And life goes on here in Arizona. Traffic following the Cower In Place order is the usual heavy, everyone is apparently employed in “essential” industries except for civil servants (who are all getting paid vacations on our dime). The grocery stores cycle through weird shortages (this week, it’s flour) and asshole local politicians are doing everything oppressive they can think of, just so we’re reminded. I’m sensing more and more unrest amongst the ordinary folk- I hear more and more comments from Normals that they don’t believe the news and they think politicians are deliberately stirring things up. I take this as a positive- I sincerely hope that this craze permanently makes people more cynical. And on the bright side, I’m not hearing any more of the “opioid crisis” bullshit. Maybe they want us sedated and compliant…?
Birthdays today include a guy who put the twinkle in Twinkletoes; a guy who would have been Heinlein or Asimov if he had lived long enough; Betty Rubble and a million other voices; the stereotype of every pretentious French filmmaker; a psycho who was typecast; a guy who was in two of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen; a third-rate magician who is mysteriously popular; and someone who died too young but was an iconic image.
News, yes.
OMG, A HEADLINE NOT ABOUT THE FUCKING VIRUS! I guess that if there’s a different opportunity to express TDS, the NYT is happy to take that.
Land, air, or sea, a Kennedy is ready to kill you.
Well, here’s a novel way to rig an election.
“One day you may become the price that is paid.”
Old Guy Music is dedicated to SP, who visits his grave regularly to pay tribute.
“And on the bright side, I’m not hearing any more of the “opioid crisis” bullshit. Maybe they want us sedated and compliant…?”
This past week Trump went all War On Drugs during one of his daily kung flu briefings.
One of the local pressure groups here had anti-vaping ads, literally using the term “vaping epidemic”. Fuck you, when we’ve got an actual epidemic. (And even when we don’t. But especially now.)
Also, vaping might actually help covid-19, unless you vape max VG. There are studies showing PG kills viruses.
(Most vape juice is a mix of propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin.)
Sorry for the early OT, but it looks like Bernie is having a Corona baby in his old age.
I thought it was going to be about Bernie Sanders….
Pool boy happiest guy in town…
“Woman admits she had sex with a dolphin as part of NASA-funded scientific study”
I think the Mirror, Star, Sun, or whatever, UK tabloids run this story every year.
“Doctor warns against worrying trend of using toothpaste as lubricant”
https://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/doctor-warns-against-worrying-trend-21246148
Also not recommended are sand and glue.
But the salt and everclear mixture I use should still work, right?
A young married couple named Kelly
Were forced to walk belly to belly
It seems, in their haste,
They’d used library paste
Instead of petroleum jelly
Just the tip?
If you can’t trust a dolphin to pull out who can you trust?
a guy who would have been Heinlein or Asimov if he had lived long enough; – reading he summary of his work, damn SF was bad in the 30s.
Bad meaning good?
no.
It was not considered a respectable literary genre, literally pulp fiction. There was no motivation for authors to do better, and editors would probably
We’re talking the type of publication that would take a whiz-bang short story of a few hundred words and add a couple of lurid, unrelated illos, and off you go.
…editors would probably have rejected or heavily edited any “literary” stuff.
be that as it may
“Bork, bork, bork!” 49 kr for a glass of wine? how big is the glass?
For bar/restaurant prices, that doesn’t seem so bad.
There was some cheap stuff the local liquor store sold for $5.99 a bottle. I was in a hotel restaurant, and a glass of the same stuff went for $7.50.
Strangely enough, while Romania imported many of your strange American customs in the last 20 odd years, happy hour is not one of them. Very rare…
For Stockholm I would say pretty cheap and probably a very small glass.
I know I’m not the nicest person, but I’m chuckling at the photos of fat police officers stricken by Covid-19.
Perfect music choice OMWC – I’m feeling on’ry and mean – the NYT says us rubes in flyover are putting lives in danger. We learned to wash our hands, cover our mouths/noses when we sneeze, and keep our spaces clean in kindergarten.
Waylon was 4 days younger, Freddie Fender 7 days older, Merle a couple months older. RIP, boys.
“Others have advised some voters to isolate their mail-in ballot envelopes for 24 hours before getting a witness to sign it to avoid spreading the virus.”
Absentee ballots require a witness?
“In Milwaukee, home to around 300,000 registered voters, there will be just five election day polling locations, instead of the usual 180. Days ahead of the election, Neil Albrecht, executive director of the city’s elections commission, didn’t know where those sites would be or who would staff them. The city usually requires 1,400 poll workers, but had just 400 earlier this week.”
How is having more people showing up a fewer locations a good idea?
Like cutting hours at the liquor store. Although maybe more people will avoid the polling stations but I think the liquor stores will make it up in volume.
“But along the way, things did not go exactly as I’d hoped. I have been working hard in school since I was small. My dream was to become a journalist, and I passed the test to enter the best school for journalism in China.
After school, I learned that government supervision of the media meant that telling the truth was not an option. So I gave up my dream and turned to another career.”
It took him that long to figure that out?
damnit
“One day you may become the price that is paid.”
But along the way, things did not go exactly as I’d hoped. I have been working hard in school since I was small. My dream was to become a journalist, and I passed the test to enter the best school for journalism in China.
After school, I learned that government supervision of the media meant that telling the truth was not an option. So I gave up my dream and turned to another career.
I heard of naive youth but this is something else
But then you won’t have anything to explain the overblown “models”.
If their numbers don’t end up any worse than ours, maybe we can use them to beat some governors out of office.
I’m betting on the end of this month. If someone comes out and announces that the cower in place order will extend into May, I predict disobedience on a vast scale. Up to and including bars reopening en masse.
Virginia’s order says shelter in place until June 10th.
Yup, and I got stuck in traffic on the way to get dinner last night. The disobedience has already started.
I have enjoyed the lighter traffic on my commute as I shelter at home at night and shelter at the office during the day.
Picture any place in the ME, told to shelter inside. 15 minutes later there is a mob of 1000s demonstrating with signs, etc.
I thought Q posted the overblown models.
