Posts by fadedranger162

What a total circus 🤣 🤣 🤣

Some guy cuts down a single tree on his own property and suddenly it’s the headline of the week, dragging on forever like he committed some kind of war crime.

Thousands—no, millions—of dollars get swiped right out from under us, and everyone acts shocked, even though we all know damn well why it happens.
The real damage was done by that one Republican guy building an entire complex without a permit in a zone where it's strictly forbidden (and who knows how many trees he leveled back then), compared to this guy who just took down one tree. But since they have nothing else to throw at them, I guess they have to obsess over this nonsense for a whole month. 😵 😵

And to everyone trying to spin this as some exclusive example of leadership failure to justify voting Republican—use your heads, people. 🤣 🤣

If the biggest sin the Republican Party ever committed was having an investor cut down one tree at a construction site, Switzerland would be looking like a joke compared to us. For God's sake, what is wrong with these people? 🤦

Robin Jones2 said:I believe this article warrants being cited in this discussion. Every time the local press publishes something regarding the "hostile" administration in San Francisco:

"A particularly shameful aspect of this embarrassment is the fact that not a single prominent figure from the San Francisco municipal government attended the gala reception—not even for protocol reasons. This is a city administration that the local newspaper refuses to acknowledge exists, let alone expects anyone to deliver congratulatory remarks on their behalf. Journalists on the ground tell me that invitations were sent to them as well, but they were phrased in a tone that clearly signaled: 'you are better off not showing up.' And they understood the message perfectly."

The local paper was founded during an era when the Mediterranean needed liberation from fascism, yet it collapsed once the Republican Party took control of the region.

So, I was catching some news broadcast on YouTube this past Saturday, and during a live segment with someone from Free California, they were acting all shocked that nobody from the San Francisco city government showed up. Honestly, I have to wonder why. 🤣

It was actually pretty refreshing to see what actual free media looks like when they report objectively for once.

Maybe we should throw in a quote from that famous study again:
"In any class-based society, the ruling class controls the flow of information. Through mass media, they curate exactly what the public hears to suit their own agenda—making it easier to manipulate or exploit people—because an informed public is much harder to control."

"Real journalism," my foot"

Alright, alright 🤣 is this some kind of new comedy column?

Seriously though, what kind of lifestyle is being lived over at the local rag? Acting as the PR wing for a criminal enterprise and the Big Boss, then dragging people through the mud just because they follow the actual law instead of taking a bribe under the table?

velvetmason14 said:Petranović checked out those downtown apartments owned by that Republican member Šerbo—they’ve decked them out in marble just to rent them out for $500 a night. Now she’s playing the health card. It seems like ever since the media started digging, everyone’s suddenly fallen ill. Funny how they were perfectly healthy and chill when they were busy lining their pockets. 🤣

A TOTAL BIZARRE CASE
We stepped into the luxury suites right on the San Francisco Waterfront: How is it even possible for someone to fleece the public like this?

Neither Reić Šerbo nor Periš seem particularly eager to explain themselves now that the scandal has broken.

"I don't want to talk about it; I've been hounded enough already. Given my health situation, I'm barely hanging in there," Reić Šerbo told us.

"No comment," Periš said shortly. He actually handed his role as association president back to his predecessor back in 2022. He’s been involved with about ten different companies, mostly in the tourism sector. Currently, he runs a restaurant located, quite fittingly, on the ground floor of that very same building.

And then there's the head of the "Sell America" crowd, Andreja Plenković Lemo, watching this whole circus unfold. 🤣

Speaking at the anniversary of the local paper, Plenković remarked: The media should serve as a check and balance.

Honestly, all they need to do is send an inquiry to Booking.com to see who actually signed the rental contracts for those suites, or which account the money was being funneled into—whatever the paper trail looks like—and boom, case closed.
Let's see if the Department of Justice can actually handle this properly. While they're at it, they might want to check exactly how much cash was moved through the platform and pass that info over to the IRS to see how much went under the table. If they even have the backbone to try, that is.

