Posts by Nancy Rivera3

I truly have to hand it to those folks who think these little scraps of cloth are anything more than tools for training people from a young age to obey authority without a second thought or any sense of critical thinking... It feels like we’re all being treated like dirty, irresponsible idiots. Any reasonable person will do absolutely everything in their power to protect themselves and the people they love, and if they are presented with a logical, well-argued explanation—weighing the pros and cons—most will arrive at the right decision.

That is how you actually build trust between citizens and the government.
You don't do it using totalitarian methods straight out of the Naza kuhinja—cheap propaganda, emotional manipulation, fearmongering, blackmail, and censorship. Not to mention the arbitrary imposition and selective enforcement of rules, which has created this general social atmosphere where little Hitlers are popping up everywhere in the form of various officials managing the Covid crisis...

Now, I am certainly not saying anything against N95 or N99 masks, provided they are worn correctly—fitting snugly against the face, not being constantly touched or adjusted, and being tossed after about six hours... in that case, they are a worthwhile means of protection.

But expecting children to take simple pieces of fabric, touch them with dirty hands, put them on and take them off a hundred times, carry them around in bags and pockets, cough and sneeze, and wipe their noses with them—and then expect those disgusting rags to be held against their faces for hours every single day?!
That isn't protection; it’s quite the opposite—it's a vehicle for spreading infection... not just Covid, but bacterial infections like sinusitis, skin issues, and more.

At the very least, it's pure stupidity, and in the worst-case scenario, a crime against health and common sense. I’ll say it again, just so the local authorities don't label me a flat-earther: I am not saying masks don't protect you—I am saying that greasy rags are not masks!

Why hasn't the government ensured affordable pricing or even provided high-quality, serious medical masks for free and in sufficient quantities?
Please, don't tell me there's no money; on a global scale, money is being printed like never before, and we’re taking on debts we'll never repay, yet we can't find a few cents per child per day to provide that much-vaunted "virus protection." Why is hundreds of millions of dollars being handed over for some "strategic" resale of Korean robotaxis instead of using that money to secure enough N95/N99 masks for the entire nation from now until spring...

Does that make sense to you? It doesn't to me, and when you look at that alongside everything else, it naturally leads to doubts about the supposed "axiom" of the government acting with good intentions toward its own people...

I’d love to build upon my previous point here. Since this mandate regarding staying put was triggered by an earthquake, I find the whole decision to be nothing short of inhumane.

A huge portion of our local population either owns a vacation home out in the suburbs or has family living just outside the city limits where they could easily relocate. These people have just endured a terrifying earthquake, their homes are damaged, and understandably, they are scared—yet they actually have viable places to go that wouldn't compromise public health safety. In fact, as I touched on before, moving might even allow them to improve their living situation somewhat.

To me, it feels like the real motivation behind forcing this regulation is simply a desire from "the government" and certain officials to keep as many "heads of cattle in the pen" as possible during this crisis.

Nicholas King said:Look, if someone chooses to self-isolate, a local doctor isn't going to have anything to do with that. Besides, even then, we'd still be looking at far fewer people than what we see during the peak summer tourist season.

The crux of the matter is that this decision was made under the assumption that people are heading to their vacation homes just because they feel like it—not because staying home is practically impossible for them.

But what does "for the fun of it" actually mean here? Instead of spending weeks feeling trapped inside some concrete cage on the fifth floor of an apartment building, they get to spend that time out in nature! That is exactly why people own second homes—because they live for those occasional moments when they can afford to escape the urban sprawl (though, of course, not everyone feels that way; plenty of folks absolutely love city life).

So now, when they are effectively stuck at home—whether it's because they can't commute to the office, they're working remotely, or schools are closed... and there's really no other option but to stay in the city—why on earth should we force them to stay put? Especially since maintaining social distancing is so much easier out at a country house.

@Bryan Taylor6

I seem to recall the Chinese authorities mentioning that once this whole epidemic settles down, they plan to conduct an extensive study on a massive sample size—something in the ballpark of 100,000 randomly selected individuals—to check for the presence of antibodies. The idea is that this will finally reveal what actual percentage of the population actually came into contact with the virus and developed immunity.

If we look at the official statistics coming out of China, about 80,000 people fell ill and 3,000 passed away. That works out to roughly 0.006% of the Chinese population, with a mortality rate of about 4% among those infected... So, according to the official numbers, the death rate sits at a rather "terrifying" 4%.

