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Author Topic:   Covid-19 and religion.
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 41 of 143 (873168)
03-10-2020 4:51 PM
Reply to: Message 40 by vimesey
03-10-2020 2:49 PM


Re: Inadequate containment of the virus
...Trump is encouraging everyone to go to work....
Sad thing is, Trump doesn't need to do any encouraging. There is no mandatory guaranteed sick leave in this country. I will absolutely say that there are going to be a lot of people working minimum wage jobs who'll get sick but decide the rent still needs to be paid and the kids need groceries and will go on into work.

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool. -- Richard Feynman

This message is a reply to:
 Message 40 by vimesey, posted 03-10-2020 2:49 PM vimesey has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 42 by Faith, posted 03-10-2020 4:56 PM Chiroptera has not replied
 Message 45 by vimesey, posted 03-10-2020 5:36 PM Chiroptera has not replied
 Message 58 by ringo, posted 03-11-2020 11:43 AM Chiroptera has not replied

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 93 of 143 (873337)
03-14-2020 1:39 PM


Face to face classes canceled
Well, here's my personal update.
This coming week, we are on Spring Break. When the University reopens, we will not have classes face-to-face; we will be doing as much as we can online.
The plan is to reopen in April, but that can change as the situation is reassessed. Personally, I suspect We're going to remain online until the end of the semester, especially now that I read this morning that the CDC is recommending that schools close for a minimum of eight weeks.
The point, of course, is to slow the spread of the virus so that medical services aren't overwhelmed. So day-to-day operations will continue, and faculty can still come to the office to work. Individual students may come to office hours if the faculty is willing.
But anything involving groups gathering are cancelled: face - to-face classes, extracurricular activities, sponsored events like talks and concerts, and so forth.
Heh. The supermarket I go to had a notice at the cash register this morning: they're expecting their next shipment of hand sanitizer and wipes Week after next.

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool. -- Richard Feynman

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 106 of 143 (873382)
03-15-2020 10:03 AM


Chinese journalists try to resist censorship
Speaking of managing a disaster as if it's a PR problem, the Chinese government has been trying to suppress negative reports of its mishandling of the Covid-19 outbreak and attempting to put a happy face on its efforts.
From the New York Times:
As China Cracks Down on Coronavirus Coverage, Journalists Fight Back
The article describes Chinese journalists' frustrations with the government's control over the media and the steps of some journalists, from both state-run agencies and commercial entities as well as "citizen journalists", to evade censorship to try to hold incompetent officials to account and to get information out to the people.
This time the government’s control of free speech has directly damaged the interests and lives of ordinary people, said Li Datong, a retired newspaper editor in Beijing. Everyone knows this kind of big disaster happens when you don’t tell the truth.
Considering the Trump Administration's attempt to muzzle government health officials and keep the message in the hands of the PR specialists, we're lucky in the US that the government doesn't have such a well-developed censorship apparatus as the People's Republic.

But [Frederick] Douglass was not gone; he was merely dead. -- David W. Blight

Replies to this message:
 Message 107 by Faith, posted 03-15-2020 11:29 AM Chiroptera has replied

  
Chiroptera
Inactive Member


Message 120 of 143 (873492)
03-16-2020 11:07 AM
Reply to: Message 107 by Faith
03-15-2020 11:29 AM


Re: Chinese journalists try to resist censorship
...but the health officials don't seem to be muzzled. We hear from then too.
It is true that actual information has been getting out, but at the beginning it certainly appeared to be people speaking up because the Administration itself wasn't letting accurate information out.
Anyway, I've been looking for the article that I had in mind when I wrote that post, but I can't find it. I suspect it was the incident that PaulK brought up in his response to you and I misremembered the details.
At any rate, here is an article from Business Insider that brings up my concerns:
Trump barred a top health expert from speaking freely about the coronavirus. It's one of many ways the administration has muzzled scientists.
I don't have a feel for how reliable this site is in general, but the article does have a handy list of how the Trump Administration has interfered with the dissemination of scientific information or prevented policy decisions from being informed by accurate science.

But [Frederick] Douglass was not gone; he was merely dead. -- David W. Blight

This message is a reply to:
 Message 107 by Faith, posted 03-15-2020 11:29 AM Faith has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 121 by Faith, posted 03-16-2020 11:10 AM Chiroptera has seen this message but not replied

  
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