Older readers will surely recall being taught as children the importance of being prepared for the various emergencies that are a part of life. Before the usual suspects destroyed the Boy Scouts, preparedness was a central part of the Scout ethos. People used to regularly make sure they had things like candles and matches in the house. Every equinox we were told that it is a good time to check batteries, test out flashlights and portable radios, as part of general preparedness.
Being prepared fell out of fashion over the last few decades, as technology made the supply chain a marvel of timeliness. In a world where you can order something on-line and have it the next day, being prepared takes on a different meaning. Today, a weather event means having the latest games on the Xbox and your watch-list ready for a day of video entertainment. In modern America, emergencies are an excuse to have a party and enjoy the emergency unfold on television.
This is probably why some people panic and buy ridiculous things like toilet paper and bottled water before storms and now before the plague. The emergency triggers something in people. The items they buy are symbolic. At some level, people know they are dependent on a system that they don’t understand very well, or trust all that much, to be there when it counts. The panic buying is a reaction to the sudden reminder that we are not as prepared to make it very long on our own.
Putting that aside, people need to be prepared for what will unfold over the next weeks or longer, depending upon how the virus spreads. One thing you should do is get to know your neighbors. Most people have limited contact with their neighbors, as most moved from somewhere else. Take this opportunity to introduce yourself to the other people in the neighborhood. Give them your contact information. Simply being a good example like this does a lot to prepare for what’s coming.
Here’s the thing. If the alarmist are right, Netflix will not be available, because the stack or bodies outside the cable company offices will keep the techs from entering the building and keeping the grid running. Playing cards with the neighbors will suddenly have real meaning in your life. Even if this is not the zombie apocalypse, taking the opportunity to build a little community with the people around you will do more for our people than a million lectures from activists.
For young guys, take this opportunity to call the old people in your life. You will quickly realize the internet banter about the “Boomer Remover” is childish when you start checking in on the older folks. You’ll learn the joys and being a man and what it means to be responsible. The first duty of every man is to protect the vulnerable. Old people, women, kids, they are your duty. Now is a good time to practice that habit. You’ll find that it is the greatest gift you can give yourself.
Sadly, the generations of plenty means we have an unsightly build-up of maladapted mutants¹ in our ranks. Everyone has a nutty wine aunt or screeching AWFL² in their life these days. These people don’t get better under stress. In fact, they will seem worse, because your patience for them will be lower. Since we are not allowed to burn them at the stake just yet, you need to plan for them. Remember, they feed on your irritation, so the plan must be designed to starve them of what they crave.
There’s also the fact that many high functioning maladapted mutants will go haywire during this crisis. Remember back to the 2000 election. Think about how that sort of loopy liberal person in your life suddenly turned into a lunatic. That election triggered something in these mutants that sent them around the bend. The 2016 election made many people in our lives so unpleasant we had to cut them off. The mutant is most volatile in times of high social stress and uncertainty.
That means you have to be prepared for some people in your life revealing themselves to be totally bonkers. The social media ghettos are already full of mutants hoping Trump gets the coronavirus. They will no doubt be going on about how Orange Man made the virus situation worse by doing something or not doing something, as the case may be. Remember, you are not good to anyone if you are sidetracked by these crazy people in your life. Prepare for a mutant outbreak.
Now, to help with that, here’s a bit of good news on that front. Maladapted people, like that AWFL in your office, tend to be lower in overall fitness. Their numbers are mostly a product of good times. That means they will be more vulnerable to this virus than normal people. Think about it, these people tend to be sick more often in general, so nature is probably going to clean up the mess in aisle crazy for us. At least it is pleasant thought, as you prepare for the zombie apocalypse.
Finally, prepare for that moment when you heard someone use the phrase “flatten the curve” for the six millionth time. Ritualized recitation of popular incantations are a part of modern life, but they will get really bad in this crisis. At some point, you’re going to hear “slow the spread” one too many times and the fist will instinctively ball up. The counter to this is to unplug from the media. They are useless anyway. The first duty of the prepared is to keep their wits about them.
²Affluent White Female Liberal
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Oh wow! I don’t know about the “mutant” bit, but a longtime friend of mine — a blandly conventional liberal — totally went off a cliff in 2000, and never recovered her senses (such as they were). I started seeing rage faces that until then I had only seen in movies! We are still friends, but we no longer discuss politics.
$500B in repo for “high quality assets like Treasuries”.
$700 Billion in QE.
The pattern is now policy. Any crisis wall street cashes in, as well as local, state govts.
In 6 months they’ll be celebrating the “explosion of pent up demand” as they buy up the bankrupt little guy for pennies.