The Sweden response and subsequent results on COVID infection, treatment, and deaths will be a good control group.
Compare thier numbers to The rest of Scandinavia vs GDP.
No problem. If it turns out that the fatality count doesn’t reach the overblown model level, the models will be run to prove that, thanks to wrecking the world economy, millions of people didn’t die.
You might be standing in a mile-long soup line but, hey, you’re not dead.
The “public health” types who talk about quality of life never talk about the benefit of being left the hell alone.
That’s because they mean to rule you. Power is the end, not the means.
“Ain’t No Sunshine” is a ghastly song about a child molester.
“I ought to leave the young thing alone”
She lives with him:
“This house just ain’t no home / Anytime she goes away”
The child escapes by running away
Wonder this time where she’s gone
https://twitter.com/StefanMolyneux/status/1246100609092268033
Just the two of them
They can make it if they try….
ICU Occupancy and mechanical ventilator use in the United States
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3840149/
Overall Occupancy
The percentage of all ICU beds in the cohort occupied by ICU patients in any given hour ranged from 57.4% to 82.1%, and the percentage filled with mechanically ventilated patients ranged from 20.7% to 38.9% over the three years (Figure 1). Mean hourly occupancy did not change over the three years from 68.2% (± 21.3) in 2005 to 70.4% (± 22.8) in 2007 (P = 0.25) (eTable 1). There was small weekday/weekend variation (mean 69.1% (± 21.3) on weekdays versus 66.6% (± 21.4) on weekends, P < 0.001). We also examined overall occupancy during historical influenza seasons (1 December–March 31) versus non-influenza seasons (1 April – November 30), and contrary to our hypothesis, found slightly higher occupancy in non-influenza season (mean 69.6% (± 22.2)) than in influenza season (mean 67.2% (± 22.1)) (P < 0.001).
Stop sending Joe Buck sex videos.
With all these unemployed sports journalists, I think this might be a great market. I need a sex tape where somebody screams “boom goes the dynamite” when I finish.
I don’t think I want to see a Joe Buck sex video.
A John Madden narration would be hilarious.
“Well you see, the team that comes first and most, wins the game…”
“She was waiting for something to develop and WHAP! She got developed!”
Some players like to get stickem on their hands to help handle the balls.
Never mind that it was done 50 years ago
Saw Woodie, quickly escaped…
It was also done in The Groove Tube, but I couldn’t find the clip.
Oh yeah, the “Wild World of Sports”.
That was the first R-rated movie I ever saw. I think I was 13, maybe 14. We bought tickets for a different movie and then snuck in.
The whole movie is here (although you probably found it already). I gotta get going so don’t have time to look for the start of that segment.
Tony Romo would predict changes in position before they happened. You could say that he’d be able to see what’s coming.
*who’s coming
If you listen to the EA FIFA in-game commentary there’s always innuendo. I remember maybe 5 years ago they had
“Patience is OK but you need to have some penetration at the end of it!”
Jim Ross from WWE: bah gawd! bah gawd! bah gawd! There’s bodies all over the place…CARNAGE
Is that? Is that? Bah Gawd, Thats Stone Cold’s music! And here comes the Texas Rattlesnake!
Well this is fucked up.
this goddamnit
https://twitter.com/NoContextHumans/status/1245665961044148224
He forgot Moron
Tiny nipples.
No regerts
Paper aisle at the grocery store was wiped out this morning. I bought the last bread crumbs on the shelf.
But I was amused/horrified by the 300 lb woman on the scooter that had piled chips and soda so high and wide that they were dragging the floor on the sides.
go to Whole Foods
I’m not a billionaire. $8 jars of peanut butter are out of my range.
The almond butter is only $37.
Whole Foods is not absurdly priced anymore, especially if you’ve got Amazon Prime. As one specific example, my girlfriend and I have found Kerrygold butter is cheaper at Whole Foods than any of our other local grocers.
Whole Foods sucks. The Fresh Market is where it’s at.
Fresh market?! They don’t even have high quality bats. For me, it’s a wet market or nothing.
(On the bat eating front, I highly recommend Norm McDonald’s bat song.)
I love Norm
LOL
There’s nothing fresh about Fresh Market.
They closed down the Fresh Market here.
Yeah the Fresh Market here has WF prices, but without the goods to justify it.
The closest thing I’ve got to a high-end grocery is a place called “Healthy Living,” which is a pretty decent fascimilie to a WF, though nowhere near as good as an HEB Central Market.
A good amount of the steaks I post here comes from TFM. That’s the main draw there for me. I also like some of their deli stuff.
I have a couple different butcher’s shops I’m really happy with. I don’t know when the last time is I’ve bought steaks from a grocery store.
On a decidedly less hipster note, I’ve decided my next handgun purchase as soon as Caesar decrees the First Amendment exists again, is a RIA GI 1911. I was going to pick up the Tisas because of the absurdly low price, but the Paul Harrell gave RIA his blessing.
This way I’ll have a Wild Bunch pistol that I can bling out.
Glad to hear you’re getting a 1911. That’s the first handgun Uncle Sam trained me on and I’ve always had a variation or two (OK, six) of that pistol. Every serious pistolero needs to have one of these.
Yeah, I hope to enjoy shooting it as much as I do my others. Hopefully it won’t need too much work done to it. I’m not planning on running hollowpoints through it, so reliability should be fine.
I’ve just been really spoiled in the “joy of pulling the trigger.” My Shadow 2 and my M9 (after the TJIB I installed) are so nice that when I’ve handled other guns (including SIG 1911s) in the shop, the triggers feel gritty.
triggers feel gritty
I would think that triggers are at the top of the value/cost distribution; how is it that manufacturers opt out of such an easy improvement in quality?
Three decades ago I noticed that S&W revolvers cost much more than Colts once you added the cost of the trigger job . . . to say nothing of the trouble and delay.
And S&W triggers are generally good. Or at least better than Ruger. YMMV.
