HOME / BLOG /

April 2020

France president also underestimated the virus

There is an interesting article in The New York Times today about France and the pandemic. It notes that as late as March 6 president Macron attended the theater with his wife to encourage people to keep going out despite the pandemic. So it is fair to note that, although Macron did not ridicule the virus at any point, this was a serious underestimation of the problem.

#Coronavirus #France #Coronavirusslowresponse

 

Read more about France president also underestimated the virus

Changes in chopsticks customs in China

An article in the Economist points out this week that, with restaurants reopening in China after the decline of covid-19, there has been increasing discussion about reforming food sharing practices in China, where people take small bits of food again and again from common plates and eat from those chopsticks. The most common suggestion is to introduce a special pair of chopsticks just used to serve food that nobody eats from. Another idea is to give diners their own personal servings, rather than big plates that are then shared.

... Read more about Changes in chopsticks customs in China

Sad statistics about COVID-19

After 3 months the number of deaths in the US from Covid-19 has equaled the number of deaths of US soldiers in 2 decades in Vietnam.

Trump's attitudes towards science

There is an article in The New York Times today about Trump's attitudes towards science. It extensively quotes the head of foreign and defense policy studies at the conservative American enterprise institute to say that "America's friends feel like they don't even recognize us." After the war she continues, "we represented modernity in all its advantages whether by creating a polio vaccine or landing a man on the moon. It will be a real struggle to restore the admiration for the United States that is such an important part of our power in the world."
This is what intelligent conservatives... Read more about Trump's attitudes towards science

A retired Caterpillar worker is quoted in today's New York Times

A retired Caterpillar worker is quoted in today's New York Times as saying that the government's lack of preparedness was "embarrassing."
"We didn't get no Paul Revere saying 'the British are coming' type of thing," he said. "We got 'don't worry about this, we got this under control.'"

“THE U.S. IS THE LAUGHINGTOCK OF THE WORLD” ON CORONAVIRUS

A Taiwanese friend recently posted an observation on Facebook that really caught my eye: “In terms of Covid19 containment, USA has drastically failed and is the laughing stock of the world. Very sad.” He added that the Taiwanese media was filled with similar comments.

There are few more pro-US countries in the world than Taiwan, which relies on us for protection against China. It is very sad is that things have come to...

Read more about “THE U.S. IS THE LAUGHINGTOCK OF THE WORLD” ON CORONAVIRUS