How COVID-19 is affecting society

[Sredni Eel]

Oooo...

My first surprise was he does not have them in his garage or something but then just assumed he would use the boxes around him. Although then his sticks came nowhere near the boxes.

Charlie Watts has always seemed to be missing a few fries in his Happy Meal. He sat there smiling serenely the whole time and just being Charlie Watts. It's my guess that he sincerely thought the drums were there, because they were clearly making the right noises.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

Thoughtful analysis of the economic consequences, in both the UK and the US, of the lockdown and the dangers both of ending it early and of maintaining it

Coronavirus: the economic legacy of lockdown

I learnt a new American military abbreviation this week: SOL, to add to Snafu and Fubar. Snafu, for those who haven’t watched enough war movies, stands for situation normal, all f***** up. Fubar means f***** up beyond all recognition. And SOL? That means shit out of luck. At a time when the world ec

www.thetimes.co.uk

Coronavirus: the economic legacy of lockdown | News Review | The Sunday Times

Coronavirus: the economic legacy of lockdown The fallout from our disastrous Covid-19 policy could tip us into the worst depression since the 1930s Niall Ferguson Sunday April 19 2020, 12.01am, The Su...

www.evernote.com

The problem is, let's say we'd never shut down. I'm pretty sure the economic impact would have been a lot worse without the shut downs, and then with even fewer people, we'd prolly take longer to recover.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

The problem is, let's say we'd never shut down. I'm pretty sure the economic impact would have been a lot worse without the shut downs, and then with even fewer people, we'd prolly take longer to recover.

I don't think he's suggesting that it would be better had we never shut down, though he does say that both the US and the UK could have done far more before the lockdown, and should have done many things very differently.

Be that as it may, we are we are, and he's looking at what happens next, and the various options for eventually ending the lockdown, all of which have various benefits but also considerable human and economic costs.

 

[Cindy Claveau]

All I can say is hang in there and try to make as many connections with the people you love as you can.

I agree, but I consider that "Survival 101" during a quarantine.

I'm afraid my children are starting to think of me as some kind of hovering aircraft I ask them almost daily how they're hanging, we facetime often and they're going through some of the same stuff as me. Being so much younger, they have in the past relied more on physical contact with their circle of friends than I do (so many of mine are out of state). But my son has continued his reckless ways, even after his close brush with COVID. We're pretty sure he had a mild case already. His business partner certainly had it and exposed him. And now, as if that wasn't enough, he had his wallet stolen from his shop!

Mom: "Didn't you have it in your pants or locked up?"
Son: "Moommmmm don't."
Mom: Any place you didn't look? Did you call the cops to at least get a police report? You can't claim insurance without a report...." (etc)
Son: "Moommmmmmm don't!"

It's a good thing he's in another city, I might have smacked him upside the head about now

 

[Kara Spengler]

Yes, it's surprising how many stable democracies somehow manage perfectly well despite their citizens lacking the constitutional right to join extremist armed militias and slouch around town with their firearms.

When first I saw those photos, I started to think about what crimes those guys would be committing were they in the UK -- both firearms and public order offences -- for which they'd be facing decades in prison, and I'm so glad I live here and not in Michigan.

But mericuh!

What these loonies keep forgetting is that in the 18th century weapons were MUCH less powerful and their primary use was hunting.

 

[Aribeth Zelin]

Saw something posted on plurk that suggests these 'liberate' things are astroturf - that its being paid for and orchestrated by the rich assholes at the top.

 

[Innula Zenovka]

Saw something posted on plurk that suggests these 'liberate' things are astroturf - that its being paid for and orchestrated by the rich assholes at the top.

This has some details.

The rightwing groups behind wave of protests against Covid-19 restrictions

Protesters in Michigan and other states claim to speak for ordinary citizens, but are also supported by street-fighting far-right groups

www.theguardian.com

I've seen claims that a whole load of #liberate<placeName> domain names were registered at the same and all of them use, or used, boilerplate text, localised for the city, but haven't looked into it.

