Libby1 Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 2 hours ago, littleblackheart said: Surprise, surprise Virgin Atlantic boss urges Boris Johnson to sanction £7.5bn airline bailout due to potential huge losses / redundancies caused by covid-19 https://news.sky.com/story/virgin-atlantic-boss-urges-boris-johnson-to-sanction-75bn-airline-bailout-11957708 Corporate welfare strikes again. Link to post Share on other sites
amaysngrace Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 Oops my bad, it’s five in a hundred or one in 20 mortality rate but even still, the key is self containment BEFORE it shows up in your community. Link to post Share on other sites
littleblackheart Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Gaeta said: We also have a solid free social and health network in Canada but we pay taxes through the nose to have this strong protective net. It's at times like these that you see how much this actually matters. Many vulnerable people are already socially isolated, and even with the best will in the world, it'll be difficult for local communities to come to everyone's aid. Imo, our priorities should be ensuring no one falls on hard times because they can't afford their rents or mortgages when businesses like Branson make them redundant. Of course there are emergency funds to cover for these things. Of course testings should be made available to all for free. It's mind-boggling that they are not the first thing those who lead us are thinking about in a major crisis. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
littleblackheart Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 8 minutes ago, Libby1 said: Corporate welfare strikes again. Sickening, truly. Link to post Share on other sites
Libby1 Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 (edited) 44 minutes ago, thefooloftheyear said: How is not panicking and not over reacting translate to lack of care for others?? The real culprits of what you are talking about is the numb nuts that clear the shelves out so others cant get what they went there for.. Why?? Because they are in panic mode... TFY What bugs me is that a lot of us have been urging friends for weeks to start stocking up a bit during their regular shop. Nothing crazy, but a few cans and an extra packet of pasta here, some basic essentials there. Maybe an extra £5 to £10 worth of stuff during each shop. Since we could see what was happening in China and latterly Italy, it was very easily foreseeable that this stuff would clear quickly from shelves in places where the infection rate suddenly started to mount. But a month ago we were told this was silly "panicking". You only need to look back through this thread to see people leaping enthusiastically in to nag "don't panic" when people were actually posting perfectly reasonable concerns and advice. If more people had spent less time ridiculing other people's concerns and made some effort to prepare for the period when the infection rate started to mount, there'd be a lot less of this crazy shelf clearing business now. Certainly among my acquaintances, the people who are completely unprepared and now moaning like hell about the shelf clearing are precisely the same people who ridiculed me for suggesting weeks ago that they start stocking up. It's really irritating to see them complaining on Facebook. One of my friends was round bemoaning the difficulty in getting essentials, so I gave her a bag of stuff...and told her that I'd bought a bit extra because I knew she wouldn't prepare. She said "but I couldn't afford to stock up". That hadn't been the reason she'd given weeks ago though. The reason she gave then was that everybody was panicking over nothing. Edited March 15, 2020 by Libby1 3 Link to post Share on other sites
pepperbird Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 After watching footage of people fighting for toilet paper, water etc. and hoarding at the stores, all I can say is there is no way in hell the USA could pull off a Bernie led government. As soon as things get the least little bit bad people default to their factory setting- me first! The young people are blaming the "boomers" ( their nickname for the virus is "boomer remover") while the older ones are complaining too. Meanwhile, the media has an awful lot to answer for. As an example, we were watching some new footage online ( KTLA I think, but I'm not sure) and the reporter was standing in front of empty store shelves, going on about how they were emptied of TP with no more to come. Meanwhile, if you look closely in the back, you can see a clerk stocking the shelves with toilet paper out of cases of the stuff. My own PM has gone into self induced "quarantine" in Ottawa. Ottawa, a city that still has snow on the ground, yet int he photos of him "working from home" one can see green grass and leaves on the trees. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
littleblackheart Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Libby1 said: Maybe an extra £5 to £10 worth of stuff during each shop. Some people can't actually afford one extra penny to their weekly shop though, never mind £5 or £10. Or even a weekly shop at all. The other thing is that supermarkets have been quite clear in that they are not expecting a shortage of anything, and it is possible even in Italy to go out and get your shopping done. Edited March 15, 2020 by littleblackheart 1 Link to post Share on other sites
