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A comment on The N95 mask shortage America can't seem to fix. Parent comment

Re:The N95 mask shortage America can't seem to fix by jonplackett on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @10:33AM (#24567553)
The difference was then that the government did want to go to war already, and it was just public opinion that was shifted to pro-war by Pearl Harbour.

Likewise, Bush already wanted to go to war with Iraq, but 9/11 shifted public opinion to make it possible.

Surely 200,000 people dying is just as big of an event (or bigger) as Pearl Harbour or 9/11, it's just that the government are refusing to acknowledge it as such because it is not what they want and doesn't serve their purpose.

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Re:The N95 mask shortage America can't seem to fix by Consultant32452 on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @11:29AM (#24568189)
Yes, the US government is uniquely corrupt/evil/incompetent so let's just write them off. Not to worry, I'm sure Germany, UK, France, Russia, Taiwan, Italy, Norway, etc. have all ramped up capacity massively and our hospitals can just order from them. Right?
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Re:The N95 mask shortage America can't seem to fix by pintxo on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @06:56PM (#24573214)
Germany was actually planning to give away masks for free to other countries as they seemingly ordered too much. And before they are aging past their best-used-by date in storage, better give them away.
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Re:The N95 mask shortage America can't seem to fix by pjc50 on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @02:12PM (#24570085)
The UK has definitely suffered exactly the same problem. We still don't have even a track and trace app and testing is patchy.
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Re:The N95 mask shortage America can't seem to fix by jonplackett on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @03:21PM (#24570850)
I believe we (somehow??) spent 11 million quid on that app, which does not even work.

https://www.digitalhealth.net/2020/06/nhs-contact-tracing-ap...

Plus we haven't even bothered to adopt Apple's version. When you try to turn that on it says it's not been enabled by your local health authority.

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Re:The N95 mask shortage America can't seem to fix by AniseAbyss on Wednesday September 23, 2020 @11:55AM (#24568503)
Unfortunately not. And its not the free market or capitalism making countries react chaotically and incompetently. Its democracy.

When the dear leader in the Forbidden City tells companies to shift production it will happen. When a president or prime minister wants to do anything he has to go through channels- including an army of lawyers.

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