no country for old wainds
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Coronavirus cases and deaths among UM members
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CiG
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TechnicalBarbarity
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Phylactery
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Still soldiering on in school. Teachers and students dropping like flies. Apparently we know something else other European countries don’t as we are keeping schools open. If it continues, I don’t know how we will cope with so many staff off.
Shitty situation for year 11 and 13 though with all of their exams coming up. This is a crucial period for revision and practising exam technique. I don’t know why they don’t consider keeping schools open just for those two year groups. At my school that would be about 280 kids instead of 1300 which is a significant reduction.
Shitty situation for year 11 and 13 though with all of their exams coming up. This is a crucial period for revision and practising exam technique. I don’t know why they don’t consider keeping schools open just for those two year groups. At my school that would be about 280 kids instead of 1300 which is a significant reduction.
Slammed
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But aren't kids supposed to be one of the lowest risk for this bug? I know adults teach kids and we have to protect adults too but I'm sure I read early on that kids are at a much lower risk and more likely to fight the bug without medical intervention?
Fucking Facebook warriors in this country are calling for schools to close and saying everyone should just work from home to look after their kids while they are schooled over the internet. But 90% of schools aren't prepared to run classes over the internet, neither are the teachers. There is zero way to ensure kids who are forced home actually stay home. There is also the massive burden than those responsible parents who do stay home to look after their kids put on the system when they aren't at work. Otherwise it's childcare centres or possibly elderly grand parents supervising kids forced to stay home. Daycares are already over crowded and elderly people are apparently the most susceptible to getting the bug so making them look after snotty little kids seems really fair.
I don't know about other countries but this country is not prepared for school closures, not with school holidays only a few weeks away.
Fucking Facebook warriors in this country are calling for schools to close and saying everyone should just work from home to look after their kids while they are schooled over the internet. But 90% of schools aren't prepared to run classes over the internet, neither are the teachers. There is zero way to ensure kids who are forced home actually stay home. There is also the massive burden than those responsible parents who do stay home to look after their kids put on the system when they aren't at work. Otherwise it's childcare centres or possibly elderly grand parents supervising kids forced to stay home. Daycares are already over crowded and elderly people are apparently the most susceptible to getting the bug so making them look after snotty little kids seems really fair.
I don't know about other countries but this country is not prepared for school closures, not with school holidays only a few weeks away.
Carpe Mortem
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My boss just called, the daycare that her daughter goes to had someone get sick and testing is pending but her and the daughter are quarantined for 14 days. I'm not and I feel fine but who knows. Honestly I'm a little drunk anyways so whatever because it's a holiday god dammit and I owe it to the Irish to be this way.
Funerary_Doom
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Well that number is over 800 now. And I agree about with that, a whole lotta selfish shit is going on. However, I also see the these big businesses asking for a bag from the government. These same big businesses who took a tax cut, and advocate for smaller government. They are really the biggest socialist tbh. As soon as shit hits the fan they are the first to ask the government to bail them out. I do understand its a lot of peoples jobs, but I'm just wondering what the government is going to do for everyday people who cant afford these hiked up prices of medicine, bills because they're not working, or even essentials for a shut down. Heh.
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CiG
Approximately Infinite Universe
I thought Trump was mostly targeting small businesses and "businesses most hurt by the virus" with his proposed economic package? I've only seen a few things shared on the subject so I don't really know, but as you point out, surely there's crossover with helping businesses who employ hundreds of thousands of people and helping "everyday people who cant afford these hiked up prices of medicine, bills because they're not working, or even essentials for a shut down"? Am I missing something?
Also lol at the socialist bit. You're a socialist aren't you? This reminds me of when Christians want to insult atheists so they say "atheism is just like religion." Bit of a self-own dude.
Also lol at the socialist bit. You're a socialist aren't you? This reminds me of when Christians want to insult atheists so they say "atheism is just like religion." Bit of a self-own dude.
TechnicalBarbarity
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looks like most of the school districts around here are running a program where they're handing out breakfast and lunch bags to kids.
HamburgerBoy
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One example would be Boeing, who have engaged in share buybacks for the last 7 years on government credit, meaning they use tax-backed loans to purchase their own stocks from shareholders, because investing money in the stock market was (in the short term) more profitable than, say, investing it in employees (over the same period Boeing has gradually outsourced countless engineering jobs to India, for example). The Ponzi scheme is currently collapsing with most stocks in the shitter, and so as a result, Boeing is now asking for $60 billion more in government credit, basically threatening to set of a chain reaction in the economy if they don't get it. "Too big to fail", once again.
Farm subsidies aside (who are kind of a historical oddity in our history), we haven't had any pro-small business presidents in about a hundred years. While Trump's stated plan to cancel payroll taxes this year would help small business owners a lot (and probably some employees though not nearly as many), it doesn't really target small businesses (large corporations would still get a big tax cut too), and who the fuck knows if he'll even deliver on it when he's currently throwing everything at the wall.
Bullshit like this is why I've always supported communist revolutions even though I think communism in practice is universally bad. There are certain points where capital and political power become forces of financial violence unto their own. Would love to see the CEOs of any of these companies get popped.
CiG
Approximately Infinite Universe
Apparently there's also a lot of pushback to Trump's package (which is obviously yet to be approved) primarily from other Republicans.
But I'm not going to be the one to defend big business here, it didn't really have anything to do with what I was saying about the callousness of younger people towards older people during this pandemic. Also if people want to define socialism as 'unearned handouts from the government' I won't argue much either.
America should probably just get its shit together?