Zachary Anderson20 said:Man, you really know how to get under my skin. 🙏 Listen, Megatroll is literally paid to churn out these kinds of articles and manipulate the masses. I could play around with Milan Kundera’s ideas and say 'Megatroll is the opium of the people' (I know killing Karl Marx is the classic move, but I prefer Kundera). Besides, what exactly is the lie in these headlines? Is it the price of her work—which is actually accurate? Or is it a personal statement regarding manipulation that she has every right to officially respond to and explain her side of the story (instead of just posting random Facebook statuses every five minutes 🙂)? Come on! In that headline about the official entity, it's actually just a quote from someone mentioned in the text, and it's obvious that Maya has every right to issue a formal denial through Public Relations or one of those many PR Centers. She's acting like a lady, not some Facebook troll. What? You don't like the tone or the word choice? Grow up, man, along with all these ego-trippers. It's honestly amazing how people just swallow everything whole without having any clue what Maya actually does—all the good stuff she's achieved, and even the spots where she tripped up. People just shout about "driving out the riff-raff" and other brainwashed slogans. Maybe PR is the new opium for the masses now 🤣. And yeah, I get it, you lean toward conspiracy theories where your heroes are always these poor little victims and everyone else is the villain. You're so deep into that you can't even see straight, so there's no point trying to convince you. But hey, enlighten us—where exactly is this exPametno nest located? You're just talking nonsense, though I appreciate it because I could use a good laugh, since there are some great people and activists in that group. Oh, so now I'm Democratic Party? Fine, whatever. Just please, don't bring up the Spider again; I haven't got the stomach for the DP today.

Why doesn't she just release her full story on a major news outlet? That way, you could see the entire statement and the actual issues without being edited by certain biased editors who serve politics rather than journalism.

That bolded wording is an interesting choice; it reminds me of those characters we've talked about before who messed up and then tried to cover their tracks in their articles—you can practically see the devil hiding in the pages of Slobodna California.

So, what, are you a Facebook troll too because of your posts there? Is everyone who uses Facebook suddenly a troll? 🤔

It seems like you care more about *where* things are written than *what* is actually being said, and that's clearly bugging you. People ignore the fact that basically every politician and public figure, both here and globally, uses Facebook, Twitter, and now probably Instagram or TikTok for both personal and professional updates. This is especially true when you're dealing with a media outlet controlled by someone whose interests are totally threatened by your job, making them unlikely to give you an honest shake.

And about that last part—hey, pass that along to the folks at Slobodna California so they can finally give Maji something useful to work with, instead of constantly tearing her down with these Facebook posts. Watching this one-sided knockout is just plain unfair.

Dana Martin95 said:Quinn:

Something weird happening in San Diego: The State Inspectorate is occupying city business spaces without authorization The City of San Diego says the agency meant to check illegal construction is actually using office space without any contract or legal basis. Meanwhile, the Inspectorate claims everything is totally legal according much to the rules.

I guess this whole thing with city real estate in San Diego is just crazy. Like, what was even happening? It seems like such a mess, and I wonder how much money was lost from the city treasury. Maybe Jerry Sanders could just talk about what they did with city property during his next term, and that would be enough, I suppose.

And that’s just one single city, focusing on just one tiny slice of municipal operations—and that's assuming one woman (or maybe a whole team?) actually managed to dig up any of it. Where are all the other departments? What about the rest of the city's business, or other cities, counties, and eventually the federal level?

Forget everything else—if seniors weren't pulling double pensions without a shred of intergenerational solidarity, we'd be able to fix even a fraction of this organized crime. Because let's call it what it is: this isn't just petty theft or influence peddling. This is systematic organized crime being carried out under the protection of the top brass. It’s pretty obvious you can get things done if you actually have the will to do it...

Joseph Clark37 said:The main thing is that those jerks from the Republican Party are all focused on attacking Ivey's reaction instead of actually addressing Al Boraska...

Offense is the best defense. They need to shift the focus, especially when they can pick on someone like him who basically walked right into it anyway....

vividraven79 said:Listen, my friend, if you actually produced anything of value, your studio would be empty and your wallet would be overflowing.

🤣

He’d basically have free storage for all his art just because he voted for certain people. He messed up, plain and simple—that's why he's reaching out to the usual political crowd. If Jack voted for him, then he's got no room to complain since he knew exactly what he was signing up for. It's about accountability.

