Corona Virus

[Mike J]

I think this flu has been on my mind and ended up being reflected in my latest painting.  I decided to call it "Wuhan City 2021"

 

[Tommy T.]

I have been a keen observer of current events and have noticed some odd coincidences.

So... now I wonder a bit about the future...

There is this corona virus sickening tens of thousands and killing hundreds - so far.

Then there is the African Swine Flu killing thousands of pigs and threatening so many more.

There is a new "bird" flu outbreak in China now that - so far- has not infected humans, but supposedly may  do so - fatality rate reportedly 60%!

There are stronger than usual typhoons and hurricanes worldwide. Also disruptions from "normal" weather patterns.

How about the incredibly devastating bush and forest fires in Australia and California.

Then there are the recent floods in USA and southern Europe.

There is a plague of locusts in eastern Africa destroying food crops and threatening to spread toward Asia. This was apparently brought on by typhoons that "normally" don't happen in the desert areas there.

There was almost an outbreak of war in the middle east - which is always restless anyway.

There is a US president who - whether you like him or not - tends to be rather "divisive?" And a Russian dictator who seems to be always pushing pushing. A Chinese dictator pushing pushing (think South China Sea).

Is all this just a function of increased news press coverage? Or is the world going to hell in a handbasket?

I am not making judgement here, just commenting and asking the question...

[Old55]

All throughout history humans have endured war, famine, pestilence and cruel rulers. It seems the world is unsettled on every continent today. So called news coverage for many years now has been less than factual. Sadly I would say YES to both questions. 

I'm sure we all wish for a quick end to the Corona Virus as it could affect so many helpless people in SE Asia and rest of the word. I truly worry for Philippines if the epidemic gets loose there.

[hk blues]

58 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

I have been a keen observer of current events and have noticed some odd coincidences.

So... now I wonder a bit about the future...

There is this corona virus sickening tens of thousands and killing hundreds - so far.

Then there is the African Swine Flu killing thousands of pigs and threatening so many more.

There is a new "bird" flu outbreak in China now that - so far- has not infected humans, but supposedly may  do so - fatality rate reportedly 60%!

There are stronger than usual typhoons and hurricanes worldwide. Also disruptions from "normal" weather patterns.

How about the incredibly devastating bush and forest fires in Australia and California.

Then there are the recent floods in USA and southern Europe.

There is a plague of locusts in eastern Africa destroying food crops and threatening to spread toward Asia. This was apparently brought on by typhoons that "normally" don't happen in the desert areas there.

There was almost an outbreak of war in the middle east - which is always restless anyway.

There is a US president who - whether you like him or not - tends to be rather "divisive?" And a Russian dictator who seems to be always pushing pushing. A Chinese dictator pushing pushing (think South China Sea).

Is all this just a function of increased news press coverage? Or is the world going to hell in a handbasket?

I am not making judgement here, just commenting and asking the question...

None of the events you mention are new - they have been happening as long as we've been around so if we are going to hell in  a handbasket then we've been on that journey from the beginning of our time.  Undoubtedly it seems worse now but I think that's a function of the reporting rather than the frequency.   

[Tommy T.]

22 minutes ago, hk blues said:

Undoubtedly it seems worse now but I think that's a function of the reporting rather than the frequency.   

Yes, HK... That is why I ask the question. It just seems to me a bit coincidental that there seem to be so many events going on all at the same time... Oh... and I forgot to mention the earthquakes all over. And, yes, I know those have also happened forever...

I really don't like the immediacy of the press nowadays... A world leader can let fly a fart and the world knows about it within milliseconds, it seems... And as Old55 suggests, a lot of the "news" is not necessarily factual. I have been on the "wrong" side of the news in my work before and experienced first hand the bs that is reported - and that was over 40 years ago. I can only imagine how inventive it is today...

But overall, there just seem to be a lot of uncommon events coalescing at the same time - just my observation and feeling.

Additional thought here: Current events and "news" do remind me of that Michael Crichton book "State of Fear." And that makes me wonder a bit also...

Edited February 9, 2020 by Tommy T.

[Marvin Boggs]

The answer seems obvious Tommy.  Its Biblical.  The earth is 'groaning', there is a quickening of events.  None of this is surprising to me, as someone who has watched the accelerated destruction going on for the last 30 years.  Some would say the last 100 years. 

"Be prepared" is all I will say on that. 

[hk blues]

1 hour ago, Tommy T. said:

Yes, HK... That is why I ask the question. It just seems to me a bit coincidental that there seem to be so many events going on all at the same time... Oh... and I forgot to mention the earthquakes all over. And, yes, I know those have also happened forever...

I really don't like the immediacy of the press nowadays... A world leader can let fly a fart and the world knows about it within milliseconds, it seems... And as Old55 suggests, a lot of the "news" is not necessarily factual. I have been on the "wrong" side of the news in my work before and experienced first hand the bs that is reported - and that was over 40 years ago. I can only imagine how inventive it is today...

But overall, there just seem to be a lot of uncommon events coalescing at the same time - just my observation and feeling.

Additional thought here: Current events and "news" do remind me of that Michael Crichton book "State of Fear." And that makes me wonder a bit also...

I guess the need for 24/7 news coverage to fill airtime encourages not only the reporting of trivial events but the reporting of events that may or may not be factual.  

As for the  uncommon events coinciding - it may partly be due to the phenomena that when something bad happens i.e. a plant crash, we suddenly have a spate of them making the news.  Of course, there is no increase in frequency, just they . become more newsworthy so even minor events are reported. 

[Tommy T.]

17 minutes ago, hk blues said:

Of course, there is no increase in frequency, just they . become more newsworthy so even minor events are reported. 

I am not a fearmonger, nor do I ascribe any pattern to all this, so perhaps it is just my personal perception that current events seem a bit strong and coincidental - as I mentioned before?

HK... I have to respectfully disagree with you about this.

Of course I agree with you about some trivial events can be sensationalized and others may not be factual. However consider these:

The corona virus at last count I saw today showed 812 dead and over 37,000 sickened.

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/coronavirus-usa-confirmed-cases-news-cruise-ship-death-toll-evacuations-latest-2020-02-07/

There are news reports about the H5N1 bird flu virus on a farm in Hunan province China. More than 18,000 birds have died or were culled as they attempt to stop the spread of this disease.

https://nypost.com/2020/02/02/china-reports-bird-flu-outbreak-near-epicenter-of-coronavirus/

African Swine Fever is affecting wild and domestic pigs across China and spreading to other countries across the globe. It is reported now here in Davao City. While apparently not a threat for human consumption, L and I and I believe many Filipinos are avoiding consuming pork at this time. Why take the chance?

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50833054

Regarding the locust plague in Africa: “This is an unprecedented situation that we are facing,” said Dominique Burgeon, an emergency services director at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization."

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/unprecedented-locust-invasion-approaches-full-blown-crisis/

Do I even need to detail the situation with increased typhoon frequencies and strengths?

I think we have all noted the increased frequency and strengths of earthquakes here, in California, Japan and Puerto Rico?

Likewise, most of us have read the reports about near war in Iran/Iraq recently? Or the machinations of the USA president? Or Putin or Xi?

I will not detail here, but there has been, just this week, monumental flooding in NW and SE parts of USA causing deaths and lots of property damage.

http://floodlist.com/america/usa

Then the floods in Europe since November.

http://floodlist.com/europe

I cannot consider any of these events as being minor...at least that's my viewpoint.

[Tommy T.]

2 hours ago, Marvin Boggs said:

 The earth is 'groaning', there is a quickening of events.  None of this is surprising to me, as someone who has watched the accelerated destruction going on for the last 30 years.  Some would say the last 100 years. 

Could be.... Maybe earth has grown tired of us and all our actions? So Mother Nature is finally really pissed off and is letting us know?

[bastonjock]

58 minutes ago, Tommy T. said:

Could be.... Maybe earth has grown tired of us and all our actions? So Mother Nature is finally really pissed off and is letting us know?

Yes there is a lot of unusual activity going on,  I enjoyed @Tommy T. post on his observations 

We have all these problems that are causing concern , my gf says its biblical ,  y son says that its mother nature correcting our over populated planet 

Today in the UK we are being battered by another storm , this is the second big storm of the year 

We could be on  the cusp of global catastrophe , theres no denying that we are experiencing climate change , this is a cyclical phenomenon that has happened since homo sapiens walked out of Africa , but ! I think that we have accelerated this problem 

I'm watching BBC news as I type , they have closed all of the large bridges in the UK , the large parks in London , rail and ferry travel has been shut down 

There is also the thought that all of this news is partially part of a government scheme to increase our awareness of the problem so that when the stick of punishment is used   we will not complain  too much 

I worry about my granddaughter , 

How many young people in the west these days could survive if the food production stops?  , I had a similar discussion with a group of bankers in London , most of them thought that meat came in a packet wrapped in cellophane 

In past history there has been global catastrophe that's led to migration and loss of life