I couldn't care less about what Fauci thinks about anything.

quote:

Originally posted by Keystoner:
I couldn't care less about what Fauci thinks about anything.

Sure, but Biden has held him up to be an expert who would essentially run the Biden administration. It should be pretty hard for the Biden crew to "ignore the science", though I am sure their friends in the MSM will make a valiant effort.

“The iconic Lower Manhattan 9/11 memorial display that features twin beams of light to honor victims of the terror attacks will not shine this year over coronavirus concerns,” reports the New York Post.

“The annual ‘Tribute in Light’ display requires a large crew to pull off … posing health risks this year that ‘were far too great.’”

Well, that’s some Grade-A horseshit and we all know it.

What? They can’t wear masks while installing the lights?

I thought masks cured everything?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not arguing the city should require people do this work during a pandemic. But I think we all know there would be enough volunteers. I mean, I know New York has gone insane in the Trump Era, but I have no doubt enough skilled volunteers could still be found.

As everyone is saying on the Twitters, where was all this concern about close working conditions during the coronavirus when city employees were tasked with painting “Black Lives Matter” in front of Trump Tower?

You’ve all seen the photos. Check out all that city worker proximity going on there.

Also canceled is the in-person ceremony at Ground Zero where, among others, family members read the names of the 9/11 victims.

So instead of the iconic light tribute, an “alternative” has been announced where some buildings will be “lighting up their facades and spires in blue on 9/11.”

Also, thankfully, a nonprofit called the Tunnel to Towers Foundation will hold the name-reading ceremony in Lower Manhattan.

We all know what’s going on here…

Anything related to September 11, most especially in New York, most especially involving the World Trade Center, reminds Americans of the valor and sacrifice of our first responders, including the 23 police officers of the New York Police Department (NYPD), and 37 police officers with the Port Authority who died that day attempting to save people they didn’t know.

What’s more, since that terrible day nearly 20 years ago, some 250 NYPD officers have died of cancer and other diseases directly related to the long periods of time they spent in the rubble searching for survivors. It should be noted New York firefighters have suffered even worse losses.

September 11 also gives Americans a sense of togetherness, it sparks our sense of unity and patriotism. But that was New York then…

Today New York and Democrats and the media that protect them are aggressively looking to normalize disrespecting our flag and anthem, smearing our founding as an act of white supremacism, desecrating our Founders as white supremacists, and canceled this year’s Fourth of July celebrations … even as they encouraged, championed and even joined in the mass protests that violated social distancing rules, the mass protests that resulted in mass looting, mass arson, mass assaults, murder, and a spike in coronavirus cases.

Another thing we all know is that this is the beginning of the end of 9/11 tributes.

Come on… Does anyone doubt the media and America’s increasingly extremist Democrats, like New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, hate this annual tribute — that they resent it and want to see it eliminated — just like they want to see Mount Rushmore, monuments to our Founding, and monuments to the valiant men who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War (yeah, I said that, because it’s true), destroyed?

The left’s “revolution” requires the erasing of our history, most especially the inconvenient history that puts a lump in our throat and reminds us that almost all of our police officers are decent and selfless.

You see, the message of September 11, 2001, gets in the way of the left’s plan to destroy all the gains made by black America under Trump by destroying our cities. September 11, 2001, reminds us the phony anti-police cause the left-wing terrorists in Antifa and Black Lives Matter use as a shield to justify their terrorism is just that — phony.

New York is dead and it ain’t coming back.

I don’t blame elected Democrats. They are who they are.

I blame the citizens of New York. They voted for this, and Mayor de Blasio continues to govern with their consent. New York’s next mayor will be just as bad or worse.

https://www.breitbart.com/poli...-9-11-light-tribute/

This is the BS out there.... This is sponsored by the Courier newsroom. A quick Wikipedia search on the sponsor of this piece :

Courier Newsroom is a digital for-profit media company which publishes what appear to be local pseudo-news outlets but which are actually Democratic Party propaganda efforts.[1][a][3][4] The goal of Courier Newsroom publications, according to an internal memo obtained by Vice News, "is to create shareable viral pseudo 'news content' to boost its preferred candidates.

In other words organized viral fake news

https://gandernewsroom.com/202...utm_content=9AA4622A

quote:

“The iconic Lower Manhattan 9/11 memorial display that features twin beams of light to honor victims of the terror attacks will not shine this year over coronavirus concerns,” reports the New York Post.

They haven't cancelled the riots or painting BLM in front of Trump Tower. I can't imagine the lights are any more dangerous than painting BLM (without permits, at taxpayers expense) or gathering in large crowds while shouting is any less dangerous than hitting an on switch for some lights.

https://www.foxbusiness.com/ec...xodus-losses-unclear

Retail chains and restaurants have abandoned an “unsustainable” New York City over the past few months due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report by The New York Times -- but officials say thet will not know the full extent of losses until the fall.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushed to reduce the geographic footprint of travelers as a major centerpiece of his pandemic containment policy, limiting travel within the tri-state area so that New Yorkers were discouraged from traveling even to neighboring states. Cuomo’s policy, in combination with a statewide lockdown, managed to flatten the curve when New York City was the national hot spot of the virus in the United States.

However, the reduction in foot traffic from a lack of tourism and increased telecommuting has produced a market environment that cannot sustain the same level of revenue for businesses of seemingly any size. More than 420 companies -- including Hertz, Lord & Taylor, J Crew and more -- have already filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020, with more to follow as things stand.

Due to pandemic containment policies, some businesses have seen as much as an 85% reduction in revenue

“There’s no reason to do business in New York,” Michael Weinstein, chief executive of Ark Restaurants – the parent company for Bryant Park Grill & Café – told The Times. “I can do the same volume in Florida in the same square feet as I would have in New York, with my expenses being much less.”

As a result of such aggressive reductions, national chains -- including J.C. Penney, Kate Spade, Subway and Le Pain Quotidien -- have permanently shut down branches. High-profile locations have shuttered while continuing business in other states, largely due to the rent requirements in the city.

"For a lot of small businesses, this situation is breaking them,” Jaffe said. “Politicians urged people to stay home, not replacing their income, and actually paid them more to stay home. By our calculations, anybody earning under $50,000 a year was better off with the unemployment relief.”

^^^^^
Yeah. Being in the airline industry, that's just preaching to the choir right there...

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
some businesses have seen as much as an 85% reduction in revenue

Down 85% reminded me of this article about Seattle from yesterday. Tip of the iceberg. The economic toll hasn't started to be felt. It'll be long term and potentially fatal for some cities.

The article states- "The Downtown Seattle Association estimates that 70 percent of downtown’s 343,000 workers have the ability to work virtually, meaning companies also have the ability to move the jobs somewhere else."

quote:

Seattle businesses ask City Council to stop the payroll tax

"Business is down 85 percent"
"His boutique joins a massive list of about 100 downtown restaurants, stores, gyms and businesses that have closed since the pandemic "
https://komonews.com/news/loca...stop-the-payroll-tax

Well, it seems that the 9-11 Lighting Ceremony is back on now. PUSHBACK !

https://www.wdrb.com/news/nati...07I4-MPHBEfdkZkCD3QQ

NEW YORK (AP) — The annual light display honoring victims of 9/11 is back on, officials announced Saturday, saying New York health officials will supervise this year's tribute to ensure workers' safety amid concerns related to the coronavirus pandemic.

“This year it is especially important that we all appreciate and commemorate 9/11, the lives lost and the heroism displayed ‎as New Yorkers are once again called upon to face a common enemy,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.

The announcement came days after the National September 11 Memorial & Museum canceled the Tribute in Light over concerns the coronavirus might spread among crews creating twin columns of light to represent the World Trade Center in the Manhattan sky.

Alice Greenwald, president and CEO of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, thanked former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Cuomo and the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation “for their assistance in offsetting the increased costs associated with the health and safety considerations around the tribute this year."

“This year, its message of hope, endurance and resilience are more important than ever,” Greenwald said in a statement.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation recently decided to hold an alternative 9/11 Never Forget ceremony after the National September 11 Memorial & Museum announced family members won’t read the names of the nearly 3,000 victims this year because of the pandemic.

The foundation’s tribute will be held just south of the memorial plaza and relatives will read the victims’ names, with mask-wearing enforced and podiums being sanitized after each speaker.

quote:

Retail chains and restaurants have abandoned an “unsustainable” New York City

That city is dead. No tourism, people have figured out they don't need office space, retail was already dying pre-COVID, and restaurants can't serve food.

If there was a way to short NYC real estate I would. That place is the next Detroit.

Try as I might I can’t really feel sorry for anything bad that happens to NYC.

They’re getting what they voted for and refused year after year to do anything about.

They voted for AOC.

Yep, hard to feel sorry for them.

Some thoughts on Covid-19.

My town is going through a pretty significant Covid-19 outbreak right now and I would like to share my observations and thoughts regarding this disease and its spread.

First, a little background. Hartford is a small town of about 2500 located in rural Geneva County, Alabama. We were pretty much untouched for the first half of this year. When the governor shut down all “non-essential” business it pissed off a lot of us, myself included. A lot of people were concerned about Covid-19 but most people were more concerned about the disruption of their day-to-day life than a disease that seemed to be more of a problem for big cities like NYC than rural Alabama.

We how have a lot of people who either have had or currently have Covid-19. I can name at least 100 people who have had it, I suspect that is an undercount. Most of the infections can be traced to a single event held about 4 weeks ago. Our municipal elections are being held next week and the local Chamber of Commerce hosted a meet and greet for anyone wanting to talk to the folks running for office. About 50 people were at the event, only 4 of which are reported to have worn face masks.

It appears that 2 people were contagious and spreading the virus (they showed symptoms and tested positive within 2 days). Other attendees started getting sick about 7-10 days later, with a second wave about a week after that. We are now seeing 3rd/4th wave infections.

Some of the people infected include my uncle and aunt, my brother in law and his youngest son, and several close friends. Most seem to be moderately sick, about like having a good case of the flu for about 10 days or so. Some are only sick for 5-7 days, some a lot longer. Everyone who shows symptoms reports loss of smell/taste, body aches, fever, and headache. Some really are not affected that much, my uncle was working on his classic car (70’s Trans-Am) after about 3 days. I know of one person who showed no symptoms but tested positive when he went to the ER for kidney stones (I do believe he really had it, his wife started showing symptoms the next day).

Four people have been hospitalized. All male, 2 in their 70’s, 1 in his 60’s, and 1 in his late 40’s. The guy in his 40’s had a bout with Lyme’s disease about 10-12 years ago, the two in their 70’s had some underlying health issues, I am not sure about the guy in his 60’s. The two men in their 70’s and the guy in his 40’s all eventually were placed into ICU. The guy in his 40’s spent 2-3 days in ICU, then another 2 days or so in a regular Covid-19 room before being released. The guy in his 60’s just went into the hospital yesterday, no ICU as of now. The guy in his younger 70’s is still in ICU. Unfortunately, the man in his late 70’s passed away yesterday.

Some final thoughts. This disease spreads easily in small confined spaces with extended close contact such as church, social events, people working closely in an office. If you have brief contact from a distance or outside it has a much harder time spreading. If you are 60+ or have other health issues, especially if you are 60+ and have other health issues be very careful. I do not think this thing is the end of the world. I don’t think we need to shut down our economy for it. I do think most of us will eventually be exposed to it. I think most will recover and be fine.

This post was not intended to be political or make anyone mad, I just wanted to share what I have seen. Post any questions you have and I will answer to the best of my ability.

Update: I just found out that the other gentleman who was in ICU is now in a regular Covid-19 room.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Herkdriver,

^Great post, thank you.

I know 3 families that have had it; 14 people. Ages from 10 to 45 or so. The youngest people had the easiest time, the oldest the worst. Two of the dads and one of the moms were hospitalized for a few days each. Most have completely rocevered, some more slowly, and one is still feeling lethargic. I haven't asked where they think they got it from.

My two youngest start school tomorrow.

long article

NYC IS DEAD FOREVER. HERE'S WHY

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse...s-why-james-altucher

"But NYC always always bounces back." No. Not this time. "But NYC is the center of the financial universe. Opportunities will flourish here again." Not this time.

"NYC has experienced worse". No it hasn't.

Midtown Manhattan, the center of business in NYC, is empty. Even though people can go back to work, famous office buildings like the Time Life skyscraper is still 90% empty. Businesses realized that they don't need their employees at the office.

In fact, they realize they are even more productive without everyone back to the office. The Time Life building can handle 8,000 workers. Now it maybe has 500 workers back.