If you can't sell sand in the middle of the Sahara or you're trying to hawk swimsuits in the Arctic and you're wondering why you can't cover rent, it means you don't know what you're doing—plus, your contract's probably expired anyway. 😵

Emily Smith6 said:The San Diego city officials are bragging about a $15 million surplus in the city budget, presenting it as a masterclass in fiscal discipline. Meanwhile, Ivica Puljak claims the skeletons are finally starting to crawl out of the closet.

- Our budget execution shows we’ve managed to save money through sheer rationality, paying down debts, and actually collecting what was owed. Because of all this, the City of San Diego is in a strong financial position today, - said Mayor Ivica Puljak, noting that these savings will fund upcoming projects—primarily building schools, gymnasiums, and preschools, improving San Diego Beach, and finishing the construction and equipping of the technology park at Dračevac.

The Deputy Mayor, Antonio Kuzmanić, also weighed in on the state of the city treasury, emphasizing that reaching this positive balance required a massive amount of work. He reminded everyone that when the current administration took power in June 2021, they inherited a $4.5 million surplus, but were also saddled with nearly $10 million in debt, which was fully paid off by the end of 2021.

In 2022, there were significant expenses related to the public transit system due to rising fuel costs, but subsidizing the municipal transit provider ultimately resulted in a noticeable improvement in public transportation services. He also pointed to fulfilling inherited obligations, such as salary increases for preschool educators and city employees.

- Despite all those expenditures, through responsible financial management, cutting waste, and streamlining operations across various sectors—including municipal companies—as well as increasing the collection of utility fees and rent from users of city property, we successfully achieved the $15 million surplus currently sitting in our account.

- Over the last two years, we’ve cleared over $15 million in debt and outstanding obligations, bringing the City back into the black. We increased revenue, but not through tax hikes; instead, we focused on collecting fees and rents. We had commercial spaces that people hadn't paid for in years, - noted Antonio Kuzmanić.

- Now, the skeletons are starting to emerge regarding the business operations of the interim manager of the Water Department. Through his irresponsible management, he has jeopardized the very existence of the utility—we are talking about tens of millions of dollars. At the same time, he irresponsibly gave employees an 18 percent raise.

That is how they view public finances. We approach them responsibly. What we have in the bank is the result of careful saving. We don't want anyone on the outside, especially the Republican Party, thinking this is just some extra cash they can swoop in and spend, because they are used to handling money quite recklessly.

We saved this money so we could invest in preschools, schools, sports halls, and pay raises for those who earned them. We will continue to manage this money responsibly, the way we know how, rather than the way the Republican Party has done things until now, - added Ivica Puljak.

When reporters asked specifically how these savings were achieved, Antonio Kuzmanić used toner cartridges as an example.
- When we arrived, the City was spending $75,000 a year on toner; today, it's about $17,000. That alone represents a yearly saving of roughly $8,500 because we implemented electronic signatures, - explained Antonio Kuzmanić.

The Split Republican Party Chief: The City has $15 million in its account and no idea how to manage it.

The Split GOP Chief, Tomislav šut, recently pointed out that the City has roughly $15 million sitting in its accounts. Apparently, this surplus comes from an uptick in income tax revenue—money that isn't being funneled into actual development projects. To him, this is a clear sign that the current administration lacks the basic competence to manage the finances they’ve been handed.

According to his take, that $15 million pile-up is largely due to federal government interventions rather than any strategic moves by Mayor Ivica Puljak. He noted that while having $15 million in the bank might look great for a private business, for a municipal budget and local policy, it essentially means the administration is failing to deliver on its promises.

I suspect the Republican Party already has a roadmap for how to divvy up that $15 million among their own people.

Man, you can practically smell the frustration here. 🤣

So much cash, so close yet so far, and they can't even redistribute it to their buddies.

We all know the drill: any surplus has to be spent IMMEDIATELY, right this second, no matter what. Whether it's hiring the cousin of some contractor who landed the job through little Anthony, or cutting a deal for some gig where they tack on a 10-20-50% markup and split the difference later. They'll keep going until they've handed it all out so generously that the city balance hits zero, just like it's supposed to.

