Claudia Mo says "I will always try to do as much as I can for Hong Kong". (‘My Life’, Post Magazine, February 16)

LETTER TO SCMP
"Journalist turned lawmaker" Claudia Mo says "I will always try to do as much as I can for Hong Kong". (‘My Life’,  Post Magazine, February 16).
Very well, Ms Mo. How about standing up for the Seven Freedoms we already have? Namely:

1. Freedom of Conscience 
2. Freedom of Assembly 
3. Freedom of Movement 
4. Freedom of Press 
5. Freedom of Expression 
6. Freedom of Religion 
7. Freedom of Capital 

These are not delusional and they are not in my imagination. They are real and meaningful. They are now endangered by the antics of Claudia Mo and her violent supporters on our streets.
Mo represents a party she co-founded, "HK First", which supports for "localism", including independence for Hong Kong and the use of force to achieve it.
This is a delusional and dangerous policy. It will only draw the ire — and ultimately the fierce crackdown — of the hated despots in Beijing (we all hate them, Ms Mo!).
If you want to bring ruin to our city, keep calling for "Independence", keep being violent, and see what happens!
Ms Mo: If you care for our city, as you say you do, please work for something achievable: the maintenance of the Freedoms we already have. Which means working with the Hong Kong and Beijing governments, hated as they may be.
I'm a conservative in the sense that I want to conserve our Freedoms. Ms Mo could consider herself a progressive for doing the same. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that supporting localism, supporting independence, supporting violent "freedom fighters" on our streets is reckless and ruinously dangerous. It will have the opposite effect. "The road to hell…." and all that.
I stand for Freedom. Which is why I stand against violent protest, why I stand against "independence for Hong Kong", and why I stand against the policies of "HK First".
I also stand against Ms Mo's "mainlandisation" concerns, for they seem to me little more than nativist bigotry.* A kind of Cantonese Supremacy. Racist, in short. [Like this]
PF, Etc..
Published 22 Feb
Related:
* My SCMP letter on bigotry in the protest movement (24 Nov 2019)
* My post on bigotry in the protest movement (6 Dec 2019)

ADDED: “So, what would l do, to conserve these freedoms?”. Good question. I’ll look at that over the next little bit.

'Michael Avenatti has been found guilty on all counts in Nike extortion trial'

And the Right has gone giggly with glee... (as in the mashup above).
This is the guy who supposedly had all the dirt on the Kavanaugh trial, representing as he did, two later discredited accusers of the Judge. Who all blew up spectacularly.
And he was -- incredibly, ludicrously, insanely, I thought at the time -- a potential candidate for POTUS. I mean, I understand the CNN loonies going for anyone, just anyone, who they thought might slay Orange Man Bad, but did Bill Maher have to lose his mind as well??
Avenatti’s now off to jail, guilty on all counts
Talk about peacock to feather duster in record time.
[Trump “terrified” of Michael Avenatti?? LOL]

‘The greatest Englishman who ever lived'

And learn how he loved a “good blub”. A terrific interview.

Covid-19 virus update, 16 February

Looks like getting to the long tail

From Worldometer

No new cases in Hong Kong 
But … protesters trash virus treatment clinic. Well done “freedom fighters” !
How to lower risk on flights
WHO pushed into a corner
Desperate times, desperate measures
Ugly tide of ‘Yellow Peril’

ADDED: My chart of rate of increase in infections and trendline

Click to enlarge and clarify

Covid-19 virus update, 15 February

Return of downward trend in rate of new infections: 2,8% new

Frown Worldometer

Enough of the China bashing !
I pretty much agree there’s been an overreaction
Coronavirus, like the flu, here to stay?
Covid-19 hits exports of lobsters…
Will Covid make us or break us ?
And the news seems to be repeating …
Well there’s this: daily arrivals in Hong Kong down 98.5%
And global tourism takes an $80 billion hit
And China slams Australia for “extreme measures”

ADDED: FWIW, figures for actual rate of new infections and trendline.  Goes to zero around 19th February. I repeat that I don’t trust this trendline “projection”, and take more notice of official estimates which have the outbreak coming under control in mid to late March. There’s likely to be a long tail. As cases reduce the marginal decrease is harder to control.
[The spike in numbers on 13 Feb was due to new reporting protocols, not a jump in actual new cases]

Click to enlarge and clarify

Covid-19 virus update, 14 February

Yesterday’s change of criteria for counting cases means the
calculation of rates and forecasts has to restart as of yesterday. 

