Renault on 24/3/2020 at 02:24
Quote Posted by Medlar
Lock down, pity there isn’t a new thief game out there. It would be a joy to stay in.
Well, it's the (
https://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149648) 20th anniversary of Thief 2 this week, so starting tomorrow thru the end of the week, there should be anywhere from 10-12 new fan missions released to play.
Renzatic on 24/3/2020 at 03:46
This is Rolling Stone, so take it with a grain of salt if you will, (
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/the-cure-not-worse-than-disease-971808/?fbclid=IwAR2KVzsXJcSpdOYm4-lvLD-6QXRE-MVO0ED4FaeJ4oDIX8rd6W9t3HEn4xQ) but they do offer up a few valid points that we should be considering concerning.
It's true. The Fox News talking heads are saying that we should just bite the bullet, and plow straight through this. Trump does tend to lean on them for policy decisions, and yeah, if we don't worry about flattening the curve, it'll be over with in a couple of weeks. That all cap quote Trump made on Twitter about the cure being worse than the disease does seem to point towards him toying with the idea. And yes, he does consider the stock market the core value of his presidency.
Now there have been plenty of times where our president has flirted with crazy in the past, only to back down at the last second, and take a more measured stance. These initial impressions don't necessarily mean anything.
...but, you know, the stock market was doing great in the past, which did temper him somewhat. Trump doesn't have that advantage at the moment, and he really needs it for the upcoming election. If he decides to drop this whole quarantine spiel to get everyone back to work, moving the economy again, it's a pretty desperate ploy on his part to get things back in his favor. It will be spectacularly stupid, and we will be the ones to pay the price.
He'll have to override the states to get it done, which he can do through the executive authority granted him during a crisis. If it happens, things'll probably be fine for a week or so. We'll still see the exponential uptick in cases, but confidence on Wall Street might boost a bit, and we'll start to see an upturn on the Dow Jones. Then the shit will hit the fan. It will be mass pandemonium the likes of which will make Italy look tame in comparison. Tens of millions of people exposing themselves directly to the virus. If the stats hold true, then 20% of these cases will end up needing intensive care.
We have just shy of 1,000,000 ICU beds in the country, and probably only a quarter of that amount in ventilators.
Let's hope to God Above that this is just Rolling Stone posting an edgy article to fearmonger up some clicks, and Trump isn't really considering this.
Pyrian on 24/3/2020 at 04:11
Quote Posted by Renzatic
And yes, he does consider the stock market the core value of his presidency.
I think that's vastly
underestimating his conflict of interest. His multi-billion dollar business holdings are hotels and golf resorts, which are, to put it mildly, not doing great right now. Further, it's likely he's deeply leveraged (in debt) to various interests, likely mostly Russian. This could literally bankrupt him, and/or drive him to have to sell core assets.
Would Trump let millions of Americans die to save himself from public financial humiliation? ...Is that a dumb question?
Renzatic on 24/3/2020 at 04:34
He could save himself without endangering the public by lifting the quarantine, but it's a good reason as to why we don't want the Republicans to hand Trump the keys to the $500 billion bailout treasury.
If the bailout bill passes as-is, his administration is allowed to use the money as they see fit without oversight to save our industries.
Trump's business is the hospitality business.
His business will suffer greatly due to coronavirus hindering travel and tourism.
He thus has the perfect excuse to bail out his own company, and keep it secret for 6 months.
Pyrian on 24/3/2020 at 04:37
Yeah, I think it's no coincidence that the Democrats balking at the slush fund almost immediately preceded Trump floating the idea of ending the quarantine quickly.
Renzatic on 24/3/2020 at 04:54
You know what? Let him do it. Let it be a cleansing fire. May we all die for his hubris.
zombe on 24/3/2020 at 05:15
Quote Posted by Gryzemuis
Cheap masks give 80% protection. The better masks give 95% protection. (I don't know what those percentages mean. 80% of what ?). I am convinced that if they're not perfect, they surely must help. If I had one (none for sale anywhere) I would wear it when I go outside (for shopping once every 2 weeks). I am positive that our guideline to not bother with mask is 100% because we don't have any masks for the public.
Masks provide little protection for the wearer (if virus droplets gets stuck the first breath - it will probably dislodge later and continue like nothing happened). The purpose of masks is mostly for the patients to wear to considerably help reducing spread (think in lines of "cough muffler"). Still, it is better than nothing for the healthy ones too to wear ... marginally.
For viruses you need the N95 filters which are sufficient to block the droplets (the virus is actually smaller than the filter, but the virus never travels without other shit sticking to it - which makes it too big to pass the filter).
Quote Posted by Gryzemuis
Again, the good thing is that suprisingly our government is more serious about the (partial) lockdown now.