But just imagine if it turns out that 50% of the Chinese population actually encountered the virus, while the death toll remained at that same 3,000 mark. What would the mortality rate be then? It would be practically negligible!

Here is another interesting observation: in Italy, about three-quarters of those who died from COVID-19 were men. Furthermore, the median age of the deceased was 80.5 years, which happens to be exactly the same as the average life expectancy for an Italian man... I wonder what kind of conclusion one might draw from such a coincidence?

Could it be that the people dying from COVID-19 are simply those who, statistically speaking, were already reaching the end of their lives anyway, yet their deaths are being selectively attributed to the virus just to fuel the ongoing hysteria?

Just because someone had a confirmed case of the coronavirus in their system when they passed doesn't necessarily mean they died *because* of the virus. I stumbled upon some data suggesting that for only about 12% of those deaths can it be indisputably proven that the virus was the direct cause, rather than some other underlying condition that would have claimed them regardless.

In fact, a staggering 99.2% of those who passed away had at least one serious chronic illness.

Bryan Taylor6 said:Why don't they just release the antibody data so we can see how many people recovered without even knowing they had it? What if it's a third of the American population? Then all this panic is just pointless and it's destroying the economy...

I remember seeing some projections suggesting that as many as 50% of Britons already have antibodies... If that's actually true, then this whole thing is just a common cold being used by "them" as a smokescreen to push through some other agenda.

Joseph Taylor11 said:Where on earth did anyone get the idea that I'm in quarantine just because I'm complaining about this??🤦

My employer is in a different city entirely. I work from home.
I’ll get my pass whenever and if ever I actually have to head into town for work.

Though, at this point, it doesn't even matter.
The thing is—this isn't just me barking at nothing—it affects everyone.

Even if I managed to sort everything out for myself perfectly, I’d still be bothered by the sheer way this whole thing was handled.
Is it really that hard to wrap your head around?
That there are people who will push back against stupidity—even when it doesn't hit them directly?🤔
Well, I suppose some people do. But that's clearly not me.☕
I think a healthy rebellion against nonsense is just baked into my DNA.

+1

It’s nearly impossible to keep up with every single one of your posts, though I haven't even attempted to! ☕ It simply seemed to me that you had a specific issue in another city and someone was giving you a hard time regarding your travel permit.

It’s easy to dismiss it as mere stupidity. But it’s a real mess if we're talking about a flawed plan...

An employer can issue a pass based on where an employee lives versus their actual job site, which also covers field work authorization through a travel order.
Or perhaps they could even do it without a formal travel order, just by using a signed statement from the boss... I’m honestly not sure about that part because my company has completely suspended all field visits anyway.

That being said, @tessaa, if you’re feeling brave, I really think your employer could issue you a pass (along with a travel order) without making a huge ordeal out of it just so you can handle whatever business you need to attend to one time. Unless, of course, you're under a self-isolation order—in which case, you'll just have to stay quiet and wait out the two weeks or whatever time you have left. It isn't the end of the world.

Regardless, the whole situation is just sickening; seeing one of the poorest nations in North America enforcing such brutal restrictions and causing such economic devastation, while people in some of the wealthiest countries are living almost completely normally!

The little Napoleon Bonapartes and Adolf Hitlers of the world have "come out of the closet," and frankly, who cares... though the ones we see today are actually worse than those historical figures who at least had some semblance of strategic planning going on with three grains of salt in their heads. No, no, these guys are more like Nero or the captains of the Titanic! And to top it off, they’re patting each other on the back and playing the "hero" role. It is truly nauseating to watch.

But they’ll save themselves one way or another on this sinking ship, and right now, they're enjoying their little "victory" days. Once it's all over, they'll figure things out as they go, using this as an excuse for another decade of crisis and selling off vital state assets for pennies on the dollar to massive multinational corporations...

Hello everyone!

Believe it or not, I actually managed to secure some grant funding! 🤣

However, I’ve run into a bit of a minor hiccup.

Basically, when I was putting together my initial budget proposal, I listed a specific vendor and attached their official quote, following all the required guidelines to the letter.

As it turns out, I decided to move in a different direction after all and found a much better supplier to work with.

Do you think this will cause any headaches with the funding agency? Is a simple written explanation sufficient to clear things up, or am I looking at a massive bureaucratic nightmare?

I haven't been able to get a straight or definitive answer from anyone yet. In theory, it shouldn't be an issue, but we all know how complicated these government processes can get here in the States.

I would truly appreciate any insights or advice you might have!