From Worldometer

Expanded diagnostic protocols
China will stop the spread of virus, while “fake news” spreads the virus
In the category of “just because China does it, doesn’t mean it’s wrong”: on being fair
Against viral racism
Arguments over transparency
Aussies avoid Chinese food 
Beijing’s new Hong Kong and Macau Affairs boss, and purge in Wuhan
Airline exec talking on CNA says losses “in the billions”. Air travel sharply down. Expects sharp rebound after control of the virus, as happened after SARS.

The mournful Koel

The mournful Koel

Every new year, here in Hong Kong, we know that spring has sprung because we hear the Koel calling out for his mate. And yes, it’s always a “he” calling, says my trusty Hong Kong Birds Guide.

Every year, around this time, we hear the mournful sounds of the Koel, high up in the trees, usually unseen, but clearly heard. Heard a touch too often, if I’m frank...
The bird’s name is onomatopoeic, mimicking the sound of his spring mating call.
Ko-el, ko-el, koo-el, koo-el, kooo-el, kooo-el... about a dozen times each stanza (it that’s the right word), rising in intonation, as if he’s getting more and more desperate, where-oh-where is that lovely lady I pine for? Kooo-ellll....  And then a break, some minutes, ten or more perhaps, and then...
Ko-el, ko-el, koo-el, koo-el, kooo-el, kooo-ell... 
We heard the call of the Koel last week, on Super Bowl Monday, here on 3 February, our doors open to the fine spring weather, 18 centigrade degrees and fine and clear and crisp.
And one of our SuperBowl guests -- a 49ers supporter, but we’ll forgive him -- noted the call.  It’s rare that I have a guest interested in our birds, even if our yard is a haven for some of the 300-odd varieties we have in Hong Kong, an oasis, territory fought over by families of red-vented bulbuls, speckled doves, crested mynas, magpie robins, greater coucals, kingfishers, the lugubrious egret, hanging hungrily over our fishpond, eyeing off the latest batch of fingerlings.
So it was a bit of a surprise to have Jerry comment , when he heard the Koel, “Oh”, he said “that’s a bit early this year, isn’t it?”.
I said  “yes, maybe. I’m not sure it’s usually this early.”  And we agreed that, of course, if it was early, then it’s another global warming thing.
We looked up “Koel” in the Hong Kong Birds Guide, but it had nothing about when the male started his courting calls.
So, having turned 70 just recently*, I thought, why not be optimistic? Why not assume that I’ll be here enough more years to learn if indeed they were early this year, and to note the annual start of their kourting kall?
So, I’d doing that, and giving this a new label -- “Koel” -- with optimism.

*[Confucius, in the Analects, says 七十而從心所欲, qishi er congxin suoyu.  “When you turn seventy you can go where your heart desires”]

Will "President Bernie" turn America into Venezuela?

Roman Genn

Will "President Bernie" turn America into Venezuela?
No, I don’t think so.
For two reasons:

a.  The Separation of Powers, enshrined in the American Constitution. It has kept the country safe from a “King Trump", a “fascist" Trump, an “authoritarian" Trump and it will do so for any of the crazier ideas that Bernie has.  (And they are many).

b.  Bernie himself. He’s been consistent in his Socialist views, but not all that brilliant in getting them enacted. Sure, he has moved the Democratic party to the Left. But if you look at his legislative achievements, they’re virtually nil. Within the US Congress he is furthest Left on “Ideology" and lowest on “Leadership" in analysis by the non-partisan govtrack. (“Leadership” here measuring the success in enacting legislation).
Just what America needs now, a far-Left president with no leadership skills...
Still, if he won’t turn America into Venezuela maybe it’s “don’t worry, be happy”? Right?
Well,  he can still try hard to bring about Our Revolution he so yearns for... and cause grave damage thereby. The “road to hell” and all that. (It’s true!)

I found this article [Internet archive] interesting and learnt two neologisms:

1.  “Sandernista”.  This is such a clever play on the Marxist Sandinistas that I’m surprised it hasn’t been coined before.  Kudos to Kyle Smith.