Emily Smith6 said:The City of San Francisco is paying out $46,800 a month to the owner of Magic Piano Preschool! While her revenues are in the millions, parents are apparently looking to the Governor's office for a lifeline.

Just to recap, the founder and owner of the preschool, Virginia Mudric, rents two spaces totaling 663 square meters $4705. Under the new terms, she would be expected to pay $15054 for those premises. This higher amount was actually what was agreed upon during the initial bidding process when she secured the space, but the previous city administration decided to step in and adjust the price—downward, of course.

"Magic Piano Preschool" is a private facility, though the City of San Francisco provides subsidies for the children attending it.

- The City of San Francisco subsidizes childcare at 22 different private and religious preschools within its jurisdiction, including Magic Piano Preschool. The level of subsidy depends on the specific type and duration of the program the child is enrolled in.

For this particular Magic Piano Preschool located in the Sailor neighborhood, the monthly subsidies for 180 children amount to approximately $46,800—according to a response we received from the Governor's office.

According to available data from FIN, Magic Piano Preschool employed 157 staff members on an hourly basis in 2021, which represents a slight decrease of 4.27 percent compared to the previous year.

Total revenues for 2021 reached 3.71 million dollars, marking a 4.24 percent increase over the prior year. In 2021, the business reported a net profit of $871,655.

The EBIT for 2021 stood at 1.09 million dollars, while the EBITDA for the same period was 1.30 million dollars.

velvetmason14 said:Petranovic really exposed the truth about agitator No. 3.

Let's take a look at Virginia Mudric's political machine. Their specialty? Using kids as leverage. 😉

TUESDAY: Preschool

Bit by bit, the situation surrounding one of those private preschools in San Francisco is unfolding exactly as expected. Once the Governor's office discovered they had been receiving an illegal discount on their municipal rent, they offered a new contract based on the original, fair terms. Instead of complying, the owner incited the parents to launch an offensive—which is essentially a blatant attempt at extortion.

She stays relatively quiet herself, which isn't surprising: either she lets others do her dirty work, or she avoids the spotlight to prevent people from noticing that she pulls in millions in profit every year—over a million dollars in 2021 alone, for instance.

And remember, we're talking about a private preschool operating out of public, city-owned property.

We still don't have a logical explanation for this farce. It’s simply a fifteen-year-old pattern of freeloading off public assets, a practice established back when local entrepreneurs were running the city in coalition with the Republican Party, and it just kept rolling along due to momentum.

It’s a common theme here: a "private" initiative only succeeds if it’s built on the back of the community—whether it's through hunting, land, or whatever else is shared.

Also, the Sold party uncovered some interesting numbers. Virginia receives about $550,000 annually from the city. In older currency, that would be roughly $4 million.
But it's hard for them to pay a reasonable price for the space they occupy. ☕

The City of San Francisco pays the owners of Magic Piano Preschool $46,800 every single month! Her revenues are in the millions, yet the parents are looking to the Governor's office for salvation.

Regarding the Magic Piano Preschool in the Sailor district, the monthly subsidy for 180 children amounts to approximately 46,800 dollars — according to the response from the Governor's office.

It’s cute how everyone is monitoring the forums and waiting for some guy from the coast to drop a snippet of the financial report just so they can actually find it. 🤣 Honestly, this should have been checked the second a company started whining about not having enough cash to cover their agreed-upon rent.

It’s wild they even bothered to dig up exactly how much subsidy they're pulling from the city. 👍
Now if only they’d actually investigate why someone who claims to be "apolitical"—despite sitting on over $1.5 million two years ago—is out here threatening that kids will end up on the streets just because they want a few extra grand in rent that should've been there from day one. But hey, you guys handle that.😁

Aaron Barrett79 said:Between all the constant bashing of Puljko and the rest of the administration, our boy Prvan is busy writing glowing tributes to one of the loudest local Republicans. 🙏

The daughter of a General and arguably the most controversial Republican figure in San Francisco just poured her heart out: ‘There’s absolutely no excuse for individual corruption!’
Zelić-Relata. 🙏

