[AlAhram] The coronavirus ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... pandemic sweeping across the planet will force city authorities and planners to more seriously consider factors such as population density, technology, food security and inadequate housing, urban experts said.
As of Wednesday morning the outbreak, termed COVID-19, had infected about 200,000 people worldwide and killed roughly 8,000, according to a global tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
#1
And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!
Sounds like a no-brainer, because it is a no-brainer. I did it anyway. Googled COVID-19 in Ga. Fulton County, Atlanta and surrounding counties lead the pack of confirmed cases. The further you get from Atlanta, the fewer cases appear. There are a few Ga. counties with no incidents of the virus.
Duhhh, ok yes, it's a population density, numbers, possibly reporting thing. I get it. For grocery shopping and travel issues, I'm going with the lower reporting number Zipp codes.
#5
Many of the "advantages" are subjective. Yeah, I could walk to Severance Hall for the symphony when I lived in Cleveland, but most of the people there still had to take mass transit or drive to get there. Traditionally cities grew up along rivers or rail lines for obvious reasons. As we arrive at the age of drones delivering to the door the impetus for clustering at density levels that gives you Baltimore / Detroit / Chicago type human friction declines.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/20/2020 6:13 Comments ||
Top||
#6
FWIW, I went into Boston yesterday around 11:30 AM. I've never gotten a better parking space in that High Street garage. I left around 6:30 last night and the place was a freakin' ghost town. Ima expecting the same thing when I go in today.
Also - a personal best was achieved on the drive back to Quincy - I covered about six miles on I-93 south (Southeast Expressway) in roughly 3+ minutes, topping off at 101 MPH, in the rain.
#8
And - I dusted some snob asswipe driving his nice, pristine white Range Rover. You wanna drive fast, bunky? Any punk can speed on a straight, flat stretch - try doing it at 85 on a sweeping curve in the rain. Fuckin' amateur...
#10
All those Chinese ghost cities they built say just because the central planners build it doesn't guarantee the reliable urban sheep will come.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/20/2020 7:18 Comments ||
Top||
#11
Loved your comments, Raj. I am familiar with that drive and Boston in general having lived in Woburn for 2 years. I worked in Cambridge just across the river near MIT.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/20/2020 8:07 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Private property would help with the issue. As long as all rural areas are "for the people, for the farmers" no one even has the option of taking their $$$ and retiring to the countryside. I'd love to, but I can't. I can spend 10 million for a condo in the city, but buying just 2 acres in the countryside is not an option, at any price (other than renting out a whole village for 20 years from the local farmers). So, money is locked up in the cities.
#13
I'm told that, through most of history, cities have been population sinks.
Posted by: James ||
03/20/2020 11:53 Comments ||
Top||
#14
Negative Population Growth was what cities have had for most of mankind's history. Only recent advances in medicine, food production and, importantly, sanitation engineering have given us the "weird" idea that living in major cities is healthy.
#15
Hey Raj, I REALLY want to know what your tires are. Boston-area roads are 'greasy' when it rains. We lived in Cambridge for 8 years before moving to less urban areas. I haven't missed it (too much, maybe a little, the traffic not at all).
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
03/20/2020 13:59 Comments ||
Top||
#16
Tax density not income. AKA land title taxes and you'll probably have lower ill health (and capitalism not marxism).
#17
Nothing will change, everyone will forget in a few months. Technology will be used to open doors for us and perhaps in the winter we'll see gas station attendants pumping our gas for us again.
At least shelter-in-place will be easy to enforce in those populations. And now that the FDA approved that 3 hour test kit, and chloroquine has been approved for compassionate care treatment, most of those there won’t discover they had a life sentence. Yesterday the prospect was very different, while shortly it will be even better.
[FOX] In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, director of Justice Action Network Holly Harris says that “jails and prisons are vulnerable to the virus just like nursing homes.”