2.  “Baccalaureate proletariat”.  Another from the pen of Mr Smith. Aptly, concisely, summing up the young folks who have gone to College in America, taken on huge debt, and studied something like “gender studies” and -- strangely -- found themselves unemployable.  They’re the ones who are “feeling the Bern”.
There’s another thing I learnt about the Bern. That he really did post this (mentioned in the Smith article) and it’s on his Senator Sanders Website [my emphasis]:

These days, the American dream is more apt to be realized in South America, in places such as Ecuador, Venezuela and Argentina, where incomes are actually more equal today than they are in the land of Horatio Alger. Who's the banana republic now? [Ref]

The American dream best realised in Venezuela. Ok, Bern.... 

source

source

And remember it’s perfectly safe to like this cartoon! It’s not bigoted.…

Covid-19 virus update, 13 February

Huge spike in new cases

From Worldometer

Wow. Big spike in new cases. Makes you wonder if there’d been underreporting before.  

Or…what’s going on?
Well… (a bit later), it turns out it’s a change in diagnostic criteria. They didn’t have enough test kits to confirm all cases, and so…

“From today on, we will include the number of clinically diagnosed cases into the number of confirmed cases so that patients could receive timely treatment,” the health authority said in a statement, which did not provide further details about the new criteria.

Hmmm… the article ends “more to follow”. Like: what about the spike in deaths?
While Beijing clamps down
Hong Kong school closures extend beyond March 2. Lucky parents …
US consulate staff in Hong Kong head home. But expatriates “not panicking”
WHO praises China response.  Then again, US experts criticise WHO
April’s annual China Sea yacht race HK to the Philippines is cancelled. Also Hong Kong's famous Rugby Sevens postponed
Virus impact on Australia economy “could be huge”
Incubation period remains uncertain
Talking of Uber. As I was yesterday 

Amazing Tesla

This was made in 2012, posted in 2017 and now labelled 2020.  But it’s a great documentary nonetheless and all the better for knowing that today they’re delivering on their promises...

'Despite the Trump impeachment trial and State of the Union saga, American democracy is far from broken’ | Robert Boxwell

I thought I’d heard the name Robert Boxwell, writing in today’s South China Morning Post. And I had.
Back in 2015, I challenged him over his criticism of Uber in our city. I “won” that argument, in the sense that Uber is still operating here in Hong Kong. The government has bigger problems to sort out other than some allegedly errant car-hailing service.

This time Boxwell is writing what I think is a pretty fair and balanced article on American politics. The Post is strongly anti-Trump, so most of its Op-Eds are too. Boxwell, by contrast, makes the point that there are plenty of people who don’t like Trump’s bullying boorishness, but who appreciate many of his successes, the economy not the least. And that hyper-partisanship is, as it were, bi-partisan. Politics were divisive well before Trump came on the scene.
From the Left it’s been nearly four years of attacking not just Trump, but also the people who voted for him. I’m with Ann Althouse on this: “Me — and I'm not a Trump voter — I'm just someone offended by the 3 years of disrespect shown to the people whose candidate won an election.”.
So here is Boxwell’s article.

As for this year’s SOTU: I watched it live and thought it was pretty good. Then I watched CNN analysts tell me it was “dark and dangerous”. Huh? For “dark” try Obama’s SOTU of 2010 when he’d been in office for two years. Or his 2011 SOTU, which was every bit as self-congratulatory as Trump was accused of being, and which is par for the course of all SOTUs. 

As for the “facts” in Trump’s SOTU, NPR couldn’t find any substantive falsehoods. But you wouldn’t know that from CNN. (Trump said at a later rally that there were “exactly 142 people at the [Biden] rally”, clearly a dissing joke. Fact checkers called it a “lie”!). 

The only decent commenter that day in CNN, was Van Jones, who commented how Trump was going after the African-American and Latino votes and that Democrats had better “take notice”. 

Oh, yes, David Axelrod was also pretty decent and fair. But the rest, on CNN, MSNBC, ABC, all in their own powerful vortexes.

