BACK TO THE CINEMA

yo!... what's up doc... innit!

the starship..

palookaville..

has hit a time warp..

and is trapped back in 1918..

right inna middle of..

pandemic pandemoniam..

Although some researchers argue that the 1918 pandemic began elsewhere, in France in 1916 or China and Vietnam in 1917, many other studies indicate a U.S. origin. 

..Several Haskell men who had been exposed to influenza went to Camp Funston, in central Kansas. Days later, on March 4, the first soldier known to have influenza reported ill. 

The huge Army base was training men for combat in World War I, and within two weeks 1,100 soldiers were admitted to the hospital, with thousands more sick in barracks. 

 Thirty-eight died. 

Then, infected soldiers likely carried influenza from Funston to other Army camps in the States—24 of 36 large camps had outbreaks—sickening tens of thousands, before carrying the disease overseas. Meanwhile, the disease spread into U.S. civilian communities.

A pandemic occurs when an entirely new and virulent influenza virus, which the immune system has not previously seen, enters the population and spreads worldwide. 

Ordinary seasonal influenza viruses normally bind only to cells in the upper respiratory tract—the nose and throat—which is why they transmit easily. 

The 1918 pandemic virus infected cells in the upper respiratory tract, transmitting easily, but also deep in the lungs, damaging tissue and often leading to viral as well as bacterial pneumonias.

   

The Australian immunologist and Nobel laureate Macfarlane Burnet, who spent most of his career studying influenza,..

 concluded the evidence was “strongly suggestive” that the disease started in the United States and spread to France with “the arrival of American troops.”

 Camp Funston had long been considered as the site where the pandemic started..

 until my historical research, published in 2004..

pointed to an earlier outbreak in Haskell County.

THEY CALLED IT SPANISH FLU

they would wouldn't they..

anyway..

capping trump..

has spoken..

he says we can all go straight..

BACK TO THE CINEMA 

do not pass go..

do not collect $200

Mish

Trump has slated movie theaters as one of the first businesses to reopen. 

Will you go?

 

Movie Theater Questions Abound

1. How does the theater enforce distancing at these checkpoints: 
2. entering, seating, concession stands, rest rooms? 
3. Would the theaters be profitable with those restrictions?
4. Where's the movies? 
5. Movie releases have been delayed and blockbusters won't be the first offerings. 
6. Assuming the theaters open up, would you go?
7. How many people are now accustomed to watching movies at home on Netflix etc, and won't easily go back to overpaying for the seat and massively overpriced popcorn?

 

BACK TO THE CINEMA II

 

There's a little matter we have to talk about 

 

 

Then tell me "future boy", who is the president of the United States?

 

donald trump..

 

donald trump?! The real-estate developer?! 

 

Ha! Then who's Vice President? Jerry Lewis?

 

 

BACK TO THE CINEMA III

 

it's a western stupid..

Keep movin', movin', movin'
Though they're disapprovin'
Keep them dogies movin', rawhide
Don't try to understand 'em
Just rope 'em, throw, and brand 'em
Soon we'll be livin' high and wide
My heart's calculatin'
My true love will be waitin'
Be waitin' at the end of my ride

 

Move 'em on, head 'em up
Head 'em up, move 'em on
Move 'em on, head 'em up, rawhide
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in
Ride 'em in, cut 'em out
Cut 'em out, ride 'em in, rawhide

 

 

now get back ta work..

 

 

 

 

IMMUNITY ON THE BOUNTY

yo ... immunity what immunity?... innit!

CAPPIN BLIGH

wants y'all back ta work..

ta open up this great palookaville..

ta make palookaville great agin..

they ain't no plan..

fo how ta do it..

no testing..

no tracin..

no quarantine..

y'al jus can go back ta the cinema... innit!

"They respect but one law - the law of fear... 

I expect you to carry out whatever orders I give.

whenever I give them..

The ship's company will remember that..

I am your captain, your judge, and your jury."

HERD IMMUNITY

steve chao - 

 Stop blaming others..