”It’s not a question of if, but, of course, when, and we’re seeing that at [Rikers Island in New York City] correctional facility that the coronavirus is going to invade one of the incarceration facilities and it’s going to spread like fire through a dry barn,” Harris said on special Fox News coverage Thursday morning.
Harris said that there is concern about the most susceptible and sick inmates in the prisons.
“My organization along with so many conservative criminal justice organizations across the country are calling for these individuals to be transferred to home confinement during this crisis.”
#6
Are they volunteering to house inmates (and make sure they obey the laws) as boarders? No? Then please stop using this crisis to peddle your agenda.
States that have income taxes are expected to make similar coronavirus provisions for their state tax returns. Be sure to check with your state's tax agency/revenue department.
Also - it doesn't look like they're re-setting the extended deadline dates, which are Sept. 15th for business tax returns and Oct. 15th for individuals. This is good for me, as I don't have to file a shitload of extensions next month.
Betcha didn't see that coming!
[CBSDFW] The trend is being seen across the nation and it’s being attributed to an aging population of donors who have either stopped donating or scaled back their donations. Not sure how "aging population" applies there. Are young people still contributing?
The lower blood supply means hospitals are having a tougher time stocking their shelves, and in the case of patients who need transfusion or platelets routinely, sometimes there is a delay in getting the blood products. Are you suggesting lives are at risk because of the panic?
"We need new people to step up and take their place and we're looking for those volunteers to come forward," said Dr. Sutor. Throw in two rolls of TP and I'll show up!
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/20/2020 09:17 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Contact the well fed Kroger and Publix hoarders. I'm sure they would be happy to donate a pint now and then.
#3
I'd be happy to give; but I spent 6 months in western Europe back in the 80s and 90s, and so the Red Cross rejects me. If they'd do away with what must be an obsolete barrier by now, I'd go.
Posted by: Tom ||
03/20/2020 14:05 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Bureaucrats.
Blood diseases can be controlled if not eradicated. Exsanguination cannot.
[Washington Examiner] A 20-year-old Spanish soccer coach who was told by doctors he had "no need to worry" died a few days later from the coronavirus.
Francisco Garcia, a coach of a youth soccer team, died a few days after developing symptoms on March 6, which were later identified as complications of the coronavirus, according to his family.
"His doctor told him to take paracetamol and sent him home and said there was no need to worry," his stepfather, Juan Fernandez, told the Sun on Wednesday.
Fernandez said his stepson's condition worsened overnight, so they went back to the health center where he got antibiotics and was told again to go back home.
"We didn’t think anything was really wrong, and nor did they, then," Fernandez said. "But, by the next day, he couldn’t stand up properly, and he had a fever. We knew it was a bit more serious than a cold or the flu, so we drove him to Carlos Haya Hospital where they admitted him immediately and put him on a ventilator."
"That was the last time Irene and I saw him," he added.
Doctors ran tests on Garcia and found that he not only had the coronavirus but also leukemia.
#4
Please back off, grom. This isn't a pissing match. No one's attacking you. Have a drink today. Enjoy some fresh air.
Maybe you're right, maybe I'm right, maybe we're both wrong. None of us really knows, and the world will little note what any of us says now about this.
Frankly, I just care about my family. I'm happy to be wrong if it helps them.
#6
Bullshit articles like this are why anyone who is a bit hypochondriac, has allergies, skittish, or wants to be flu chic will flood hospitals for testing and use up whatever kits are available and at the same time bring whatever their vector is into the hospitals.
I want to know how to do things myself/crew served recovery room because it will quickly become "If you aren't sick yet, visit a hospital."
What do we need here? IV and fluid, lung steroid, liquid nutrition? Get the daughter on the sewing machine and start making masks and mittens?
#7
Socialized Medicine in action. Death Panels. Obviously he did not pass their Criteria for Access. Do you think they just tell people to go home and die? When HC is a "right" and everyone expects it, you can't simply outright declare to the person's face that they won't be treated - that lacks european sophistication. What you do is create plausible deniability.
To the the authors credit, at least he did disclose the preexisting condition.
