Sunday, February 21, 2021

LISTEN TO WARNINGS FROM UK ON B.1.1.7 VARIANT, PLEASE

 This is from USA Today dated February 21, 2021. Please, please take heed.

The headline:

COVID-19 variant found in UK spreads 'like wildfire.' British experts fear what will happen if US won't lock down


LONDON – On Jan. 4, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson made yet another somber coronavirus-related address to the nation: A variant first identified in Kent, England, was thought to be 50%-70% more infectious. In little more than a week, hospital admissions had increased by nearly a third. Deaths had risen by 20%. Johnson ordered the country's third full lockdown since the start of the pandemic.

"That means," Johnson said, "the government is once again instructing you to stay at home. You may only leave home for limited reasons permitted in law, such as to shop for essentials, to work if you absolutely cannot work from home, to exercise, to seek medical assistance such as getting a COVID test or to escape domestic abuse."

Monday, amid a dramatic drop in coronavirus infections, Britain's leader will unveil his plan for unwinding one of the world's strictest COVID-19 lockdowns. Only Cuba has tougher restrictions in place, according to an index of government measures compiled by Our World in Data, a research unit attached to Oxford University.

Further down:

Simon Clarke, a professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said there is an emerging body of evidence suggesting that the B.1.1.7 variant is not only more contagious but also more lethal, a possibility initially raised by British scientists. He said there is anecdotal evidence from hospitals, not confirmed by studies, that the B.1.1.7 variant could harm more younger people. He cautioned it was too early to drawn firm conclusions.

He expressed concern about how the United States would deal with B.1.1.7 if, as expected, it becomes entrenched as the dominant variant by the spring.

"U.S. coronavirus waves have been based on slower-moving variants," Clarke said.

And more:

The USA has seen peaks and declines of COVID-19 cases since the first infections were reported in North America in January 2020, but there are concerns that the B.1.1.7 variation is among a number of different variants that could help precipitate a so-called fourth wave of American coronavirus infections.

'It's like we're trying our best to help the virus': A fourth coronavirus wave is looming if the US fails to contain variants, experts say.

Trevor Bedford, an epidemiologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, said in a Twitter thread Thursday that a steady decline in U.S. coronavirus cases that has brought levels back to where they were in late October could be threatened by the "rapid take-off of B.1.1.7." He said there is evidence that the B.1.1.7 variant "will reach 50% frequency in the U.S. perhaps by late March."

In the USA, there were 1,523 cases of B.1.1.7 reported across 42 states as of Feb. 18, according to CDC data. To put that in perspective, though new coronavirus infections in the USA have been falling broadly for about a month, the daily new case count for February still averages about 95,000, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data. In February, U.S. coronavirus deaths have averaged about 2,520 per day.

In Britain, new daily coronavirus case counts have hovered around 12,000 for the past week. Christina Pagel, who leads a team of researchers at University College London who apply mathematics to problems in health care, said the B.1.1.7 variant makes up about 90% of new cases in Britain.

Variants also emerged from Brazil, South Africa and California. Researchers said the United States is almost certainly undercounting cases of the B.1.1.7 variant. The case count has more than quadrupled since Jan. 27.

"It (B.1.1.7) spreads so easily, like wildfire. It's really caught us by surprise," Carl Waldmann, the director of an intensive care unit at a hospital in Reading in southeast England, told German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

As the more contagious variant tore through Britain in January, the government warned that hospitals were on the verge of being overwhelmed. There was a steady stream of pleas from doctors, nurses and other health care workers for the public to abide by Johnson's lockdown.

Johnson is no lefty. Back to the article:

Britain has administered more vaccines per 100 people than any other advanced economy except for Israel, according to Our World in Data. There is little data to show how well the vaccines affect new U.K. infections.

Simon Clarke, a professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said there is an emerging body of evidence suggesting that the B.1.1.7 variant is not only more contagious but also more lethal, a possibility initially raised by British scientists. He said there is anecdotal evidence from hospitals, not confirmed by studies, that the B.1.1.7 variant could harm more younger people. He cautioned it was too early to drawn firm conclusions.

He expressed concern about how the United States would deal with B.1.1.7 if, as expected, it becomes entrenched as the dominant variant by the spring.

"U.S. coronavirus waves have been based on slower-moving variants," Clarke said.

"If a faster-moving one such as B.1.1.7 starts to take off, then you are going to have yourself a problem if you're not prepared to do a strict, broad-based national lockdown," Clarke said, noting that the United States doesn't seem willing to do this.