We are where we are because Trump GOP gospel is let old sick people die..

It didn't start with this pandemic..

Plenty of Republican politicians publicly stated old people are burden to society..

should go..

Washington made no preparations, no mask, no ventilator..

because they wanted to cull the herd...

Boris Johnson accidentally gave out the secret..

herd immunity he calls it..

Trump panicked after he saw bodies pile up..

Fearing political consequence he changed tone..

But not really, his policy is still herd immunity..

Witness his push to open up/ease quarantines even while we have 28,000 new cases a day.

Coronavirus: 'Possible to be infected with Covid-19 more than once'

Scientists working on a coronavirus vaccine in Britain..

hope to start clinical trials towards the end of next week..


The leader of a team working on a vaccine..

Professor Sarah Gilbert..

from Oxford Universit, said scientists believed..

it was possible to become infected with Covid-19 more than once.


She added that a vaccine-induced immunity..

could last longer than the infected-induced immunity.

Watch the full interview on..

The Andrew Marr Show.

Coronavirus: Currently 'no evidence'..

 

that COVID-19 survivors have immunity..

 

WHO warns

Epidemiologists warn there is no proof..

 that antibody tests can show if someone who has been infected..

 cannot be infected again..

 

 IMMUNITY IMMUNITY MY KINGDOM FOR IMMUNITY

 evva 

evvabody knows they ain't no immunity.. 

Hopes that coronavirus antibody tests could help the UK end its lockdown..

have been dealt a blow..

 after the World Health Organization..

 questioned whether they offer any guarantee of immunity.

 

WHAT A PLAYER

yo! ... from hero ta zero ...innit!

here in palookaville..

our leader is sick..

he is recovering nicely..

we hope..

from rona's kiss..

we even quite like the guy..

he still sick though..

SICK AS A PARROT

wtf..

did he not just win..

a huge election victory?

a tory hero..

national hero..

the king of all brexit..

IN THE DRIVING SEAT

with co driver..

dominic cummings..

together they will..

get brexit done!

so much to do..

so little time..

then along come a spider..

THE VIRUS GAMES

oh dear..

what can the matter be..

we were planning..

monday through saturday..

two old ladies..

die in a lavatory..

Oh, dear! What can the matter be?
boris so slow at the games..

He promised to buy me a mask to protect me..
And then for a smile oh, he vowed he would please me..

He promised to bring me a visor and gown..
To tie up my bonny brown hair..

Oh, dear! What can the matter be?

boris so slow at the games..

He promised to buy me a basket of ventilators
A garland of laurels, a gift of immunity

A little straw hat to set off the cameras
And tie up my bonny brown hair..

Oh, dear! What can the matter be?
Dear, dear! What can the matter be?

Oh, dear! What can the matter be?
boris so slow at the games..

boris is sick..

because he took his..

eye off the ball..

in a very fast moving..

virus game..

he cudda been a contender..

but now..

he is sick of the sound..

of chickens coming home to roost..

sick of the virus games..

he is thinking of steve mcqueen..

in the movie..

the sand pebbles..

 

I was home. 

What happened? 

What the hell happened? 

HEY HEY RONA

yo!... the beat goes on ... innit!

 TempusFugit -

"Numerous comments in this thread about..

who deserves to be “bashed”..

and whose reported data is to be believed..

all of which ignores two essential facts about the Coronavirus narrative..

(1) 

Even the “truthful” data being put out by responsible/credible governments..

tells less than the whole story..

It helps to track trends and build sentiment..

but if you were to take a guess at how many people in, say, the US..

 have been infected up to now you could be out by a factor of five or even 10..

so any extrapolations from reported numbers are at best educated guesses..

As discussion of the origin of the virus or potential treatments has amply demonstrated..

covid-ology is still an imprecise science.

(2)

 The Coronavirus crisis has demonstrated the existence of a yawning leadership gap..

across virtually the entire globe..

Not only in the BRIC countries..

where each leader’s response to the emerging crisis..

has been egregious in its own way..

but also in so-called advanced democracies..

