This is an interesting series on Medium, written by an author in Sri Lanka who is telling the story of "COVID underdogs", basically "non-developed" countries that handled COVID better than the best we're hearing about from "developed" countries.

He has an article talking about the racism in the coverage and you can tell it's what motivated him: https://medium.com/indica/the-overwh...e-78e37e4ce6e8



But the interesting ones are the case studies:
Mongolia: https://medium.com/indica/covid-unde...a-3b0c162427c2
Sri Lanka: https://medium.com/indica/covid-unde...a-db6eca164a35
Ghana: https://medium.com/indica/covid-unde...a-b77ca29192a7

I think there are a couple of others, but these were the ones I read about how different places with different people and different problems had different successful responses.

• Mongolia had literally 0 local transmission. They had imported cases but 0... 0(!!!!) local transmission.
• Sri Lanka, with a dense population of 21 million, had more cases in their navy than in the civilian population.
• Ghana, which has a per capita income of $7K per year had more testing early on than South Korea and had drones (MF'ing drones!!) to do rural lab testing.

And, at the end of the day, it's a reminder about just how much we've screwed this up. And how much we should be listening to other places rather than broadcasting our screw-ups around the world.

SI

Another country worth mentioning is Uruguay, especially seeing how things look all around them. (and not just Covid, the country also is just about a case study of how to prosper using what americans would call 'socialist' policies while not having the inherited and inherent advantages of, say, Sweden or Norway).

While i agree with the sentiment (for example i will be the first to be pissed when people will claim countries in South America or Africa don't have knowledgeable people at all levels and know how diseaese prevention is done. It's laughable to suggest really, given their experience dealing with many more and more dangerous infectious diseases than 'We' do) and this is obviously sth that happens ...

There are also circumstances that help them of course, which have less to do with agency than just circumstance (connectivity, timing, population makeup, culture both private and work, population makeup etc, etc). And just because the absolutes are wrong (like with Mongolia being basically a desert in the middle of nowhere) it doesn't mean it isn't a big factor regardless. There's a scale, not an either/or.

And it's also undeniably true that just looking at numbers will never tell you much about many countries (often by their own judgement btw. India for example is perfectly aware that they have no idea at all how many people actually die from Covid. Why ? Because they don't have any idea how many people actually die, period. Only 60% of deaths are ever recorded, much less soon or with noting the cause of death. Makes public health a nightmare) and with an undoubted lack of coverage on the ground it's hard to get any sort of picture.

Two things can be true at the same time. And just like their response can be judged as great it can also be judged as not applicable to countries/regions with vastly different circumstances, both ways (Germany's response has a snowballs chance in hell at working in Africa or Asia. But neither has the mongolian modell any chance at being applicable or being accepted in a Western nation. It just doesn't).
Neither does their early response teach anybody anything for right now. It needs to be studied and taken into heavy consideration for the future (and given it's due !) but it's not a big help now.

Another country worth mentioning is Uruguay, especially seeing how things look all around them. (and not just Covid, the country also is just about a case study of how to prosper using what americans would call 'socialist' policies which even the current center-right government upholds).

Uruguay wages successful fight against COVID-19 | World| Breaking news and perspectives from around the globe | DW | 22.08.2020

Subscribe to read | Financial Times

While i agree with parts of the sentiment (for example i will be the first to be pissed when people will claim countries in South America or Africa don't have knowledgeable people at all levels and know how diseaese prevention is done. It's laughable to suggest really, given their experience dealing with many more and more dangerous infectious diseases than 'We' do all the time) and this is obviously sth that happens ...

There are also circumstances that help them (connectivity/mobility, timing, population makeup, culture both private and work, acceptance of institutions, etc). And just because the absolutes are laughably wrong (like with Mongolia being basically a desert in the middle of nowhere with a few tent villages in the minds of many) it doesn't mean it isn't a big factor regardless. There's a scale, not an either/or.

And it's also undeniably true that just looking at numbers will never tell you much about many countries (often by their own judgement btw. India for example is perfectly aware that they have no idea at all how many people actually die from Covid. Why ? Because they don't have any idea how many people actually die, period. Only 60% of deaths are ever recorded, much less soon or with noting the cause of death. Makes public health a nightmare) and with an undoubted lack of coverage on the ground it's hard to get any sort of picture.
And that's sth that happens within western nations as well. If Nowhereville, Iowa or a village in Bavaria does sth better than anybody it still will be an uphill battle to have it become accepted in New York or Berlin.