[Washington Examiner] The chief of the National Guard Bureau argued vehemently today against federalizing the 450,000-member force and keeping units under the control of governors.
"With COVID-19, it’s like we have 54 separate hurricanes in every state, territory, and the District of Columbia," Guard leader Air Force Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel said at a Pentagon briefing this morning, equating the pandemic response to the typical role of the Guard in supporting natural disaster responses.
Lengyel said Guard members are administrating COVID-19 tests directly in Colorado, New York, and Rhode Island and providing transportation, equipment delivery, and command-and-control support in other areas, including distributing 500,000 swabs for test kits.
Lengyel said about 2,000 National Guard members have been activated by 27 governors across the country, a number he expects will double by the weekend, with units available "in a matter of hours."
"States need the National Guard to react to this pandemic. Governors have the authority to bring them on active duty as there are tasks and purpose for them to be used," he explained.
"I’m expecting tens of thousands to be used inside states as this grows," he said, noting that under governors’ direction, Guard members can be deployed faster and more efficiently than if the president were to invoke Title X and bring Guard members under federal control. Lengyel equated such a decision with that of responding to a war with a peer adversary, such as during World War II.
The chief of the National Guard said the service provides a unique advantage in assisting state emergencies because its members do not have to deploy from military installations but already live in affected communities.
Lengyel warned that calling on medical and law enforcement Guard members was a "zero-sum game," which governors are studying closely because Guard members are taken out of their civilian functions.
#1
Since we still exercise 'civilian control of the military' how about we let the Commander in Chief and his team decide how best to use the military ?
The PR National Guard and local authorities didn't exactly cover themselves with glory during Hurricane Maria. Just say'n.
#2
I remember every citizen in Israel being given has masks at one point nobody wearing them now!?! The United States government is openly begging for paper ones with some synthetic material in them see the problem? How many paper masks could a government but for the cost of gas masks for all.People in israel?
That's very generous of them. Hopefully we’ll be able to repay them quickly.
[Breitbart] German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG announced Thursday that it donated 3 million tablets of the malaria drug Resochin to the United States amid testimonies that it could potentially treat individuals with the deadly Chinese coronavirus.
Resochin, which is made of chloroquine phosphate, is presently not approved for consumption in the U.S., though the company is working with federal public health agencies to secure authorization for its use nationwide.
"Resochin, a product discovered by Bayer in 1934 and indicated for prevention and treatment of malaria, also appears to have broad spectrum antiviral properties and effects on the body’s immune response. New data from initial preclinical and evolving clinical research conducted in China, while limited, shows potential for the use of Resochin in treating patients with COVID-19 infection," Bayer said in a statement. "Bayer in recent days has been in talks with the White House, HHS, CDC, and the FDA, offering any assistance we can provide with a focus on donating Resochin to help in the government’s efforts to combat the virus."
"Bayer thanks the Trump administration for moving quickly to enable this donation and will continue to work closely with the administration to support its efforts in the fight against COVID-19," the statement concluded.
The announcement comes as President Donald Trump touted the use of chloroquine to treat patients who have contacted the coronavirus.
"We’re going to be able to make that drug available almost immediately," the president told reporters at the White House press briefing on Thursday.
#7
We've been bounced by the WHO into major over-reaction.
Not by WHO - who do as they're told. After Chinese quarantined 700 million people, what did you expect the rest of the World governments to do? Also, wanna be the one to tell all the old folks "F*uck you, you just take up space and resources - die already!"?
Confucius say, "Trump showing gumption,
Accusing Chinese? Such presumption!
This mythical beast
Is invisible feast...
He should call it the Chinese consumption."
#10
Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have been recommended by Chinese and South Korean health authorities for the treatment COVID-19. In vitro studies have demonstrated that hydroxychloroquine is more potent than chloroquine against SARS-CoV-2 with a more tolerable safety profile.Wikipedia
I take a particular interest in this stuff since I've been taking it for 13 years for osteoarthritis. It was prescribed by one rheumatologist and continued by two others (as I moved). Originally, I was told it worked for some people for osteoarthritis; nobody knew why.
