Covid 19 worst government

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

So, in the UK we can rightly get angry about the incompetence and stupidity of our government's early response - Johnson boasting about shaking hands, talking about "taking it on the chin" following the malevolent ignorant advice of Cummings et al. And we look with envy at, say, Germany, for their current leadership. But then:

Trump is way worse than the Johnson cabinet (though US citizens in many states will benefit from the federal consituttion of the US and the actions of state governments).

Bolsonaro is way worse even than Trump, and (until today) I would have thought nobody could go lower; but

The leaders of Turkmenistan are trying to get, probably succeeding in getting, under the Bolsonaro bar - now I can't find the story (on BBC or perhaps Guardian site) about the government banning all mention of the disease.

[Sits]

Belarus Is pretty horrendous. Denial, trust in vodka, and football continuing as far as I can see.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Turkmenistan may not be somewhere you hear about particularly often - it's largely known for its autocratic government and huge gas reserves.

But the Central Asian nation has taken an extreme approach to the coronavirus.

In fact, it's reportedly banned the use of the word altogether.

State media has been stopped from using it and it has also been removed from health information brochures, according to the group Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

People wearing face masks or talking about the virus are even liable to be arrested by undercover police, RSF says.

It's worth noting that Turkmenistan is one of the world's most closed-off countries. The government has an absolute monopoly of the media and foreign news websites (like this one) are blocked.

The country has so far reported no cases of the virus. Neighbouring Iran, meanwhile, has reported more than 47,000.

[Sporting]

The aforementioned are to a large extent easy hits, but how about Sweden for what some might call a misguided and others an irresponsible "let's wait and see" stance?

[Wouter D]

The aforementioned are to a large extent easy hits, but how about Sweden for what some might call a misguided and others an irresponsible "let's wait and see" stance?

If their approach is based on consultation with actual scientists, I will prefer their approach to any Trumpian hunch-based policy. See also: Bolsanaro.

I remain to be convinced that the Swedish approach is misguided. For instance, Dutch governmental modeling explicitly includes the effect of people no longer accepting coarse lockdown conditions after several weeks. I think many countries do not include that sort of effect into their modeling. In the long run, a Swedish solution might* be better than a Chinese style complete lockdown. It might* turn into a clusterfuck, but we have no way of knowing at this stage.

*emphasis on "might". I don't know.

[Lurgee]

I suspect India is a sleeping giant in the uselessness-in-the-face-of-pandemic stakes.

[Sporting]

If their approach is based on consultation with actual scientists, I will prefer their approach to any Trumpian hunch-based policy. See also: Bolsanaro.

I remain to be convinced that the Swedish approach is misguided. For instance, Dutch governmental modeling explicitly includes the effect of people no longer accepting coarse lockdown conditions after several weeks. I think many countries do not include that sort of effect into their modeling. In the long run, a Swedish solution might* be better than a Chinese style complete lockdown. It might* turn into a clusterfuck, but we have no way of knowing at this stage.

*emphasis on "might". I don't know.

Is it? Scientists in other countries seem to think very differently, but we shall see.

[anton pulisov]

Depends which scientists you talk to, of course. There are many scientists in Sweden who disagree with the Swedish Public Health Agency.

I'm OK here in Uppsala. I worry about the poor folk in Stockholm stuffed into metros. We're also getting news that there are many taxi drivers in ICU. If the country goes into lockdown, taxi drivers can stay at home and claim benefits. If it is not in lockdown, they have no choice but to go to work. That's not fair on them. They can't work from home. You'd expect better from a country that claims to be a Social Democracy.

And people working at supermarket checkouts still have no protection of any kind. That's just lazy. Erecting perspex shields isn't a "lock down" style thing to do.

In the space of two weeks I've gone from refusing to use the self-checkout out of solidarity with checkout workers, to insisting on using the self-checkout out of solidarity with checkout workers.

[Sporting]

The thing is, as I see it, is that mix 'n' match doesn't really work, or has big disadvantages. Here we have a pretty strong lockdown which helps prevent spread but doesn't help with immunity building. Similarly, to go from herd mentality mode to full-on shutdown is locking the stable door after...