Unlike Britain's nationwide orders, not all U.S. states have restrictions on travel for leisure, many states offer exemptions that allow restaurants to stay open and many have resisted calls for entertainment venues, gyms and personal care businesses such as hair salons and tattoo parlors to be closed. It is largely up to local officials to decide whether and how to impose U.S. coronavirus restrictions.

Other countries in Europe that have not imposed lockdowns as strict as Britain's have struggled to keep rising cases of the B.1.1.7 variant in check.

"If you want to get B.1.1.7 under control, lockdowns just have to be that much tougher," said Kit Yates, a professor of mathematical biology at the University of Bath, England.

Yates said he believes that when schools in Britain reopen, coronavirus cases are likely to rise again despite new evidence that the B.1.1.7 variant's transmissibility may not be as high as originally thought. It may be closer to 30% to 40%, he said, more contagious than that of the more commonly found variants in the USA.

[Christina] Pagel, [a] University College London researcher, said Britain's latest lockdown has reduced new cases of coronavirus by about 60%. "That's the good news," she said. "The bad news is that we can't control this thing with half-measures."

She said that if the United States can't or won't order a national lockdown similar to Britain's to deal with the B.1.1.7 variant, its best hope may be to "vaccinate its way out.

Pagel cautioned that if the variant first detected in Britain is allowed to circulate too freely in the USA, it could lead to an even more aggressive variation that could evade vaccines or better target younger people.

She said that cases of an older variant could fall rapidly enough that it might look like everything was OK even while a new variant spread.

"Effectively, you have two epidemics going on at the same time where one is shrinking, and one is growing," she said. "That's exactly what happened in the U.K. and seems likely for the U.S."

Watch our federal, state,  and local officials, both Democrat and Republican, as well as union leaders, f**k this up again so more people will needlessly die. Now is the time to prepare to be ready to lock down, not open up everything as if the pandemic is over. I hope to God I am wrong and that the scientists who are saying we could be reaching herd immunity in the US by April are right, not the UK experts.


98 comments:

Anonymous said...

US cases between January 8th and February 19th plummeted from 274,000 new daily cases to 66,000 cases, a drop of almost 75% in six weeks. This occurred while the UK variant has been present. The UK variant has been here some time, detected already in 33 states.

Additionally, both vaccines, in more than one study, show efficacy against the UK variant. And as the fear-mongering ramps up over the South African strain, with a headline about the Moderna vaccine producing a six-times weaker response to it, if you just read to a third paragraph of most stories, you get a clearer picture. Despite the weaker response, the response was still considered "above normal" in defense, more than adequate. Online news sites need clicks for cash. The mean orange man isn't around for people to read tweets from. That's why you now see stories of "54 VARIANTS in the US!" There is a fine line between "science" and fear-mongering.

I acknowledge that the virus is real, the threat is real, and I've personally known two people to have passed away from it. But I also know that this "70% more transmissible" stuff doesn't add up. Cases are dropping globally in most locations that didn't do an extreme lockdown. I'll check back here in a month if I'm completely wrong, but it's my strong opinion, based on the facts, that the worst is over. Also, I can't wait to go back to teaching in the classroom where we belong. I'm not saying this as a blanket statement to those among us who have serious underlying medical conditions. I just wanted to add my two cents in response to this article of alarm. The glass doesn't always have to be half empty.

Anonymous said...

People who won’t lose a paycheck during a lockdown but advocate for a lockdown should forgo their paycheck or shut up.

James Eterno said...

I hope you are right 11:58.

The whole point of lockdowns is the government subsidizes people to stay home.

Anonymous said...

Not to mention a sizable amount of our most vulnerable population is vaccinated already. Add the cold weather and snow keeping people in, we should be able to slowly vaccinate out. Should be doing great by May. Feels good to be getting back to normal again. SAT'S next Wednesday in high schools, would like more guidance, but we are use to the last minute union doe dance I guess. Mayor trying to open High schools on March 18 or day after spring break. Citi lost court case with charter schools. City has to covid test all charter as well, so you should see them starting to open back up since they don't have to pay the bill anymore.

Anonymous said...

It's gonna disappear by Easter. Didn't we hear that one before?

Anonymous said...

