Coronavirus COVID-19 Thread

[Jolly_Green_Giant]

So to add to the irony of safety, saw that CA still has social distancing rules in place for no parties bigger than 20 iirc, but if you're protesting then 100 people are fine!

Between family, friends, and the people I talked to at the restaurant yesterday, I can guarantee you people won't listen to what the news says about what to do anymore. Here we were, in the middle of this pandemic, all miserable, peoples lives are destroyed, and the news out of left field comes in and tells you theres more important things than the death of the over 100k people in the US, the destruction of our country and the misery we are all in. You know, like activism. I love how the news responsibly promotes civil unrest during a global emergency. They can go fuck themselves. Lots of people are about to die and I blame the media for trying to play fuck fuck games.

The WHO came out and said asymptomatic transmission was rare. People didn't like that so the mob yelled until that wasnt true anymore.


The people: What should we do?

Experts: Yes.

Politicians: Also yes. Vote for me!



I told you guys this shit was coming, and by the looks of things were not going to be able to effectively shut down again. I don't even think that option is going to be back on the table no matter how bad it gets. People just wont do it and we can't sustain the unemployment.

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin says 'we can't shut down the economy again'

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC that shutting down the economy for a second time to slow Covid-19 isn't a viable option.

www.cnbc.com

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Covid Catharsis Corner - Reports from around the world from today Thursday 11th June:

- UK: Supplies of Marmite effected by COVID-19 as lockdown effects the brewing industry, the source of a lot of the Brewers Yeast used to create the foodstuff. Only 250gram jars available now and for the near future, fans furious, people who don't like it not so fussed.

- USA: Trump to resume stadium rallys as US passes 2 million confirmed cases and 20 states now report in some cases dramatic increases from the 7 day average numbers.

- UAE: Bharain reports 44% of asymptomatic carriers are infectious.

- France: Cases fall despite lockdown being eased.

- USA: Young woman survives COVID with double lung transplant, joining a women form Vienna and Italy who also underwent transplants after the virus "totally destroyed" their original organs.

- Finland: Country plans to reopen its boarders for tourism with its Nordic neighours from the 15th of June - except for Sweden which still has too high a current rate of infection.

 

[Montoya]

I told you guys this shit was coming, and by the looks of things were not going to be able to effectively shut down again

The worst about about ignoring history is that so many of us do not ignore history, but all we can do is stand by and watch others repeat it.

The only bright side so far is mortality rates are declining, for now. This will probably change towards the fall when cooler weather arrives.

 

[Jolly_Green_Giant]

The worst about about ignoring history is that so many of us do not ignore history, but all we can do is stand by and watch others repeat it.

The only bright side so far is mortality rates are declining, for now. This will probably change towards the fall when cooler weather arrives.

I haven't been paying attention to the news as much lately, I've just been skimming articles and headlines. I keep seeing articles regarding Arizona reaching capacity again and Florida / Texas are seeing cases on the rise. What do you do though? Do you try to use the media to hammer this down peoples throats to make them stay home, social distance, etc? Do you need people to fight for more / continued lockdown? What do we do at this point? Keep demoralizing people who don't have any clear direction? I seriously think people are just going to turn a blind eye while bitching about whos ideas are killing more people. They will hear their friends losing family members, or their friends coming down with the virus and think: "Thank god thats not gonna happen to me". Its a thought that crossed my mind and I can only assume its going through others as well. Is it because were all shitty people? Thats up for debate, but its clear cognitive dissonance. The virus only exists as a thought in most peoples heads right now, excluding those directly affected (unemployment, lack of medical care, virus in your social circle, etc...).

I don't think there has been a more appropriate time since the second world war to say KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON. It will be our only saving grace. The greatest strength a human being possesses is the remarkable ability to adapt to new situations and environments. Under the veil of the media, those of you that interact with your community on a regular basis might find that the division that is portrayed isn't a reflection of real life. I have a lot of hope that we'll get through this as best we can, but its definitely not going to be easy.


I don't know about you guys, but the biggest thing that has given me hope is realizing I have yet to run out of toilet paper. As long as the toilet paper flows, we stand a chance. Without the toilet paper, all hope is lost.



" It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Isildur, son of the king, took up his father's toilet paper. And COVID, enemy of the free peoples of Middle-Earth, was defeated."

 

[Aramsolari]

It entirely depends on who you talk to.

Pitchforks? Some citizens would defend the government even if it collectively stood in front of them with its dick out pissing on their shoes.

Approval? Some citizens would criticise the government even if they handed gold bars wrapped in silver foil to everyone in the country.

Apathy? Some citizens would ignore the whole sorry mess knowing it 'aint their fault if they don't participate (wilful non-participation, not apathy).