The platoon sergeant picked me and another Marine to spend two days detail stripping and cleaning (breaking down to individual parts) all the 1911’s assigned to our platoon – two full days of taking them apart down to the last screw and pin, cleaning, and re-assembling every 1911 we had. To this day I can pretty much ID each part by feel.
S&W triggers are generally good
I don’t have any data since Reagan; like cars, I’d expect the worst ones today are better than the best ones from then.
But it would be quite straightforward to build a jig and automate a test to characterize them.
I’ve also found that (for me at least) there’s not an exact correlation between a trigger’s “feel” and it’s performance. The Shadow 2 has more slop and doesn’t break as cleanly as the M9 with the Langdon trigger, but I can put rounds on target more accurately and MUCH faster with it. The speed probably has more to do with the weight difference between the pistols though. But the first shot from draw is more accurate with the S2 than the M9.
And the stereotypical Glock trigger hasn’t been an impediment for me when it comes to scores/times. It just makes the experience less fun
Acme or no store.
What was done there by you was seen by me.
She’ll be dead in a week of diabetes and a heart attack plus “corona complications”. Chalk another one up for WuFlu.
I’ve already puked a couple of times. Now I’m sitting on on the train trying not focus on on anything that will make me yak more. Give me good imagesz。
Think of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s shriveled labia.
Great, now I need to clean up my floor
That Suitcase Junkket is making everything all right.
Matt Lorenz is a god.
Also a super nice guy- we chatted with him after a show. And WE were exhausted just watching him for two hours. I can’t imagine that much energy.
I’ve spent the whole day walking around listening to his
stuff. Thanks, OWMC.
I hope this helps.
A Nice pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray?
It’s a rough night and you’re gonna join in in? *shrugs n pukes moar*
You really should have known better than to throw out that challenge. You’ve “met” us, right?
That’s always the challenge:? Will you do it? I always will,
Self-induced or not?
“But people are not thinking critically. They do not understand that if we had human rights, democracy and freedom, we would have learned about what happened in Wuhan one month earlier. And the first whistleblower would not have died for nothing.”
or…
If your government and system worked well, people wouldn’t need to be eating armor plated wild animals from a gigantic blender full of petri dishes that is the ‘wet market’ in Wuhan and none of this shit would’ve happened to begin with.
The level of education in China is nuts. I guess a lot of it is due to the massive population and huge distances in really rural areas…bit for the folks who move to the city – there should be a first rate system for teaching people to wash their hands, not spit in the streets and use toilet paper and proper toilets. I mean,good gravy. I lived in SE Asia for 12 yrs in the 80s and 90s and saw consistent improvement across the board- even out in the sticks – its 30 yrs later and modern China still has no sense of germ theory.
And all this 15+ yrs after SARS. This is a picture of the true failure of socialized, topdown central govt planning and operations.
The problem is that the people in power throughout the Communist Party are, for the most part, so uneducated they don’t even know what people need to be taught. Until that changes the schools will continue teaching crap.
there should be a first rate system for teaching people to wash their hands, not spit in the streets and use toilet paper and proper toilets.
But enough about the average American…
The last time I used the ladies’ room at a movie theater, I realized that flushing is a lost art.
Well I do recall my gym owner talking about a couple mid-shift regulars (24 hour gym) who had just got back from overseas deployment and for some reason had gotten into the habit of tossing their nasty butt TP into the trash can instead of the toilet. Weird.
Hand washing is hand washing is hand washing….I have no idea where we are WRT to hand sanitizer, etc – but I’m tired of this BS.
Stringent testing.
Also, mute this, you’ll thank me later.
https://twitter.com/klara_sjo/status/1245479955527536641
Damn that’s stupid.
If the red shirted kid comes back she’ll let him in, that’s the purpose of a red shirt
Not the Bee:
https://pjmedia.com/trending/venezuelan-warship-shoots-at-german-cruise-ship-rams-it-and-sinks-itself/
WTF? Lol.
Germany to Venezuela: If you think our cruise ships are bad ass, wait until you meet our actual Navy!
Well, it is easier to hit something moored at a pier. Waves to Turpitz…
These days, German cruise ships probably are more bad ass than their warships. What Frau Merkel has done to the Bundeswehr is simply criminal.
So it was her that started putting lime juice in the beer. Figures.
Maybe this might do more good than cowering in place. Oh, who am I kidding, much better to live in a bubble, that’s the ticket.
“The majority had clinical improvement,” said Alam. “We had very good outcomes.”
Fake news. Chinavirus is a doomsday virus and we are going to force ourselves into an economic depression to prove it.
If it doesn’t come from the FDA after years of trials, it’s fake news.
He’ll probably be arrested and have his license revoked.
Hadn’t seen the video of this until now. This shit is absurd and needs to stop. There needs to be pishback. Incidentally this is why we have certain constitutional provisions that will go unspecified for now.
https://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/peak-buffoonery-paddleboarder-in-ocean-off-malibu-is-arrested-for-not-socially-distancing/
Pushback, even. Damn phone.
Pish works too, if my (((in-laws))) are to be believed.
Yeah the absurdity of arresting people who are doing things by themselves for not social distancing…
Here you go – from the same place but a much better story: ‘This Is Not Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia Where You Are Asked For Your Papers!’ Says Maine Sheriff
Somebody gets it.
*facepalm*
Oh wait, I’m not supposed to touch my face! Argh!!
Following the cancellation of whisky festivals around the world, we want to keep festival season alive. We’ve invited some of the best whisky producers in Scotland (and further afield) to join together to bring the Lockdown Whisky Festival to your homes on Saturday 4th April, 2-5pm BST.
The festival will be hosted by Roy from Aqvaviitae who will lead Q&A sessions with each brand and answer all of your questions live whilst introducing some incredible whiskies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HXoLCGm6e0
live now…
“After school, I learned that government supervision of the media meant that telling the truth was not an option.”
The US is so advanced, our journalists do this voluntarily!
Yet Swedes are able to go to restaurants, get a haircut and send their children to school even as the number of confirmed cases and deaths have mounted, above all in Stockholm which accounts for more than half the fatalities.
An analysis of smartphone location data showed that while visits to public places has fallen steeply in most European countries, Sweden is bucking the trend.
