Mega-Thread: Coronavirus Pandemic

[Masark]

Trudeau: We're keeping the fucking border closed until you guys get your shit together.

[PhaelixWW]

Trudeau: We're keeping the fucking border closed until you guys get your shit together.

We'll see you on January 20th, then!

In all honesty, actually, it's going to be longer, because Winter is Coming and it's going to suck more than the series finale of GoT.

[Corvus]

Facebook, Amazon, Google (Alphabet), Apple, are laughing at you.

Those companies are corporatist, not capitalist. It is like how socialism and communism aren't the same thing, even if they are related.

[Felya]

Those companies are corporatist, not capitalist. It is like how socialism and communism aren't the same thing, even if they are related.

Those are conglomerates... corporatism is the result of crony capitalism. Capitalism is to Plutocracy, as socialism is to communism.

[Puupi]

corporatism is the result of crony capitalism.

.......what?

You must have some own weird definition of corporatism.

[Granyala]

I don't. But pretending that capitalism is inherently bad because it can lead to monopolies is being just as shortsighted as the mentality you claim to be against. It's hardly an all or nothing proposition. You can celebrate the good things about capitalism while working to block the bad. "Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater."

I think you need to be precise: Are we referring to theoretically unmitigated capitalism (that doesn't exist anywhere in the world) or are we talking about the mixture of different elements our economic systems are comprised of, some more socially oriented than others.

Imho, the former is very much an "all or nothing" proposition with 0 intervention from the state. It's as pure a "law of the jungle" as can be (w/o people murdering each other ofc).

[PhaelixWW]

I think you need to be precise: Are we referring to theoretically unmitigated capitalism (that doesn't exist anywhere in the world) or are we talking about the mixture of different elements our economic systems are comprised of, some more socially oriented than others.

Imho, the former is very much an "all or nothing" proposition with 0 intervention from the state. It's as pure a "law of the jungle" as can be (w/o people murdering each other ofc).

I don't think anyone is seriously a proponent of unmitigated capitalism. That's just ludicrous. People being people, no system of any significant size, whether it's economic, social, whatever, should ever be entirely without checks and balances. Period.

That being understood, decrying capitalism because of the concept of monopolies is like suggesting that the human race is entirely flawed because a very few are megalomaniacal sociopaths.

[Granyala]

Agreed on both points.

Also one needs to keep in mind that monopolies are usually not willfully created by dudes twirling their mustaches. They happen naturally.
One economic player has an idea hat hits like a truck and other players either cannot recreate the idea due to protective laws or don't have the resources / are too late to gain traction/market share.

Important thing is that we intervene before it becomes problematic, which I believe is currently done to google?

[Nellise]

Maybe make a new thread if you guys want to discuss capitalism and monopolies and that kind of stuff? Doesn't really belong here.

[Granyala]

Maybe make a new thread if you guys want to discuss capitalism and monopolies and that kind of stuff? Doesn't really belong here.

Oh this thread occasionally ventures into politics, esp U.S. politics. It'll come back to the virus once there is something to talk about.

In Germany we are now at 2.4% positive test rate, so things are picking up now. Politicians are already blaring for more restrictions.

[Forogil]

In Germany we are now at 2.4% positive test rate, so things are picking up now. Politicians are already blaring for more restrictions.

It's getting problematic all over Europe and N. America, so 2.4% positive rate with 1.99 tested per thousand is actually lower than:
Sweden 3.1% positive, tests per thousand 1.97
Canada 3.8% positive, tests per thousand 1.62
US 5.3% positive, tests per thousand 2.81
UK 6% positive, test per thousand 3.85
Austria 6.4% positive, tests per thousand 1.98
France 7.5% positive, tests per thousand 2.75
Italy 7.2% positive, tests per thousand 1.28
Switzerland 9.7% positive, tests per thousand 1.57
Spain 10% positive, tests per thousand 2.18
Hungary 11% positive, tests per thousand 1
Benelux > 12% positive, tests per thousand 1-4
Poland 12% positive, tests per thousand 0.9
Czech 23% positive, tests per thousand 2.26

Denmark, Norway and Finland have lower positive rate and Denmark test 5.65 per thousand.