There’s little point rehearsing Trump’s imbecile mishandling of the situation here..

you couldn’t make it up..

yet it is in the process of hardening into an historical fact..

Boris Johnson got it seriously wrong too..

and no amount of bonding with the NHS..

over his recovery from the illness will..

divert attention from that when it comes to the post mortem..

Abe and Macron have lost all credibility with their respective voters at this stage..

Only a select few countries..

South Korea, Austria, Germany..

seem to have got it right..

And however much Trump’s attack on the WHO is to be deplored..

it seems that (a) it’s response in the emerging stages of the disease..

was highly coloured by political considerations..

when it should have been putting the world on red alert..

and (b) the organization charged with ensuring the health of humanity..

did not have a plan in place for how to organize..

a concerted response to an emerging pandemic..

or if it did it has yet to see the light of day..

But the point anyway at this stage..

is surely that everyone on this planet should be focused..

on doing what is necessary..

to get the spread of the disease under control..

so that we can all return to our “normal” lives..

whatever that may mean in the future..

Finger wagging, blaming and bashing are a worthless waste of energy..

There’ll be plenty of time for a reckoning in due course."


PORK SPAMMED

njbr

 

..the state is working with Tyson to test employees at facilities in Columbus Junction and Waterloo..

 

 and to trace their connections to others to identify community spread..

Testing was completed Friday in Columbus Junction..

 

where Tyson officials said..

 

two workers had died following an outbreak where at least 148 workers have been infected..

 

The plant has been closed since April 6 but the company hopes to reopen it next week.

Reynolds said 2,700 tests were sent to the Waterloo plant..

 

and they will be processed at a state laboratory over the weekend..

The outbreak at the Waterloo plant comes amid similar problems..

 

that have forced the closure of meat processing plants across the country..

 

including a pork plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota..

 

where hundreds of workers have tested positive..

 

a beef plant in Greeley, Colorado..

 

where at least two workers have died..

 

and several meat plants in Pennsylvania..

 

where many workers are ill..

On Friday, Tyson announced four workers had died at a poultry plant..

 

in Georgia after being infected with the coronavirus..

Also Friday, there were 19 reported cases of the coronavirus..

 

identified at a large JBS pork plant in Worthington, Minnesota..

 

according to the union that represents most of the 2,000 workers at the facility..

 

State health officials said seven cases have been confirmed and the number is expected to rise..

 

The plant remains open.

marg54

"Your president is going to have blood on his hands..

 

for his thirst to put money and his re election before lives..

 

We can only watch what he is doing with shock and horror from Australia..

 

Our hearts go out to all Americans"

njbr

 

"WSJ...More than 160 South Koreans have tested positive a second time for the coronavirus..

 

a development that suggests the disease..

 

may have a longer shelf life than expected"

njbr

 

TOKYO (AP) — "Hospitals in Japan are increasingly turning away sick people..

 

as the country struggles with surging coronavirus infections..

 

and its emergency medical system collapses.

In one recent case, an ambulance carrying a man with a fever..

 

and difficulty breathing was rejected by 80 hospitals..

 

and forced to search for hours..

 

for a hospital in downtown Tokyo that would treat him..

 

Another feverish man finally reached a hospital..

 

after paramedics unsuccessfully contacted 40 clinics.

The Japanese Association for Acute Medicine..

 

and the Japanese Society for Emergency Medicine..

 

say many hospital emergency rooms are refusing to treat people..

 

including those suffering strokes, heart attacks and external injuries."

SOME TIMES A GREAT PLAN

yo!... goes awry... innit!

palookaville..

in luckdown..

nobody planned..

ta fail..

but..

every body failed ta plan..

GOING TO FAIL : FAIL

it lookin..

more an more..

lak palookaville gonna..

lose the games

ya cain't win if ya..

last outta the gate..

if ya don't gotta..

right kit..

if ya don't gotta..

playbook..