The horror.
The HORROR.
Well at least we have a control group now
Silicone Saturday provides a welcome distraction.
http://archive.li/KcVEa
12, 22
Speaking of rigging elections…
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/04/03/nancy-pelosi-in-this-next-bill-we-hope-to-get-vote-by-mail/
The science is settled.
I guess there whole “it will be impossible to do this for 2020” is not legitimate.
““I think a lot of people cheat with mail-in voting,” Trump said. “I think people should vote with ID, with Voter ID.”
“The reason they don’t want voter ID is because they intend to cheat,” Trump added.”
And we’re done here.
Damn your nimble fingers.
He’d sign it if they have him more money to spend
I really wasn’t planning on liking him at all. Still hate the spending, but he at least gets the game.
just have google run the election
they know who’s who and where we all are: better than any voter ID
I for one welcome our Silicon Valley overlords
Speaking of… HBO is making a bunch of their shit free now, including Veep and Silicon Valley.
/has been finishing the final season of Silicon Valley
Very Circular.
Oh boy.
Trump tried to shut down a shipment from 3M from Canada. 3M pushed back. After reading it in detail a little, I gotta say it’s a bit of a dick move. There are stories of nurses and health care workers who go in from Canada into the USA (ie Windsor to Detroit) to help Doug Ford reminded. Not cool.
We get it. America First but this one is a bit lame.
And when he does shit like this, he only gives Justin some juice in front of a dumbass electorate. YOU’RE NOT HELPING RUFUS!
Thoughts?
to Canada.
It’s a compete clusterfuck is what I think.
Scarcity in an emergency brings out the worst in everybody.
Actually what I think is 3M should auction their supplies instead. Let the highest bidder win and that will underwrite more production.
well if they have already agreed contracts they should respect them.
Exactly. Pie knows. If we’re libertarian then we must recognize 3M and Canada entered an agreement where Canada purchased masks from 3M. Don’t forget some of the raw materials used in making masks come from Canada so why would you risk a tit-for-tat retaliation during a pandemic?
“so why would you risk a tit-for-tat retaliation”
No Canadian cedar shakes for you then
You should try the Spruce shakes!
They argued that the global supply chain is so intricate his action would actually lead to less masks.
a/ Canada annexed; border disappears; trade problems evaporate; Trudeau is moot
b/ Canada gets 69 electoral votes; Herself is easily elected by a margin larger than Trump’s self-proclaimed “landslide”
c/ ?
d/ profit !
No Don!
Only if we can annex Mexico too. I really want to be able to go to those beaches without a passport and (maybe) drink the tap water.
wonder who would win the retrying of Rodriguez v Wade ?
Trudeau?
I know we joke and all, but look. Canada, despite its little brother antics from time to time, is just about the most reliable and stable friend and ally (despite hiccups) the USA has. The two countries coordinate so much on a daily basis to the point one can say it’s already merged. There’s no relationship like it on earth. It’s the same civilization for the most part. So why do this? American officials on this side are exhausted with Trump. He makes it difficult to work with Canadians who they need as partners in this situation.
We don’t need Canada, except for a border shield, if we wanted it, we would take it, and you would cry with Joy!, and Despair
But the sex will be great!
Oh yea! think about all the Mexican Gals if we take Mexico as well!
I’ve mentioned this before, but one of my favorite low-cost low-intensity vacations is to go to Quebec City in the winter. You can get an aribnb in the low town for $20/night, walk to the marche du vieux port, and chill for a couple of days reading eating, and drinking.
QC is a real nice spot. We went for the day this past summer doing what you did – chilling. It’s a great place for that.
Yeah, and it’s a completely different place in the winter. I remember asking one of the merchants that was in the market if there was anything interesting going on and she suggested we go and watch the ice fishing.
I wound up buying a really nice trumpet in an antique shop for like $50.
Back before you needed a passport, going up to Toronto and Niagara were popular vacation spots for those 19 and up.
“if we wanted it, we would take it”
Yup. It ain’t the early 19th century no more.
We needed them until Rush retired and Neil Peart died. Now if you open those borders you’re going to get a BNL reunion tour. Does anybody really need a BNL reunion tour?
Cultural alliances are critical; I hope you don’t misread my frivolity for disrespect. FWIW, Winnipeg is one of my favorite towns, especially from a work perspective. Notice also my constantly banging the Mexico drum: they are infinitely closer to our thinking than China.
To borrow Trashy’s phrasing, AnCap is the descriptor for me that is least wrong. If we minimize government, we minimize problems. My people tried to undo all this nonsense, but they got handed their asses and limped home, so my objections to the legitimacy of DC have been moot for about 155 years.
Nah, I didn’t think you were frivolous. As you all know, I’m not one to get all riled up but this particular incident was unproductive in my view and no need to upset people further. That’s my overall point.
Agreed. It’s massively hypocritical for the US to have been shipping supplies to China as recently as 3 weeks ago and then block shipments to Canada.
It’s like the environuts protesting pipelines from Alberta. Who would you rather buy oil from; the stable and friendly next door neighbor, or death cult dictatorships halfway around the world that hate you?
For a couple centuries no passports were required, just get waved on through. It was impossible to tell a Canadian from an American, eh. People worked and shopped on either side of the border.
Now its rubber hose time trying to cross the border. Talked to my old Canadian outfitter that depends heavily on US customers. They have no idea (nor does any one) on what this means to their business.
Cuomo is sending the National Guard to NY hospitals to seize supplies and calling for the Federales and all states to send supplies to NY.
I don’t like Trump’s decision regarding DPA, and I believe he is allowing shipments to allies.
3M needs to provide some transparency about numbers and who is getting what. I just watched yesterday’s full CNBC interview with their CEO, and nothing is clear – “increase” production. The lack of manufacturing agility in the US is staggering but not surprising – and it’s not exclusively a leadership issue.
are they a private company? Transparency for what reason? are we living Atlas shrugged?
3M can do whatever they want…..
Transparency because they are contracting to provide masks – they should let their customer know what they are providing/when if that is part of the contract.