And with Covid it also happens within Europe for example. 99% of people won't know and 99% of media will never report that f.e. the Faroe Islands managed to develop their own Covid Test and Lab structure within days or that the Czech Republic was the first to be all in on masks or that Norway was doing pretty much everything perfectly and is even looking good economically compared to most.

Two things can be true at the same time. And just like their response can be judged as great it can also be judged as not applicable to countries/regions with vastly different circumstances right now, that goes both ways (Germany's response has a snowballs chance in hell at working in Africa or Asia. But neither has the mongolian modell any chance at being applicable or being accepted in a Western nation. It just doesn't).
Neither does their early response teach anybody anything for right now. It needs to be studied and taken into heavy consideration for the future (and given it's due !) but it's not a big help now.

There's just no one size fits all response, not early and especially not now. (just blindly copying sth isn't helping, see the french testing desaster i mentioned in the other thread.)

But very enlightening and thanks for sharing !

As an aside: One danger is also the opposite: Seeing the low numbers in some regions and just assuming that nothing major could happen there and not having any urgency to enable them to have access to therapeutics and vaccines.

He needs a therapist.

"The people I like the best are the people that are less successful because it makes you feel so powerful. I always say it. Never go out with a successful person."

This guy is so broken inside.pic.twitter.com/fWFtcxu9yW

— Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) September 18, 2020

His defenders eat that shit up though. They think he’s hilarious.

Being rich gives you a lot of options. But it does not guarantee that you will choose the right ones.

Some people do, however.

I could not help of think of our President and his cabinet of emotionally stunted billionaires when I read this this morning:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenb.../#162d46c33a2a

So he's basically saying none of his wives have been successful. At least until they met him anyway. That'll be a great conversation piece over KFC.

Trump has managed to make a tax cut unpopular.

Americans,, welcome to tax positivity pic.twitter.com/xCjTJ2yyAF

— James Medlock (@jdcmedlock) September 18, 2020

Dems backing off of a marijuana leagalization bill because of the fear that the GOP might use it against them is so damned on-brand.

South Carolina finally allows that the virus is a legitimate reason to request an absentee ballot

Aren't the payroll taxes one of the most regressive taxes we have at the moment? They should be eliminated assuming they were replaced with a more progressive tax.

Just eliminate the income limit, then it won't be regressive and it will help Social Security's insolvency issues.

https://www.feedstuffs.com/news/trum...campaign-rally

Another $13 billion for farmers. Do I get a pat on the pack for pulling myself up by the bootstraps by selling the farm and getting off the dole?

Some really interesting posts there sterlingice and whomario and I agree. There are differences in certain regions/countries, but it is the height of arrogance and racism that the West dismisses their accomplishments against Covid. The clear evidence, at least, is that those countries took the virus seriously and moved against it quickly. There are lessons to be learned, but why would anyone pay attention to "shithole countries" after all.

Despite the fact that over 2/3 of Americans support this? Yeah, that makes sense. I would bet most people that think it is still a dangerous drug and remain illegal are going to vote for trump anyway.

Apparently Trump got some polling feedback that he's not doing well with Puerto Ricans in Florida.

President Trump says the reason they’re now rolling out the aid package for Puerto Rico — weeks before the election — is because it took a long time to get ready.

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) September 18, 2020

"I'm the best thing that has ever happened to Puerto Rico"- President Donald Trump, 9.18.20

— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) September 18, 2020

If by "best thing that ever happened" he means "was the President who treated you so disgustingly that it eventually led to your statehood just to make it slightly less likely that someone like me could ever happen to you again" he could be right.

I hope someone recorded the

"Can't we just deport them?"

"Sir, we can't deport them, they are Americans"

"What do you mean they are Americans? I thought that you said earlier that they are from Puerto Rico."

"Yes sir. Of course. You are right. But let's try one more time. Remember when we had out those maps and explained the difference between states and territories . . . "

discussion that inevitably happened before this.

That basically did happen, in the aftermath of the hurricane.

As Trump panders to the Puerto Ricans he so thoroughly detested and insulted for so much of his presidency, let's remember what Elaine C. Duke, his former acting secretary of homeland security, revealed just a couple of months ago. pic.twitter.com/RmMmvekZnL

— Kurt Eichenwald (@kurteichenwald) September 18, 2020

Also kind of insane that it seems to have just now occurred to them that by leaving Puerto Rico completely devastated, they might incentivize people to leave and move to Florida.

