1/2021
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/
COVID Canada Update: 8/3/2021
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/
McQuaig: Justin Trudeau is letting Canada get played by Big Pharma
https://breachmedia.ca/justin-trudeau-is-letting-canada-get-played-by-bi...
"...The Trudeau government has shoveled hundreds of millions of dollars into Big Pharma, trusting, hoping and praying that foreign pharmaceutical companies will take care of us in a future pandemic. Good luck with that..."
Not sure I buy the 'trusting, hoping and praying' bit. In such matters one shouldn't assume Justin Trudeau is ill informed but well intentioned, but well informed and ill intentioned. Trudeau serves power not people.
She's wrong, I agree with you. Trudeau is not getting played. Biden was willing to drop the patents on the vaccines but Canada and the EU objected.
I am astounded that it didn't blow up in the press.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/canada-still-weighing-support-for-vaccin...
Canada still weighing support for vaccine patent waiver after U.S. confirms it will
The way they have played it is by not saying no, but not saying yes either. Even the NDP has just let the matter drop.
So much for the evil US empire. It seems we are worse.
I agree. I see Pfizer and Moderna have again raised their international prices.
Opinion: Hinshaw throws Alberta's children under the proverbial school bus
https://twitter.com/SharkawyMD/status/1421861065848205319
"Care means validate your patient's concerns, even if they may not exactly match your own. If COVID is the 10th leading case of death in kids it still matters. People are people, not numbers. What a sadly dispassionate take."
Funny how these 'Chief Medical Officers' considered opinions frequently match the intentions of their political overlords eh?
Tokyo records record 5,042 cases today. We are obviously meant to forget this and simply consume and enjoy the monstrous juggernaut that is the Olympic Games, unwanted by so many Japanese.
World Marks 200 Million Cases of Coronavirus Pandemic
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/08/05/covi-a05.html
"...That such mass death and colossal social misery has occured is a damning indictment of the world's capitalist governments and the socio-economic system which they defend..."
Tokyo records record 5,042 cases today. We are obviously meant to forget this and simply consume and enjoy the monstrous juggernaut that is the Olympic Games, unwanted by so many Japanese.
Do you want the 2022 winter games cancelled?
If there's a raging pandemic in progress and the citizens of the host city reject it, as is the case in Tokyo, yes.
If there's a raging pandemic in progress and the citizens of the host city reject it, as is the case in Tokyo, yes.
You know that won't happen.
If there's a raging pandemic in progress and the citizens of the host city reject it, as is the case in Tokyo, yes.
You do realize that there are only two days left in the Tokyo Olympics?
Japan's COVID-19 strategy relied on trust. Holding the Olympics shattered it at the worst possible time.
https://time.com/6088006/japan-olympics-covid-19/
"COVID-19 cases are hitting daily records in the Olympic host city and the Japanese government has declared a state of emergency. But the Olympics are in town..."
COVID Canada Updates: 8/7/2021
https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/
COVID-19 Pandemic LIVE: World Map/Count
(Updating)
Always remember Canada - there is also a world out there...
