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Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

straitstimes.com

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Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#61

Post by magic_beans »

BurningCycles wrote: post #57
cltsang wrote: post #18

We need to let Japan know that this is not their fault. It's ingrained in Japanese culture that they often put too much pressure on themselves. They might think if they had put extra 120% effort, the Olympics would have gone as scheduled. But this is not on them. Although it's only speculation, we wouldn't want another case of heartbreaking suicide[0] because of a Japanese blaming himself/herself too much. [0] https:…

Very anectdotal, but the three Japanese persons I know have told me that people in Japan are generally negative towards holding an Olympics and think it's just a waste of resources.

I would guess every citizen of a hosting country has felt similarly.

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#62

Post by freetime2 »

williamscales wrote: post #51
laurieg wrote: post #4

Glad to see the safety of athletes and the public is being protected. I wonder why Japan seems to have such low numbers even though they had coronavirus very early as well as many cases from the cruise ship.

I read yesterday that Japan had administered something like 16,000 COVID-19 tests in total. So I think they're basically not testing and hoping that it goes away.

I would be interested to read if you could share the source for the above. It’s true that Japan only seems to be testing people with serious symptoms at the moment. But we would expect hospitalizations and deaths to be higher if the number were really that high.

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#63

Post by tomp »

paranoidrobot wrote: post #32
School-Cotton wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Masks also help you avoid getting the virus if you’re not infected. It’s a complete myth that they don’t; literally all research points in the same direction.

This is repeated a lot, however just like most things - there's more nuance to it than just "wear masks". In most places, there's simply not enough masks to protect those most at risk (eg: healthcare workers who are constantly in contact with infected patients) AND to have everyone in the community using them. Improper use of masks is at best pointless, at worst can actually make things worse. The vast majority of pe…

Can you explain how improper use of masks can make things worse?

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#64

Post by iso1631 »

jaywalk wrote: post #10

More so than the games themselves in July, you have to consider all of the training and qualifiers that the athletes must participate in leading up to the games. All of that has been put on hold, making it impossible to properly prepare for the games even if the virus were to somehow be totally eliminated by July. There was no other possible outcome.

I work for a major broadcaster, we have a lot of equipment to ship in 2 weeks weeks time, equipment that still hasn't been configured, and indeed that's spread around multiple buildings across the country. We were expecting this, but we also had to be sort-of preparing to ship kit on time

Very glad they've made the decision now

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#65

Post by rwmurrayVT »

C19is20 wrote: post #23
jimbob45 wrote: post #8

Are they even still drug testing right now? If I’m an elite athlete, I’m hammering those PEDs every day in this quarantine.

PED? Only three letters and you spelled TUE wrong.

I need SARMs, SERMS, and I'm mainlining test e. Don't worry guys it's for therapeutic use.

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#66

Post by benatkin »

Unlike other postponement announcements, many of which are cynical attempts to prevent people from demanding refunds, this feels legitimate.

I can see it being well-contained in Japan in a year, with strict restrictions on entering Japan. I think the advice is gonna be for people who want to watch or participate in the olympics to go there about a month early so they can isolate first, and longer if they're in a country that doesn't have it under control. It's through strict border control that Japan has been able to keep it from spreading as much as other places, and I'm sure it's going to be less convenient for people going to the Olympics. I'm just guessing at what it will look like from the perspective of people going. If they go very early, athletes will need to do a lot of training in Japan, but I assume it must have been common for olympic athletes to arrive early and train in the host country in past olympics. Some may even want to travel from a high-risk country to a moderate-risk country first and spend at least two weeks there first before going to Japan. There will probably be people who won't endure the inconvenience and won't go to the olympics, but it will be much better attended than if they tried to hold the olympics in Japan late this summer.

