The Coronavirus Thread

Not into the right-wing conspiracy thing.

But I do believe he seems to be babbling idiot, at least from what I saw on ABC World News. Simple questions that he simply refused to answer regarding accelerating testing, lack of testing, etc. The dude totally changed the topic and answered his own question on what awesome things (currently vaporware) he was working on. He could have answered the question in a straightforward way instead of spinning it. I would have respected that a lot more. David Manure didn't even follow up where I bet Diane Sawyer would have.

Never totally trusted that dude, not any different from others like Warren Buffet with his grandfatherly charm. Buffet will sell your kids into slavery if he could to make a buck. Been way too up close to people like this, politicians, Senators, media moguls, senior executives, etc. Again not right wing, just don't trust people like that. Think of my thinking as more along the lines of how Stanley Kubrick portrays the rich and the powerful in this films.

 

Err, not talking about what's happening in Russia via the media. I've worked on a few projects in the past where we found strong online presence from Russian state actors pushing various agendas via social media to spread disinformation like this. It's a joke in this context, but who the f**k knows?

 

It's fun to believe and indulge though. I don't take it too seriously. If Americans are easily manipulated because we are too stupid, then perhaps we deserve to be. And the Americans who were "manipulated" into voting for Trump would have voted for him anyway. To paraphrase what Bernie said or may have said: HTF did the Democrats lose the Rust Belt? It's simple, they abandoned them. Started way back in the 90s. Unlike Germany, no industrial plan. Just money money money and take take take. We need term limits for all politicians, a law that says one over 70*, and no lobbying post Senatorial positions, and no more use of the title Senator after one is out of office, etc.

*We stipulate age requirements of 25 and 30 for Representatives and Senators respectively to ensure the elected have sufficient wisdom and life experience. Likewise we should stipulate laws that prohibit people over 70 to ensure the elected are not senile, insane, or like have Mr. Potter instincts. People didn't live that long back in the day, so I'm sure the Founders never thought of it.

 

I like your Russian perspective and skepticism.

Americans are too easily manipulated. Most fall in one of two camps and just nod their heads to their respective trusted news sources which offer their own narratives. People just read the headlines and interpretations which have become a lot more polarized and biased. No will one will actually sit down for part of an hour to watch State of the Union, press briefings, hearings, conferences, etc. and think for themselves (all the wonderful things that the USA system is good at - but no citizen will take advantage of). Their personal news sources, with their soundbites, will tell them what to think and reinforce their thinking. It's all black and white. Heck, I get better news about the USA on Al Jazeera.

The Bill Gates video was reminder that he was once seen as a villain (at least among old school techies) hell bent on pushing his barely functioning client-server software into corporate environments and later trying to own the Internet. Now in the midst of CV-19, he's suddenly a hero. A savior. A world benefactor with his opaque and private Foundation. A holy-tech-mage who predicted five ago that such a pandemic would be happen.

I'll believe all this when in six months he announces a cure that he personally funded like how Tony Stark would. Otherwise it's vaporware.

 

I choose to believe the disinformation coming from my Taiwan source (mom): that this bug escaped from a Wuhan biological weapons store.

 

I wouldn't trust this guy either.

 

Nope. That's what he wants you to believe.

 

Call me a cynical bastard...



My thing is why the heck is Bill Gates in front of ABC World News Tonight? Is he a pandemic expert? Is he a physician or official on the front and back lines fighting CV-19?

Why did Bill Gates very publicly mention that he is bootstrapping manufacturing for the seven most promising vaccines at a possible loss of "billions" because some won't work (it's totally worth it for this!) when his Foundation has not committed to anything for this - and that what really meant is that he could be the dude that could a get lot of investors together to fund this? These aren't bad things...

However, it's left me scratching my head that this ABC interview wasn't some sort of advertising for his Foundation at very opportune time. I would have preferred that David Mature interviewed that Korean doctor in the YouTube video posted several times in earlier threads. We would have gotten a human story as well as good medical advice and knowledge. Not some vaporware advertisement.

As I've said. I'll believe it when the Gates Foundation (or Bill Gates himself with his own money) posts billions in outlay or significant drop in assets for their 2020 and 2021 IRS statements. (Despite the KPMG audited financial statements on the site, stuff about the Foundation is still very opaque, e.g. who gives them money, how they invest their assets, etc.)