[E10 Rifle]

This is a good smoke-out among the pre-existing Axis of Cuntery (Trump, Bolsanaro, Johnson, Orban, Modi, Netanyahu, Putin etc) and at the moment the Boy from Brazil is setting the pace. Human filth.

[ursus arctos]

Though there is some comfort to be taken from Bolsonaro being the only one of that list to be facing significant popular dissent, even if it currently takes the form of folk banging pots and pans every evening.

[Furtho]

Rumblings from Japan that things are going to get a lot worse there, with, in summary, the government having prioritised the Olympics and the economy over public health. Now the Olympics are off the table for this year, but certainly from what I can gather life in Japan has been going on very much as normal over the last few weeks.

[Wouter D]

Is it? Scientists in other countries seem to think very differently, but we shall see.

This is why my statement started with "If". I don't know enough about who the Swedish government consulted, and what their status is.

To the best of my knowledge, Sweden is a sparsely populated country. It could be that the Swedish government consulted with intelligent scientific councils, who advised them to do what they do based on this sparsity. It could also be that the Swedish government consulted with a bunch of weirdo witch doctors, who advised them to do what they do based on the phase of the moon. From the information I have, I can make no distinction between the two cases.

[Wouter D]

In the space of two weeks I've gone from refusing to use the self-checkout out of solidarity with checkout workers, to insisting on using the self-checkout out of solidarity with checkout workers.

Same here.

[Furtho]

[URL]https://twitter.com/HirokoTabuchi/status/1245348736068456449[/URL]

[Sits]

At 2,777 cases and 24 deaths, Russia’s declared stats are curiously low.

Edit: not that I would wish more cases on anyone. Just seems, y’know.

[Sporting]

At 2,777 cases and 24 deaths, Russia’s declared stats are curiously low.

Edit: not that I would wish more cases on anyone. Just seems, y’know.

Yep.

[Bruno]

Yeah I wondered about Russia maybe 50 pages back on the main Covid thread. The worst governments are going to be those that don't disclose or lie about the casualties, i.e. we'll probably not know.

[Hot Pepsi]

Remember when Americans were really worried about Japan taking over the world? That was a while ago.
We don't talk about them much. We probably should. Massive economy run by what I've heard described as a "Shinto Nationalist Cult."

[Amor de Cosmos]

Yeah I wondered about Russia maybe 50 pages back on the main Covid thread. The worst governments are going to be those that don't disclose or lie about the casualties, i.e. we'll probably not know.

Me too. It was so suspicious that the paranoic in me wondered whether the virus was even fabricated under the auspices of Vlad the Bad.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Remember when Americans were really worried about Japan taking over the world? That was a while ago.
We don't talk about them much. We probably should. Massive economy run by what I've heard described as a "Shinto Nationalist Cult."

Japan is the country closest to the EU average. It's got a population of a quarter of the EU, and its economy is a quarter of the size. (And the country is a twelfth of the size, so the population density is three times as high) The greatest threat they pose to the rest of the world is that they will invent androids to care for them in their old age, to avoid letting in migrants. A major developed country with a foreign born population of less than 2% is making a powerful statement.

I found myself becoming extremely nervous when they started retracting their apologies to the Korean comfort women. what sort of government does things like that? .

[Hot Pepsi]

I’m counting on Japanese androids to take care of me when I’m old.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Hmm, thinking about it, I assume that germans are into robotics because they're into hanging onto manufacturing industry in the face of globalization, I looked at Asimo and noticed that he wasn't Chinese or Korean. but when I see Boston Dynamics making robots the mind immediately jumps to Droid Armies. Am I guilty of harbouring hideous unfounded stereotypes?

[Hot Pepsi]

I, for one, welcome...

[anton pulisov]

People are keeping away from the shops in Uppsala city centre due to the virus. So, Uppsala City Council have decided to lower parking fees in the town centre to 10 cents an hour this weekend, to encourage people to come in to town and do a bit of shopping and hanging out at cafes.

Not encouraging enough social distancing is one thing, but actively discouraging it belongs on this thread.