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I'll probably get downvoted for this, but anyways: Maybe I should have added reliable to data. I'm highly skeptical of the ~4000 deaths figure reported as the

I'll probably get downvoted for this, but anyways: Maybe I should have added reliable to data. I'm highly skeptical of the ~4000 deaths figure reported as the death count for China and I have the sense that the authors of the study were too or they would have included it in their study. As for India, when you factor in rural areas, I don't think the reporting and data would be as reliable as for the US. [1] To go back to my original point, I'm not arguing that the US successfully handled COVID. Nor am I trying to demonize China or India. I'm just saying that the author's decision of foregrounding absolute death toll over per capita is poor and misleading given the sample they used. It could be seen as bad faith on the part of the authors when the per capita number can support their argument just as well. [1] https://www.sbs.com.au/news/india-s-coronavirus-cases-pass-7-million-but-death-rate-remains-mysteriously-low https://www.sbs.com.au/news/india-s-coronavirus-cases-pass-7...

Nursie 6y ago
I'm not sure what you're asking here, both are mentioned in the very first sentence - > The US has experienced more deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than any other country and has one of the highest cumulative per capita death rates. Why is that misleading or bad faith?
evgen 6y ago
While I share the skepticism in the numbers from China and India, I believe that if they were anywhere near a similar per capita rate as the US there would be visible evidence. China attacked the problem hard and by all accounts seems to have succeeded. For the most part India seems to have just gotten lucky; maybe India's numbers will be adjusted over time to reveal some rural devastation, but I will want to wait for some real evidence before I group them with the cluster of fuck-up states like the US, Brazil, and UK.
- nickff 6y ago
  China was trucking in loads of urns every day that were more than ten times larger then their reported death rates; doesn't that count as visible evidence?
  - evgen 6y ago
    Citation needed. This is the first I have heard of this and given how desperately the current administration wants to pin anything COVID-related on to China I think that this would have been widely publicized if it were actually true.
    - gnusty_gnurc 6y ago
      China did originate the virus as far as anyone can tell, they were not forthright with evidence, didn’t shut down travel globally and they seemed to push malign influence through the WHO. It’s not hard to see they have lots of blame and that has nothing to do with the US administration.
      - evgen 6y ago
        The virus originated in China, but China did not 'originate the virus.' Please do not make unfounded speculation regarding the causality in this event. China has not been completely forthright about the early stages of the covid's spread and they engaged in tactics similar to, but not quite as bad, as what the current US administration and some states have done to try to hide the scope of the disease within their jurisdiction. It seems like a lot of countries have done poorly at communicating with their citizens and with each other regarding covid. China didn't shut down travel fast enough, but by the time things has started to appear and become concerning covid had already left China and was en route to Italy and the west coast of the US. Once the nature of the disease and particularly the asymptomatic transmission stage became clear everyone needed to adjust. To claim this is some fault of the Chinese government is pure BS. As for pushing 'malign' interest, you are entitled to your own opinions but that seems to be another unfounded value judgement that is just as easily dismissed as right-wing propaganda.
        gnusty_gnurc 6y ago
        Insofar as other countries are blamed for failing to “contain” the virus, yes, China did originate it. They had knowledge of it being airborne, etc. and there’s ample evidence that information was scrubbed and suppressed as it typically happens in authoritarian regimes where disasters undermine the charade of omnipotence and excellence.
- jacobush 6y ago
  Sweden is close to the UK in numbers dead per capita
unishark 6y ago
It seems likely India has the most total cases already. But India has a much younger population so I don't know if that really translates to twice the deaths that they report.

Nursie 6y ago

I'm not sure what you're asking here, both are mentioned in the very first sentence - > The US has experienced more deaths from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than any other country and has one of the highest cumulative per capita death rates. Why is that misleading or bad faith?

evgen 6y ago

While I share the skepticism in the numbers from China and India, I believe that if they were anywhere near a similar per capita rate as the US there would be visible evidence. China attacked the problem hard and by all accounts seems to have succeeded. For the most part India seems to have just gotten lucky; maybe India's numbers will be adjusted over time to reveal some rural devastation, but I will want to wait for some real evidence before I group them with the cluster of fuck-up states like the US, Brazil, and UK.

nickff 6y ago
China was trucking in loads of urns every day that were more than ten times larger then their reported death rates; doesn't that count as visible evidence?
- evgen 6y ago
  Citation needed. This is the first I have heard of this and given how desperately the current administration wants to pin anything COVID-related on to China I think that this would have been widely publicized if it were actually true.
  - gnusty_gnurc 6y ago
    China did originate the virus as far as anyone can tell, they were not forthright with evidence, didn’t shut down travel globally and they seemed to push malign influence through the WHO. It’s not hard to see they have lots of blame and that has nothing to do with the US administration.
    - evgen 6y ago
      The virus originated in China, but China did not 'originate the virus.' Please do not make unfounded speculation regarding the causality in this event. China has not been completely forthright about the early stages of the covid's spread and they engaged in tactics similar to, but not quite as bad, as what the current US administration and some states have done to try to hide the scope of the disease within their jurisdiction. It seems like a lot of countries have done poorly at communicating with their citizens and with each other regarding covid. China didn't shut down travel fast enough, but by the time things has started to appear and become concerning covid had already left China and was en route to Italy and the west coast of the US. Once the nature of the disease and particularly the asymptomatic transmission stage became clear everyone needed to adjust. To claim this is some fault of the Chinese government is pure BS. As for pushing 'malign' interest, you are entitled to your own opinions but that seems to be another unfounded value judgement that is just as easily dismissed as right-wing propaganda.
      - gnusty_gnurc 6y ago
        Insofar as other countries are blamed for failing to “contain” the virus, yes, China did originate it. They had knowledge of it being airborne, etc. and there’s ample evidence that information was scrubbed and suppressed as it typically happens in authoritarian regimes where disasters undermine the charade of omnipotence and excellence.
jacobush 6y ago
Sweden is close to the UK in numbers dead per capita

unishark 6y ago

It seems likely India has the most total cases already. But India has a much younger population so I don't know if that really translates to twice the deaths that they report.