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My wife gives me the news from the Philippines; Manila and many of the other cities are at least partially shut down. This is a big problem because most people don't have savings and there is no sick or vacation pay. Medical care is also on a pay for service model; no pay, no service. Crime is rapidly increasing because people don't have money for food. My brother-in-law luckily lives in a gated community but people elsewhere don't have that kind of security. It's better in the provinces but if this continues for a long time people there will also start feeling desperate.

The virus is spreading on other islands due to people returning from overseas and both not admitting where they came from and not quarantining themselves. It's dangerous and extremely irritating because one of my nieces is a nurse and stupid, thoughtless people are putting her life at risk. Medical staff are facing ostracization due to people being afraid they might be infected through work.

** 23-Mar-2020 World View: Philippines

Xeraphim1 wrote: > My wife gives me the news from the Philippines; Manila and many of
> the other cities are at least partially shut down. This is a big
> problem because most people don't have savings and there is no
> sick or vacation pay. Medical care is also on a pay for service
> model; no pay, no service. Crime is rapidly increasing because
> people don't have money for food. My brother-in-law luckily lives
> in a gated community but people elsewhere don't have that kind of
> security. It's better in the provinces but if this continues for a
> long time people there will also start feeling desperate.

> The virus is spreading on other islands due to people returning
> from overseas and both not admitting where they came from and not
> quarantining themselves. It's dangerous and extremely irritating
> because one of my nieces is a nurse and stupid, thoughtless people
> are putting her life at risk. Medical staff are facing
> ostracization due to people being afraid they might be infected
> through work.

In my article yesterday, I described the greatest danger as being
crowding and poverty. I mentioned Mumbai, Lagos and Mexico City, but
Manila certainly fits in the category as well.

Your posting lists all the reasons why this is extremely dangerous,
not only to the cities involved, but also to the entire world.

I hope your wife and your niece find a way to stay safe.

I watch various "sailing/cruisers" vloggers on YouTube, and as their vids start to become more "real time" (as they tend to be weeks to months behind due to video processing/editing/internet access issues) it will be interesting to see what they have to say, and show.

The "Follow the Boat" vlog is a 50-something couple who are now apparently stuck in Malaysia/Borneo, and they had quite the harrowing ordeal with their visa and nearly getting locked out of the district that their boat (and home) is docked.

There's also the interesting situation of "Sailing Nandji", featuring a young Australian couple who would NOW be in the middle of the Indian Ocean were it not for them having dragged anchor and hitting a reef. They are in Indonesia (or Thailand) and they haven't said what their situation is going to be. They are also liveaboards, and they could fly back to Oz, but they'd have to leave their dog as pets are a major pain to get into the country.

The guys in the Caribbean are apparently starting to see the countries in that area shutting down, but the US isn't THAT far away for them, of course. That isn't much comfort for the non-US citizen cruisers out there, though.

Anyway,.. just another perspective to observe.

** 23-Mar-2020 World View: Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Map - March 23, 2020

• Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Map - March 23, 2020

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboar ... 7b48e9ecf6

. . . .

• "STATEMENT ON THE REMOVAL OF PLAGUE INC. FROM THE CHINA APP STORE AND STEAM
  27.02.2020 Tags: Plague Inc., Announcements
  
  "We have some very sad news to share with our China based players. We've just been informed that Plague Inc. “includes content that is illegal in China as determined by the Cyberspace Administration of China” and has been removed from the China App Store. This situation is completely out of our control.
  
  Update 2nd March 2020: Plague Inc. has now been removed from Steam in China as well
  
  Plague Inc. is a huge critical and commercial success. Eight years old and with over 130 million players, it’s the #1 strategy/simulation game worldwide and has been the most popular paid game in China for many years. Plague Inc. stands out as an intelligent and sophisticated simulation that encourages players to think and learn more about serious public health issues. We have a huge amount of respect for our Chinese players and are devastated that they are no longer able to access and play Plague Inc.
  
  It’s not clear to us if this removal is linked to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak that China is facing. However, Plague Inc.’s educational importance has been repeatedly recognised by organisations like the CDC and we are currently working with major global health organisations to determine how we can best support their efforts to contain and control COVID-19.
  