Wondering ...since city has to pay to test charter schools,how that might affect doe testing.ie is there money to support both...or will reopening be scaled back
It is indeed strange that the media and parents and gov't are all mum about charter schools all being closed. Any theories?or maybe in the end,why bother to analyze.i just dont see why media and stupid union leaders don't point out that trs,doe,uft,gov bldg are closed but we are pushed to ooen.This is utter hypocrisy!i am finally remote.i am concerned but not not terribly afraid of my commute.i dont mind going in BUT NOBODY SHOULD HAVE TO SIT IN A ROOM WITH UNMASKED D75 KIDS OR ANY UNMASKED KIDS.SOME ARE EXEMPT FROM TESTING.IF NOT FOR THEM,MAYBE I WOULD NOT HAVE APPLIED FOR REMOTE DESPITE MY HEALTH CONDITIONS.UNMASKED SHOULD STAY HOME.THE RISK IS TOO GREAT,especially due to the close contact in d75. Oh well,I'm ringing the same bell ad nauseum...

Anonymous said...

Ou never attend town halls due to not wanting my number public.james,I am interested in trashing disgusting mulgrew. what is your email again?

TJL said...

Someone should tell these Brits that 1776 called and told them we don't give a shit what they think and we don't want any part of their tyranny.

Neil Ferguson who started the ball rolling with all this lockdown crap in March, only to be found shagging his mistress, should be locked up.

The rest of us are free to do as we please.

James Eterno said...

TJL, To call the UK a tyranny is a huge stretch. It is a Conservative UK government that is trying to protect the public health with the hard lockdown. Freedom is not absolute, never was.

Anonymous said...

U.S. COVID DEATH TOLL NEARS 500,000
The children who have died of covid-19 are, even more than among adults, disproportionately children of color — about three-quarters of those who’ve succumbed to covid so far, according to DC data.

Yes, let's ignore UK. It will disappear by Easter. Where did we hear this before?

James Eterno said...

iceuft@gmail.com.

Bronx ATR said...

I think TJL is asking why, we the glorious United States of America, are continually looking at a third rate, former colonial powerhouse and initiator of many evils (that still haunt us and the world - mega scale slavery, genocide, opiate addiction and almost every horrid stereotype of every race and ethnicity), for guidance, example or assurance. The media has continually portrayed it and their leaders in an almost completely, superbly and exemplary (fictitious) manner, which has unfortunately led to the rise of many the ill-informed and oft-ignorant Anglophile. Most horrifying are the ones teaching history. Incredibly many of them are very likely to regard Winston Churchill as a demigod or savior of the free world. 😂

James Eterno said...

Parliamentary democracy, limited government, common law, standing up alone to Hitler in 1940, Shakespeare, Dickens, the Beatles, Stones, The Who, Kinks, etc. Plenty UK successes along with failures like everywhere else.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't Borris Johnson just today talking about lifting lockdowns?

Anonymous said...

James, alone in 1940? Soviet Union was fighting the Nazis from the 1930s. Alone. Despite continual outreach for assistance from the West. The rest of the world showed up quite late.

Anonymous said...

TJL, yes 1776 did call. It is asking you to please return so it can catch you up on the tyranny of the European colonizers.

Anonymous said...

James, I’m the one who argued with you about NZ. You’re entitled to your standards as I am entitled to mine. Your standard for what constitutes a free society are different from mine. If the government is forcing you to stay home, you are not free. No amount of explaining the UK parliamentary system will make me consider them a free country if their government can force them indoors. I agree with TJL’s assessment of UK but not necessarily his opinion on Churchill. I’d have to study him more. I’ll take it a step further. I don’t give a flying fuck what other countries have to say. America First. If you think those of us who voted for Trump are going to abandon that idea now because Beijing Biden is in charge, you’re mistaken. Many Trump voters never admired or cared about Trump. Your MSM has you convinced we’re all a bunch of deluded Trump lovers when the fact is we loved many of his policies and didn’t give a shit about the man. We’re not abandoning our push for those policies. We’ll vote for whoever pushes them forward whether it’s an altruistic saint or a narcissistic sinner who drowns kittens and puppies.

JR said...

FYI, i got the 2nd dose yesterday, I feel horrible.

Bronx ATR said...

