Corona and you!

@Thomas

In general I am educated by you about NHS levels, and thank you for providing proper information about that.

However ...

RJM Corbet said:
I know thousands of people with families are going to be jobless if the lockdown goes on beyond that -- especially in the aviation and tourist and restaurant business, etc. The summer is the bulk of the annual business for many.
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Thomas said:
all of whom the govt could support, if it chose to.
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I'd like to know more about this?
 
RJM Corbet said:
@Thomas
In general I am educated by you about NHS levels, and thank you for providing proper information about that.
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I have the advantage that I work for the Royal College of Nursing, so get the inside track. Two of our friends are retired nurses who have gone back into care, one of who's daughters works on a COVID-19 ward in a London hospital. A friend of our daughter works in a hospice.

What is obvious from their feedback, and comment from independent sources (as opposed to govt outlets and a right-wing media), is the massive disconnect between what is happening, and what the govt is telling us is happening ...

[/quote]I'd like to know more about this?[/QUOTE]
Well I'm not an economist, but ... may I suggest reading this article on OpenDemocracy?

It's a long read, but enlightening.

Towards the end it speaks of:
"A fairer society... state intervention to protect citizens and businesses that were previously unthinkable. Denmark plans to pay 75% of the salaries of employees in private companies hit by the effects of the epidemic, to keep them and their businesses solvent. The UK has announced a similar plan to cover 80% of salaries. California is leasing hotels to shelter homeless people who would otherwise remain on the streets, and has authorized local governments to halt evictions for renters and homeowners. New York state is releasing low-risk prisoners from its jails. Spain is nationalizing its private hospitals. The Green New Deal, which was already endorsed by the leading Democratic presidential candidates, is now being discussed as the mainstay of a program of economic recovery. The idea of universal basic income for every American, boldly raised by long-shot Democratic candidate Andrew Yang, has now become a talking point even for Republican politicians."
This among a raft of ideas ... but for the simple like me, it's putting a brake on the neoliberal economics of 'sink or swim/survival of the fittest' and instead focus on a trickle up economy where the grass roots are kept solvent if not functioning ...

If not, we'll see what's already been planning and beginning to take shape, that is the big players with huge financial cushions will hoover up the little guys or simply let them go to the wall so as to increase their market share on the other side.
 
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Herr....Herr....banging my cane on the floor.

Idk what the question is...the top % has proven give them a billion dollars they will try to horde it.

Give each of the restuvus 100k and we will spend it! On McDonald's and air fare and cars and electronics....most of it will trickle that stimulus right back to the billionaires.

And then a steeply regressive tax system because them corps and billionaires will gladly upgrade factories, pay people more, provide health insurance and retirement programs...to cut profits down below the latest tax jump.
 
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I've got friends who work at John Hopkins, my cardio ICU doc is now head of covid ICU shock trauma...

The hoax folks are simply ludicrous...the front time folks are literally killing themselves in attempt to save folks...speaking of martyrs...
 
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Namaste Jesus said:
Okay, now things are getting serious.... My favorite US daytime soap is out of new episodes!!!! :mad:
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I would.think a soap would be able to exploit covid...I've been waiting for a series or sitcom to produce a show with everyone distancing, sheltered in place, dealing with shopping and life etc.
 
Yeah, we have shows depicting second or third grade film, TV, sport personalities exercising, cooking, etc., sometimes the first graders also.
 
Lol, I hear folks complaining about the state if television...but I watch primarily stuff from my childhood, Hogan's Heroes, McHale's Navy, Perry Mason, Hitchcock, Dragnet, Rifleman, Carol Burnett, Rockford, Mannix, petticoat junction...
 
Hogan's Heroes, check.
McHale's Navy, nope, never got that over here (afaik).
Perry Mason, check.
Hitchcock, check.
Dragnet, check.
Rifleman, check.
Carol Burnett, nope.
Rockford, check.
Mannix, not sure?
petticoat junction, check.

Beverley Hillbillies. 77 Sunset Strip. Greenacres. Mr Ed (? the talking horse). Tugboat Annie. Superman. Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. The Virginian. Laredo. Gunsmoke (I can still remember half the cast!) Rawhide, Bonanza ...
 
Thomas said:
Well I'm not an economist, but ... may I suggest reading this article on OpenDemocracy?
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Yes, I read it and responded here:

RJM Corbet said:
Ok, I have read it. I do respect the sentiment, of the covid crisis encouraging a quieter, kinder and more equal new world. People do pull together in crisis.

Countries like the UK are far superior in their compassion for the less fortunate than many Global South nations. I do not believe the problems and inequality of the Global South can be blamed on the selfish capitalist abuse by the Global North. Most of their problems are caused by the corruption of their own leaders. Take Zimbabwe as an example.

While corona lockdown has caused people to hanker for a quieter and cleaner world, I personally believe the problems of climate change and pandemics are really the result of overpopulation.

Yes, people do pull together and are prepared to make personal sacrifices in time of crisis. That is the essence of Orwell's 1984: a constant state of crisis is projected upon the masses, to enable the leaders to manipulate them.

So, yes: we would all like to see a better, kinder world -- especially people living in the Congo, etc. But I wonder if corona is going to be the vehicle?

To me, human nature will never change. There will always be kind, decent individuals and societies, but there will always be greedy violent raider tribes.

That is the world, imo. We have an unsustainable global population. Nature has to take a hand to bring us back to sustainable levels -- by war, disease, climate change etc -- not all at once, but by a steady winnowing down and degredation of general living conditions.

I believe we are in this world to understand that there is nothing for us here. Of course that does not mean we should not try to make it a better world where we can.