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#67

Post by claudiawerner »

taiwanboy wrote: post #53
claudiawerner wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>We need to let Japan know that this is not their fault. It's ingrained in Japanese culture that they often put too much pressure on themselves. I can't help but think this is such a bizarre take. "Japan" and the Japanese people aren't children. We don't need to reassure "them" of anything, as if their culture collectively precludes them of realizing that the Coronavirus isn't "their fault". As if they're too naive a…

I think there is nothing wrong with calling the virus ‘Chinese virus’ when a.) the virus came from China. b.) the Chinese government proactively hid the details of the coronavirus to the world until it couldn’t anymore (since it started infecting other countries https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/17/china-car... c.) actively trying to pin the origin of the virus on other countries like Italy https://www.…

I do think there's something wrong with it, when the WHO advises to use the terms they have laid out precisely to prevent racism-fuelled hysteria. The fact that "China virus" may be accurate in line with terms such as "Spanish flu" does not mean that they should be used, as explained in this[0] post. Calling it "China virus" is no substitute for the criticism the Chinese government deserves. If you want to criticize the Chinese government (and you should), then there are better ways of doing so, ways which won't be confused by anyone as anti-Chinese racism, which has been shown in various countries to generalize to anti-East Asian racism.

[0] "Why is Trump dubbing COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus” considered offensive, while many past epidemics have had similar naming schemes?" https://politics.stackexchange.com/questions/51121/why-is-tr...

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#68

Post by kijin »

GuB-42 wrote: post #25
School-Cotton wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Masks also help you avoid getting the virus if you’re not infected. It’s a complete myth that they don’t; literally all research points in the same direction.

Yes, if we somehow manage to get a massive supply of masks, I expect all officials to do a 180 turn and ask everyone to wear them. The problem now is that we don't have enough, so we downplay their effectiveness, to limit panic buying and to make sure that people who need them the most get them. It is a perfectly understandable, though a little dishonest strategy. Also, we don't to give people a false sense of securi…

You don't even need to wear a N95 mask, or wear it according to the book. Anything that can reduce the number of virus particles you are exposed to when someone nearby sneezes, or when you touch a surface that was recently sneezed on and then touch your face, can be helpful when millions of people do the same.

A T-shirt over your mouth or a handkerchief tied around your head might not protect you personally. But if enough people wear them, even a small reduction of viral load in the community will compound over time and result in a meaningful difference in the total number of cases and the load it puts on a nation's health system. That's what ultimately matters, and that's what the Japanese and Koreans understand.

Any country that has the guts to order their citizens to stay home should also have the sense to order them to cover their faces with something substantial whenever they have a valid reason to be outside, e.g. going to work.

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#69

Post by monkeywork »

taiwanboy wrote: post #53
claudiawerner wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>We need to let Japan know that this is not their fault. It's ingrained in Japanese culture that they often put too much pressure on themselves. I can't help but think this is such a bizarre take. "Japan" and the Japanese people aren't children. We don't need to reassure "them" of anything, as if their culture collectively precludes them of realizing that the Coronavirus isn't "their fault". As if they're too naive a…

I think there is nothing wrong with calling the virus ‘Chinese virus’ when a.) the virus came from China. b.) the Chinese government proactively hid the details of the coronavirus to the world until it couldn’t anymore (since it started infecting other countries https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/17/china-car... c.) actively trying to pin the origin of the virus on other countries like Italy https://www.…

There is something immensely wrong with it because unfortunately people don't see a difference between the Chinese government and the Chinese people.

This is going to greenlight those who are looking for reasons to lash out with their hate and puts those who are or could be confused as Chinese in danger from these idiots.

There is also a need to be above petty name calling. It is fine to take a scientific and fact based stance on where the virus originated from and what went wrong... however naming it based on country of origin out of spite seems like a bad idea.

A joke of maybe poor taste says that your mom was conceived in the back seat of a Buick but we still call her Janice.

Re: Abe, IOC agree to delay Tokyo Olympics by one year

#70

Post by libria »

thieving_magpie wrote: post #24
cltsang wrote: post #18

We need to let Japan know that this is not their fault. It's ingrained in Japanese culture that they often put too much pressure on themselves. They might think if they had put extra 120% effort, the Olympics would have gone as scheduled. But this is not on them. Although it's only speculation, we wouldn't want another case of heartbreaking suicide[0] because of a Japanese blaming himself/herself too much. [0] https:…

That's sad but what does "let Japan know that this is not their fault" even mean?

Use Twitter; Japan's PM has an account.

> @AbeShinzo, it ain't yer fault bro #tokyo2021 - @thieving_magpie

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