In retrospect I am not sure why I am surprised, but it has surprised me that so many entities have been so committed in misrepresenting what experts have said about this situation. There is new one in which a representative from the WHO said that we should not look to lockdowns as our primary prevention measure. What they are expressing is a concern that too many places are not doing the basics and then resorting to damaging lockdowns when it inevitably turns to shit. There are now whole sectors of the media pushing the idea that WHO is condemning lock downs, and they havent said any such thing.
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Off topic. Who is ruling Maharastra? Wasn’t it a stronghold of SS and BJP?
BJP was the single largest party after the results, but just short of majority.
Currently SS (Shiv Sena) alongwith the incompetent Congress and NCP, the latter of which is incredibly corrupt, are ruling the state with a first time Chief Minister from SS with questionable administration skills. I mean, no sooner did they grab power we have already seen land deals and big tenders going at cheap prices to people close to NCP.
The much needed Metro construction in Mumbai is now delayed and it looks like the project which would have been completed in 3 or so years will take another decade due to the unnecessary changing of tracks (which as a desi you know is more chances to loot for the politicians).
The Covid handling continues to be abysmal. While the national numbers are declining, the state continues to suffer, despite being the richest.
PS: Props to you for knowing about SS. I mean, it would have been understandable for you to know about our major parties or parties in West Bengal, but not the one on the West coast. Or maybe you watch our news channels, in which case you are a brave soul 
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US has gone from ~40k cases a day to 69k since Monday. Trump holding a rally today in a WI county that reported 90% positives from their tests, with a massive backlog.
Turning the corner indeed.
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Shiv Sena has been around for decades. But yeah, I have a morbid curiosity about politics; not healthy, I know, I know. I used to, occasionally, watch NDTV; but that’s too is just some people jabbering about rather than informative analysis.
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Oh, look, a covid story about morons.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/10/17/sturgis-rally-spread/
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Is this about Sturgis?
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Yep - the link above appears to have transmogrified.
Headline is How the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally may have spread coronavirus across the Upper Midwest
Per capita, the Dakotas are the two worst states now.
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North Dakota is a good challenger for that title regardless of the definition. At least South Dakota has the Black Hills.
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Have morons grown in number over the last few years or were they always there waiting for an opportunity to pounce?
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An Irish friend of mine always used to say" Never travel with an eejit - you can always find one where you are going"
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I’m not a big fan of motorbikes, odd that we had lunch in Sturgis years ago. Like an atheist going to Lourdes. You really had to check your IQ in at the door.
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I grew up riding trail bikes then progressed to some serious machines. One of my “peak” memories was of riding through endless fields of sunflowers in France.
There is an absolute joy in “lets see how fast we can make this bastard go.”
I miss it - I still have my leathers - but it is a younger mans pastime. These days I am built for comfort not speed.
This is about as close as I can get these days to “that” feeling.
Done that. I spent my day trying to get drunk in McDonald’s (they sell beer, but it’s weak as piss) while my then-girlfriend did all the religious stuff.
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I do that in Hollywood. I hate it, they love it. I’ll be at the pool bar 
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Wales will be going into lockdown at the end of this week.
The Big Boss’s sister works in a micro brewery / bar thingy and they were given advanced warning of a 2.5 week lock down.
World wide cases has passed the astonishing figure of 40m.
But apparently it’s the flu.
The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic - 500 million infected , 50 million deaths.
Lets hope it doesn’t get anywhere near this level
Well, more people get the flu each year, worldwide.
The main thing that sets this apart from the flu is that it’s mortality rate is significantly higher.
On top of that it’s more highly contagious and also leaves behind some pretty horrible long lasting health issues for many who’ve ‘recovered’.
A friend of mine has a colleague who is a leader in the field of ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. They are constantly battling to dig out more funding for the field of study, and the glass half full approach they are taking with this pandemic is that the number of people they are projecting who will develop ME like symptoms will rise to the point that they start getting funding.
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