COVID-19 Coronavirus

[tremblinwilbury]

Brendan O'Carroll - AKA Mrs Agnes Brown - was a guest on The Late Late Show on Friday. He shared some thoughts on Covid-19...

"...a lot of people are going to find that, actually, working from home isn't that bad. So that will change; I think a lot of people will start working from home.

Mind you, I heard a good one today about somebody working from home in Dublin [and] talking to a customer. The customer says, 'Can I speak to somebody higher up than you?' And they went, 'Hold on - Ma!'"

Ryan Tubridy's introduction on the Late Late Friday, the 20th March 2020

''The Parting Glass - The Late Late Show - Friday, 27th March 2020

[dillwyn]

Mar 28, 2020 21:09:30 GMT Horacewimp said:

It is good to see some industries have adapted to the problems we face and have started or are starting to produce ventilators. I’ve read that Dyson, Gtech and the seven F1 teams based in the U.K. are doing this.

i saw this response the dyson news....

The most obvious solution to a lack of any medical device is to increase the supply of the already proven and certified devices, first...as Ford is doing with GE, as GM is doing with Ventec in the US, as...Ford, McLaren, Smiths, Babcock...the list goes on...in the UK are doing.
No matter how ingenious, any new device needs to be certified and users need to be trained on its use...
But hey, where’s the glory if it doesn’t have the name of a leading Tory donor on it...

[nobodyschild]

I’ve been absent for a long time—before school was shut down I was busy all waking hours of the day, now that school has been moved to online it’s been a rough transition. They’ve shut down band, lacrosse, school, cancelled senior ball, maybe even graduation. To say the least, definitely not the senior year I was hoping for and I’m getting pretty sick of only hearing about coronavirus on the news. The one good thing is I have a lot of records (thank goodness for ELO) to listen to while stuck inside the house.

[Helmut83]

Mar 28, 2020 20:38:57 GMT eloneen said:

Just a bit of background on the order to produce supplies: What the President did is based on laws that we have had in place since the Korean conflict to authorize by presidential decree the temporary production of items essential to national security by private enterprises during a time of crisis. The government pays for the items being produced and manages distribution, and in times like these, when the economy is in the trash, it is a stimulant to the economy. This is not something that Trump dreamed up; in fact, many people were frustrated that he was taking so long to do it, since there is such a dire need for medical supplies, and only large scale industrial level production and national level distribution management will be effective. Up until now,  the procurement of essential medical supplies has been pure chaos, with states experiencing extreme shortages and competing with each other for manufacturing orders, with some states outbidding the others. In one case, Trump told the governor of Michigan (and other governors) that they had to place their own orders instead of relying on the federal government, even though that is the procedure in a situation such as this. So the governor placed a bid, and then was outbid by the Federal Emergency Management Administration... infuriating and chaotic.

I can't say that I trust Trump very much, but I do trust our laws and other leaders who serve as a check on presidential power. Our system of government is set up to  place checks on the types of abuse that you describe.

Thanks for the background, eloneen, I didn't know about that law. Still, in my view the only thing that changes is the culprit: you could say the law is to blame instead of Trump (even though Trump used the law). But law or no law, the principle is the same: I don't see with good eyes that the government forces anyone to do anything. Unless they are damaging someone else, a free country shouldn't force it's citizens to do things they don't want to. Everyone wants others to be forced to do things, but no one wants to be forced himself. As Horacewimp very well pointed out, there have been dozens of companies all around the world voluntarily producing all types of goods to help fight this pandemic; we should fight the virus with that, but let people have the choice. The ones willing to help will do it, the ones not willing to should be respected. Helping others is a virtue, but no one is born with an obligation to help others.

And the fact that the state pays for the product, besides being obvious (you wouldn't expect the company to give away the goods they've been forced to produce), is not a stimulant for the economy. As you very well know, the state doesn't produce wealth, it takes it from the citizens. This means that for every "stimulant" dollar they put in a certain place, 2 dollars have been taken from someone else somewhere else (half of it stays in the way in the form of wages, bureaucracy spendings, corruption, etc...), detering the economy in another place by a larger amount than what they'll inject later on. What happens is that it's very easy to see what the government gives (particularly when they'll announce it will all the fanfare), but much harder to realize what the government takes.

Still, I understand your trust in your legal system because the US has a tradition of respecting it's citizens and their freedom and restoring the balance when abuses have been made. In other words, institutions tend to work reasonably well, in spite of some laxing over the last couple of decades. In Argentina an abuse works as the foundational stone for the next abuse, which is built over it, and then the next one is built over the previous one and so on, and the balance is hardly ever restored because institutions work like shit and are terribly corrupt. You are right in this: in the US you can expect that things like this can be an isolated occurence which is bound not to repeat itself once the crisis has passed. Meanwhile in Argentina it could be beginning of an attribution that will not be given back in when the crisis is over.


Let me add something which will help you understand my concern better: over the last couple of days lots of supermarkets all over the country have been closed by either the national or the provincial governments because of "high prices". Besides trying to put out a fire with fuel, that's absolutely unconstitutional and authoritarian, and now that they have taken this attribution I doubt they will ever stop doing it.

[Helmut83]

Mar 28, 2020 21:09:30 GMT Horacewimp said:

It is good to see some industries have adapted to the problems we face and have started or are starting to produce ventilators. I’ve read that Dyson, Gtech and the seven F1 teams based in the U.K. are doing this.

And Shakira switched from producing perfume to alcohol gel.

Despite the fact that for some reason it's funny, good on her.

[tremblinwilbury]

People are doing the strangest things now...

[vlogdance]

That's so sad about your relatives, eloneen. Thinking of you all.

[eloneen]

Thank you vlogdance. Things are really dire in N.O. right now. 

[tremblinwilbury]

Rosses Point, in County Sligo, is raising flags from all over the world to show solidarity with other countries affected by Covid-19.

[Buttler]

eloneen

I am truly sorry to hear about the loss of your relatives.

The only thing I can do is sending you and your family a big hug from Italy.

[eloneen]

Thank you Buttler.   So far, only one relative has passed away, but there are several who've been infected. We're hearing about relatives of people we know back home who are falling ill and/or dying. Things are bad all over Louisiana, but my home town of New Orleans has been hit very hard. Mardi Gras is definitely a big reason for that.

It doesn't help that there are people across the state ignoring the stay at home order, including some church leaders. These folks are putting everyone else at risk. It's happening in Florida, too, even after the spring breakers have left. Many churches (including my own) are very sensibly doing online worship services because of the pandemic.

www.wbrz.com/news/hundreds-at-louisiana-church-flout-covid-19-gatherings-ban/

[vlogdance]

Be like Mik. Practise social distancing.

[queenofthehours]

I'm sorry to hear about your distant cousin, eloneen . I hope we can get rid of this virus as soon as possible.

[tremblinwilbury]

A patient pays tribute to nursing staff...

[tremblinwilbury]

Another 'thank you'...