pepperbird Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 1 hour ago, gaius said: I think we're all going to have to step up helping others in the next few months. Especially if you're one of the lucky ones who's work and income remains unaffected. It's highly unlikely the government is going to be able to fully compensate for all the financial losses people are going to suffer. Things like pitching in to make sure food banks have the supplies they need could become essential My husband works for the Canadian government, and he's been told to stay home for the next three weeks. My two oldest have had their university classes cancelled, and my youngest is home from school-also cancelled. I work online, so I;m good. My husband will have his pay covered, but a lot of people won;t have that benefit. They'll either have to go without pay or apply for pogey (unemployment benefits) if they can get it. The provincial/federal governments have been shut down, so there's no one to process the applications. Link to post Share on other sites
pepperbird Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 2 hours ago, Gaeta said: We also have a solid free social and health network in Canada but we pay taxes through the nose to have this strong protective net. We Canadian accept to pay up to 51% income taxes. It's a choice a society makes when they go vote. Many federal/provincial employees have been told to work form home or take time off. This is worrisome because if they are at home, they will not be able to process applications for unemployment and other benefits. People who have to take time off may have no safety net. We just got our first three presumptive cases in my province-all travel related. Link to post Share on other sites
Libby1 Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 15 minutes ago, littleblackheart said: Some people can't actually afford one extra penny to their weekly shop though, never mind £5 or £10. Or even a weekly shop at all. The other thing is that supermarkets have been quite clear in that they are not expecting a shortage of anything, and it is possible even in Italy to go out and get your shopping done. I know some people can't afford that, but if the people out there who who could well afford to buy extra per shop over the past month had done so (and popped the odd non perishable in the box some supermarkets provide to go to food banks) it would have made things less desperate for the people who can't afford to stock up. Even though the supermarkets will replenish, right now all the panic buying is creating those bare shelves and there's certainly a short term shortage in a lot of places. Link to post Share on other sites
Gaeta Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 11 minutes ago, pepperbird said: Many federal/provincial employees have been told to work form home or take time off. This is worrisome because if they are at home, they will not be able to process applications for unemployment and other benefits. People who have to take time off may have no safety net. I want to reassure you even during government employees strikes checks are issued. It's part of necessities. Link to post Share on other sites
Philosopher Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 43 minutes ago, Libby1 said: Corporate welfare strikes again. Normally I would agree, however the way things are going I can’t see any airline surviving this without government help unless they had a massive amount of cash stored up. Maybe there should be a cutoff, those that survive until April can then receive government help. That way the better run airlines survive but the badly run ones do not. Link to post Share on other sites
Gaeta Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 27 minutes ago, pepperbird said: My own PM has gone into self induced "quarantine" in Ottawa. Ottawa, a city that still has snow on the ground, yet int he photos of him "working from home" one can see green grass and leaves on the trees. Woah!!!! I have not noticed that, l'm checking it right now! Link to post Share on other sites
preraph Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 I don't think there's anything filthier or with less healthy air to breathe than aircraft, so I can't say I have much sympathy for the airlines. They should have been sanitizing and airing out these planes all along to keep them healthy, and they didn't because they're too greedy to allot time for that between flights. It's disgusting. I don't care if I ever fly again, so I know the government will bail them, but I don't care if they all go out of business. And that's to say nothing of their seats made for size 6 only and inhumanely cramming people in there. Grrr. Hate them. Link to post Share on other sites
CautiouslyOptimistic Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 The cases in my county have doubled since yesterday (from 2 to 4). None are travel related and they range in age from 20-56. Link to post Share on other sites
Pleasant-Sage Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 https://www.4029tv.com/article/arkansas-schools-to-close-for-on-site-instruction/31636051 Arkansas schools are closing for 2 weeks. They basically extended Spring Break by a week. News reports have been all over the place the last two weeks. First, we supposedly had 6 positive cases then they said that they came back negative. Then, yesterday they said we had 12 positive cases. I had to do some digging to figure out what was going on. I guess they were watching 103 people but most news agencies weren't reporting that. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/technology/coronavirus-purell-wipes-amazon-sellers.html One guy and his brother got busted for price gouging Hand Sanitizer. He amassed 20,000 bottles of it. Managed to sell 2 or 3 thousand of them for outrageous prices. Now they are stuck with all these supplies because they got banned from selling on online. They tried to sound noble by saying they are just entrepreneurs and plan on donating everything else they have. They are just part of the problem. Facebook is starting to fill up with memes about people trying to return all this toilet paper that they bought. If someone tries to get a refund on supplies they bought in bulk, I hope they are heckled and have to do the walk of shame back to their vehicle. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Ellener Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 2 hours ago, pepperbird said: Meanwhile, the media has an awful lot to answer for. Really? Can't we just switch off our tvs? We all know how sensationalist and frivolous the media outlets are in the efforts to sell advertising etc! I'll just read the BBC news online for reliable updates/links which pertain to me because to me 'fighting for toilet paper' or a filming bunch of empty shelves isn't all that as 'news'. Link to post Share on other sites