UPDATE: Watching Bernie’s speech on winning New Hampshire. (12:07 pm HKT).  It’s very close: Bernie 25.9%, Pete Buttigieg 24.4%. Amy Klobuchar clocked in at 19.8%. Warren and the rest in single figure.
And … Andrew Yang is pulling out. Got only 2.8% of the vote.
Bernie calls Trump “the most dangerous president in history “. I don’t get that. How? exactly. Of course it’s an election. 
Bernie has a simple message which is why it resonates: free health care, free tuition, cancel student debt, tax the rich (100% at the top…), open the borders, green new deal. Of course, nothing is ever “free”. And… you can have open borders or broad social security. But you can’t have both. And… open borders in places like California have most negative impact on the poor, especially working class blacks who are displaced by undocumented Latinos. Plus, he wants to nationalise energy, telecoms, internet, steel, major manufacturing. Just, you know, most of the economy....
Warren is finished. So much for my prediction. Which, TBF, was just taking the average of some polls at the time, so so much for their polling. Well… it was accurate at the time.
Bennet (who?) and Steyer, are also out. [Steyer still in. FWIW]

Covid-19 virus update, 12 February

Continued drop in rate of increase of new cases

From Worldometer

Now officially known as Covid-19.
The WHO says they had to find a name that didn’t “stigmatise” a place or animal. But it started in Wuhan and from a bat (or maybe a pangolin). The WHO: battling global bat-ophbia (or pangophobia).
Hopes that virus may peak “soon”
Singapore has more cases than Hong Kong. Huh?
US postal service halts service to China and Hong Kong
So far only two deaths outside China
Hong Kong “trappings of a failed state”? I don’t think so. Shops are back to normal and finance-wise there is little impact. Alex Lo quotes a Bloomberg columnist: “Who can argue with her?”  I can.

ADDED: FWIW... chart of rate of infections, actual and trendline.

Forecast and trend leading to zero at around 15 Feb

I don’t trust the figures, because there’s likely some decreasing marginal returns. As infections are brought under control, it becomes increasingly difficult to stop the fewer infections. So, the graph is more likely a shallow curve, down to zero later in the month or next month. But that’s only a gut feel. Some others have “mathematical models” and reckon that it’s  going to zero around end March

Wuhan virus update, 11 February

Rate of increase of new cases resumes downward trend

From Worldometer

Flights in and out of Hong Kong threatened
Virus here to stay?
Property markets reeling.
Cases per country
Life in Hong Kong streets transformed
First asymptomatic case in Taiwan
Idiotic conspiracy theories
(10:00 HKT): China State Council addressing the media in Beijing
Carrie Lam, the C-E, addressing media in Hong Kong.
Stretched metaphors : virus and American politics. Commenters pile on Plate. 

Wuhan virus update, 10 February

Another slight uptick in rate of new infections

From Worldometer

China goes back to work today after extended Chinese New Year break. 

Shortage of masks, toilet paper and leadership in Hong Kong.
Huh? Virus to lead to death of the smartphone ??
And we had Hotpot last weekend…
And we thought the virus was reducing the protest movement …
And delusions abound …
And, my mantra… “vigilance not panic”

And, FWIW, my latest chart, trendline and forecast for the rate of increase of new cases. The Excel “forecast” function still projects 14 February to reach 0%, though I don’t really trust that figure. Governments are saying late March:

Click to enlarge and clarify

Is Bernie a Communist??