Yeah, the same person who was popping up in every single headline on the Los Angeles Times a few months back—basically disappearing from the scene for a bit—only to resurface now through Prvan’s mouthpiece in Freedom... 🙏

Funny how those "individuals" just happen to belong to one specific party most of the time. 🕺
It’s like they all act in this weird, synchronized hive mind. Then, once the truth actually comes out, suddenly everyone’s acting like they were just "acting alone." 😁 🤦

George Diaz said:Are you guys ever going to stop obsessing over those Hades fanatics and actually start doing some real work? San Diego is literally being poisoned right under our noses, and there isn't a single word about it.

The levels of arsenic and nickel are spiking more and more every single day.
The data is absolutely terrifying.

The entire city of San Diego is sitting under a cloud of toxic arsenic!!!

And who exactly allowed this to happen? Who hasn't been doing their job for years—maybe even decades?
Because this isn't some new thing from yesterday or last year; we're only finding out about it now because someone finally started looking into it.

So, here’s what the internet is digging up regarding how that daycare actually runs:

Back in 2021, their total revenue hit $3.71 million, which was up about 4.24% from the year before. On top of that, the business pulled in a net profit of $871,655 for the year.

Now, you’ll definitely have some "anti-American" types crying about specific laws or contracts, demanding they just "kick the kids out." Please. Those "kids" represent $40,000 that wouldn't end up in anyone's pocket because of this amazing volunteer who basically runs the whole show just out of the goodness of her heart.

I mean, seriously, who could even survive on a measly $800,000 profit? Honestly. What are you even going to do with that? It’s not like you can go out and buy two luxury beach houses with that kind of pocket change.

velvetmason14 said:Virginia runs a profitable business while claiming she’s broke 🤣

She drains the city treasury through inflated rental rates for her daycare facilities, all while pocketing massive government subsidies for every child enrolled.

Yet, while Virginia makes life difficult for Paul, she maintains a smooth partnership with the Republican Party ministries.
She even pulled in $3 million from the European Union. Not a bad way to stack some cash... 😉

The private preschool "Magic Piano" also secured significant funding, pulling in $400,000 following a November decision. It was incredibly successful during the initial project phase, capturing a total of $1.1 million in non-repayable EU grants to upgrade its operations. According to founder Virginia Mudnić, these funds were used for extended hours, teacher salaries, educational equipment, specialized programs for children with developmental delays, and hiring physical education instructors.

https://citymayor.gov/news/san-francisco-preschool-funding-needs/

Honestly, someone needs to look into which European Union agencies approved this. We're talking 20 million just for slightly higher salaries for staff, one new hire, and some "educational equipment" (which is just fancy talk for toys). She could have used that money to build her own 250-kid facility from scratch, and then she wouldn't be crying about having to honor the contracts she signed herself.😵

Emily Smith6 said:Request to overturn Madison Square Garden rulings denied; San Francisco won't be footing the bill

The local Republican Party announced today that they are celebrating after the Supreme Court rejected a group of banks' attempts to review previous rulings—an effort aimed at forcing the City of San Francisco to pay a staggering $92 million debt. As the Vice President of the local Republican Party noted in their statement, the Supreme Court's decision serves as the final chapter in a long, exhausting legal battle. This whole saga was originally initiated by the former mayor, who apparently wanted to protect both the City and its residents from what he described as a "massive onslaught from foreign banks." The official went on to express gratitude to the former mayor for his intense dedication to the matter, while also thanking the lawyers who represented the City's interests during this lengthy litigation, as well as everyone within the City Administration who assisted with the case.

"The primary culprit behind the Madison Square Garden scandal is the former administration"

Looking back from our current vantage point, the responsibility for this mess lies squarely with the former mayor from the Republican Party. It is worth noting that the original contract was actually signed by his predecessor, who resigned shortly thereafter and has since passed away. There has been plenty of speculation that one reason for that resignation might have been a refusal to sign subsequent amendments that favored the banks and private construction firms. Once the subsequent Republican mayor took office, however, he reportedly signed those amendments in secret, bypassing the City Council entirely. Based on what we know so far, he bears the brunt of the blame, while the mayors who followed him can mostly only be faulted for their inaction.