Figures and stats at the moment are a casualty.
The public face of Sweden’s pandemic fight, Health Agency Chief Epidemiologist Anders Tegnell, only months ago a little known civil servant but now rivalling the prime minister for publicity, has questioned how effectively lockdowns can be enforced over time.
“It is important to have a policy that can be sustained over a longer period, meaning staying home if you are sick, which is our message,” said Tegnell, who has received both threats and fan mail over the country’s handling of the crisis.
“Locking people up at home won’t work in the longer term,” he said. “Sooner or later people are going to go out anyway.”
I’m at a loss for words.
live now…
die later?
Trump tried to shut down a shipment from 3M from Canada.
“The Coronavirus Will be the End of Globalisation!”
I saw that headline (or something very similar) the other day.
Actually what I think is 3M should auction their supplies instead. Let the highest bidder win and that will underwrite more production.
*faints*
I’m seeing a lot of praise for Singapore in the media. A country that outlawed chewing gum is now the envy of our public intellectuals.
Taxes and other revenues: This entry records total taxes and other revenues received by the national government during the time period indicated, expressed as a percent of GDP. Taxes include personal and corporate income taxes, value added taxes, excise taxes, and tariffs. Other revenues include social contributions – such as payments for social security and hospital insurance – grants, and net revenues from public enterprises. Normalizing the data, by dividing total revenues by GDP, enables easy comparisons acr . . . more Taxes and other revenues field listing
15.7% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
How bout take this from Singapore and leave the rest
Public canings for graffiti is small potatoes; our public intellectuals want Singapore as a springboard to China.
A country that outlawed chewing gum is now the envy of our public intellectuals.
They’d be in heaven if caning were imposed as punishment for leaving the house on nonessential business.
Why haven’t we deposed this asshole?
https://www.breitbart.com/asia/2020/04/03/spokesman-duterte-threatening-kill-quarantine-violators-not-crime/
Because we’re too busy taking notes.
We already did a forever guerilla war, occupation, and nation building there. Nobody wants a rerun.
Good morning, Old Man!
And a good morning to all of you cynical motherfuckers!
Cynical days
I just found out that my BIL’s sister was killed last night in an accident. Thanks to the lockdown, their nursing home residing mother got to find out via phone call that her daughter was dead.
Nice, huh?
Everyone will second guess everything about this clusterfuck, but I tip my hat to Sweden for not freaking out and letting people make up their own minds about their behavior.
I like Waylon. He was a coke-fueled beast who died too young.
A quick thanks to Neph for setting up last night’s happy hour. It was good to laugh and socialize with other freaks!
I hope all of you have a great day!
So sorry about your BIL’s sister – and especially about their mother. This might be one of those rare instances where Alzheimer’s would have been a blessing to spare her awareness of that news.
It was great to meet you in the Zoom chat. Looking forward to more. (Thanks, Neph!)
That’s awful man. I’m sorry to hear that.
I would also like to thank Neph. And the rest of you for providing me the opportunity to regret my decisions last night like a normal person in normal times again.
Oof! That is a gut punch for sure. My sympathies to the extended family.
Thanks, all.
I’ve said it before, but I really appreciate this place and You People.
Condolences, Tundra.
Sorry for the loss Tundra.
I’m currently planning on doing the happy hours on a weekly basis. If people want them more frequently, let me know, I can provide host rights to others even if I can’t be there.
Sorry about your BIL’s sister.
Last I checked the hospital here isn’t allowing visitors (except for one person during childbirth).
I feel bad for everyone there who is all alone 🙁
Exactly, CP. I feel terrible for those who are being denied the comfort of their peeps.
The younger generations, born after 1995 and in the 2000s, have good impressions about the Chinese system, putting the nation before all because they have been living in an era of prosperity and have yet to experience adversity.
The things that happened during this outbreak have greatly surprised those kids. For example, a young man scolded others on Weibo in the early days of the outbreak. He accused them of spreading rumors and argued that if we don’t trust the government, there is nothing we can trust. Later, he said, when a member of his family was infected with the coronavirus but was unable to get treatment in the overcrowded hospital, he cursed and called for help.
I guess “fat, dumb and happy” are measured on a sliding scale.
I’m surprised that famous Chinese “can-do” attitude did not manifest itself by bombing Wuhan. I’m sure Tom Friedman would have applauded their noble sacrifice in service of the greater good.
China = Asshole
Vietnam said the Chinese vessel hit a fishing boat near the Paracel Islands before capturing its eight crew members and two boats which came to its rescue.
Travel Patterns Of Wuhan Citizens Align With Global Virus Outbreaks – Italy’s first confirmed cases were a Chinese couple who fled Wuhan the day before the lockdown.
Fled=Sent
Like this?
What are we, Madonna?
https://hotair.com/archives/allahpundit/2020/04/02/abc-3-4-million-people-entered-u-s-coronavirus-hot-spots-key-months-including-750000-china/
Does bathing in milk mean she is a white-supremacist?
Kissinger: WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8187313/Henry-Kissinger-warns-coronavirus-spell-economic-doom-generations.html
Wasn’t he one of the guys duped by Theranos?
He’s still alive?
IKR?
Bond villains never die.
Until the COVID-19 gets him.
<a href="https://www.jpost.com/international/venezuelan-warship-shoots-rams-into-german-cruise-vessel-before-sinking-623422"
Oh what the fudge!
not only did you mess the link, that was already linked above
YOU WERE ALREADY LINKED ABOVE
me and your wife/sister/mother/18+ daughter (whichever)
STFU, LINKTARD.
So, if Germany invokes article whatever of NATO, we get to conquer Venezuela legally, is that right?
It’s not like Germany has much of a navy anymore and we already have ships in the vicinity. Battle stations!
They can apparently defeat the Venezuelans with cruise ships though.
True. But what kind of dumbass rams an ice-breaking cruise ship with a 1500 t OPV? I guess the Venezuelans don’t read the news – there have been several recent reminders that warships always come off second best when they trade paint with commercial ships 50 or 100 times their displacement. And a Class 1A Super? Jesu Maria.