He’s riser in the Democratic primaries, so the question is taking on a new urgency.  Is Bernie a communist? If so, could America become a communist country?
Some are desperate to say “no". Goodness me, says Newsweek, he’s not a communist! He’s a Democratic Socialist and there’s a difference!
But it’s a difference without meaning.  Socialism is on a spectrum -- like autism -- and what happens when you’ve bought into the idea that the government knows best how to order your life, how to plan it, and if things don’t work out quite how they planned, then the natural shift is to more control, more planning. So, even a moderate form of democratic socialism morphs into state socialism and then state-run communism. It’s pretty much inevitable; that’s the lesson from experience. From history.
Have a look at the website of the Democratic Socialists of America. It’s nothing less than out and out Marxism.  Hiding there in quite plain sight. [I wrote about the DSA here]
Socialism, Communism, ought to scare the beejusus out of Americans!
And thus: Bernie Sanders ought to scare the beejusus out of Americans!
I recall arriving in communist China in 1976, when it was still in the grip of deep Marxism. I asked, genuinely puzzled, at the different between Socialism and Communism.
For those able to offer any answer (some were not) it was along the lines of: Socialism means “from each according to their ability to each according to their contribution” and Communism is “from each according to their ability and to each according to their needs”.
Note how fine this sounds in theory. Note how unrealistic it is in practice.  Example: Steve Jobs spent 80 hours per week spent in the garage, inventing code to change the world. He “contributed” the same as the cleaners also working 80 hours per week removing his trash cans and dirty coffee cups.
So whether he gets according to “contribution” or according to “needs”, he gets the same as the cleaner. To a socialist, to a communist, to a democratic socialist, that’s social justice. To the rest of us, it’s a recipe for decrepitude.
I saw the downside of socialism / communism when I went to live and study in 1970s China. In winter there was only one vegetable available: pal choi.  In summer it was not much better.  I had ration tickets for my clothes, for my cotton shoes, for my rice, for my meat. That was the result of planning. It cured me of my undergraduate infatuation with socialism.
Forty years later, with injections of the free market, and China is a cornucopia of consumer goods. China has a successful economy to the exact extent that it has a free market.
So, when Bernie talks of socialism, supported by acolytes like AOC, I worry and so should Americans.
Don’t forget: he’s not changed his mind in all these years. He’s proud of it! So what he was is what hs is. A disciple of socialism, aka communism.  An admirer of Venezuela, of Cuba, of the Soviet Union. Of, in short, every single outstanding failed state, which has failed because of socialism.
Yes, he’s a communist. Yes, he’s a Democratic Socialist.  They’re of the same cloth.
Bernie's supporters are decidedly dodgy. They’re self-described extreme Marxist-Leninists,  Anarchists, “truly radical people". And they’re ready to go! They’re not going to let Bernie get away with watering down his communist leanings.
[ADDED: Bernie occasionally protests that he’s a “Socialist” only like Scandinavian countries are socialist. But that’s wrong for two reasons: (a). Scandinavian countries are not socialist, but market economies with some social programs like health care and their leaders are at pains to point this out. And (b) Bernie, whatever his tactical protestations, has often and consistently held firm to his core beliefs, aka Socialism, aka Communism. The evidence of that is overwhelming and from the mouth of the man himself].
Not that he wants to. He’s been a communist for 60 years. He’s proud of it. And I say, having experienced communism (unlike -- I’m guessing here -- most of his supporters and even Bernie himself):
Boo Bolshie Bernie.

Our Red-vented Bulbuls catch bread in the air

[Ok, you’ve got to be quick to see it! Arlene tossing the bread]

This is a recent thing. After only 18 years. We call the couple of red-vented bulbuls Hector and Dani. The only one to grab bread mid-air is Hector. Dani is rather more refined. She waits for bread to fall on the ground.
They’re a tight couple. They wait on the bamboo fence each morning. In winter they puff up their feathers to keep warm. They bathe in our fish pond, where we keep koi carp.

Other vids of red-vented bulbuls.... I wonder if I can work out how to get such nice videos...

Powerful American Stories Ripped to Shreds. SOTU mash-up

Pelosi ripping up the speech was a stunt.

Vid mash up of Pelosi ripping up the speech after each “powerful American story”, is a stunt.

Fair play.

Just look at those scowling Dems at SOTU, even (especially?) at all the verified good news.

Peggy Noonan: Democrats’ unserious week

Here, if you have a subscription, or else below, Peggy Noonan on her game...
Democrats, when they’re feeling alarmed or mischievous, will often say that Ronald Reagan would not recognize the current Republican Party. I usually respond that John F. Kennedy would not recognize the current Democratic Party, and would never succeed in it. 

Both men represented different political eras but it’s forgotten that they were contemporaries, of the same generation, Reagan born in 1911 and JFK in 1917. They grew up in the same America in different circumstances, one rich, one poor, but with a shared national culture. By the 1950s, when JFK was established in the political system and Reagan readying to enter it, bodacious America had settled into its own dignity. It had a role in the world and needed to act the part. Both men valued certain public behaviors and the maintenance of a public face. It involved composure, coolness, a certain elegance and self-mastery. They felt they had to show competence and professionalism. They knew they were passing through history at an elevated level, and part of their job was to hold high its ways and traditions. 