So now, the Republican Party is taking credit for how their former mayor supposedly saved the City from the mess cooked up by the previous administration.

"We're your big heroes!"
Uraa, oh yeah! And what exactly are you saving us from?
From ourselves, I guess. 🤣

vividraven79 said:That was the old Republican Party. This is the new, rebranded version.

And let’s be real: crime always has a specific face and name. It’s never just some random group of people woven through every single institution working in perfect sync to pull off a heist.

Dennis Price said:So you're actually advocating for sanctions against criminals? 😵😵

You bet I am. Especially when it comes to the guys playing footsie with them—kind of like how everyone’s acting toward the Russians right now. You try to be a "good friend" to those types, and suddenly all your real estate in the States vanishes, and your businesses get blacklisted because nobody wants to risk being used as a laundry service for their dirty cash.

bluemason3 said:There’s actually been an agreement for a long time. The US has its own protocols, and there have been various European Union level agreements dating back to the 90s. I’m not entirely sure how effectively they’ve been integrated into individual national laws.

Another thing is that criminals go to great lengths to hide their tracks, so you need hard evidence first. It's a different story when you're dealing with military commanders or political backers; it’s much harder to mask a war campaign or the connections behind it.

Plus, with sanctions, things usually just get frozen—at least, that's my assumption. With criminal activity, the goal is actual seizure. At least, that's what I assume happens.

Sure, with people who haven't been proven guilty yet, pulling that off is basically impossible. But we've all seen what happens in places like Italy when they finally nail a whole branch of a mafia family and end up combing through every single thing they own.

But I've honestly never seen a blockade this massive—where they go after every possible friend, business, or connection linked to a criminal. There might be similar tools out there, but compared to this, they seem pretty weak, especially considering the civilian casualties in Ukraine could rival some of the drug cartels in Latin America—maybe even trail behind them if we look back further.

Anthony Hill5 said:The Italians have seized a luxury yacht valued at $700 million.

While they haven't explicitly declared it belongs to Putin, if you read the fine print provided by the finance ministry, the implication is unmistakable.

The Italian finance ministry announced that an investigation Had established that The ship ’

The ship’s captain, Guy Bennett-Pearce, told The New York Times recently that its owner was not on the sanctions list, but also denied to have seen or met Mr. Putin on the yacht.

And yet, isn't it curious that a former Scheherazade Crew member told The New York Times that He Had never heard of mr. Khudainatov and confirmed that Crew members always believed and discussed The real owner

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/06/w...?smid=url-copy

Going a bit off-topic here, but this whole "threat to international peace and security" thing got me thinking. It’d be interesting if we just made it a standard rule to seize all assets from these cartels, killers, arms dealers, and anyone else playing ball with them. Why wait for a crisis?

ruggeddriver70 said:London: Garry Kasparov, the legendary Russian chess grandmaster, isn't holding back on his criticism of world No.1 tennis star Novak Djokovic for backing Russian athletes—basically claiming that if you aren't actively speaking out against Vladimir Putin’s “war of extermination in Ukraine,” then your silence is basically an endorsement.

https://www.india.com/sports/garry-k...lence-5361898/

So Kasparov is dragging Djokovic because he's calling out the ban on players, including that one tennis guy who spoke up against the war in Ukraine right after his match. Honestly, it's like Kasparov has been playing chess with Putin lately or something. 😵

Michael Ortiz68 said:They’re already scouting in Georgia and Finland, and for some—perhaps many—this will serve as a stepping stone for what comes next.

That is, unless they get banned just because they happen to be Russian.

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/04/26/t...ntl/index.html

While individual players from Russia and Belarus are allowed to compete on the ATP and WTA Tours as neutrals, this is the first time they have been prohibited from competing in an elite tennis event.
...
Talks between Wimbledon and the UK government are ongoing about whether Russian and Belarusian support staff and coaches will be permitted at the tournament.

So basically, they wouldn't just kick out the athletes, but the coaches and all the support staff too, simply because their passports say "guilty."

boldotter2 said:Mainly because communication is going to be a total disaster, just like it always is. And obviously, everything will be late.