Ellener Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Pleasant-Sage said: One guy and his brother got busted for price gouging Hand Sanitizer. He amassed 20,000 bottles of it. Managed to sell 2 or 3 thousand of them for outrageous prices. Now they are stuck with all these supplies because they got banned from selling on online. They tried to sound noble by saying they are just entrepreneurs I'm sure they'll be registering their business and paying appropriate taxes then. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
some_username1 Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 1 hour ago, Libby1 said: Corporate welfare strikes again. It actually makes sense if it’s literally a short term loan with the aim of securing jobs. But the cynical part of me wonders whether they pocket the money which causes their share price to recover and then they will make some redundancies anyway, just to keep the shareholders happy. Link to post Share on other sites
carhill Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 59 minutes ago, preraph said: I don't think there's anything filthier or with less healthy air to breathe than aircraft, so I can't say I have much sympathy for the airlines. Not much sympathy either but airliner air packs are very complex and cutting edge technology. Below a AA 777 FO who mostly flies long haul discusses flying and the coronavirus...... 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Kitty Tantrum Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 I stocked up on food and other consumables because I don't want to end up forced to leave the house to resupply at an inconvenient time (if one of us gets sick, or while there are lots of potentially infectious crowds out doing the same). But that's something I do on a regular basis anyway. This was interesting though, because I had to push back a lot of purchases I had planned due to our tax refund being delayed (hubby owed some $$$ from a few years ago), and I was getting pretty nervous there that we were going to end up FORCED to do our routine stock-up shopping while everyone was going nuts. Thankfully, I was able to avoid all of the crowds. Slipped in just under the wire. It was crazy - there weren't very many people (less shoppers than usual), but there was literally fear and anxiety IN THE AIR. I just bought more of everything I usually buy, in proportion, enough to last a few weeks. We also scored a chest freezer 30% off from a big box store that's closing/going out of business, and there were some good deals at the foodservice supply store, so I was able to finally realize my dream of having a freezer full of meat. I spent a few hours cutting and packing steaks. It was harder work than I thought it would be! I stocked up on all our usual hygiene products, household cleaning supplies, medicines we use regularly, etc. You won't find any lysol or hand sanitizer in my house. Lots of soaps and detergents, though. Plenty of bleach. And a set of 120 brand spanking new fluffy cotton wash cloths. I'm taking the ToiletPaperpocalypse as my opportunity to introduce my family to portable bidets. Although I did buy one case of toilet paper, because I expect they'll be stubborn and resistant, as most folks raised in America are - for whatever reason - to the idea of actually washing their buttholes. Link to post Share on other sites
some_username1 Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 1 hour ago, littleblackheart said: Some people can't actually afford one extra penny to their weekly shop though, never mind £5 or £10. Or even a weekly shop at all. The other thing is that supermarkets have been quite clear in that they are not expecting a shortage of anything, and it is possible even in Italy to go out and get your shopping done. Exactly, I’m not buying this whole thing about being prepared- if everyone was sensible then there wouldn’t be an issue. But it’s the ones who aren’t sensible and worse, the gougers that make it look like the ones who didn’t panic are the stupid ones. I absolutely can’t wait for the army to get involved. Get them guarding the supermarkets and we’ll see if dick-face who wants to go over his limit of 4 packs of toilet rolls feels like arguing when he’s got the barrel of a rifle shoved up his hooter. Link to post Share on other sites
Ellener Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 1 hour ago, some_username1 said: I absolutely can’t wait for the army to get involved. In which country? Link to post Share on other sites
some_username1 Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 8 minutes ago, Ellener said: In which country? UK. The army are apparently going to be deployed and one of their remits will be guarding supermarkets Link to post Share on other sites
sothereiwas Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 Well when I ordered my grocery delivery a few days ago, the kiwi fruit was a bit tart, so I know we're feeling the pinch here as well. Army guarding supermarkets? Seriously? Wow. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
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