  We are working very hard to try and find a way to get the game back in the hands of Chinese players - we don’t want to give up on you - however, as a tiny independent games studio in the UK, the odds are stacked against us. Our immediate priority is to try and make contact with the Cyberspace Administration of China to understand their concerns and work with them to find a resolution.
  
  Nothing is changing outside of mainland China: we will continue to support and update both Plague Inc. and our newest game Rebel Inc. on all platforms whilst also working hard to try and find a way to bring Plague Inc. back to players in China.
  
  We will share more information about our efforts to support the fight against COVID-19 soon. You can find our statement on the current coronavirus outbreak here.
  
  Chinese translation available here."

** 23-Mar-2020 World View: Laugh of the day - Reusable bags

Who says that you can't have fun with Wuhan Coronavirus (Covid-19)?

I've always been pissed off by the prohibition against single use
plastic bags. The whole prohibition was a crock of shit because the
packaging for the food for a typical bag of groceries contains enough
plastic for ten plastic bags.

So that left people with a choice -- carry around your own bag all the
time, in case you decide to buy something, and turn into a bag lady,
or else pay 10 cents for paper bags supplied by the store. This
REALLY pissed me off not only because of the charge, but mainly
because this is a "screw the Boomer" law. If a bag tears for a young
kid, then he won't have any trouble picking up the groceries from the
sidewalk. But if any old person (like myself) has a bag tear, then
trying to collect the groceries from the street or sidewalk is a major
project, and may be next to impossible. So this bag law is blatant
age discrimination.

So the city of Cambridge issued the following edict about an hour ago:

"In a continued collective effort to halt the spread
of COVID-19, Cambridge City Manager Louis A. DePasquale and
Commissioner of Public Health Assaad J. Sayah, MD, today issued a
temporary emergency order that restricts customers at essential
retail establishments from using reusable bags after purchasing
retail products. Neither staff at essential retail establishments
nor their customers are permitted to bag retail products using
customers’ reusable bags at checkout. During this temporary
emergency, there will be no fees associated with retail
establishment bags. This order is in effect
immediately."

https://www.cambridgema.gov/covid19/New ... blishments

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!

I can hardly wait to buy groceries tomorrow so I can tell the girl at
the cash register that I want two or three bags instead of just one,
and laugh as I say it.

At my age, it's almost impossible to have any fun, but this is going
to be fun. I know that it's extremely pathetic, but a guy's gotta
have fun somehow, and this is it.

Maybe some day I'll tell you how I have fun with spam telephone
callers.

John wrote:...

... Neither staff at essential retail establishments
nor their customers are permitted to bag retail products using
customers’ reusable bags at checkout. ..."

https://www.cambridgema.gov/covid19/New ... blishments

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!! ...

Touché, mon Capitaine..!!!

Vous amenez la guerre aux vendeurs .. !! Tactiques de guérilla sac poubelle, le plus merveilleux!


..weʻll insist on your call center minion maneuvers later.

That's a good one! I have a toddler in diapers. Before our county discontinued plastic bags, we found a bag-it-yourself place with copious amounts of bags in the space for bagging. So we grabbed a bunch, put them into a bag and put some groceries in. And repeated many times. We expect to make it through diaper phase with enough bags. Haha

** 23-Mar-2020 World View: India stock market crashes

India's stock market crashed on Monday, falling until it was
stopped by a trading halt after falling 10%.

The crash is being blamed on the Covid-19 crisis. India is virtually
under lockdown, with manufacturing companies announcing shutdowns.

India has a very high population density -- 455 people per sq km,
compared with 148 in China, 205 in Italy and 50 in Iran.

Analysts are saying that India is at a crucial point where it has to
decide whether to follow the example of China or the example of Italy.

---- Source:

-- India stock market / Sensex crashes 3,935 points: What's behind
market meltdown
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ma ... 768152.cms
(IndiaTimes, 23-Mar-2020)

John wrote: Maybe some day I'll tell you how I have fun with spam telephone
callers.

https://streamable.com/o4hhp