I still don't see a way to get out of this mess within 12-18 months. But at least the government has shown now that is willing to act.
Good to hear things are starting to get the attention they deserve.
Our infections per pop value is pretty much the same - we had a few super-spreaders at the start (the really infuriatingly idiotic kind), but there is hope things are getting more stable. We started to run low on test-kits, but that got sorted for now at least. Since then testing has been ramped up a bit - however, new case count has been really sluggish to respond in kind (~1.0 rate) - which is great. Hoping it won't explode again. I basically check EVERY bad box there is for this disease - it is fairly unlikely i would survive it. So far our government has quick enough and dropped the usual political BS.
State of emergency declared at March 12 (gives government various powers, that would be illegal at normal times, to deal with the emergency) - which allowed to do:
March 12: Declares a leader for the emergency response.
March 13: Restrictions to education institutions - all schools to be closed and adapt distance learning. Exceptions for research etc. All public gatherings forbidden. Movement restrictions between other countries over sea. Welfare institution (like elderly care centers etc), hospital and detention visit ban.
March 14: Non essential public services closed etc (ex: Gym's) and special exceptions (none of which i am able to translate). Travel ban over various county borders (where it makes sense - we have plenty of islands) and lots of exceptions to serve said county needs.
March 16: Restrictions for 14 days for anyone entering the country (ie. quarantine) and special exceptions (ex: cargo transport). Supplemental editions and fine-tuning for various stuff.
March 17: Declares various sub-leaders to deal with various stuff (figure out how to rearrange work'n'shit between institutions for co-operation outside the usual lines; keeping the public informed what is going on and what to do and not to do; establish communication lines via telecom companies [whether they like it or not] for informing people - inc. whoever is 'roaming' under their coverage). Ban all booze sales from 22:00 - 10:00. Supplemental editions and fine-tuning for various stuff.
yadda-yadda-yadda
State of emergency enables commanding companies etc to do what is needed (like: drop whatever they are doing and start producing medical equipment or whatever).
Also, state of emergency enacts various other restrictions: essential services MUST continue and strikes etc are banned ... ie. the obvious stuff. Ex: internet is declared essential service - YAY! HERE I AM!
So far people have been responding well and following the stuff just fine.
Vae on 24/3/2020 at 05:37
Quote Posted by Renzatic
It's amazing to think that dipshits like Vae think this is a fine example of leadership.
I never made any such statement...
So you have just lied.
Your lies and malicious personal attacks are unacceptable, and only demonstrate your unscrupulous behavior.
Quote Posted by Renzatic
the stock market was doing great in the past, which did temper him somewhat. Trump doesn't have that advantage at the moment, and he really needs it for the upcoming election.
This is incorrect.
For the past three years, Trump has proven himself exceptional with the economy by bringing it to new heights. If the pandemic continues into November, and the economy is still struggling, he will be looked at as an embattled king that is fighting against a foreign invader (by everyone but anti-Trumpers), with a majority supporting the idea that he will once again restore the economy once the war has been won.
However, the more likely scenario is that the pandemic will reach its peak during May and June, with the distinct possibility that this peak is mitigated by Hydroxychloroquine, Zithromax, and/or azithromycin anti-viral treatments, if the current trials are successful and enough can be produced in time.
If Trump succeeds in largely restoring the economy and conquering the fear of the virus before November, he will be hailed as a hero and be more popular than ever.
So Trump wins either way...it's only a matter of how big the win will be.
Renzatic on 24/3/2020 at 05:45
Quote Posted by Vae
I never made any such statement...
So you have just lied.
Your lies and malicious personal attacks are unacceptable, and only demonstrate your unscrupulous behavior.
Shut the fuck up, Vae.
Quote Posted by Vae
However, the more likely scenario is that the pandemic will reach its peak during May and June, with the distinct possibility that this peak is mitigated by Hydroxychloroquine, Zithromax, and/or azithromycin anti-viral treatments, if the current trials are successful and enough can be produced in time.
Right now, it's a promising maybe, though the clinical trials won't be finished until (
https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04261517) December. People can attempt to self mediciate, both Plaquenil and Azithromycin are readily available (I could pick of bottles of both at my parent's house), but, well, they're dangerous drugs. Not something anyone should be taking lightly.
Quote Posted by Vae
For the past three years, Trump has proven himself exceptional with the economy by bringing it to new heights. If the pandemic continues into November, and the economy is still struggling, he will be looked at as an embattled king that is fighting against a foreign invader (by everyone but anti-Trumpers), with a majority supporting the idea that he will once again restore the economy once the war has been won.
Oh, the hero worship you so vehemently denied just a couple paragraph above.
Name one policy he's enacted that helped boost the economy. I can think of exactly two myself. Let's see what you add.