Right now, I think our biggest headache is that too few vulnerable people and healthcare workers have gotten their third dose.

If most of the medical staff gets hit all at once, it could really mess with the whole system. Not just because of COVID-19, but because everything else might just stop working.
First you get nurses and techs getting sick, then doctors, then patients with mild cases, but then it all spills over into the intensive care units and nursing homes...

And if things get even worse because Delta is still hanging around... The last thing we need is Delta and Omicron hitting an immunocompromised ward at the same time. That’s basically a recipe for disaster and potentially some new mutations.

Look, it could be dangerous, sure, but it’s not like they’re going to explode and hit full strength simultaneously. We probably won't see Omicron really taking over until a new wave hits around March—similar to what happened last year—or maybe even later during or after the summer, much like we saw with Alpha and Delta. That doesn't mean we can just sit on our hands, though. The people in charge seriously need to step up and protect those who are most vulnerable before things go south again.

Gerald Chavez7 said:As far as the US goes, we know it’s capped at maybe 0.3% of the population daily—mostly because we've never actually pushed past 14,000 tests at once 😉

...though, let's be real, even the UK, France, and Germany will eventually hit their testing limits (which is why keeping an eye on the positivity rate is going to be absolutely critical).

Look, you have to separate what’s being officially reported—just the PCR stuff—from what isn't, like all those rapid tests floating around. We basically had this little experiment with mandates in public institutions where everyone unvaccinated had to get tested, and they rolled that out right in the middle of this last wave. Someone dropped some numbers in the chat earlier; if I heard them right, the positivity rate hit roughly 11% in just one month.

link to post

If you look at the general population, by the time this last wave settled, maybe as many as 1/5 of us had actually caught the virus, whether people realized it or not.

And honestly, the positivity rate here isn't going to mean much. Since a PCR test is the only way for someone who refuses the shot to get their pass, they’re eventually going to end up in that "positive" column. It creates this massive bias that drags the percentages up. Everyone is going to be rushing to get tested—either because they actually feel sick or because they got a positive result from a home kit or a quick test and now need to go get it officially stamped, notarized, and verified by some bureaucrat just to deal with this whole pandemic mess.

If we’re following any kind of logic here, some strain that's way more contagious or just better at flying under the radar—you know, milder symptoms or a longer incubation period—is going to take over in Africa. It's a fair assumption given how much younger the population is and how much time they spend outdoors. But hey, we'll see when it finally decides to come visit us old folks over in Europe.

Susan Jackson said:Maybe he was dealing with a CDC-level condition, like that guy being blamed as the "mastermind" who spread COVID like Santa Claus.🍿

We're totally screwed, and honestly, an unknown variant would be just our luck. 😁

wiredrider982 said:I wonder what should be done about him? Should he get vaccinated, or not?
What kind of measures should be applied to him?

Those kinds of questions are exactly what make people lose faith in vaccines. You've gotta ask for at least two doses and then get lost.🙂

jadetinker85 said:Interesting. I met someone today who caught COVID three separate times. Every single time was asymptomatic—they only found out because they had to get tested before a flight.

Maybe his immune system is just built different, but they still managed to sniff the virus right out of his nose. It’s exactly what the CDC would say about people who are vaccinated.

Carol Jackson2 said:The Mississippi Delta hit the US in June.

https://nextstrain.org/ncov/gisaid/e...smissions=show

You can't just whip up a new cocktail without months of testing first.

Developing new vaccines isn't even worth it anymore. Better to pivot to pills and oral options. The logistics for current vaccines are a total disaster.

Well, maybe here, but if I recall correctly, it spread through Europe a good couple of months before that.

That’s my point—the second they see a hint of a new strain, they need to be developing and testing so we actually have a vaccine ready by late summer. That way, high-risk folks get protected before winter hits. Instead, they just keep pushing the same old shot and praying it works, then start begging for lockdowns when everything inevitably goes south.

Oral vaccines might actually be the better, safer bet, but for the last six months, I've only heard about two manufacturers that even stand a chance at getting them registered.