Quite what the percentages are we won't know until Election Day, so pretty much like everywhere else.

Oh, we all know they screwed it up either by design or arrogance but right now it's looking more like both. There was a general willingness to accept the explanations until the Cummings incident and lo, something like scales fell from their eyes and the governments approval rating has fallen through the floor and then fallen through whatever is under that, too, now standing at an incredible 32%.

That's a pity. I've always been a bit of an Anglophile. Between the history and the culture, there's quite a bit to admire. I'm also a huge fan of football (The kicky one) and my favourite team is in London. Ah well, hope you lot pull through.

 

[Aramsolari]

I haven't been paying attention to the news as much lately, I've just been skimming articles and headlines.

It's absolutely nuts that the news has completely shifted to covering the protests and Trump's antics rather than arguably the biggest threat to global health and economic security we've seen in awhile (Well I suppose there's climate change too but I'm not opening that can of worms lol).

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Do you try to use the media to hammer this down peoples throats to make them stay home, social distance, etc?

Part of me wonders how are you going to get a message to everyone in the country all at once in any other way?

While the media is a very powerful tool for public education, information and indeed cooperation in times such as these, it's also a very powerful tool for shaping public opinion which politicians obviously don't like given that less than 100% of outlets agendas align with those of any given politician. In some very important cases, the leaders of the UK and US in particular, there has been a long term concerted effort to undermine not only the media with agendas that don't match their own, but all media which is a step beyond what most have attempted in the past. Perhaps it's both of their long histories not only of being the focus of, but also creating, media that lead them to that course of action?

I fear, though, that this undermining not only in the US but also in the UK (let us not forget the current UK government launched a war on the media in a fairly Trump style until this all blew up) and other countries has weakened a very valuable tool which they should be able to use to quickly and efficiently get the right message out but which seems to not be as effective as it once was.

The media is certainly no angel, however by corrupting it's benign influence they may also have removed one of their own fingers.

 

[Jolly_Green_Giant]

Part of me wonders how are you going to get a message to everyone in the country all at once in any other way?

While the media is a very powerful tool for public education, information and indeed cooperation in times such as these, it's also a very powerful tool for shaping public opinion which politicians obviously don't like given that less than 100% of outlets agendas align with those of any given politician. In some very important cases, the leaders of the UK and US in particular, there has been a long term concerted effort to undermine not only the media with agendas that don't match their own, but all media which is a step beyond what most have attempted in the past. Perhaps it's both of their long histories not only of being the focus of, but also creating, media that lead them to that course of action?

I fear, though, that this undermining not only in the US but also in the UK (let us not forget the current UK government launched a war on the media in a fairly Trump style until this all blew up) and other countries has weakened a very valuable tool which they should be able to use to quickly and efficiently get the right message out but which seems to not be as effective as it once was.

The media is certainly no angel, however by corrupting it's benign influence they may also have removed one of their own fingers.

I agree, and like you I have no idea of how we could do it any other way. You probably can't. They definitely cut off their finger. Their for profit model in an era where old institutions are either dying or being swayed by partisan politics is inherently flawed and absurdly irresponsible knowing how much power they have over the minds of the people. I'm pretty sure the rest of europe is dealing with this as well but we may not see it. UK media and US media are pretty much the same thing. Sky is owned by comcast and when I was living there, listening to the radio every morning, the BBC mirrored US news which struck me as odd. I'd like to dig into the BBC at some point to see if they have any external influences like a public / private partnership or donors. They could be clear, but the skepticism exists after listening to them every day on the radio.


We just have to hope *laughs* that they *laughs harder* will be responsible *laughs himself to the ground* with the news *dies laughing*

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

the BBC mirrored US news which struck me as odd. I'd like to dig into the BBC at some point to see if they have any external influences like a public / private partnership or donors.

The main influence over the BBC is the government and its control over the unique way its funded, by the licence fee which is essentially a tax which doesn't go to the government it goes to the BBC for public service broadcasting.

Although it is independent from the government, the charter is enforced and observed by government agencies and the License Fee funding model approved by the government every few years usually with conditions attached for them to continue to fund raise in that way. For the last 10 years there has been a systematic set of freezes of the fee meaning it has not gone up in line with inflation, and other financial obligations put on the BBC like paying for the countries Broadband Infrastructure rollout which is as you can imagine a significant draw on resources, which on the outside don't really look like anything, but in reality has been a reduction in funding due to inflation and the obligations becoming more expensive over time and pay rises of staff in line with inflation meaning they just have less money to do things with.

That's has really hit the corporation in the pocket to the point they are having to shut down services only they provide, due to the services not being money makers. So the services vanish, no money for public service means no public service.

So that's the influence, keep the government happy and they can continue to operate how they are now using a guaranteed income which no other funding models has - that reliable funding means they can spend on whatever they want, even if it's something that will make zero money in return which is the point of Public Service Broadcasting.

