Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => The Environment => Topic started by: evan_au on 30/03/2020 21:29:27
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Politicians have reacted in various ways to the COVID-19 Pandemic...
RECOGNIZING THE THREAT
- The outbreak was made considerably worse because the Chinese government suppressed information about its existence. Some Chinese academics have claimed that they were told to destroy biological samples and delete RNA sequences of the virus. One such academic who recently spoke to western press has reportedly "disappeared".
- Some countries knew the pandemic was real (in China), but were stating that there were zero cases in their country, despite the large number of Chinese people travelling to and from their country.
- Some governments (like Milan in Italy and Brazil) think that COVID-19 is a minor problem, and have told their population to get back to work. At least the government in Milan has admitted that it made a mistake...
ENFORCEMENThas also been done very differently - in China, some doors were reportedly welded shut.
- In Singapore, people were instructed to load an app on their phone; when prompted they had to take a photo of their surroundings so their location would be geotagged,
- In Australia, some beaches had to be closed to prevent people congregating on the beach...
- But local elections were allowed to proceed in one Australian state
PROTECTION OF THE POPULATION
The public health systems in all countries will be stressed; let's see what the politicians say about how well their health systems functioned...
There will be a real temptation for countries to seize all the medical supplies for their own use, and deny access by other countries to equipment which they had on order.
- This will also play out at the local level by individuals seizing all supplies of food and medical supplies
- In the USA, there were lines outside gun shops, as people stocked up on bullets. Will this degenerate to suburban warfare?
GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE
There are conditions here that are outside the plans and control of any government.
How politicians and the political system react will be instructive
- Are they flexible, and able to deal with events that they didn't plan?
- Do they respect truth, or do they try to suppress it?
- Does government pay attention to medical experts, or do they tell the medical experts what to say?
- Will democratic countries eject governments which handled it well (or badly)?
Is it time for some new politics?
PS: This thread was inspired by the thread "Time for new Economics? (https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=78993.0)" by alancalvard.
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- In the USA, there were lines outside gun shops, as people stocked up on bullets. Will this degenerate to suburban warfare?
What do you mean "degenerate"? It's just the logical next step in incompetent administrations enforcing only half of the second amendment
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed
In civilised countries you either have a well regulated militia (Switzerland, Norway) or strictly controlled private firearms ownership (Canada, UK). Unfortunately the USA is run by cowards (currently a Vietnam draft dodger who has done his best to demolish the public health system) in thrall to thugs who insist on their rights (to get a bonus for trading worthless debts, or to shoot anyone or anything that moves) but not their duties (to invest deposits wisely or defend the State against a real enemy).
So I think we can safely predict civil war or economic collapse of the USA (there is precedent for both), followed by either a political takeover by Russia (where the thug is in charge) or an economic takeover by China (where the money is).
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There will be a real temptation for countries to seize all the medical supplies for their own use, and deny access by other countries to equipment which they had on order.
This will certainly stress economic associations like the European Union, with Member States competing for limited supplies on the one hand, and derogating from common manufacturing standards on the other.
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- Does government pay attention to medical experts, or do they tell the medical experts what to say?
There has definitely been a shift in public announcements in the UK now that Boris Johnson has got the sniffles, but the difference between appointed scientific experts ("it's dangerous and we need resources") and permanent civil servants ("we are coping well") is still visible.
Will democratic countries eject governments which handled it well (or badly)?
That's an interesting one. Having emerged victorious from WWII, the UK rejected Churchill's government which had succeeded against all the odds by making very few mistakes. We aren't due for another general election for at least 4 years, by which time the fog of Brexit will have cleared: will the electorate remember 10 years of dangerous austerity that led to shortages of public health personnel and supplies, or some brilliant improvisation that saved lives without expensive interventions?
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The outbreak was made considerably worse because the Chinese government suppressed information about its existence.
Hopefully there will be a manhunt, Nuremberg trials, and appropriate executions pour encourager les autres. The old Maoists were pretty good at "criticising" failed executives, up to the highest level.
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Meanwhile, UK supermarkets report their best month ever. It's a bit late now, but Andrex is a secure long-term investment.
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There will be a real temptation for countries to seize all the medical supplies for their own use, and deny access by other countries to equipment which they had on order.
This will certainly stress economic associations like the European Union, with Member States competing for limited supplies on the one hand, and derogating from common manufacturing standards on the other.
I now learn that US manufacturers of medical equipment are exporting in bulk to foreign buyers who have government letters of credit, whilst US hospitals cannot offer such payment guarantees and thus cannot get the kit they need. A case of socialism beating capitalism at its own game.
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Oh, what to say...
but i AM having the same idea about it
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There was a case in Sydney where a cruise ship was permitted to discharge a thousand passengers without any health checks, even though officials were notified that there were passengers with respiratory infections. Many of those passengers have gone on to develop COVID-19, and spread it to others.
The cruise ship has many crew with COVID-19, some of whom will need hospital attention. The Australian government said all cruise ships had to leave Australian waters, even though there is really nowhere else for them to go (all ports have been closed to passenger ships).
After being escorted out to see, the government then called back the ship because they wanted the police to investigate how such a mess could occur.
It seems to be a case of the government trying to deflect blame to anyone else.
The principles of quarantine are well known - in fact Sydney harbour has a disused quarantine station in a remote area, where ships carrying sick passengers were inspected and the passengers tested.
For an interesting historical perspective on the origins of the word "quarantine", listen (10 minutes):
https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/science-diction-quarantine/
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I see that Donald Trump wants to blame China and the World Health Organisation for the lack of a public health system in the USA....
After he supervised dismantling ObamaCare (which would have started creating a public health system, over the next 10 years)...
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It's an interesting exercise in political statistics. You let a significant percentage of the population die, blame somebody else, do nothing, then tell the survivors "I saved you". Dead men don't vote, but gullible idiots do.
Not that it matters in the USA. The public vote is gerrymandered, then ignored. But the outcome will be interesting to future students of fascism.
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Trouble is alan this new found crisis spirit is new, its got a novety factor, but come September it will be old and people will become bored with it. Any new economics has to make allowances for the fact that some jobs, like picking vegetables in a muddy field with a hard wind blowing cold rain into your face will need appreciating. Vegetables are cheap, too cheap, so is milk etc, shipping in workers who are prepared to do the job because they are offered double there national wage is indicative of the pay grade we need to pay people from the uk.