 

[Aeon Jiminy]

People make their judgements based on their own situations. It's a mixed bag. I own a small business that is non-essential. I've been closed up for a month. There's been absolutely no relief come my way. My $7000.00 commercial rent keeps coming along with all of my other expenses. Most of the other small business around me is in the same position, regardless of their status. I don't know one business owner that has successfully received any grant or loan support. We can't rely on our relationship with the bank, it's closed. Our state hasn't instituted any type of unemployment benefit for business owners. Most of us pay quarterly taxes and forward our overpayment to the next quarter, so the IRS stimulus check portal will not accept our direct deposit bank information. The SBA disaster assistance is mute. The PPP is drained. The most hopeful grant I have going right now is with the county, which I had to pay an up-front fee to a politically connected grifter (a lawyer that just came off the Bloomberg campaign) to process my application and then agree to pay a 10% kickback to if approved. This is where it's going.

I've gone a month without a penny of income. I can't work at home. I can't do my work online. I rely on direct interaction with clients and the tools at my location.

I feel invisible to everyone except the handful of small business owners around me who are being completely shut out. All of the businesses at my location have been in operation for over twenty years. Many are minority owned and multi-generational. We're being slaughtered.

 

[Sovereignty]

I saw one thing that even tshirt material reduces the viral load you expel if you are contagious. Which makes sense, the virus is not truly airborne but instead travels on water droplets you expel and any fabric would catch some of them.

Right now my spouse and I are using things like scarves and headbands. We ordered 2 masks designed for bicycling that are certainly not medical grade (they do not list viruses in what they stop for example) but more to keep bicyclists from breathing in exhaust.

I think masks are great. I want to quibble with the phrase "truly airborne" and then shut up about it.

Being airborne depends on the concept of an aerosol. Wikipedia:

"The liquid or solid particles [of an aerosol] have diameters typically less than 1 μm; larger particles with a significant settling speed make the mixture a suspension ..."

Since there is a continuum of sizes, there must be a continuum between suspensions and aerosols. Also, what is a significant settling speed?

Whether a given particle size can make a virus spread in an airborne manner may depend on the situation. If a particle only has to travel across a room, it could be airborne with a greater settling speed than what an airborne disease would otherwise require.

Dr. Kim Joo-Yoo of South Korea was of the opinion that SARS-COV-2 was for practical purposes aerosolized by the singing of a few members of the religious sect in South Korea where there was unusually rapid spread. A similar concern was raised with the choir in Washington state. In these cases, it does not seem realistic that one or two people ran around hugging tens of people or that there was some chain of physical contact with each person rubbing virus onto the next. Further, it was not spread through contagion since not enough time passed for people to become contagious. By process of elimination, suspicion falls on airborne spread within a room by someone singing and for practical purposes aerosolizing the virus.

I imagine that the vibrations from vigorous singing could break a larger droplet into smaller droplets making the droplets closer to being true aerosols.

This bothers me with sporting events. If people sing and chant loudly, the R-nought might go up dramatically. Just waiting for it to happen with The Reopening.

 

[Sovereignty]

I read an article about why Innula is so protective of the NHS. I think it mentioned her by name. Just kidding, but this article does help me understand things better.

Britain's health service is part of its national psyche. It's also on life support

"There is this huge level of deep-rooted affection for the institution and pride in it and what we're seeing now is that affection being manifested," Dan Wellings, senior fellow at the King's Fund, a healthcare think tank, told CNN.

It's amazing that Boris Johnson was on the verge of throwing it under the bus. Old story:
The government’s herd immunity plan is callous and dangerous

Now the slogan is "Stay home. Protect the NHS. Save lives."

 

[Jolene Benoir]

This has some details.

The rightwing groups behind wave of protests against Covid-19 restrictions

Protesters in Michigan and other states claim to speak for ordinary citizens, but are also supported by street-fighting far-right groups

www.theguardian.com

I've seen claims that a whole load of #liberate<placeName> domain names were registered at the same and all of them use, or used, boilerplate text, localised for the city, but haven't looked into it.

Yep, I saw a post on reddit that went into the domains of each one.

As to Trump, the man who is having everyone tested before being allowed in the presence of his holiness, I say, "You first, *choke* Mr. President *choke*. C'mon out and walk among your fellow Americans that you seem to want "liberated".