Uh-huh. Cakewalk. Light at the end of the tunnel. Venezuela will pay for it.
NO BLOOD FOR OIL!
Counterpoint : Just how much oil are we talking here?
Still one of The Onion’s best.
It’ll be the most biggly war in history. The best. You’ll see.
I wonder if Trump/NATO says “Give us Maduro and we’ll call it even”.
+1 Monroe Doctrine
Portuguese-flagged German-owned. But Portugal is also part of NATO/OTAN.
Just the facts, Ma’am
“I will remind you that on February 3rd, the head of the WHO said there was no reason to ever do a travel ban,” Dr. Birx continued. “It wasn’t until January 14th that we knew that there was human-to-human transmission,”
Acosta quickly derailed her observations about WHO to knock President Trump.
“Dr. Birx, the president was saying this was going to go away,” Acosta said. “It’s April.”
“It is going to go away,” President Trump fired back. “I said it was going away and it is going away.”
Many took to social media to blast the reporter.
“Jim Acosta’s interruption of Dr. Birx is an example of how CNN’s echo-journalism model is destroying the media’s credibility,” George Washington University Law professor Jonathan Turley reacted. “Every question from Acosta is an effort to score points rather than elicit information. It is a press pandemic that continues to rage without relief.”
Some accused Acosta of attempting to “mansplain” to the female medical expert.
Come on, Jim, let the lady speak. Everybody already knows it’s President Cartoon Villain’s fault.
When I think of manly explainatoins I think of Jim Acosta …
“a guy who was in two of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen;”
Me too!
He was also on “Fernwood 2 Night!”
I thought the word ‘curated’ was the most over-used and obnoxious. Turns out it’s really ‘unprecedented’.
one of the trendiest tautologies is “carefully curated”
I’ve seem some pretty haphazard collections and museums.
Allow me to curate a retort.
I need to curate my basement. While not unprecedented, it has been a while.
This will make everyone feel better about the $25B going to the airlines.
https://nypost.com/2020/04/03/american-airlines-flight-crams-11-passengers-into-last-3-rows/
Sounds like a bit of a Meh.
Despite a lack of protocol allowing them to do so, flight attendants “took it upon ourselves to spread them out,” she claims to the outlet.
The airline has rules that say you have to sit in the section you paid for, but then the stewardesses look the other way.
In Brooklyn the Hasidic jews have decided to continue living life as usual, having gatherings, weddings.
When cops come to break things up they get coughed on. Wonder how thats gonna turn out.
With cops leaving the Hasidic’s alone?
From the “Price that is paid” article:
More victims of the CoronaPlague
As more and more Americans are forced to stay home during the escalating coronavirus pandemic, the crisis has created a pressure-cooker situation for domestic violence victims, exacerbating stressors and isolation that can make for a deadly mix.
Several cities are already reporting jumps in domestic violence cases or calls to local hotlines. Some shelters around the country say they’re full — some after reducing their capacity to maintain social distancing — and struggling to help survivors. And with gun sales setting records, advocates worry that the next few weeks could be especially dangerous.
In an eastern Pennsylvania town under a local shelter-in-place order, a man who lost his job due to the pandemic shot his girlfriend in the back and then killed himself on Monday. Just before he went into the basement to get his handgun, he became “extremely upset” about coronavirus, the victim, who survived, told police.
“Domestic violence is rooted in power and control, and all of us are feeling a loss of power and control right now,” said Katie Ray-Jones, the CEO of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. “We’re really bracing for a spike post-Covid-19 — that’s when law enforcement and advocates and courts are going to hear the really, really scary stuff going on behind closed doors.”
“Power and control? That’s the government’s job.”
I am sure there was nothing else wrong with their relationship. Chinavirus is certainly not a scapegoat.
Corona virus is why Hilary lost.
Deploravirus.
Nah. She woulda had it killed if that was true.
World 2.0 — “There are decades where nothing happens, and weeks where decades happen”
Trump Administration Uses Wartime Powers To Be First In Line On Medical Supplies
War on the corona? Oh my God.
I’m gonna need to see a definition of “war/wartime” in said legislation. It’s probably different than my definition.
Me rn
Lock the gate!
Across Montana, the big sky and wide open spaces that attract tourists year round for skiing, fishing, hiking, and wildlife viewing are suddenly valued for a new reason: plenty of room for social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.
While short-term rental properties on sites such as Airbnb, VRBO, and Homeaway nationwide are seeing a downturn in visitors, business in Montana has been up, according to research from AirDNA, which compiles industry-wide booking data to provide short-term rental estimates.
Across the state, revenue estimates from short-term rentals increased year over year between 2019 and 2020 from $5.3 million to $9.4 million for the period March 1 through March 16, according to AirDNA. Nationwide, rural areas reported significant year-over-year gains, with urban areas seeing declines of as much as 27% in the same period.
“Montana tended to follow some of the other trends of people appearing to be escaping major cities,” said Eric Fullerton, director of marketing for AirDNA, who grew up in Montana.
Fullerton compared the uptick of short-term renters seeking space in Montana to New Yorkers heading upstate and Chicago residents retreating to western Michigan.
Montana was among the last states to record a positive case of COVID-19, confirming its first case on March 13. The first case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was confirmed in the Seattle area on Jan. 21.
Health officials in Park and Gallatin counties raised concerns about the number of tourists visiting when they asked on March 22 that Yellowstone be closed. Officials closed the park on Tuesday, March 24. Gov. Steve Bullock asked this week that Glacier National Park be closed as well.
“We’re concerned about anybody moving around right now,” said Matt Kelley, health officer for the Gallatin City-County Health Department. “Our goal is to encourage people to stay home. If that home is here, that’s one thing, but now is not the time for tourism. Hunker down. Stay home.”
Fuck you, Matt, you simpering twat.
It’s telling that these pussies want to shut down the great outdoors. Not seeing another human being for days at a time is somehow worse than going to the fucking grocery store.
There will be a reckoning when this is over.