James, you’re joking right? We fought two wars against them for our freedom. I have nothing against the British people. To their credit many hate their government and their history. Much great art, whether it be literature, music or visual art is born out of suffering. And the British people did suffer, and continue to do so in a perennial elitist class system that saw an elitist and racist Winston Churchill, that should have been discharged from all governmental duties after his actions at Gallipoli, become prime minister. We saved Britain, not him, and continue to do so with our flawed favoritism borne out of fairy tales told by Anglophile writers and film producers that are continually spoon fed to each new generation of American audiences. (Bridgerton and all the rest come to mind. None of that nonsense is based on fact, yet it’s creating positive stereotypes for a country that was most assuredly, for most of its history, until very recently, the most racist country in the world.) It’s scientists are not highly regarded by the world wide scientific community. The UK had the most COVID deaths in Europe, even more than the highly referenced and slyly denounced Italy - but you’ll rarely hear that, yet we are supposed to value every suggestion, aspiration and study concerning the virus that comes from them. Their Covid response has been nothing short of a horrifying failure. Maybe their current ridiculous Prime Minister is summoning Winston‘s spirit to help guide him towards illustrious, albeit, fictitious historical significance.

Justin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Bronx ATR, what helped more, the financial investments of US businesses and of US banks in the Nazi regime, or the US lawyers that helped draft the Nuremberg laws?

Anonymous said...

Tyranny of the past, 1219. The history of the world.... People conquer. Others get conquered. For how many great grandfathers back in time is a descendent to be held responsible for the sins of their great grandfathers? White Europeans colonized the land we live on. As a result I was fortunate to be part of the 2nd generation of American born. I come from peasantry but even if I came from royalty I am not going to weep over the colonizing of a land or any other atrocious thing done in the past. Were not handing the country back to Native Americans who were committing their own atrocities against each other. Slavery was despicable but we don’t slave trade anymore. Jim Crow was despicable too. Many heroic people changed that. It seems there are people who just think if you’re white, you automatically owe someone something. It’s racist. Move on from the past. Right now, today, China is committing genocide... against Muslims. But since the Chinese Communist Government didn’t list them on a commercial flight travel ban, nobody gives a shit. Hypocrites. You condemn America while you vote for the guy who repeats Chinese Propaganda and will resume business as usual with China while the Communists enact their final solution to their Muslim problem.

James Eterno said...

I am no Boris Johnson supporter but the UK is one of my favorite places on earth to go to. Many of my wife's relatives live there. We have visited several times. People are welcoming. Compare Britain's history to other countries. Limiting the monarchy holds up pretty well. Good and bad everywhere was my point.

Bronx ATR never lets up on Churchill. How does the war turn out if Halifax gets the PM job in 1940 instead of Churchill? It probably ends up like Vichy in Britain. Without Britain as a base, the war in Europe could have been prolonged. What if Hitler got the atomic bomb first? Yes, the US bailed Britain out in WWII but it isn't like the UK didn't do its part. What if those folks at Benchley didn't break those German enigma machine codes?

The guy who says the Soviet Union was fighting the Nazis from the 1930's I gather is referring to the Spanish Civil War. In 1940, the Soviets were not fighting Hitler. The Nazi Soviet non-aggression pact was in 1939. Stalin was caught totally off guard when Hitler attacked the USSR in June of 1941. Anonymous commenters please get basic historical facts right. After France fell in 1940, Britain was truly fighting Hitler alone.

Bringing this back to present times,the UK COVID-19 response was as bad as ours. They closed down too slowly and not strongly enough until recently.

The person saying that New Zealand and the UK are not free countries because the government can force them indoors is just wrong. In the USA, the government can force you indoors (they just do it by state). The government also has the power to jail you, force you to join the army and do jury duty.

Free elections and a free press make democracies. New Zealand and the UK qualify. In the US, we have paid dearly for our half assed lockdowns and travel restrictions with loads of loopholes. We have 500,000 dead in large part because our former President was not strong enough and then encouraged opening up the country way too soon. Irony of ironies is that if he acted forcefully and encouraged a national lockdown when it was needed, I don't see how he loses the election.

Anonymous said...

James, no problem on the basic facts. The non aggression pact was signed in 1939. Hitler invaded Poland a month later that year. The Soviets entered Poland to fight the Nazis at that time. And, again, prior to that pact the Soviets were calling on Western powers to assist them in driving back the Nazis. The west did not answer the call, thus the pact was signed.

James Eterno said...

My source is the History Channel:

On September 17, 1939, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov declares that the Polish government has ceased to exist, as the U.S.S.R. exercises the “fine print” of the Hitler-Stalin Non-aggression pact—the invasion and occupation of eastern Poland.


