Monday, July 20, 2020

Self-isolation Day 125.

Last night I went to bed at 10:30, fell asleep quickly, got up once during the night, finally waking/getting up at 7:30am.

Today is another holiday – Colombia Independence Day. I did hear some firecrackers about 7am this morning.

Today is also International Chess Day.

Last night I played 3 games on Chess.com, winning 2 and losing 1. I was losing the last game when in the endgame I forked his king and rook and it was an easy win after that. My new rating is 1308. (I finally got it up over 1300 again.)

Since last night my cellphone beeped every few minutes because supposedly I have a (new?) voice mail from Claro: “New Voicemail. Claro CO”.  I checked Settings, Device Care but it said its 100% optimized. I tried to uninstall Claro Video thinking somehow that was causing a problem. It locked up on me and now I can’t even log back in. On the login screen it says “no sim card” and “no network connection”. I finally got in and lots of my Whatsapp contacts have lost their associated name, just shows their cellphone number. I wonder if there is a problem with my sim card. I checked and the Claro Video app is gone. I turned off my cellphone completely, recharged it, and turned it back on and things seem to be somewhat back to normal.

At 11:30 4 military jets flew by in formation. They came by again about 20 minutes later but I could only hear them.

 

Today I beat Teresa in parchesi 11 games to 3 to take a nice overall lead.

 

Dr. Deborah Birx, the chief medical officer on the White House's coronavirus task force, told administration officials in April that the virus would most likely soon go away, reported The New York Times on Saturday. According to the report, Birx believed the US would follow the same trajectory as Italy, with a sharp increase in cases followed by a gradual decline.

The optimistic assessment provided by Birx reportedly influenced the Trump administration's push to reopen the economy and lift lockdown.

The Times said Birx appeared caught off guard by the extent to which Trump would urge a return to normal, with states ultimately lifting lockdown measures before infection rates were at recommended levels.

 

Across the country, coronavirus cases are soaring, hospital capacity is shrinking, and Americans’ moods are souring. Yet when you listen to Vice President Mike Pence, you would think the trends are all going in the right direction. So what makes Pence so optimistic?

Perhaps it’s that by disregarding the science of the pandemic, he can focus on wishful thinking.

Pence’s departure from reality is best evidenced by his opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal a month ago. In the piece, titled “There Isn’t A Coronavirus ‘Second Wave,’” the Vice President and Chair of the White House Coronavirus Task Force attempted to make the case that President Trump’s response to the pandemic has been successful and that the media is unnecessarily worrying the nation.

 

Republicans should be terrified. President Donald Trump's reelection prospects look increasingly grim, with polls showing that his ticket is vulnerable in states like North Carolina, Ohio and Texas. According to one recent Fox News poll, Joe Biden has a two-point lead over Trump in Georgia - where a Democratic presidential candidate has not won since 1992.

A landside election is one of the few cataclysmic events that could actually challenge our current political landscape. It would leave Republicans, a party influenced by intense partisanship, to finally do some serious soul-searching and put forth constructive policies and a new political strategy in order to win again. It would force a reckoning within the party, which has stood loyally by President Trump throughout his term, as he says the quiet parts out loud. A huge defeat could give younger voices in the GOP —rather than the Tucker Carlson types who take a deeper dive into Trumpian Republicanism—the political space to push their leadership to finally move in different directions.

 

Florida reported 12,523 new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, marking the fifth consecutive day the hot-spot state reported more than 10,000 cases, according to the state’s health department. 

The state has reported more than 11,865 new infections on average over the past seven days, up 29% from a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

“The residents here are terrified and I’m terrified, for the first time in my career because there’s a lack of leadership,” said Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla.

 

CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday ripped the U.S. response to the coronavirus, saying it pales in comparison to how nations such as Japan and South Korea have handled it. “Those are big, big countries, and they’re faring so much better,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street.” “I’m trying to figure out what kind of disaster that our country has had that’s ever been as bad as this that’s been self-inflicted,” the “Mad Money” host said. 

 

California appeared to be moving in the right direction when it came to Covid-19. It was the first state to impose a stay-at-home order on March 19. Less than two months later, on May 8, the numbers had fallen enough that the state started the first phase of reopening.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom told his citizens,"You have bent the curve."

But then Memorial Day came around. By early June the numbers started creeping back up. The seven- day average for daily coronavirus cases totaled more than 2,600. Then they skyrocketed.