Virus is a medical, political and social emergency all in one | SCMP, Jing Lee

Jing article on today’s main Op-Ed page
South China Morning Post 
(Click to enlarge and clarify)

Wuhan virus update, 9 February

Still rising cases, but at declining rate

From Worldometer

The New York Times has a photo essay on Wuhan.
Xi Jinping fears the population turning against the Party.
Hong Kong: Coronavirus emergency morphs into political crisis. (ADDED: I posted this as part of my news selection before realising it’s by Jing!).
Wuhan doctor: ‘it does not look good’.
The good, the bad, and the ugly.
And meantime....

Today’s front page

Wuhan virus update, 8 February

Slight uptick in number of new cases, slight decrease in rate

Figures above from Worldometer

Hong Kong: “Mainland quarantine evaders risk jail”. Fake news prompts panic buying. Here in our Discovery Bay eyrie all is calm, save for some strategic low-level panic buying … toilet paper, wet wipes…
China: Death of virus whistleblower, Dr Li Wenliang (34), leads to freedom of speech calls in China. Big challenge for Beijing. Though Xi is predicted to crack down even further.
Other random news: shop revenues in HK down 80%. KFC and Pizza Hut close half their restaurants in China. Cathay Pacific and HK Airlines laying off staff. Hong Kong Sevens and Art Basel both cancelled. I’m going to call it as rather too much panic. Though it would sure be nice to see a definitive downturn in new cases.
OTOH: medical staff in Hong Kong are back on duty after their strike earlier this week. Which some said was civil unrest by other means. And disease expert says recovery rates promising.

ADDED: Under reader pressure, and bearing in mind that it’s still early in this pandemic -- too early, perhaps, to do projections --  I’m posting a chart of forecast of when the number of new cases (the “Increase” in above Table) may reach zero, based on an Excel formula called “Forecast”.  It comes out at 14 February 2020. (Valentines Day!). Let’s not be surprised if it’s a bit longer.  Though when I did the same for SARS back in 2003, it was spot on...
Here it is FWIW:

‘Acquittal of Donald Trump to hit US soft power hard’ | SCMP

Really??

As I commented at the site:

The Democrats knew that:
a. The House would impeach.
b. The Senate would acquit.
       So who is responsible for the fallout? Hmmm…?

I should add "alleged" to "fallout".
For here, the Editorial in Asia's premier English language newspaper, the paper of regional opinion-makers, is saying this:

[a] The president was accused of abusing his power for allegedly withholding US$391 million in military aid from Ukraine unless it provided him with information about the business dealings of the son of a potential presidential rival, former Democratic vice-president Joe Biden.
[b] He was also charged with obstruction of Congress after the administration blocked documents and testimony sought by investigators.

To which I say:

Wuhan virus update, 7 February

Rate trend continues down

From Worldometer

Wuhan doctor who first warned of the outbreak — the “whistleblower”, Dr Li Wenliang —died yesterday. He was 34.
The medical staff strike is “civil unrest by other means”.

Panic buying in Hong Kong, caused by rumours of full border closure. Here in our Discovery Bay bubble some lowlevel panic buying. All tissues and masks sold out.

Meantime the government has texted all residents that only Airport and the Bridge are open to passengers.

Our supermarket just now. The tissues and wipes aisle. Surely only
Venezuela runs out of toilet paper?!

Wuhan virus update, 6 February

First hint of downturn in rate of increase

From Worldometer 
In Hong Kong more restrictions on travel 
“Vigilance not panic” are my watchwords, though for political reasons some “strategic over-reaction” is understandable. Professor Mahoney, at Shanghai University, notes that overreaction has its costs. Here. 

Wuhan virus update, 5 February

Sum: no real change in trends

From Worldometer. 

Many medical staff are on strike, demanding full border closure with China. They are copping plenty of blowback.
We remember back in 2003, the SARS outbreak(*). Medical staff were praised for their heroic efforts. All medical staff stood at their posts, fighting a more mysterious and more deadly virus. Today, eight months of street protests have divided our society and turned toxic relations with the government. That surely plays into their strike decision, as Yonden Lhatoo nails.
As individuals, the best thing we can do is do is limit our human contacts and wash our hands.
As government, closing our border with China would be what I’ve been calling “strategic over-reaction”, that is, “hardly the worst option”.

(*) Related: 2003, SARS and Article 23

Wuhan virus update, 4 February

I’ll do daily updates for now. Above are my running total numbers based on WHO figures, via the Worldometer site, with some added calculations of mine on absolute and percentage increases.

