John Oliver's segment about coronavirus is top notch

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/03/02/john-olivers-segment-about-c.html

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Strange how a satire/comedy show gives us absolutely the best, clearest, and most succinct data about a public health crisis.

It would be nice if we had a government agency to do that.

Oh, wait…

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Davide, we can’t have nice things. You know that.

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I started watching it before it was cool to watch it…

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Geoblocked in Canada. Hrumph.

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I’m looking forward to a pandemic in a country where GoFundMe is the best source for health care funding.

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One could argue there was a chance for that a few years ago… until Al Franken fucked everything up in 2018. :expressionless:

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John Oliver’s ability to educate while entertain is amazing.
I just love the way he tells it like it is.

also, wash your hands people!

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There should be a Federal law that requires every elected official at every level to watch every episode of this show.

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Remember George W. Bush’s wonderful response to hurricane Katrina?

Nature doesn’t care what political party you belong to. You can’t “fake it 'til you make it” when it comes to mother nature. Bush hired people based on their political leanings, not on their actual job credentials. Trump is worse, demanding personal loyalty even above that of party loyalty.

I saw this book in a thrift store the other day, “The Amateur argues that Obama’s toxic combination of incompetence and arrogance has run our nation and his presidency off the rails.”

Riiiight. . . .

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On a totally unrelated note, the Opera browser has a built-in VPN.

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Obviously Oliver was even more steamed about this one than normal. That bottle or werewolf pills took a couple of hard bounces. Also, is that Bitconnect guy related in any way to Steve Ballmer, former head of Microsoft? They have exceeding similar ways of presenting. [it’s worth it to go look up a Ballmer presentation just for the weirdness]

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Check out the full version of the rad Vietnamese virus dance video here:

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Do note that this was repurposed from an already very popular song in Vietnam, which is why it is so damn catchy.

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I actually want a bottle of those werewolf pills.
Not enough to pay $49.95, but enough to pay $4.95. (Walgreen clearance aisle for expired gimcracks and old Halloween candy, I’m assuming…)

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Oooh - please explain. Perhaps others will benefit too.

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This might be of interest to people. A very detailed step-by-step of the propagation of the Spanish Flu.

Summary:
Historical documentary about 1918 Swine Flu or Spanish Flu and the role of World War I in spreading the disease among troops making it into a worldwide plague of devastating proportions. The video covers where it began, how and where it spread, the symptoms, how it affected America and whether it could happen again.

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Fun fact, they think that it started or at least first spotted in Ft Riley, Kansas, near where I went to school.

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If I remember correctly the Spanish flu killed more people than WWI.

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Yes, this video starts there in Kansas and does a fairly detailed job of tracking when and how it jumped populations from there.

Yes, Here is a screen shot from the video on the number of deaths.

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