Hydroxychloroquine chemically looks like chloroquine with an OH (hydroxy) added to the end. I suppose the Bayer drug has phosphate tagged on the end of the chloroquine, instead of the OH.
Bayer gets some good press, and added pressure to get their drug approved in the U.S.
I'm an engineer and user of the drug, not a doctor.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/20/2020 8:38 Comments ||
Top||
#15
Side effects include neuromuscular, hearing, gastrointestinal, brain, skin, eye, cardiovascular (rare), and blood reactions.
Seizures.
Deafness or tinnitus.
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and anorexia.
Mild and transient headache.
Skin itchiness, skin color changes, hair loss, and skin rashes.
[NYPOST] The latest victim of the coronavirus ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... : Playboy.The nudie mag founded by Hugh Hefner 66 years ago will no longer publish a printed edition, it said on Wednesday, citing coronavirus supply chain woes that have only served to exacerbate its already sagging newsstand sales.
"Last week, as the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic to content production and the supply chain became clearer and clearer, we were forced to accelerate a conversation we’ve been having internally," CEO Ben Kohn said in a post on Medium.com.
The iconic magazine was already on the decline prior to the coronavirus pandemic as porn has proliferated online. It was still being published monthly as recently as 2017, but was scaled back to a quarterly mag without ads in early 2019.
The spring 2020 issue now hitting newsstands will be its last before it goes all digital next year.
It was already scheduled, I’m sure — they just took advantage of the situation to advance events.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/20/2020 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Old trick. Ted Kennedy announced his divorce on the day the hostages were freed and Reagan was inaugurated.
[THEGATEWAYPUNDIT] On Monday Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, announced that the first trial vaccine for the coronavirus ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... is now being tested. The trial taking place in Seattle, which has been a hotbed for COVID-19. The test includes 45 people age 18-55 and they are receiving two injections, one at zero days, one at 28 days. The individuals will then be followed for one year. The trial results is still months away.
On Monday night Laura Ingraham reported that a new study revealed the anti-viral medication chloroquine is successful in fighting the coronavirus.
Laura invited Dr. Gregory Rigano, the co-author of the study to discuss the latest findings.
Dr. Rigano said their study found that those COVID-19 patients who took hydroxy-chloroquine were found free of the disease in 6 days. The patients were testing negative for the coronavirus in six days!
Dr. Rigano also said taking choroquine could act as a preventative.
NYC coronavirus cases reach 3,615 people, 22 dead
[NYPOST] The number of coronavirus ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... cases in the Big Apple doubled overnight to 3,615 Thursday with increased testing, up from 1,871 late Wednesday.
The new figures released Thursday by City Hall also show that 22 people in the five boroughs died from the disease as of 10 a.m.
According to the tally, Brooklyn now has the largest number of cases with 1,030 positives. Meanwhile, ...back at the shouting match, the spittle had reached unprecedented levels... there are 980 cases in Queens, 976 in Manhattan, 436 in The Bronx and 165 on Staten Island.
Additionally, City Hall released data that showed that 554 people had been hospitalized as of 5pm Wednesday. More than a quarter of them, 160, are in intensive care.
The tallies were released as Mayor Bill de Blasio ...cryptocommie mayor of New York and for some reason a Dem candidate for president in 2020. Corrupt and incompetent, his qualifications for office seem to consist of being married to a black woman, with whom he honeymooned in Cuba. He has a preppy-looking son named Dante, whose Divine Comedy involved getting his back hair up when a police car drove past him slowly. New Yorkers voted for him, so they deserve him... announced expanded, appointment-only testing at 10 hospitals, seven Gotham Health clinics and four drive-thru sites in order to keep potentially infected people out of emergency rooms.
Italian Study: Most Who Died from Coronavirus Had Pre-Existing Condition
[BREITBART] An Italian study revealed that most of the patients who have died from the coronavirus ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... previously had some type of illness or pre-existing condition.