Hitler’s troops were already wreaking havoc in Poland, having invaded on the first of the month. The Polish army began retreating and regrouping east, near Lvov, in eastern Galicia, attempting to escape relentless German land and air offensives. But Polish troops had jumped from the frying pan into the fire—as Soviet troops began occupying eastern Poland. The Ribbentrop-Molotov Non-aggression Pact, signed in August, had eliminated any hope Poland had of a Russian ally in a war against Germany. Little did Poles know that a secret clause of that pact, the details of which would not become public until 1990, gave the U.S.S.R. the right to mark off for itself a chunk of Poland’s eastern region. The “reason” given was that Russia had to come to the aid of its “blood brothers,” the Ukrainians and Byelorussians, who were trapped in territory that had been illegally annexed by Poland. Now Poland was squeezed from West and East—trapped between two behemoths. Its forces overwhelmed by the mechanized modern German army, Poland had nothing left with which to fight the Soviets.

James Eterno said...

The Soviets entering Poland to fight the Nazis seems like a big stretch but I try to listen. Your sources please. Let me review them.

Bronx ATR said...

I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make? The British elite had investments with the Nazis prior to aggression and many of the British aristocracy spoke fluent German (still do) and had close familial ties to Germany (including the royal family). The same could be said with many of our families in the United States. The number one white ethnic group in this nation during the WW2 era was German. Prior to World War II there were many families that revered Hitler and supported Germany. This was before his atrocities against Jewish people was publicized and became well known. As for the Nuremberg trials - I’m not sure how our lawyers would differ from the British in trying to get some type of justice.

Anonymous said...

No James. You THINK our government has the right. You just don’t get the We will not comply crowd. Even d-bag Cuomo said good luck getting New Yorkers to do what they don’t want to do. Now imagine Wyomingites, Texans.... We’re free and we will not comply. When people start getting jailed for leaving their house maskless or without their papers, let me know . But they’ll be a hell of a bloody fight if anyone pulls that shit in a red county in NY let alone a whole red state. Why will we fight? Because we’re fucking free.

Anonymous said...

Historian Michael Parenti. Origins of WW2 or Real Causes of WW2.

Anonymous said...

12:45. It is interesting you mention America First (which it is in nothing of note) and WW2 era in the same paragraph. The phrase got its start in that era. The America First Committee was a deeply anti semitic organization led by Nazi sympathizer Charles Lindbergh. Interesting how the rhetoric of such people lives on in Trump talk. Anyway, what policies are we talking about? The same corporate favoritism as all Presidents before him? Cause, that's all he did policy wise.

James Eterno said...

Did their red county grandfathers show up at the induction center when they were drafted?

Do they show up for jury duty?

Do they get a drivers license?

Do they pay taxes?

Freedom is limited. Always has been.

James Eterno said...

Wear a mask, save a life. It is your patriotic, civic responsibility.

Anonymous said...

2:01. That is not true of all past or current civilizations. It is certainly true of Imperialist empires. US tyranny exists currently both at home and abroad. It never ended or went away.
China is not committing a genocide, though the NED and other parts of the CIA would love for us to believe that.
The US certainly loves to bomb Muslim populations though. Any word on when China has ever done that?

Anonymous said...

Freedom is indeed a concept with obvious limits. We call them laws. The law and order crowd should realize that but they rarely do. In the nation of the most jailed citizens in all of history, it should be easy to see that freedom is just a temporary privilege, if it even exists at all. How do we even define it in a capitalist system that leaves us as wage slaves? If we equate freedom with we get to do whatever we want, then freedom sounds like a teenager's dream and not a viable way of life.

Anonymous said...

Bronx ATR.. Nuremberg laws, 1935, not the trials of the 40s. Hitler's hatred of Jews and views on supremacy were all out in the public while people, such as anti semite Henry Ford, continued to finance him and even accept a medal from the Nazi regime.

https://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2004/nr04-55.html


Here's a start. Lots of more in depth accounts are out there though.

Anonymous said...

Bronx ATR. Hitler made public comments about the removal of Jews starting as early as 1919. There was no "before" when it comes to public knowledge of his desire to remove Jewish people from existence.

Anonymous said...

500,000 deaths in one year. 500,000 and people talking about masks being oppression. US healthcare system, forever flawed and completely exposed as unable to meet the needs of the people, is the great oppressor to freedom and livelihood that you should worry about. Not cloth.

James Eterno said...

Great thing about blogging here is I get hit from left and right. Pro-Stalin and MAGA each separately attack me on the same post.

Anonymous said...

James, though Parenti is a well researched historian, here is another source. Grover Furr, by no means a Marxist Leninist like Parenti, which should not be a problem, unlike the Eurocentric history channel but... all good. A well sourced paper on the Polish Fascists/Nazis and why the USSR entered Poland in 1939.

https://msuweb.montclair.edu/~furrg/research/mlg09/did_ussr_invade_poland.html

Stalin worked on building an Eastern front while Churchill stalled on that Second Front.

James Eterno said...

3:34, I didn't realize you were taking a pro Stalin position. I think I know where you are coming from. Stalin taking Poland according to Parenti was him just recapturing land taken from him. That is laughable. It was aggression as were the Baltic invasions. If Stalin was such a great visionary who knew he was going to have to fight Hitler, he would not have left his borders so easily open in 1941 for the Germans to invade.

Britain and France were unprepared which explains their bungling of 1939-1940. Why did Hitler overrun France if he was secretly with them? If he was such a good capitalist, why did Britain under Churchill resist when alone in 1940 after France fell?

Anonymous said...

You say Pro Stalin as if he hasn't been outrageously misrepresented by the West since, coincidentally, the end of WW2. Ludo Martens book Another View of Stalin does a good job breaking through that Western misrepresentation. And, for the record, not a Stalinist, just someone who desires an end to Western, pro capitalist, hegemony over all things, especially history.

Anonymous said...

James, not an attack, just a discussion. One I am glad you to have in the space you have given to us all.

James Eterno said...

4:45, I will read Furr but I am not at all persuaded by Parenti.

To me, to make an argument convincing, you have to give your opponent's best position and say why it doesn't hold up. If your best position is my source is Eurocentric, it raises some red flags.

That said, I thank you for referring me to scholarly articles. I certainly can read more than one point of view.

Anonymous said...

1:23,
Call your doctor or the Nurse Helpline associated with your insurance. It is a possible side effect, but it's always best to check with a real medical professional.
Good luck-hope you feel better soon.

Anonymous said...

Read in The Atlantic: https://apple.news/AOw2w_a84RfKIa3uCkxM-

Since the topic is about Covid variant warnings from abroad— here is an article about a possible return to normalcy in the age of Covid variant uncertainties.

James Eterno said...

I read much of Furry. It wasn't an invasion according to Furry because the Polish government had already collapsed. That is rather weak.

Anonymous said...

Ummmm, how about we stay on topic? You know, like the fact that the deadly UK Covid variant will not mean one damn thing here in the USA. Trump is out office. Schools will remain opened. Have a nice day!

Bronx ATR said...

I agree 100% with you. Europe and the United States have a long history of being anti-Semitic. The general public here and in Europe was not aware of what Hitler was doing. Even in Germany, there were reports, but uncertainty and incredulous denial. Perhaps, many American and Europeans wouldn’t have cared? I’d like to think that people are better than that. (Henrik Bonhoffer’s diaries are wonderful reads to understand how the dawning reality of Hitler affected those in Germany who wouldn’t stay silent.)

James Eterno said...

Topic was UK variant. Some veered off to attacking UK scientists and UK history. Thank you for bringing us back.

Anonymous said...

Yup, this country is failing hard.

James Eterno said...

Looked him up. I will stand by my belief that Stalin was in no way a decent guy. If that makes me a tool of the capitalist class, so be it.

TeachNY said...

Lol. It’s funny that people think we live under such an oppressive government. People really need to take a history course. Oppression is child soldiers, oppression is getting run over by tanks in Tiananmen Square. Oppression is partaking in a “honor killing” and being cleared of the murder because it’s legal. Lol. Oppression is getting herded into cattle cars bound for Poland. But what? I can’t conceal and carry!? Oppression! I have to wear a mask in public? Oppression! Lol.

TeachNY said...

Serially. Guess we have no history teachers that read this blog.

Anonymous said...

Thanks big Joe!

Schools must give exams this year


https://www.chalkbeat.org/2021/2/22/22296173/biden-administration-state-tests

TeachNY said...

Maybe it’s time to start posting threads instead, ha. You could have a link for : Spring Break Pay, Health Insurance Questions, Debate and Politics, UFT Dues:Yay or Nay, Debate:Keep Schools Open or Closed?, and maybe Red vs Blue! ;-)

Anonymous said...