Another friend of mine works at a major investment bank as a managing director. Before the pandemic he was at the office every day, sometimes working from 6am to 10pm.

Now he lives in Phoenix, Arizona. "As of June," he told me, "I had never even been to Phoenix." And then he moved there. He does all his meetings on Zoom.

But this time it's different.

One reason: bandwidth.

In 2008, average bandwidth speeds were 3 megabits per second. That's not enough for a Zoom meeting with reliable video quality. Now, it's over 20 megabits per second. That's more than enough for high quality video.

There's a before and after. BEFORE: no remote work. AFTER: everyone can remote work.

The difference: bandwidth got faster. And that's basically it. People have left New York City and have moved completely into virtual worlds. The Time Life building doesn't need to fill up again. Wall Street can now stretch across every street instead of just being one building in Manhattan.

We are officially AB: "After Bandwidth". And for the entire history of NYC (the world) until now we were BB: Before Bandwidth.

Remote learning, remote meetings, remote offices, remote performance, remote everything.

That's what is different.

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 7:09 AM PT – Monday, August 17, 2020
Yale University researchers may have changed the coronavirus testing game with a new method solely based on a person’s saliva.

The FDA recently issued emergency authorization for Yale’s SalivaDirect method, which was developed in their School of Public Health. The new method attempts to provide a less expensive, less invasive and simpler way to test.

“The results that we were seeing seeing for the saliva examples were even in some cases better than what we we’re seeing in nasopharyngeal. These were COVID-confirmed patients that we were initially testing, so they should have been testing positive for SARS-CoV-2.”

— Anne Wyllie, PhD, Associate Research Associate of Epidemiology – Yale School of Medicine

SalivaDirect testing became popular with its effectiveness in diagnosing asymptomatic NBA staffers and players. Researchers found the testing produced similar results to nasal swab tests, but came in less than three-hours.

They also found saliva samples can remain stable in prolonged periods of time in warmer areas. On top of that, the samples are flexible enough to produce similar results with different chemical compounds.

“And overall it’s faster, so it can really be scaled up so more tests can be done and that is really gonna help to, you know, ramp up testing,” explained Dr. Chantal Vogels, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Yale School of Public Health. “It’s gonna be more scalable, it’s gonna be more accessible and we’re just really exited about that.”

Researchers don’t intend on commercializing their tests, which are estimated to cost around $10 per test. They hope their new method can be used to help struggling communities worldwide.

https://www.oann.com/?p=2211739

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
...
We are officially AB: "After Bandwidth". And for the entire history of NYC (the world) until now we were BB: Before Bandwidth.
...
That's what is different.

This is one of the things that pleasantly surprised me. I expected that after quarantines started, and after everyone started working remotely, that the internet would be brought to its knees. I didn't notice any of that happening. Apparently, the telecoms have been building enough infrastructure to keep up with it.

quote:

Originally posted by IntrepidTraveler:

quote:

Originally posted by sdy:
...
We are officially AB: "After Bandwidth". And for the entire history of NYC (the world) until now we were BB: Before Bandwidth.
...
That's what is different.

This is one of the things that pleasantly surprised me. I expected that after quarantines started, and after everyone started working remotely, that the internet would be brought to its knees. I didn't notice any of that happening. Apparently, the telecoms have been building enough infrastructure to keep up with it.

My daughter is employed by a Internet travel business. Back in March, they closed her office and sent everyone home. While given the option to sit and still get paid, the teams started working remotely.( It’s a company that values its staff and they return it.)While travel is down, she’s been told they will be remote until at least January. They meetings are by Zoom And pretty relaxed. At one meeting the manager started off by asking if everyone was wearing pants! She’s had some serious discussions about this being permanent. There would still need to be a physical location to train newcomers, and then when someone gets a promotion. However she loves it as there’s no Seattle commute.

Another result of remote employment would be the loss of fuel taxes. No commuting.
So they will have figure another way to tax us!

Our IT dept has been working remote for about six months without skipping a beat. Our office lease is up for renewal in November. I'll be shocked it gets renewed.

US call centers for Comcast are closed through the end of the calendar year, and employees are working from home until further notice. Normally only a small fraction of CC staff work from home.

(I have friends in management there.)