MAKE A NEW PLAN STAN

Mar 24, 2020 Nouriel Roubini

But the best-case scenario assumes several conditions. 

First, the US, Europe, and other heavily affected economies..

would need to roll out widespread COVID-19 testing, tracing, and treatment measures, 

enforced quarantines, and a full-scale lockdown of the type that China has implemented..

 And, because it could take 18 months for a vaccine to be developed..

and produced at scale, antivirals and other therapeutics..

will need to be deployed on a massive scale. 

the palookas are..

gettin restless..

they seen alla movies..

an they..

miss their buddies..

they ain't enuff dead palookas..

in they area..

WHAT, ME WORRY?

palookaville is a big place..

an some folks..

gotta shitty enda the stick..

others..

not so much..

they want luckdown..

ta end..


HEY HEY RONA

they want to go back to work..

an travel, an visit, an hang out..

they think that..

rhona..

is for the birds..

and not for them..

evidence is emerging that..

they may not be onside..


I say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Rona..

Oh, Rona..

I tell you Rona what I wanna do..

I'll build a house next door to you..

Can I see you sometimes?

We can blow kisses through the blinds..

Yeah can I out come out on the front..

And listen to my heart go bumpety bump..

I need you baby that's no lie..

Without your love I'd surely die..

I say hey, Rona..

THE VERY THING THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY WILL MAKE THEM DEAD

yes..

in palookaville..

they have a name for this..

herd immunity..

steve chao - 

 Stop blaming others..

We are where we are because Trump GOP gospel is let old sick people die..

It didn't start with this pandemic..

Plenty of Republican politicians publicly stated old people are burden to society..

should go..

Washington made no preparations, no mask, no ventilator..

because they wanted to cull the herd...

Boris Johnson accidentally gave out the secret..

herd immunity he calls it..

Trump panicked after he saw bodies pile up..

Fearing political consequence he changed tone..

But not really, his policy is still herd immunity..

Witness his push to open up/ease quarantines even while we have 28,000 new cases a day.

 many want ta..

git back onna trail..

Keep rollin', rollin', rollin'
Though the streams are swollen..

Keep them dogies rollin'
Rawhide!

Through rain and wind and weather..

Hell-bent for leather..

Wishin' my gal was by my side..

All the things I'm missin'
Good vittles, love, and kissin'..

Are waiting at the end of my ride.

CHORUS

Move 'em on, head 'em up
Head 'em up, move 'em on
Move 'em on, head 'em up

Rawhide

Cut 'em out, ride 'em in..

Ride 'em in, let 'em out.

Cut 'em out, ride 'em in..

Rawhide!

Keep movin', movin', movin'

Though they're disapprovin'

Keep them dogies movin'

Rawhide!

Don't try to understand 'em..

Just rope, and throw, and brand 'em..

Soon we'll be living high and wide..

My heart’s calculatin'

My true love will be waitin'

Be waiting at the end of my ride.

CHORUS

Rawhide!

source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/tvthemes/rawhidelyrics.html

 SOME ONE ALWAYS HAS A PLAN

but it may not be..

the one we will like..

or the one that will..

make us all better..

or..

keep us all safe


ALLSAFE


Firstly, if you get on top of it really early, you can get it under control.

"It is relatively easy to tackle clusters, to contact trace and isolate,"

says Professor Kenji Shibuya of King's College London.

"The authorities were quite successful in their cluster control approach.

Japan was in the very early phase of the outbreak back then.

It was localised and it was a success story."


"The major lesson to take from Hokkaido is that even if you are successful..

in the containment the first time around..

it's difficult to isolate and maintain the containment for a long period..

Unless you expand the testing capacity..

it's difficult to identify community transmission and hospital transmission."

The long road ahead

The third lesson is..

that this "new reality" is going to go on a lot longer than most people expect.

Hokkaido has now had to re-impose the restrictions..

though Japan's version of a Covid-19 "lockdown"..

is a rather softer than those imposed elsewhere.

Most people are still going to work..