I’ll take my chances with American CIA officers over the commies who are killing Muslims. China is America’s enemy.

Anonymous said...

TeachNY. We definitely live under an oppressive government though not because of masks. Kent State for a start. That lovely deregulation of the energy sector in Texas for something more current. And, we do recruit and enlist children into our military.

Also, the Tiananmen Square tank man was not run over by the tanks.

Anonymous said...

Teach NY, most history teachers could use a fresh history lesson themselves.

Anonymous said...

9:11. China is not killing Muslims. China is not engaged in any wars. China is not attempting coups in South America. China is not letting a virus run rampant in their communities. China is not the world's leading debtor nation. China no longer suffers from extreme poverty.

But you know, take your chances.

Anonymous said...

Kent State was 40 years ago. America is a good country, Chinese Communist Government is committing atrocities today. Beijing Biden enabling murdering communists.

TeachNY said...

Lol. Recruiting is different than 3rd world militias in Congo raiding some village and snatching up all the 3-13 year olds. And people DID get mowed down in China. My tour guide in China who went there to protest confirmed it ( using his whisper voice, of course).

Anonymous said...

If you are not reading history from 3 different sides, you are doing it all wrong.

Would love to be a fly on the wall 80 years from now and watch people interpret what went on these last couple of years.

Whose view would be considered accurate history?

Anonymous said...

Mr. Eterno,

Kudos for maintaining this blog.
It's a shame people can't stay on topic.

Regards.

Anonymous said...

Teach NY. I fail to see the humor. Different yes, but still a recruitment of minors. And let us not forget the nations that fund many of these operations in Africa and elsewhere.
Your tour guide is allowed to be wrong. It happens. There was death. Some military officers were killed, some protesters were killed. Sounds like the capitol riot.

Anonymous said...

Ya know why people laugh at us, one of the reasons at least, the teacher FB page is flooded with with teachers repeatedly asking if the medical accommodations will restart in September 2021. First, why ask now? 2nd, what type of a lazy bum do you look like if you are already begging to continue staying home?

Anonymous said...

NYC kids at a disadvantage. Opened later. Constant closures. Reopening then closing. And Biden admin says states must give standardized tests this year. Ridiculous.

Shelley said...

Buried in a corner of the UFT organ is a comment from a member about missed retro. The resignation, "I wish things were different, but I have taught long enough to know the system is full of injustices and I have to accept it," is a good example of the general malaise that set in.

https://www.uft.org/news/opinion/comments/missed-retro

Moose said...

Wouldn't it be nice if America could be as disciplined as the people of Australia? During the Australian Open, there was a 12 case outbreak in a hotel. The continent locked down for 5 days. The exposed quarantined, and now there are no cases. The fans returned for more tennis viewing at half capacity 5 days later.

The United States is a joke. This CoVid Disease will be around for a LONG, LONG time. If there was no vaccine, we don't have the discipline and selflessness to try to get rid of a virus by staying on our own premises.

CoVid has turned our education into a joke. Grade fraud, no consistent work, no grades, everyone passes. You name it, Carranza allows it. Keep it going DeBlasio and Carranza. I will keep babysitting. It's been almost a year of this. Salary jump in May.

Go to work, go home, don't say anything deemed to be insulting (remember feelings are more important than facts), keep your head down, take it in the can, do it all over again.

Shelley said...

Another book recommendation. From what I've gleaned from the "off topic" spats and debates I recommend Freedom and History and Other Essays AN INTRODUCTION TO THE THOUGHT OF RICHARD MCKEON

see Chapter 7. Freedom and History



Anonymous said...

5:22 how is it good though, and who is it good to? While the US drops bombs in Africa in the Middle East, China helps repair the infrastructure of those countries we destroy. Which action is the atrocity?
And how are our schools doing? Especially in comparison to other developed nations.

Anonymous said...

Loving the recommendations. Antonio Gramsci is a strong philosopher to review as well.

Anonymous said...

The USA is a joke, hat's why education and crime are what they here here. Bail reform, restorative justice, blame everyone else.

Anonymous said...

Yeah Moose, it would be nice if our government was as draconian as other countries and force us to lockdown and limit our freedom.

Anonymous said...