"We just thought that they'd starve and die in the street like dogs. It never occurred to us that they had intelligence and decision making ability."

And now this, alleged deal to avoid extradition for Assange

Assange lawyer says Trump offered deal to avoid extradition

This statue of Melania is not what I expected.

A new bronze statue of first lady Melania Trump was unveiled in Slovenia this week, after a wooden version of the memorial was burned in July. pic.twitter.com/0nVGXShV1E

— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 18, 2020

Still better than the Lucille Ball statue.

It's really interesting to me when we see how some of those countries reacted versus the crap in this thread here about the Baylor game getting cancelled:

According to a source, **at least** one Baylor football player who would have missed the game tomorrow against Houston tested negative at least FIVE times in the last 12 days.

Because of contact tracing.

Think about that.
— Colt Barber (@Colt_Barber) September 18, 2020

It's really interesting to me when we see how some of those countries reacted versus the crap in this thread here about the Baylor game getting cancelled.

Like this gem:


Yes, that's exactly the point. We are overly cautious because we don't know for sure who gets sick with a virus that spreads exponentially so we don't take extra risks. THAT. IS. EXACTLY. THE. POINT.

SI

The absolute dumbest party to ever exist. Who's the scapegoat going to be when they lose to a reality TV host again this time?

They find popular positions and then torpedo them because they're afraid to upset some Republicans who will never vote for them (despite them thinking they can sway them).

2016 should have seen the implosion of the party and new leadership put in from top to bottom.

Well it's reusable, gotta give the artist that.

My neighbor just put up a flag pole. American flag. Cool. Then a big ol' Trump 2020 flag. And he is on the side I drive past. Great.
Wanted me to jimp in a picture with him and the flag. Told him no. He asked dont you support the president. I said no. I did follow up with I do not support our political system or either major party.

This reminds me of a conversation I had at work with someone that really isn't very political. How many things has Trump ruined the perception of? If is see an American flag on your car I assume you're a Trump supporter.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg died; it is the end of times.

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/18/10030...ity-dies-at-87

Oh fuck

McConnell will do the right thing I'm sure.

Good bye Roe v Wade (among others). It was nice knowing you.

It's going to be great when McConnell just ignores the whole can't fill a SCOTUS position in the election year thing.

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Well, shit.

Of course he will, just like before.....

Hype aside, this is now definitely the most important election of our lifetime.

He's already said he will and laughed while saying it.

Oh no, sad to hear. McConnell will keep the seat open until after the election to help drive up GOP turnout and then he'll ram it through in the lame duck after Biden wins.

Journalistic equivalent to premature ejaculation.

Tik Tok to be banned starting Sunday.

1st amendment anyone?

Meanwhile, somewhere in his crypt, Mitch has cracked open a bottle of his finest Kentucky bourbon and is deciding whether it's more advantageous to hold the seat until after the election to ramp up Trump enthusiasm and ram it through in the lame duck or do it before the election so they can rule in Trump v Biden. I mean, I'm sure he's already made this calculation but that's what I'm picturing in my head.

SI

Ted Cruz has already said the nomination and vote must come before the election. The most punchable face in America has spoken.

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Also, Biden announced tonight if they do ram through a justice this year, the Dems will add two seats to the Supreme Court next year.

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I was on edge with everything before. Trying to bide my time, be patient, wait out fucking idiots. But now? Feel like the kicks just keep coming. No let up. It brings out the very worst in me, and my vindictive bad side. I can't even. I just can't.

I think they'll try to ram it through in the lame duck, especially if Biden wins. They'll use it as a life line to Trump and endangered Senators to help drum up GOP support in the election. Better vote for us or Biden will nominate a radical liberal. If there's a Trump v. Biden election case they can rule with 8 justices and at best Roberts could force a tie.

Shoot if Trump loses he will try and coerce the supreme court to overturn the election and declare him the winner. OR he will declare martial law and become our first dictator.

The question is, does the military back Trump?

I haven't seen this anywhere but I've been doing other stuff, too. Where did you see this?

SI

Read it on Twitter from a reporter, but it might have been wishful thinking.

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If Biden wins it will be much harder for McConnell to hold 50 votes in the lame duck session. It's much safer to do it before the election.

If you think Trump is going to go down in flames and you want to jockey for position in the non-Trump wing of the GOP, this might be a good chance.

SI

If Kelley wins in Arizona, according to election law there he could actually be seated November 30th. McSally has already said she wants to vote on Trump's choice. That might be a consideration on the time line.

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