But while these people are dying, the majority of coronavirus patients in hospitals are younger, healthier people ‐ and they’re being prioritized by hospital staff.
The average age of those who have died from the Chinese virus in Italia is 79.5, according to a study by Italian health authorities, who have been examining the medical records involving the nation’s surging coronavirus corpse count.
The study adds that more than 99 percent of Italia’s coronavirus deaths have been people who were previously ill or had some type of pre-existing medical condition, such as high blood pressure or diabetes.
Among those who have died from the Wuhan virus in Italia, more than 76 percent of them had high blood pressure, more than 35 percent had diabetes, 33 percent had heart disease, and more than 24 percent had atrial fibrillation, or "AFib," according to Italia’s national health authority.
Japanese Man Dies After Alleged Attempt to Spread Chinese Coronavirus
[BREITBART] A Japanese man who allegedly tried to infect others with coronavirus ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men... after his diagnosis has died, Japanese media reported Wednesday.
The patient died in hospital, where he had been admitted for treatment. He lived in Gamagori, Aichi prefecture, and was 57-years-old; his name remains unknown.
On March 4, the man tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Doctors were unable to admit him to a special treatment facility until the next day and instructed him to go home and self-isolate for the night. Instead, he went out to bars and socialized, reportedly telling people he encountered that he had tested positive for Wuhan coronavirus.
The man reportedly told some of his relatives he wanted to spread the virus.
Employees of the establishments the man visited contacted authorities after learning of the man’s diagnosis and intentions to spread the deadly coronavirus. Police had planned to arrest the man before his death, on suspicion of obstruction of business. Public health services reportedly detained the man, but he died before charges could be brought against him. The bars and establishments visited by the man were forced to close for disinfection after the incident, and eventually halt operations, costing the businesses serious revenue.
The man infected at least one other person before his demise, a woman in her 30s working at a bar he visited post-diagnosis. Media reported her condition as stable at press time. To date, she remains the only person known to have contracted the Wuhan coronavirus from the man.
Virus keeps 500 million people home around the world
[IsraelTimes] Some 500 million people are being subjected to lockdown measures around the world because of the coronavirus outbreak that started in China and has quickly ballooned globally, according to an AFP count.
From China to the Czech Republic to Venezuela, governments have told their citizens to stay indoors to try and slow the spread of the pandemic.
The central Chinese province of Hubei and its capital Wuhan, where the COVID-19 virus broke out late last year, have been cut off from the world since late January.
At least seven other countries have followed the Chinese province in enforcing some degree of confinement: Italy since March 10, Spain from March 14, Lebanon on March 15, the Czech Republic on March 16, France, Venezuela on March 17 and Belgium on March 18.
That means 230 million people in these seven countries are obliged to stay at home.
At least five countries — Israel, Austria, Britain, Germany and Iran — have urged people to limit as much as possible their movements and contacts, without going as far as enforcing confinement.
These five countries are home to around 250 million people. These appeals from the authorities have however had limited effect.
At least six countries or territories have imposed curfews banning movements in the evening and overnight: Tunisia, Bolivia, Serbia, the US states of New Jersey and Puerto Rico, and the Philippines’ capital Manila.
These territories hold more than 50 million inhabitants.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/20/2020 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[10 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
>Japanese Man Dies After Alleged Attempt to Spread Chinese Coronavirus
He managed to infect only ONE person and he was trying hard...
The logical fallacy involves the hidden caveat "if all things remain the same". When I learned this 50 years ago the example was the breeding rate of termites. It was exponential which meant that in a year(?) the ball of termites would be the size of the earth. But all things WON'T remain the same so the growth curve is unknown but probably no where near the catastrophe people are kvetching about.
Answer me this, why didn't almost everyone on the Diamond Princess die?