I’m loyal to my country, 12:36, warts and all. I’m not making a laundry list of everything that’s good to try to convince a bunch of leftists who I believe have been brainwashed by msm and who sympathize with Communist China. You won’t change your mind. Neither will I. I comment on the issue only because I refuse to let anti America and pro Communist China bullshit go unchallenged. I’m not interested in changing hearts and minds. I’ve already got my tribe of like-minded individuals who agree with me. I’m not trying to convert lefties. Unlike the left, our tribe is 100% voluntary. May the best man win.

Anonymous said...

12:59 Right on, brother.

Anonymous said...

What happens in China if you tell a teacher to suck your dick? How about if you smack a teacher in the face?

Anonymous said...

12:59 because there is nothing draconian about helping it spread and causing more death. that's freedom i guess. cool concept.

David Suker said...

As an introduction to communism in Russia the lead teacher related communism to the Smurfs and pointed out that the Smurfs were all dressed in blue, while Poppa was dressed in Red.

Thank goodness I’m an ATR.

Anonymous said...

1:25 All ideologies are voluntary. We are what we choose to be. Anti US imperialism is not the same as hating the country, or its inhabitants. We fight to change the government out of love of country, out of loyalty to the people. It is not a competition, it is a pursuit for a better world.
Also, calling something or someone Communist is not the insult you wish it to be. Nor is it BS. Kill your idols, challenge your beliefs, offer a critique, drop those shackles, and be a free person.

Anonymous said...

David Suker. Hahaha say what now? Where was this being done?

TeachNY said...

Ha. My chapter leader told me that she’s hearing most of those on them will be denied...unless you have something really serious. So if you’re on medical for being obese, a smoker, etc...you’re back in Sept. Lots of people out in my school due to obesity.

Anonymous said...

Fauci told me not to wear a mask and that masks don’t work when I was 3 months pregnant in the middle of Manhattan.

He then later admitted it was an intentional lie so we would donate masks to essential workers.

Now I’m being told to wear 2 masks.

But yes I’m “misguided”.

Anonymous said...

Oh please 3:48. I’m in my 50s. I know who I am. My mind is my own. I stick by my country. The current left is insane. The fact that you see being a communist as okey dokey proves how dangerous you all are. I was an average NY liberal. Now, I’m going as far right as I can to counter your insanity.

Anonymous said...

3:58: Good there were way too many teachers that milked these accommodations anyway. I'm sure many were fraudulent.

Anonymous said...

6:34 If you like 8 hour workdays and 40 hour weeks, thank a communist. If you take social security (in ten or so years), thank a communist. Child labor laws, the right to unionize, thank a communist. If you like the Pledge of Allegiance, thank Francis Bellamy, a socialist. Socialism is as American as apple pie.

Justin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Justin said...

6:41 That comment reminds me of the garbage people spew regarding welfare recipients. Oddly though, rarely a word about corporate tax dodgers, the real gamers of the system.

David Suker said...

A school at Lehman HS. It used to be calling it “dumbing@ it down. Now it’s called “equity!”

David Suker said...

I could show you the course materials but I can’t share screen shots on this blog! :/

TeachNY said...

Totally agreed.

Anonymous said...

I’d rather work myself to death than thank a communist. Still want them eradicated from my country.

Anonymous said...

3:48. Leftism is not voluntary when you’re surrounded by a mob trying to force you to “say her name” or do the fist salute. If you haven’t seen these videos, it’s because you’re watching fake news. It’s not voluntary when you’re fired because you believe there was election fraud or believe anything the woke police do not want you to believe. With all the nyc teacher communists I’m starting to think teachers unions need to be eliminated. Yeah, I’m willing to take my chances on that too.

Anonymous said...

9:04 No one is forcing you to do anything sweetie. As for being fired, sounds like a US labor problem, which is of course, a system of capitalist exploitation. I guess that's freedom though.

Anonymous said...

5:40 youd rather be exploited than have more freedom in the work place? interesting stance. and eradication? as in, cancel?

Anonymous said...

Hey sexist at 942. Women are not your sweetie. Do you treat all women this way or am I just a lucky gal? Save your mansplaining and objectifying language for the squad.

Anonymous said...

10:59 you do realize no one can determine gender from anonymous comments, yes? strange reaction, unless you consider it just a sarcastic deflection. and for your information, sweetie has become a general term used by younger generations towards men mostly. the times evolve, even if some people don't.

Anonymous said...

David, to share screen shots, open a free Dropbox account and post the screen shots there.

Then, post URLs to the Dropbox files here.

Anonymous said...

1138. Well pumpkin puss be a sexist pig if you want to but I’m sending the woke police to arrest you.