Schools may be closed, but shops and even bars remain open.

Prof Shibuya thinks without tougher measures..

Japan has little hope of controlling..

this so called "second wave" of infections now taking place..

not just in Hokkaido, but across the country.

"The key lesson" he says..

"is even if you are successful in containment locally..

but there is transmission going on in other parts of the country..

as long as people are moving around..

it's difficult to maintain a virus-free status".

Even so, the economy in Hokkaido is already hurting badly.

The island is hugely dependent on tourism..

and Japan has banned travel from the US and Europe and most countries in Asia.

coming up..

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/17/far-right-coronavirus-protests-restrictions

guidelines-governors

WORLD LEADERS GET SICK

yo! ...an tired... innit!

here in palookaville...

THE VIRUS GAMES RAGE ON

folks is gettin sick..

they sick of bein cooped up..

sick of bein outta work..

sick of bein..

out of touch..

mostly though..

they sick of losin loved ones..

when ordinary palookas get sick..

they all get sick in the same way..

but team leaders

WORLD LEADERS ALL GET SICK IN THEIR OWN WAY

boris is sick..

he sick with the virus..

donald is sick..

he sick of media criticism..

vladimir is sick..

sick of the fallin oil price..

xi is sick..

sick of bein blamed fo a 

BIG YELLOW VIRUS

some sick thing they have in common..

they sick of not bein able to play..

with they train sets..

with they airplanes..

with they ships..

with they soldiers..

without they parades..

and  they banquets..

they feel small and alone..

and they all sick to death..

of the virus games.. 

WHATS REALLY SICK

is the doctors an nurses and the carers..

bein made ta play..

without the proper kit..

WOULDN'T IT BE NICE

if the team leaders..

could put aside their differences..

and agree a

common playbook..

and co-operate..

to bring these games..

to an end..

IT AIN'T OVER TIL THE FAT VACCINE SINGS

we here in palookaville..

look to our leaders..

to recover..

their sense of humour..

an set about..

sharin out the popcorn..

and all the stuff..

needed for a..

vaccine to be developed..

before the games get..

out of hand..

COMING NEXT

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye..


Four and twenty pangolins
Baked in a pie..

When the pie was opened..

The virus began to sing..

Wasn't that a dainty dish
To set before the king?

The king was in the counting-house..

Counting out his money..

The queen was in the parlor..

Eating bread and honey..

The maid was in the garden..

Hanging out the clothes..

Along came a virus..

And snipped off her nose..

Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye..

Four and twenty million..
Baked in a pie..

When the pie was opened..

The dead began to sing..

Wasn't that a dainty dish..

To set before the king?

THE GREATEST GAMES EVER PLAYED

yo!... who knew?... innit!

2,015,571 

no end in sight..

palookaville..

was warned..

but wasn't listening..

THRONE OF GAMES

bigger than the olympics..

faster than formula one..

statistics to die for..

human drama..

herioc action..

bare knuckle rides..

emergency rooms..

THE GAMES THAT STOPPED THE WORLD

airplanes grounded..

folks out of work..

cars parked up..

ships not sailing..

trains not running..

folks not working..

students not studying..

lovers not touching..

actors not acting..

drama not playing..

borders closed..

tourists not traveling..

holidays not taken..

homes not bought..

houses not sold..

stocks crashed..

bonds bashed..

sailors sick..

NOT FOR 100 YEARS

have these games been played..

at this level..

with anything like..

these results..

THE VIRUS GAMES PLAYBOOK

prevaricate..

obfuscate..

delay..

 deny..

 lie..

cheat..

steal..

push..

shove..

gouge..

 cover up..

play without proper kit..

argue the toss..

blame the ref..

change the rules..

hail mary passes..

play offside..

block..

dither..

divide..

LOCK DOWN OR LOOK OUT

carry on cruisin..

carry on mixin..

carry on mardigras..

carry on racing..

carry on sports..

carry on shakin hands..

WHAT A CARRY ON

now it's..

carry on..

in lock down..

stay home stupid..

watch the games..

onna tv..