By July 11, the seven-day average had risen to 9,400 new cases of coronavirus per day, a more than 250% increase. The numbers fluctuate daily but the trend shows California is in surge. By July 13, Newsom ordered the shutdown of bars, indoor dining, movie theaters, wineries and some other businesses across the state again. So what went wrong?

Anne Rimoin, an epidemiology professor at the University of California Los Angeles, says the answer is simple. Some governments and people became complacent.

"You know, we opened up too soon. We didn't have the virus totally under control," Rimoin said.

But, she added, "People are not following the rules. They're not wearing masks. They're not social distancing. They're not doing what it is that they need to do."

 

Thomas Bach has described next summer's Tokyo Olympics as the first major opportunity for the world to celebrate the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Olympic flame serving as "a light at the end of this dark tunnel." 

"The fragile post-corona world needs the unifying power of the Olympic Games," the International Olympic Committee president said in a speech Friday.

The question, however, is whether that "post-corona world" will exist on July 23, 2021, when the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics are slated to begin.

 

A former Fox Business associate producer alleged in a lawsuit Monday that she was raped and assaulted by Fox News anchor Ed Henry, who the cable news network fired in recent weeks after investigating the claims.

The former staffer, Jennifer Eckhart, alleges Mr. Henry raped her in 2017 at a New York hotel where Fox News hosts visiting employees, and in a separate incident sexually assaulted her on office property in 2015, according to the suit, which was filed in New York federal court.

Ms. Eckhart claims the network’s decision to fire her in June was retaliation after she complained to human resources about a toxic work environment. Fox News denies Ms. Eckhart’s allegation that she was fired in retaliation for complaining.

 

San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler plans to use his position to speak out against racial injustice and provide a voice for those who aren't heard.

Kapler and several of his players knelt during the national anthem before their 6-2 exhibition victory against the Oakland Athletics. Kapler shared his plans when he addressed the team earlier Monday, and he said everyone would be supported by the Giants no matter what they decided to do.

“I wanted them to know that I wasn't pleased with the way our country has handled police brutality and I told them I wanted to amplify their voices and I wanted to amplify the voice of the Black community and marginalized communities as well," Kapler said. "So I told them that I wanted to use my platform to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with the way we've handled racism in our country. I wanted to demonstrate my dissatisfaction with our clear systemic racism in our country and I wanted them to know that they got to make their own decisions and we would respect and support those decisions. I wanted them to feel safe in speaking up."

 

The players' association had sought no preseason games and the league had reduced the exhibition schedule to two games. But on Monday evening, the NFL said it would eliminate those preseason contests and also would offer players 18 days for acclimation, up from seven days. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the offer had not been made public.

Another part of the offer is to provide a means for players concerned about participating in training camp and/or games to opt out and receive a stipend.

 

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler sent a letter Monday to US Attorney General William Barr and Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, opposing the deployment of federal forces in his city.

The letter was cosigned by the mayors of Seattle, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, and Washington, DC.

"Unilaterally deploying these paramilitary-type forces into our cities is wholly inconsistent with our system of democracy and our most basic values," the mayors wrote.

 

Donald Trump's sudden rediscovery of the pandemic, his endorsement of masks and the return of his notorious briefings suggest a belated realization that public scorn over his denial-plagued leadership could end his presidency.

 

The US has 3,716,404 ð 3,784,924 ð 3,841,982 coronavirus cases with 139,800+ ð 140,300+ ð 140,800+ deaths.

Per Medellin Guru, as of this afternoon Colombia has a total of 190,700 ð 197,278 ð 204,005 cases with 6,929 deaths.  Medellin has 8,005 ð 8,459 ð 9,169 cases, an increase of 705 from July 19^th to July 20^th.  Envigado has a total of 455 cases, an increase of 52 from July 19^th to July 20^th.

 

Joke of the day

A man goes to see an incredibly successful assassin who was known to charge $10,000 per bullet. "Are you the guy who charges $10,000 a bullet?" He asks him.

"Yup."

"What if you miss?"

The assassin looks at the man, very serious. "I don't miss," he hisses.

"Okay, okay," says the man nervously. "Well, I've got $20,000. I just found out my wife has been having an affair with my best friend for years! They're at their usual motel right now."

"Let's go," the assassin says.

So they drive to a store across the street from the motel and climb up on the roof. The assassin takes out his rifle and attaches the scope.

"They're in room 21. I want you to shoot her in the head, and I want you to blow his penis off."

The assassin looks through his scope. He keeps staring for several minutes, not taking the shot.

"Well? What are you waiting for!?" the husband asks impatiently.

"Hold on a minute," said the assassin, "I might be able to save you $10k."