The positive rate has also increased the last month in these countries, sometimes dramatically the last couple of days like in Italy, Poland and likely the US (assuming that effect is real; seems like we are headed for an expected October surprise) - except Spain that has kept steady at about 10%.

It has stayed fairly bad in large parts of S. America (Uruguay (and Cuba) being an exception as usual), Africa, the middle-east to Myanmar (except Pakistan), Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Argentina seems to be most positive - 70%!

Obviously some countries don't report their numbers, and the reported ones cannot always be trusted either. And if the country and its testing is sufficiently unequal the positive rate is not meaningful.

Globally we are likely to reach 40 million reported cases the coming day; the actual cases is likely around a billion, and WHO yesterday reported that remdesivir has none or marginal effect.

[Shadowferal]

As the one doctor said about Pennsylvania's rising rates, they might be hitting a 2nd wave. But as he warned, he did say that this ain't March; policies and procedures are in place that weren't back then. And then gave the okay to open up the local stadium. (With restrictions in place)

[Breccia]

Rapper Nuke Bizzle was arrested for COVID relief fraud, after making a video about how he committed COVID relief fraud, and put it on YouTube.

Bizzle, whose real name is Fontrell Antonio Baines, 31, was arrested for allegedly obtaining fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The release states the Bizzle allegedly applied for $1.2 million in jobless benefits and used stolen identities, according to the release.

Bizzle is accused of exploiting a provision in the CARES Act called the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which expands access to unemployment benefits to those who would otherwise be ineligible for the benefits. This includes self-employed workers and independent contractors, according to the release.

An affidavit states that Baines used debit cards that had been pre-loaded with unemployment benefits from the California Employment Development Department. The cards used by Bizzle were allegedly issued in other people's names, including those who were the victims of identity theft, according to the release.

Ninety-two debit cards were sent to an address linked to Bizzle with more than $1.2 million in fraudulently obtained benefits, the affidavit states. Bizzle and co-conspirators were able to allegedly access more than $704,000 of the benefits, according to the release.

Prior to his arrest, Bizzle — under the usernames nukebizzle1 and nukebizzle23 — posted videos to his Instagram account and on YouTube, in which he bragged about defrauding benefits programs in a music video. In the video, he holds up a wad of envelopes from the Employment Development Department and claims he got rich by going to the bank with those envelopes — likely a reference to the debit cards that had allegedly been sent to him.

If convicted, Bizzle could face a maximum sentence of 22 years in federal prison

Well, if he goes to prison, at least he'll get street cred?

[Yunru]

Well my country just got full lockdown now. If we closed borders with Croatia this would not happen AGAIN.

[CostinR]

Romania just tightened lockdown measures and finally imposed full mask restrictions.

About bloody time.

[Edge-]

https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus...s-rise-1540243

Sweden is starting to go on lockdown as cases start spiking again.

I guess we can conclusively say the "Great Swedish Experiment" has not been a success.

[Fantomen]

https://www.newsweek.com/coronavirus...s-rise-1540243

Sweden is starting to go on lockdown as cases start spiking again..

From your own link

"It [the latest measures] is not a lockdown but some extra recommendations might be communicated locally when a need from the regional authorities is communicated."

If somthing shall change in Sweden the parlament have to change the law. The goverment can only give recommendations with the current laws.

[Tuor]

I guess we can conclusively say the "Great Swedish Experiment" has not been a success.

Natural imunity lasts around 6 months, its impossible to hit heard imunity in that time, and after that the virus comes again.

[PhaelixWW]

Natural imunity lasts around 6 months, its impossible to hit heard imunity in that time, and after that the virus comes again.

Average natural immunity is completely unknown so far, but realistically, it's almost certainly much longer than 6 months.

[Edge-]

The stats show 126,127,489 tests have been performed in US. Wtf that's a huge number, like every one in three have done tests there? Where do people do it? I am just curious since I never had the incentive to go and perform the test. I'm more afraid to go to a test center filled with many ppl potentially carrying the virus instead of staying home while I'm feeling well.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Those are not unique tests, some people are tested multiple times and others are never tested. Most testing centers from what I know are outdoors, so you're not in enclosed rooms with people breathing the same air. If you think you have the virus, find a local testing center and get tested.

And the US is still woefully behind in testing.