HamburgerBoy
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I missed that part.
I don't care about the boomers as a class tbh. I love my own parents and grandparents but certainly don't wish well on individuals who have spent their entire life benefiting from unsustainable pensions, runaway real estate prices, "anti-"ageism employment policies, and voting to fuck over the young. In Japan it's even worse, where something like 80% of all tax dollars go to the retired, who in turn petition their local governments to shut down jungle gyms so that they don't have to hear the increasingly-dwindling number of children in their nation at play. America is only about one generation behind that kind of upside-down social dynamic, though we have the added complexity of illegals (both for better and for worse). If the virus killing the useless elderly spares my own family and shifts the zero-sum game back in my favor, I support the virus, and any young person that doesn't due to some bullshit idea of "supporting/honoring our elders" is frankly a pussy that deserves to see a third of his paycheck go to some lazy old fuck's vacation in Spain. Their daily existence is far more harmful than the antifa-ggot shoplifters mentioned above.
I don't care about the boomers as a class tbh. I love my own parents and grandparents but certainly don't wish well on individuals who have spent their entire life benefiting from unsustainable pensions, runaway real estate prices, "anti-"ageism employment policies, and voting to fuck over the young. In Japan it's even worse, where something like 80% of all tax dollars go to the retired, who in turn petition their local governments to shut down jungle gyms so that they don't have to hear the increasingly-dwindling number of children in their nation at play. America is only about one generation behind that kind of upside-down social dynamic, though we have the added complexity of illegals (both for better and for worse). If the virus killing the useless elderly spares my own family and shifts the zero-sum game back in my favor, I support the virus, and any young person that doesn't due to some bullshit idea of "supporting/honoring our elders" is frankly a pussy that deserves to see a third of his paycheck go to some lazy old fuck's vacation in Spain. Their daily existence is far more harmful than the antifa-ggot shoplifters mentioned above.
Bloopy
Active Member
At this point I'm hoping to keep going to one small local gig a week to support the venues that are staying open. There are basically no cases spreading around the community here yet, only arrivals from overseas. I'm in a good position to do it as I work from home and currently have minimal contact with anyone outside of live shows. Problem is though I've been too sick with allergies/eczema to buy beers, so it's fairly minimal support from me so far. Plus, the situation will change from week to week.
Slammed
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No idea what it's like in NZ but here the biggest problem going outside is the conflicting evidence. One news report claims the cure is days away because the drugs that work are there in large quantities, then by the end of the same report they are telling people they can't get food because 'x' product is off the shelf and you should line up early at the store door. Then the next news report says some doctor thinks the country should close everything and put a big sheet over itself until the rest of the world forgets we are here (ok part of that might be exaggerated) and finishes off their story with the thought that Blood type O people are safer than anyone else, but no explanation why.
Then if you decide to risk going to the supermarket where in the city the crowds are nearly so big they break the new group gathering laws, you've got food hoarders arguing with people who want to be food hoarders about whether hoarding is good or bad. Meanwhile because we know that the elderly are one of the most vulnerable groups what we do is we make them line up at 7am, with all the other welfare card holders, so they can get into the shop an hour early and buy what they need, if the shelves have been restocked from the night before.
Then if you decide to risk going to the supermarket where in the city the crowds are nearly so big they break the new group gathering laws, you've got food hoarders arguing with people who want to be food hoarders about whether hoarding is good or bad. Meanwhile because we know that the elderly are one of the most vulnerable groups what we do is we make them line up at 7am, with all the other welfare card holders, so they can get into the shop an hour early and buy what they need, if the shelves have been restocked from the night before.
CiG
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Going to be hitting the shops this afternoon, really not looking forward to it but it can't be avoided.
HamburgerBoy
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https://www.vanityfair.com/news/202...-he-brought-coronavirus-message-to-mar-a-lago
Tucker Carlson saves the day again, apparently
Tucker Carlson saves the day again, apparently
Bloopy
Active Member
Believe it or not it mostly resembles normality here from what I've seen. A minority of stores briefly had their shelves emptied of toilet paper around 1st March, but then there was 2 weeks before the perceived seriousness increased (with the travel restrictions announced). People used that time to stock up sensibly without depleting things to the point of panic. Online grocery orders are swamped, face masks are impossible to come by and hand sanitiser is a bit rare, but that's about it. Quite impressive really.
I'm sure less and less people will be going out here, but a total shutdown of bars/restaurants etc. seems far off if it happens at all. One of the larger local venues has opted to close, which is understandable.
My parents escaped from Melbourne early with no trouble and now they're doing their best to isolate from me. I'm temporarily living with them waiting for either apartment building repairs to finish or another arrangement so I can get back to Auckland. My parents weren't primarily away for a holiday as such, rather helping my sister with some stuff as she's pregnant. I'm gonna be an uncle for the first time but not sure when I'll get to meet my niece!
Slammed
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Some states here have shutdown online ordering for groceries, but it's mainly because they can't guarantee orders and it's better to shut them down and have people complain they can't do it rather than complain they can but get half what they ordered. We also have Bunnings now telling people they are selling dunny roll, so its really just a mess here.
Things could be worse over in the west, CiG hasn't returned yet, he might have gotten trampled in the bog roll aisle
When is your sister due?
If your parents caught the 8am out of Melbourne we watch that go over the kids school most days.
Things could be worse over in the west, CiG hasn't returned yet, he might have gotten trampled in the bog roll aisle
When is your sister due?
If your parents caught the 8am out of Melbourne we watch that go over the kids school most days.
Bloopy
Active Member
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