“Seeing another human being is somehow worse than going to the fucking grocery store”
/Isolationist in Podunkville concurs
Except for Glibs, always welcome
Except that people keep cheering on the lockdown.
/trying to avoid going to beer this early.
A German Exception? Why the Country’s Coronavirus Death Rate Is Low
“Trusted government” eh?
Put a German in charge?
Hmmmm?
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm…
Germans do have a tendency to get in line when ordered.
They also have a tendency to line people up when ordered. ///Rimshot
Thanks, I’ll be here all week.
From what I understand, the death rates in Germany are low because on the death certificate the doctor doesn’t just fill in a blank with a short, terse word or two. The German death certificate version has space to write the requisite explanation of all conditions the deceased had and to logically explain which was the actual cause. So obese, 86 year old diabetics waiting for a kidney transplant who contracted the Chicom virus show “diabetes” as the cause of death. Everybody who was on death’s door but then got kicked through it by this virus is not written up as a victim of the virus.
I’ve also read that some countries, including France, aren’t counting their elder care center deaths.
In addition to an increase in vacation rental revenue, some Montana communities have also seen an increase in the number of people who have retreated to second homes during the outbreak.
The community of Big Sky, where local residents occupy only 30% of the housing, has seen an influx of people occupying their second homes, said Candace Carr Strauss, CEO of the Big Sky Chamber of Commerce.
——-
Laird said the vacation rental business has been affected in two waves: First, renters wanted to know if they could cancel, and second, a flurry of requests from people wanting to rent for two to six months. Laird said she has canceled all bookings for as long as Montana schools are closed, which is currently through April 10.
“It’s important for us to not encourage people to come here,” Laird said
——-
Laird said the cancellations have hurt her bottom line, and the owners whose properties she manages.
“It’s tough, though, because I manage homes for owners who need income. It’s 100% of my income, but I feel like there is no choice,” she said.
She’s a dadgum HERO. Those property owners will undoubtedly be pleased to know she is willing to sacrifice their livelihood in order to allow herself to feel safer.
Speaking of simpering twats
Montana residents will likely be ordered to stay home at least through April 24, Gov. Steve Bullock said Friday.
Bullock announced the likely extension to his stay-at-home order — initially set to end April 10 — during a press conference.
He said the order’s specifics will be announced early next week and future extensions will likely come in two-week timeframes, adding he doesn’t want to try to predict conditions in Montana further down the line.
Ummm, yeeeeaaaahhhh, about that….. I’m gonna hafta ask you to stick it up your ass.
As soon as the weather improves (it’s supposed to warm up- into the mid-forties today) I predict there are going to be a whole lot of people out and about. And if the bars and restaurants aren’t open, there will be a significant amount of open air socialization. I, for one, can easily envision getting the regular happy hour crowd together at one of the closer fishing access spots.
I’ve suddenly got a hankering to fish the Gallatin…
Title of a letter (which I did not read) to the Bozeman paper:
“Put retired health care workers back to work caring for corona patients.” Whether they want to or not, presumably. There is nothing I won’t force you to do to make me feel better.
Illinois is doing that too. And I for one think that deliberately putting high risk individuals in high risk environments in the middle of an epidemic is a stroke of genius. Exactly the kind of genius we are rapidly coming to expect from Gov Fatass (D).
For the record, I think there’s already been some research, but does anyone have any links on the total number of daily deaths (all causes) we’d normally be seeing in NYC (or the rest of the country) under “regular” conditions – compared to the ongoing situation?
I think I was seeing something somewhere saying that the average daily death toll in Italy was actually around what we were seeing reported strictly related to Wu Flu – at least IRT the elderly/unhealthy.
You can ballpark typical death rates. Most people live less than 100 years, so in any given year more than 1% would die. But generation size distorts that; my guess is that the pile of Millennials pulls that number under 1%. Immigration to NY probably dilutes the number more still, so, 0.8% just to pull a number out of my ass ?
Google say roughly 7500 people die on average every day in the US.
there you go: 330M/100/365 ~ 9k
7,500/9,000 ~ 0.83, so 0.83% per year, of which I would still think NY better/lower
53807 in NYC for 2017, but it’s aggregate, not monthly.
*per year
https://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/vital_statistics/2017/
There’s also seasonal variation. But yeah, “excess deaths” is absolutely a number that can be calculated with a fair degree of accuracy. And that’s the number that should matter here, on an annual basis. Some non-zero number of Commie Cough deaths wouldn’t have made it to the end of the year anyway. Especially given the overlap between “Died of the Commie Cough” and “Would have died of the flu”, which is not small.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/04/politics/republican-governors-stay-at-home-orders-coronavirus/index.html
Just eight US governors have decided against issuing statewide directives urging their residents to stay at home as the outbreak of the coronavirus escalates and spreads across the country, the last holdouts in the nation.
The governors, all of whom are Republican, have offered a variety of explanations for why they have not followed the lead of their colleagues from coast-to-coast — along with countries across the world — by ordering people to restrict their movement in hopes of slowing the pandemic.
In doing so, they’ve collectively ignored the stay-at-home pleas of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, who said in a CNN interview: “If you look at what’s going on in this country, I just don’t understand why we’re not doing that.”
Fuck CNN
Think of Chris Cuomo!
I don’t know about your area, but almost everyone here is taking social distancing seriously, further restriction is completely unnecessary.
I had to take my dog the vet for an annual exam and rabies shot.
You call from your car when you get there. They come get the dog. They lock the door behind themselves when they go back in.
Later they bring your dog back. Then they call you to get your credit card data.
The assistant only got close enough to me to hand me a my order of heartguard when it was over.
Same here. The Big Dumb One went in for his quarterly valley fever checkup, and that was the drill.
That’s been the case around here, too. My wife and I have remarked pretty often on how calm most people are about all this. Taking precautions, sure, but it’s not Mad Max or anything. Myself, I’ve only seen two marginal freak-outs: one guy wearing the kind of dual-filter mask you’d see in an auto painting place who looked like a Star Wars character, and another guy working at a liquor store who was getting tense about how many people were inside. The owner was fine, mind you, but this guy felt a definite need to hustle people out of the place. But yeah, mostly people are just going about their business.