The “Wuhan virus” now has a formal name: the “2019 Novel Coronavirus” or “2019-nCoV”. I’m giving it the informal label, “Wuhan virus”.

Here in Hong Kong medical staff are on strike to try to force the government to close the borders with China. Carrie Lam the C-E says she is “considering”. Hmmm…

Economies here in Hong Kong and in China have been hit, with stock markets down around 9% on the mainland. 

For comparison with other viruses, here’s a useful chart sent by reader J. 

Form here and scroll down. Auto updates

I’d thought the “seasonal flu” figures were higher, based on WHO figures via Wikipedia:

According to the World Health Organization: "Every winter, tens of millions of people get the flu. Most are only ill and out of work for a week, yet the elderly are at a higher risk of death from the illness. We know the worldwide death toll exceeds a few hundred thousand people a year…”.

Anti-China Xenophobia and racism. 
There’s a lot of nasty stuff  by US podcasters: blaming China for all recent virus outbreaks, saying pretty despicable stuff, verging on outright racist. One called China a “rubbish country”. Hells bells, I don’t like Xi Jinping, but the whole country?
So it’s worth context: the 2009 H1N1 virus began in Mexico and was propagated via the United States. It ended up killing between 285,000 and 580,000 people worldwide, most in our part of the world.  That’s according to diseases experts quoted here. (The reasons for the disparity in total deaths is explained at that link). So, suck on that, you podcast bigots!

Books, books, everywhere…

Click to enlarge

… well, not quite. Kids put together a book exchange at the ferry pier. Not too many contributions, at least so far. Pride of place: I’m pointing to the … Windows Server Manual, 2003 edition! 1,197 pages! 

Brexit... finally!

Love Farage, or hate him, this is a good speech. His final speech to the EU parliament. The man who started it all.

Three and half years it’s been since the referendum.  Three and a half years! When we all thought it would be a fairly quick procedure.

I thought back to my own views about Brexit. I thought I’d been a “squishy Remainer”, not too soft, not too firm, just a bit kind of “Remainery”. That’s been the way I remembered myself being at the outset, less firm that my own family of more staunch Remainers. (Mind you, none of us is British, so all is moot).

But when I went back to early posts on this blog about Brexit, this morning, after watching the actual Brexit, live on TV, (07:00 HKT) I find that I was actually a “squishy Leaver”!  [so squishy I didn’t even recall clearly...].  I think I was squishy because I hadn’t looked into it in any detail, assuming, I think, like most people, that it would again be a majority to remain like the last time there’d  been a referendum on Europe. 

Whatever.... I became a hard Brexiteer over time. Just as all folks tended to become more entrenched in their views. While my family remained Remainers. Many have noted that most Remainers accepted the referendum outcome, even if they weren’t happy with it. It was only the extreme rump — What Rod Liddle calls the Provisional Remainers, after the IRA group, or “provos” — who caused all the trouble, and divisions in the following three years.
I became a hard Brexiteer mainly for two reasons:

SJWs try to shut down fighter for gender equity

I’ve known Bettina Arndt since the seventies: we went to the Australian National University at the same time, she in Science, me in Eco.
She became rooooly famous in the eighties and nineties, as the first woman in Australia talking publicly about sex. From her website:

It was sex that first made Bettina Arndt famous. She started out as one of Australia’s first sex therapists before becoming a respected social commentator on gender issues. Alarmed by the unfair treatment of men in our society, she’s now devoting all her time to making YouTube videos, writing and making media appearances about men’s issues and the anti-male feminist agenda. See her CV here.

She’s become hugely controversial because she’s now engaged in the battle against Kangaroo Courts in Australian Universities, that find young men guilty of sexual molestations that are all too often exaggerated or simply invented. She wants these serious charges to be tried in our regular courts. For that she’s come under fire as being all sorts of bad: misogynist, bigoted, rape-apologising, and so on...
Here is post on her site of what’s been happening lately. Her critics are going after her qualifications and on that basis trying to get the Australian government to rescind an honour recently bestowed on her: the Order of Australia.
She has asked her supporters to email the Australian Governors-General of Victoria and of the Commonwealth of Australia, in support of her. And to the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency in support of her qualifications, which she has elsewhere laid out. 
I was happy to do so, and below are my emails.  [And if any Aussie nationals want to add their support, she would appreciate it]: