The news has been pretty grim regarding the new virus making the rounds of most of the world this year, wreaking havoc on China, where it originated, and spreading quickly to other countries, including the United States.  It is fortunate that so far the US has very few cases, but that could change rapidly.

Now, China is a Communist country, and the way its leaders are handling the crisis reflects that.  Tyrannies tend to lie about any conditions that could make them look bad to the rest of the world, and this communicable disease is a perfect example of that.  They took weeks to disclose the original outbreak, and it’s pretty well known that even now their statistics do not accurately reflect the numbers of infections and deaths there. My take?  To Xi Jinping: I hope that he is afraid, VERY afraid.  This is an enemy that he has no defense against.  Even the Dictator of China is not immune to this novel virus that some say might have been deliberately created in his country.

To Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei: I hope he is also VERY afraid, seeing that his Deputy Health Minister has tested positive for the virus.  Even the Supreme Leader of Iran, who is famous for oppressing his people, is not immune to this deadly infection.  Cases are multiplying rapidly in Iran, and I wonder if it takes a very tiny snippet of RNA to bring down the nuclear-weapon-seeking “Islamic Republic” of Iran?  [Edit March 3] Here is a link to a news story about the virus spreading in Iran, and at the top ranks of clerics and Parliament.  Will this weaken the regime? We can only hope.

And to Dictator Kim Jong-Un of North Korea: His country shares a border with China, but we hear very little about what is going on there with the virus.  It is well known that the health of the average North Korean has always been borderline starving, and those whose bodies are already in marginal health will likely succumb to this kind of disease much faster than healthier, better-nourished people.I pray that this evil dictator, who murders his own relatives, is VERY afraid today.  This tiny piece of living thing is a bigger threat to himself and his country than perhaps anything that he has previously encountered.

All of the above countries have some important things in common that will prevent them from adequately addressing, and protecting their people from, the new virus.  All three places are basically still Third-World countries, with medical systems that are much less advanced than the rest of the developed world, and are somewhat closed to outside influences.  Even relatively-advanced China has a countryside populated with poor peasants, who have lesser access to hospitals.  One other characteristic of all three countries is that tyrannies care little for the individual person, over and above their ability to do work, and have less interest in saving their lives.

I feel very sorry for the majority of the people who live under dictators and communist regimes, because their futures are most likely to include a greater degree of suffering than citizens of advanced economies.

Although, we citizens of an advanced economy in the US have watched the stock market plummet this week, losing 1,000 points today alone.  That is “panic” territory, with many people selling much of their portfolios. This picture says a lot.

I’m not panicking yet, but I think we should all be concerned, watch the news, and take the advice of health authorities about what precautions to take.

One last thing.  The first US case of the virus was a man who lives in my general neck of the woods, and he has recovered and returned to his home.