VOICES OFF

yo!... party off dude...innit!


from the www..


 How China dropped the ball on Covid-19

Sechel

In the six days after top Chinese officials secretly determined they likely were facing a pandemic from a new coronavirus, the city of Wuhan at the epicenter of the disease hosted a mass banquet for tens of thousands of people; millions began traveling through for Lunar New Year celebrations.

President Xi Jinping warned the public on the seventh day, Jan. 20.
But by that time, more than 3,000 people had been infected during almost a week of public silence, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press and expert estimates based on retrospective infection data.

But the six-day delay by China’s leaders in Beijing came on top of almost two weeks during which the national Center for Disease Control did not register any cases from local officials, internal bulletins obtained by the AP confirm.
Yet during that time, from Jan. 5 to Jan. 17, hundreds of patients were appearing in hospitals..

 not just in Wuhan..

but across the country.

Sechel

Republicans are ratcheting up efforts to paint China as the villain in the coronavirus pandemic, seeking to shift blame as President Donald Trump faces increased criticism of his handling of a crisis that has shuttered the U.S. economy.

DON'T JUST STAND THERE



 He Could Have Seen What Was Coming: Behind Trump’s Failure on the Virus

“Is this true?!” 

Dr. Kadlec wrote back to the researcher..

  “If so we have a huge hole on our screening and quarantine effort,”..

Her response was blunt: 

“People are carrying the virus everywhere.”

The following day, Dr. Kadlec and the others decided to present Mr. Trump with a plan titled “Four Steps to Mitigation,” telling the president that they needed to begin preparing Americans for a step rarely taken in United States history.

But over the next several days..

a presidential blowup and internal turf fights would sidetrack such a move..

The focus would shift to messaging and confident predictions of success..

rather than publicly calling..

for a shift to mitigation.

These final days of February..

perhaps more than any other moment during his tenure in the White House..

illustrated Mr. Trump’s inability or unwillingness..

to absorb warnings coming at him. 

He instead reverted to his traditional political playbook..

in the midst of a public health calamity..

squandering vital time as the coronavirus..

 spread silently across the country.

Sechel

“Despite Mr. Trump’s denial weeks later, he was told at the time about a Jan. 29 memo produced by his trade adviser, Peter Navarro, laying out in striking detail the potential risks of a coronavirus pandemic: as many as half a million deaths and trillions of dollars in economic losses.”

  Mortality rates in hospitalized patients

njbr

The average age of a patient hospitalized with covid-19, the company said, is 59.6 years old. Mortality rises sharply with age: It is just 1 percent for hospitalized patients under the age of 20, 4 percent for ages 20 to 44, 9 percent for 45 to 54, 13 percent for 55 to 64, 23 percent for 65 to 74, 31 percent for 75 to 84, and 40 percent for 85 and up.

AMERICAN BY DAY

yo!... didn't he ramble... innit! 

on palookaville tv.. 

every night for hours an hours on end...

The cold political calculation behind Donald Trump's WHO funding suspension 

The international body provides US president with a handy scapegoat as election approaches..

ventilators mentioned 325 times..

what! no lemon curry?

Massachusetts Recruits 1,000 ‘Contact Tracers’ To Battle COVID-19

Posted on April 15, 2020 by Yves Smith

Yves here.

As the article points out..

this Massachusetts effort comes what is probably..

too late for this first wave of the infection..

But it may still prove valuable..

Some fear Covid-19 comes back after lockdowns are relaxed..

 or next fall because contracting the disease does not confer much immunity..

so having worked out some of the bugs in contact tracing would be useful..

But it is an open question as to whether this effort is well enough manned..

And there are also concerns..

about whether there are enough resources committed to..

 administering and processing tests.

NORWEGIAN BY NIGHT

troubled airline norwegian was on the brink last night..

 as its pilots were warned there was no money to pay them..

 or make them redundant.

TRAINS AN BOATS AN PLANES

you don't know what you've got..

til it's gone