Because you’re not an economist, and don’t really grasp that all of this, including the healthcare system, comes crashing down with the economy collapsing.
‘The Shield’ is the Best Cop Show You Never Watched
Yes.
I watched every episode. Far and away the best series I’ve ever watched.
The finale was perfectly executed.
Same.
Threesies
Watched the first 2 seasons weekly as they aired (then joined the army and missed out on a lot), watched a handful of eps from season 7. Got around to picking up the DVD series box for a bargain a year or two back but haven’t made time to sit down and burn through it again 🙁
It’s on Hulu, son.
Anywhere else? Never seen it, would like to, don’t have Hulu?
It’s like $5.99 per month, cheapskate.
My checkbook is also hunkering down for the duration.
SPEND! THE WORLD IS ENDING!
Why will you not bow down to your technocratic overlords?
Just eight US governors have decided against issuing statewide directives urging their residents to stay at home as the outbreak of the coronavirus escalates and spreads across the country, the last holdouts in the nation.
The governors, all of whom are Republican, have offered a variety of explanations for why they have not followed the lead of their colleagues from coast-to-coast — along with countries across the world — by ordering people to restrict their movement in hopes of slowing the pandemic.
In doing so, they’ve collectively ignored the stay-at-home pleas of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, who said in a CNN interview: “If you look at what’s going on in this country, I just don’t understand why we’re not doing that.”
Absent a nationwide order, which President Donald Trump once again on Friday declined to give, a patchwork of rules has emerged in all corners of the country that offer conflicting guidance for how citizens should protect themselves and their families from coronavirus.
“I leave it up to the governors. The governors know what they are doing,” Trump said at his daily White House briefing. “States that we are talking about are not in jeopardy.”
But as the week wore on, with the death toll rising, confirmed cases mounting and an absence of national leadership, several once-reluctant governors ultimately heeded the call and issued statewide orders of their own.
Who dares deny science? Who wants to go down in the history books as a mass murderer?
Missed it by *that* much.
Caleb Hull @CalebJHull AOC just wrapped up her Instagram live where she ranted about how elected officials aren’t doing enough all while she was… making a margarita.
We should invite her to the next Glibs chat.
I did have a similar thought: guest of the week
The remaining exceptions are eight red states, all of which Trump carried four years ago and is hoping to do so again in the fall. They stretch from the South to the Midwest and the West, spanning the alphabet from Arkansas to Wyoming.
It’s not as though the novel coronavirus hasn’t touched each of their states in some way. Yet a combination of states’ rights defiance, persuasion from some business and agricultural leaders and a largely rural composition have branded these governors as outliers during a moment of national crisis, where the actions of one potentially affect all.
Rural Trump voters = dumb. QED
largely rural composition
As I told my wife yesterday — social distancing is already the culture of rural states.
Sounds like the feds need to roll in the tanks and IMPOSE a quarantine. The health of the children (or old people, the sick, whatever works for maximum panic) demands it.
The Kennedy woman and her kid dying is tragic, but also totally avoidable. This was down in Shady Side, which is about fifteen minutes south of me. The spot where they put the canoe in is sort of a little bay or cove type of thing but it’s right up on the Bay, and there have been small craft advisories and strong tides for the past month or so. It’s spring, and the water gets especially choppy. Also, a canoe is not the boat you want around there. Up some of the creeks you’d be fine, but that close to the Bay the water’s gonna be too rough most of the time and you’ll capsize for sure.
This is all stuff she’d have known if she lived here or was familiar with the water. She, however, lived in DC and had come out to a family property nobody was living in at the time because she was getting stir-crazy. And, I suspect she was the kind of person who doesn’t think that really bad things can happen to her. As we get more DC and NYC transplants around here stuff like this seems to happen more often.
Ban private canoes. It’s the only way to be sure.
Why do the Kennedy’s get to canoe? I thought there was a lock-down.
RCA clearly indicates banning moms !
The sea and air are unfazed by political connections
Any Kennedy that thinks bad things can’t happen to him/her hasn’t been paying attention. It’s like they’re honest to god cursed although their bad luck is likely due to alcohol fueled risk taking for the most part.
Can you spell “business opportunity”?
BRING OUT YER DEAD!
“One day you may become the price that is paid.”
Excellent. Iron Law worthy. Sadly, the current unpleasantness will give me many opportunities to use that.
This is kind of interesting. Craigslist car ads seem to be kind of thin. I wonder if people have pulled their ads (or refrained from posting them) in honor of the Yellow Death.
The Kennedy woman and her kid dying is tragic, but also totally avoidable.
Just as long as they get coded as victims of the plague.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ford-and-gm-are-undertaking-a-warlike-effort-to-produce-ventilators-it-may-fall-short-and-come-too-late/ar-BB12acKh?li=BBnb7Kz
Scrambling to get production underway, the workers took apart a ventilator and 3-D scanned each of the roughly 300 parts, creating computer simulations of how the device could be assembled efficiently
Possibilities
1/ GM is so hung up in their bureaucracy and so stupid that they actually think this is the fastest way to develop the process.
2/ The journalo is so hot to get some tech in the story that some minor scanning step’s contribution has been blown completely out of proportion.
3/ Some GM PR person is so hot to get some tech in the story that . . .
4/ Trump critique prioritized “just do something” management technique, so useless/redundant steps are being showcased to the monkey off GM’s back.
5/ Current supplier’s process design, routings, and work instructions will arrive by Pony Express in two weeks because they can’t get paper for their fax machine.
6/ GM is stumped by the design requirement for 6.35mm-20 screws.
7/ The design/build companies that actually supply GM assembly processes from Kitchener are protesting the Trump 3M mask embargo.
8/ A redesign is under way to save lots of money and speed up supply by working off some inventory of Chevette fenders “that Bill thinks are in Warehouse 7.”
https://twitter.com/stayoregon/status/1245869613725782016
I’m pleased at the comments.
Dammit. Wrong thread.