 

[Cindy Claveau]

People make their judgements based on their own situations. It's a mixed bag. I own a small business that is non-essential. I've been closed up for a month. There's been absolutely no relief come my way. My $7000.00 commercial rent keeps coming along with all of my other expenses. Most of the other small business around me is in the same position, regardless of their status. I don't know one business owner that has successfully received any grant or loan support. We can't rely on our relationship with the bank, it's closed. Our state hasn't instituted any type of unemployment benefit for business owners. Most of us pay quarterly taxes and forward our overpayment to the next quarter, so the IRS stimulus check portal will not accept our direct deposit bank information. The SBA disaster assistance is mute. The PPP is drained. The most hopeful grant I have going right now is with the county, which I had to pay an up-front fee to a politically connected grifter (a lawyer that just came off the Bloomberg campaign) to process my application and then agree to pay a 10% kickback to if approved. This is where it's going.

My son is in the same boat. He doesn't have any employees - just himself and his partner - buying autos on auction, refurbishing them and reselling. Needless to say, business is in the crapper. But because of the generalized rules from SBA, he doesn't qualify for either the PPP or the forgiveable loans (which reportedly are already depleted). This is his livelihood. He was doing quite well before the pandemic but now he's afraid he will have to close shop I can only help him so much since I'm in a similar boat with my own business. Unlike him, though, I do have savings and dividends coming in that help tide me over along with my husband's retirement.

I keep having disagreements with morons on Reddit about which comes first, economy or public safety, and the fact is that we cannot choose one or the other. Without the restrictions, we might have 100,000 dead instead of 40,000. And we're going to end up multiple trillions in debt just to squeak through this. I think it's correct to say that the virus had exposed the weak spots in our system, revealed unrestrained capitalism for the plague it really is, and brought us very close to massive civil unrest.

Hold that thought. This isn't over.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

People make their judgements based on their own situations. It's a mixed bag. I own a small business that is non-essential. I've been closed up for a month. There's been absolutely no relief come my way. My $7000.00 commercial rent keeps coming along with all of my other expenses. Most of the other small business around me is in the same position, regardless of their status. I don't know one business owner that has successfully received any grant or loan support.

Oops, sorry - the Small Business assistance money was all given to large businesses pretending to be small businesses.

 

[Kara Spengler]

Oops, sorry - the Small Business assistance money was all given to large businesses pretending to be small businesses.

Yes, and to things people would not describe as small businesses, like investment funds.

 

[Caete]

 

[Sredni Eel]

It's a sad state of the world when Michigan can no longer hold a festival of balls.

Did You Know That There's a 'Testicle Festival' in Michigan? And Yes, It's Canceled

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

So hey guys have any of you gotten your "stimulus check" yet? Don't actually answer that question here or anywhere else on the internet because it's private information and nobody's business.

If you haven't gotten it yet, you can find out whether it's on the way or whatever by going to that special IRS webpage and entering a couple of details. It's extremely convenient and there's like no way it could possibly be abu-

 

[Cindy Claveau]

Why smart people believe coronavirus myths

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Yep, I saw a post on reddit that went into the domains of each one.

Aye:

 

[Monica Dream]

Saw something posted on plurk that suggests these 'liberate' things are astroturf - that its being paid for and orchestrated by the rich assholes at the top.

Please forgive the language -but that's pretty fucking obvious from where I'm sitting.

I'm sure there's a fuckton of russian and chinese signal boosting in there too.

 

[Aeon Jiminy]

My son is in the same boat. He doesn't have any employees - just himself and his partner - buying autos on auction, refurbishing them and reselling. Needless to say, business is in the crapper. But because of the generalized rules from SBA, he doesn't qualify for either the PPP or the forgiveable loans (which reportedly are already depleted). This is his livelihood. He was doing quite well before the pandemic but now he's afraid he will have to close shop I can only help him so much since I'm in a similar boat with my own business. Unlike him, though, I do have savings and dividends coming in that help tide me over along with my husband's retirement.

I keep having disagreements with morons on Reddit about which comes first, economy or public safety, and the fact is that we cannot choose one or the other. Without the restrictions, we might have 100,000 dead instead of 40,000. And we're going to end up multiple trillions in debt just to squeak through this. I think it's correct to say that the virus had exposed the weak spots in our system, revealed unrestrained capitalism for the plague it really is, and brought us very close to massive civil unrest.

Hold that thought. This isn't over.

Thank you (and everyone) for sharing your personal stories and kindness. It actually does help knowing that there are other people caught in the same limbo and others who understand.