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/20/2020 15:06 Comments ||
Top||
#13
USA report in for March 20 (as of noon EDT)
~700 new infections to about 12.7k total
~ 8 more deaths to 180 total
If these numbers were for a full day and the same numbers tomorrow, it would mean the worst was over; however, I think the reporting period has skewed the numbers. Let's see what the weekend and the beginning of the week look like.
Posted by: lord garth ||
03/20/2020 15:14 Comments ||
Top||
#14
More test kits coming available will result in a big jump in the numbers unrelated to a change in actual infections for a bit.
#1
Like Playboy, what a great time to unload unprofitable B&M properties. Wendy's, Whataburger, McDonalds, Schlotsky's...dining rooms closed, drive thrus open. Mall, dead.
#7
I remember a video of kids being confronted with a dial phone. Some just pressed as hard as they could stand to do into the holes and didn't understand why nothing was happening. I imagine crapple phone users in much the same boat most of the time.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/20/2020 11:23 Comments ||
Top||
#8
I laughed when my kid asked me about a show, "What's that thing attached to the wall?"
Then I got the VCR out and absolutely mesmerized them.
[ABCNews] LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- A Chinese company has abandoned its plan to build a massive paper mill in southwestern Arkansas that had already been delayed by trade tensions.
Sun Paper told Gov. Asa Hutchinson and economic development officials in a letter dated Sunday that it would not move forward with its plan to build a mill in Arkadelphia, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) southwest of Little Rock. The company cited “continued political friction and economic instability," and the coronavirus outbreak as reasons for walking away from the project.
“With the likelihood of the project uncertain, it is also fair to allow the state of Arkansas to use its resources for other ventures that have less uncertainty in the medium term," Andrzej Bednarski, the company's international project director, said in a letter. “At this moment, the collective uncertainties make it a better choice for both of us to abandon the project."
The letter was first reported by Talk Business and Politics.
The announcement comes after Arkadelphia officials announced that the community was marketing the 1,000-acre site planned for the mill to other potential projects. The $1.8 billion mill was announced in 2016 but has faced uncertainty since then because of trade tensions.
“Sun Paper’s announcement that it is not continuing with the Clark County development project is disappointing but not unexpected in light of the trade wars and the global economic downturn caused by the current coronavirus pandemic," Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement. “We will continue to work with our local economic development leaders to attract other projects to the area."
State Commerce Secretary Mike Preston said none of the incentives that had been announced at the time have been paid to the company and the state was looking at ways to use the now de-obligated funds for other economic development opportunities.
“It’s a big disappointment for everyone involved," Preston said in a statement. “Lots of hard work, from the local community to our state partners, went into to seeing this project succeed."
Local government had used revenue from a half-cent sales tax in Clark County to buy the mill site, which is a few miles (kilometers) south of Arkadelphia. In 2016, officials said they expected the mill to create hundreds of jobs and employ 2,000 people during its construction. State incentives included $12.5 million for site preparation and equipment, and up to $3 million in workforce training funds.
As the COVID-19 pandemic and US-China trade issues continue, we will see more of this. Can be painful but necessary as the US and China split the sheets.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/20/2020 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under: Commies
#1
Yeah when China will have modern hardware and US will have GM and Facebook...oh and USS Zummwalt
[BBC] An exhausted nurse has urged panic-buyers to think about other people after finding supermarket shelves empty.
Dawn Bilbrough, from York, said people should stop and think that NHS staff like her could be looking after them - and need to stay healthy to carry out their task.
The critical care nurse, who has been working in West Yorkshire, urged people to stop and leave goods for everyone.
Charges of “price gouging” usually arise when prices are significantly higher than what people have been used to….
This raises questions that go to the heart of economics: What are prices for? What role do they play in the economy?
Prices are not just arbitrary numbers plucked out of the air. Nor are the price levels that you happen to be used to any more special or “fair” than other prices that are higher or lower.
What do prices do? They not only allow sellers to recover their costs, they force buyers to restrict how much they demand. More generally, prices cause goods and the resources that produce goods to flow in one direction through the economy rather than in a different direction.