Corona may encourage people to pull together in time of crisis, but I don't really think corona is going to do much to change human nature as a whole.

So ... there is my response, tapped out on my phone, without planning; just the immediate thoughts created by reading the article.
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My general attitude stays the same. Corona is throwing up lots of thoughts and ideas. But it is not going to change human nature. People work because they have to. Imo. The vast majority.

Global north ideas like universal income payments that may perhaps operate in well structured first world nations are very far from being transferable to most global south nations. What works in Switzerland or Sweden is just not transferable to the Congo or to Colombia where corruption is the norm.

Population is the pressure.

A world where everyone shares what they have and gives freely of their talents to take only what they need and leave the rest for others would be nice. But, corona or not, it's never going to happen in this world, imo. People won't change.
 
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wil said:
Lol, I hear folks complaining about the state if television...but I watch primarily stuff from my childhood, Hogan's Heroes, McHale's Navy, Perry Mason, Hitchcock, Dragnet, Rifleman, Carol Burnett, Rockford, Mannix, petticoat junction...
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Me Tarzan, but my grandsons don't like that. :D
 
RJM Corbet said:
People won't change.
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No, you're probably right.

But in the end, and by the look of things before this century is out, it'll be taken out of their hands.

In my view, those 'global south' estates were once territories of the 'global north' and the parlous state they're in now is a direct result of colonialism, so really we're seeing the fruit of seeds we planted long ago.

For the 'global north' to arrive at the civil and democratic state we are today required centuries of change. We had civil wars and revolutions, we came through and slowly and put ourselves together. And yet as civilised as we are, we can turn back to violent nationalism at the flick of a switch. Brexit was all about racism and right-wing nationalist 'Little Englander' ideology. Trump's America is 'me first' where the black man is very much not part of the equation. Putin is setting himself up as emperor of Russia and Xi Ping in China already is, in everything but name.

We expect the Global South to shake off colonialism and blossom into western-type democracies almost overnight. Change doesn't happen that quick, nor are our ex-colonies that enamoured of that we would have them become.

Zimbabwe is indeed a classic example. A British colony, farmed by white landowners who kept the civilian population somewhere in the Middle Ages, so that when the colonialists move out, there's no-one to step up, because the indigenous talent was never afforded the opportunity. So the 'strong men' come to the fore, and there we are again, this time it's not national-colonial interests, but corporate colonialism, as big money buys the despots and bankrolls them in exchange for the country's resources.

The old nation-colonialism has gone, it's been replaced by a more insidious Global North corporate-colonialism.

And while population is a factor, as long as the Global North uses a disproportionate amount of the globe's finite resources per capita, we are in no position to point fingers.
 
Or perhaps a higher part in human 'beings' seeks to rise above nature? The question is: are the vast majority really interested in doing so?

Art and philosophy come only after basic necessities are met. 'Higher' thoughts are a luxury which those struggling to eat and breathe -- or cowering in a basement while bombs fall -- have little time to indulge. And there will always be bombs. There will always be another Hitler, or Genghis Khan.

The strongest natural instinct is self preservation. The second is to propagate the species. Then the instinct for self preservation may become secondary to the instinct to protect the young, until they are mature enough to procreate -- and so the wheel of nature keeps on turning.

We have to eat to stay alive. We have to defend the nest. We group as tribes and nations for safety in numbers. We gather around strong leaders. We institute laws for the good of our tribes.

Nature.
 
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Our early 21st Century world may be the best it ever gets. Perhaps with over population and climate change etc, it all goes downhill from now on?

EDIT
An Einstein quote: 'I know not with what weapons the Third World War will be conducted -- but the Fourth will be fought with sticks and stones.'
 
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I'm guessing this will implement a new age of growth and understanding...how long it will last who knows.

I mean, yes we can hide, we can protect ourselves, but reality is if this happened pre internet we would have been in a hella worse mess.

We can only deal with things we can change...the rest we have to accept and prepare for.

a light rain just turned into a downpour....(actually happened right now) there is nothing I can do about that.

breathe....all will be what it is....

the story of the man who lost his horse comes to mind yet again...
 
Expect the worst. Plan against the lowest common denominator. Things work out better ... well ok ...
 
A thousand years from now, they will still crucify Jesus
 
RJM Corbet said:
Expect the worst. Plan against the lowest common denominator. Things work out better ... well ok ...
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lol, I've done that...and I've rolled with the punches...I prefer the latter.
....
The former was fun...one year after being gone from my apartment thanksgiving to easter...(left Nevada to go hunting in Northern California for a couple weeks, my grandmother turned ill and I took off to the east coast, she passed just after I got there so I went to NY for the funeral...it was snowing so I went to Vermont to ski, met a gal headed back south so I was going to ride with her back to DC but ended up going with her to South Carolina, hitched south after a couple weeks and spent the rest of the winter in Key West, hitched back up the coast to maryland in march)....so long story short, lol. On the flight back to Nevada, I imagined what would today be a google street view of my apartment as I flew over...this was the 70's, we didn't have cell phones, text, zoom, video chat, heck we didn't even have landlines so I hadn't been in contact since I left months ago) so I imagined that they had trashed the place, there was a fire, scorch marks above broken windows...and that all of my stuff was destroyed by the fire, the smoke, or water from the trucks.... Expect the worse you say...lol. So when I walked up no scorch marks and walked in early afternoon, there were two people on the floor, one on the couch, beer cans and evidence of a aparty. I stepped over everyone, looked in my bedroom and there was a strange couple sleeping. I headed for the kitchen and saw there was eggs and bacon in the fridge and started making breakfast.

Life is good.
 
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