At least that's how it looks from the cheap seats out here in the arse end of nowhere (East Midlands).

 

[Aramsolari]

The BBC is one of broadcasters that I respect the most.

I mean....Sherlock and Luther are fantastic shows!

 

[Jolly_Green_Giant]

I noticed yesterday and today from the news outlets I frequent, we took another hard turn and COVID is back on the menu. Racism has been defeated, Donald Trump is back to killing people and everyone in Florida is now infected.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Covid Catharsis Corner - Updates from around the world from today Friday 12th of June:

- UK: Figures reveal GDP shrank by 20.4% over April, the biggest contraction on record, however it is worth remembering this was the middle of Lockdown when literally everything but essentials was closed.

- USA: People who have signed up to addend Trumps first rally in Tulsa asked to sign a waiver to absolve trump and associated political party from fault if they pick up COVID-19 from the event.

- Belgium: Country gives all citizens 10 free train journies to encourage internal tourism as lockdown lifted.

- USA: Google search spike for COVID symptoms suggest second wave on the way.

- China: Twitter removes 170,000 pro china twitter accounts which had been found to be moving information partly related to Corona Virus, with a core of 20k active accounts and 150,000 amplifier accounts.

 

[Jolly_Green_Giant]

- USA: People who have signed up to addend Trumps first rally in Tulsa asked to sign a waiver to absolve trump and associated political party from fault if they pick up COVID-19 from the event.

How do you feel about this? I understand Trump doesn't want to be at fault for anything, but I also think its a good compromise for people who were going to defy the lockdown orders anyways. Now, they are all consenting adults who understand the dangers of being around each other during this outbreak and will have to accept the consequences of their actions. This means they will possibly get infected and spread it to others, but I think they would have done that anyways. There's no brakes at this point, so I guess all we can do is sit back and see what happens. These are your give me liberty or give me death people, I don't think they care one way or the other.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

How do you feel about this? I understand Trump doesn't want to be at fault for anything, but I also think its a good compromise for people who were going to defy the lockdown orders anyways. Now, they are all consenting adults who understand the dangers of being around each other during this outbreak and will have to accept the consequences of their actions. This means they will possibly get infected and spread it to others, but I think they would have done that anyways. There's no brakes at this point, so I guess all we can do is sit back and see what happens. These are your give me liberty or give me death people, I don't think they care one way or the other.

As someone who passes on reports of the news, I have to remain impartial.

As someone who lived 3000 miles away at the nearest point of each respective country, I don't get a say.

As someone who recognizes a health crisis when he sees a health crisis, if it's a big enough danger to make people sign a disclaimer, it's a big enough danger to cancel the show. They can't vote for him if they are dead or in a medically induced coma for 58 days while intubated.

It's a 3.4% death rate when age is not taken into account. If there are 3000 attendees and 100% of them get it, that's 102 dead supporters - guaranteed. Do you think Trump can afford to loose 102 of his supporters for every rally he holds? For the 2016 Donald Trump Presidential campaign there were 323 rallies: that, with the off-the-top-of-my-head number of 102, would be 32,946 fewer votes for him, not counting the other republican voters his attendees would infect after being at the rally.

Basically, it looks like he's going the right way to kill off his core support - literally.

 

[Jolly_Green_Giant]

As someone who passes on reports of the news, I have to remain impartial.

As someone who lived 3000 miles away at the nearest point of each respective country, I don't get a say.

As someone who recognizes a health crisis when he sees a health crisis, if it's a big enough danger to make people sign a disclaimer, it's a big enough danger to cancel the show. They can't vote for him if they are dead or in a medically induced coma for 58 days while intubated.

It's a 3.4% death rate when age is not taken into account. If there are 3000 attendees and 100% of them get it, thats 102 dead supporters - guarenteed. Do you think Trump can afford to loose 102 of his supporters for every rally he holds? For the 2016 Donald Trump Presedential campaign there were 323 rallies: that, with the off-the-top-of-my-head number of 102, would be 32,946 fewer votes for him, not counting the other republican voters his attendees would infect after being at the rally.

Basically, I think he's going to kill off his core support - literally.

Thats a very sound way of looking at it. When you see the rallies getting smaller and smaller, you'll have to wonder if hes losing support or his supporters are just dying off. It's clear his message from this point forward is that everything is fine, because were only going forward with opening the economy and getting ready for an election.

Get ready for the "republicans are killing us because they opened up early, and are having rallies" VS "Democrats are killing us because they encouraged protests". The finger of blame has so many directions to point in.