How do “price gouging” and laws against it fit into this?
When either supply or demand changes, prices change. When the law prevents this, as with Florida’s anti-price-gouging laws, that reduces the flow of resources to where they would be most in demand. At the same time, price control reduces the need for the consumer to limit his demands on existing goods and resources….
Among the complaints in Florida is that hotels have raised their prices. One hotel whose rooms normally cost $40 a night now charged $109 a night and another hotel whose rooms likewise normally cost $40 a night now charged $160 a night.
Those who are long on indignation and short on economics may say that these hotels were now “charging all that the traffic will bear.” But they were probably charging all that the traffic would bear when such hotels were charging $40 a night.
The real question is: Why will the traffic bear more now? Obviously because supply and demand have both changed. Since both homes and hotels have been damaged or destroyed by the hurricanes, there are now more people seeking more rooms from fewer hotels.
What if prices were frozen where they were before all this happened?
Those who got to the hotel first would fill up the rooms and those who got there later would be out of luck — and perhaps out of doors or out of the community. At higher prices, a family that might have rented one room for the parents and another for the children will now double up in just one room because of the “exorbitant” prices. That leaves another room for someone else.
Someone whose home was damaged, but not destroyed, may decide to stay home and make do in less than ideal conditions, rather than pay the higher prices at the local hotel. That too will leave another room for someone whose home was damaged worse or destroyed.
In short, the new prices make as much economic sense under the new conditions as the old prices made under the old conditions.
It is essentially the same story when stores are selling ice, plywood, gasoline, or other things for prices that reflect today’s supply and demand, rather than yesterday’s supply and demand.
[Breitbart] Chinese state media on Tuesday rather unsubtly decided this would be a good time to chat with a panel of "experts" about the possibility of using an electromagnetic pulse weapon (EMP) against American ships that enter portions of the South China Sea illegally claimed by Beijing.
The timing suggests it was a bit of saber-rattling by a Communist Party nervous about its power and prestige after the Wuhan virus disaster, but some degree of escalation in the South China Sea has long been a concern for the U.S. Navy and ships from across the free world.
To put it bluntly, an EMP strike on U.S. warships would involve detonating a small nuclear warhead above them, but China’s state-run Global Times threw in some speculation about "low-energy laser devices" to keep their saber from rattling too loudly:
#4
As they messed around with the recipe, they also applied for a license to produce the sanitizer. They were approved almost immediately by the federal government, which, honestly, is a sentence I thought I would never write.
Posted by: Bobby ||
03/20/2020 9:04 Comments ||
Top||
#5
No wonder all Russians want to emigrate to USA.
h/t Instapundit
[NYPost]-
...As the number of coronavirus cases in South Asia ramps up ‐ doubling to more than 500 in the last few days ‐ experts fear unsanitary testing and quarantine centers could present a problem in the densely populated region.
Some patients have even broken out of quarantine, putting healthy people at risk.
[Ynet] An 88-year-old man passed away on Friday at Shaare Zedek Medical Center as a result of complications caused by the coronavirus, marking Israel's first death from the highly contagious pathogen.
The hospital said in a statement that the man, who had significant pre-existing health conditions, was hospitalized last week at a specially designated ward for patients ill with the virus.
#7
There goes my Netflix bandwidth.
Imagine a 3 renter closet apartment in Manhatten.
1 worker, laid off.
1 barista, fired.
1 waitress, fired.
How they gonna pay the $5000/mo rent?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] 
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
[Washington Examiner] A 20-year-old Spanish soccer coach who was told by doctors he had "no need to worry" died a few days later from the coronavirus.
[Breitbart] German pharmaceutical giant Bayer AG announced Thursday that it donated 3 million tablets of the malaria drug Resochin to the United States amid testimonies that it could potentially treat individuals with the deadly Chinese coronavirus.
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
[BBC] An exhausted nurse has urged panic-buyers to think about other people after finding supermarket shelves empty.