EDIT: If I were to answer the question above of what changed, the biggest thing was the stock market. Correlation doesn't imply causation, but when money is involved you have to take pause and ask a question or two.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Thats a very sound way of looking at it. When you see the rallies getting smaller and smaller, you'll have to wonder if hes losing support or his supporters are just dying off. It's clear his message from this point forward is that everything is fine, because were only going forward with opening the economy and getting ready for an election.

Get ready for the "republicans are killing us because they opened up early, and are having rallies" VS "Democrats are killing us because they encouraged protests". The finger of blame has so many directions to point in.





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I once asked Mrs 'BobFace exactly why she had never, ever went to vote. People had called her lazy to get up and go to the polling station, people had suggested she wasn't intelligent enough to form an opinion in the first place, people had caller her apathetic.

Her response: "None of them have done a single thing to earn my vote, so they don't get my vote."

I think she may be one of, if not the, most intelligent person/s on the planet in this regard.

 

[Jolly_Green_Giant]

I once asked Mrs 'BobFace exactly why she had never, ever went to vote. People had called her lazy, people had suggested she wasn't intelligent enough to form an opinion, people had caller her apathetic.

Her response: "None of them have done a single thing to earn my vote."

I think she may be one of, if not the, most intelligent person/s on the planet in this regard.

I can sympathize with with that completely. I myself have never voted and am shamed for it. That only stops when I mention I'm a veteran and It's my right and everyone elses right not to vote. I can't say they haven't done a single thing to earn my vote, but it sure as hell wasn't anywhere near enough for me. I feel like it's an endorsement and a reflection of my values, and I have not seen many politicians I would even consider putting my stamp of approval on.

 

[Aramsolari]

I can sympathize with with that completely. I myself have never voted and am shamed for it. That only stops when I mention I'm a veteran and It's my right and everyone elses right not to vote. I can't say they haven't done a single thing to earn my vote, but it sure as hell wasn't anywhere near enough for me. I feel like it's an endorsement and a reflection of my values, and I have not seen many politicians I would even consider putting my stamp of approval on.

Yeah. You're not the only vet who does that. My buddy who's an Afghanistan vet doesn't either. He bitches a ton about the main political parties (He's actually pretty Left) but doesn't care to vote. I respect that, along with anybody else who doesn't. I don't really agree with countries that practice mandatory voting as I sincerely believe people should do their homework and WANT to vote.

I'm personally the opposite. I've voted in almost every election since I was in my early 20s...from Federal level elections all the way to municipal ones to elect park/school board members haha. I actually think municipal elections are where you're most likely going to be affected personally. That said, I'm also a politics junkie. I've done my fair share of showing up at 'Townhall' meetings to grill city councilors lol.

 

[Aramsolari]

How do you feel about this? I understand Trump doesn't want to be at fault for anything, but I also think its a good compromise for people who were going to defy the lockdown orders anyways. Now, they are all consenting adults who understand the dangers of being around each other during this outbreak and will have to accept the consequences of their actions. This means they will possibly get infected and spread it to others, but I think they would have done that anyways. There's no brakes at this point, so I guess all we can do is sit back and see what happens. These are your give me liberty or give me death people, I don't think they care one way or the other.

Personally, I'm a bit annoyed. The borders are supposed to open on the 21st of this month. Between the protesters and the anti-lockdown guys, looks like that border shutdown will be extended into late July.

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Covid Catharsis Corner: Reports from the world from today Saturday 13th of June.

- China: Beijing struck by new cases after two months clear fears of a second wave arise as a result.

- Brazil: Overtakes UK to second place for highest number of recorded deaths to the virus while the city of São Paulo plans to exhume remains buried years ago to free up space for victims.

- New Zealand: Sports crowds stand shoulder to shoulder on stands, recovery and release of last sick person from hospital means the country now has no known active cases and has gone 22 days since last new case.

- USA: Fauci advises second wave not inevitable if proper precautions are taken, and Trump reschedules Tulsa rally, not to avoid exposing attendees to Covid, but to avoid key date in slavery history combined with Tulsa having been the site of one of the most fatal race massacres in US history.

- UK: Education institutions and local councils reveal they were not consulted on recently revealed government plan to have children who have missed out on months of education in Lockdown with catch up sessions through the summer holiday.

EDIT -

- UK special addition -

Just seen an article indicating:

Sports equipment chain "Sports Direct" has promised to provide 50% discounts for all National Health Service staff once their shops reopen on the 15th. If you recall, Sports Direct made a very high profile refusal to close as all non-essential shops did at the beginning of the Coronavirus lockdown.

It is unclear if their home-delivery service was running during the last two months (which was allowed) and, if so, if the discount for Health Service Staff was running during that time.

It is also unclear if this is a cynical attempt at drumming up some positive PR after refusing to cooperate with the whole country in the face of a killer virus pandemic, however it looks very much like it.