You can stop worrying about toilet paper and hand sanitizer now.
These idiot bankers and their corporate media shills out for profits from clicks, amazon-a-rama gouging and the rest don’t realize that destabilizing behavior will sink their own boats.
France went through a series of shocks, panics prior to 1789.
Good advice here especially on time to be men.
As for the crazies ; ignore.
Unto death.
I think this makes excellent sense. I also think this is an obvious time to look at things like local community building and thinking about, and testing, how to handle not having the system to wipe your rear all the time.
I am just an average guy. I have no clue how all of this will end. But I appreciate the Z-Man’s words and all of the good input on this site. I want to wish you all well and God’s speed.
Take Care!!
you dying tomorrow or what?
First few hours of stock market tomorrow is gonna be scary as hell.
I like both Z and Cochran, but when it comes to the WuFlu Cochran is right and Z is wrong. Cochran has studied these things and thought it through. Z is going with his gut, which is a good thing in normal situations but is not a good idea when it comes to exponential growth. It’s no accident that Silicon Valley types were some of the earliest to worry about the WuFlu, and I think it was Paul Graham who speculated that’s because they’re relatively used to thinking about exponential growth.
Hello, newbie that wants us to believe the official government line!
How’s life in the Imperial Capitol? Better than it is for us out here in the Districts, I’ll bet.
Folks, I’m carrying chem for a hospital supply manufacturer- gloves, gowns, masks, that sort- on the West coast. Extra heavy because they’re ramping up. (I carried sterilizing wipes, etc out from Jersey, so they’re already there to restock.)
I carry amazon or fedex style freight to the East- so please don’t lose your jobs and keep shopping online, and I’ll keep the sanitary products coming. Lets get ‘er done.
Fooie. Overweight. Got tension on my suspension.
Too far from SinCity to turn back, I’m headin’ on to Shakeytown. Standin’ on it so hard the radiator fan is clippin’ muh toenails, c’mon.
I may not be a big dog, but I am an old dog, I know a few tricks. The People’s Republic of Fruits, Nuts, and Flakes can kiss my fat tailbone, 10-4. Roger that, ya copy?
So now the meth heads are saying meth protects your lungs from the virus
The homeless camps are going to become rage zombies
I call that… batting practice
Steerike one
Steerike two
Steerike 57
“Grid didn’t go down in Wuhan”
Thank you Lineman
Thank you Range
CA coast is selling “organic TP, locally manufactured”: bags of leaves
Ohio Gov. DeWine has just shut down all restaurants and bars. This is a crazy overreaction. Cooks, waiters, busboys — these people don’t have thousands of dollars in savings to weather being out of work for weeks. There’s going to be rioting in the street when people start being put out of their houses because they can’t pay the rent. But then I suppose DeWine will forbid me from evicting people who can’t pay, as if I’m just an endless font of money.
EXCELLENT! They’re not Americans. I’ll shoot the Mexicans first.
Around here, the cooks, waiters and busboys are mostly White.
The Protocols are working nicely. Fear and panic induced Goyim staring at the Jewtube to be told what to do. A sad, sorry day in what used to be America.
Z: “In modern America, emergencies are an excuse to have a party and enjoy the emergency unfold on television.”
Not in Mexifornia. No TV during the artificial power outage.
Now Newsom is demanding that I self-isolate, so no card games with the neighbors.
The boomer thing. I get that these kids don’t even realize it’s shorthand for “I have no respect for you” and I’ll disrespect them right back. I’ve been called worse and I expect I haven’t seen the worst yet. I do notice older folks respond well to being treated respectfully. Are we all Japanese deep down inside? When I lived in PeeAye everybody bought milk, toilet paper and white bread every time the teevee weather person said “snow.” Fortunately in all that time I never had to choke down a stale milk and toilet paper sammich.
Central banks are priming the swap lines again. If this fails and we start discovering what can go wrong in a debt-based economy, we may learn that globalists can no longer maintain grid-based surveillance or hire enough muscle to suppress restless natives. Especially not way out in the provinces.
A total collapse of order is not necessary for things to start slipping. Simply an overstretched police force no longer able to respond to each emergency call is enough. A military unit confined to base. Consider how things were in Appalachia during the WBS, or in Baghdad after Saddam was overthrown.
I love everything about this post today Zman. Sound advice and productive motivational points throughout. Thank you.
I don’t care about the virus itself that much, it’s basically the flu with a punch. What people will really feel is the derivates contracts that are blowing up right now. Billion dollar contracts tied to oil, currencies and everything in between are running afoul of their covenants. We’ll fell it in the smattering of bankruptcies next month.
So you’re saying it was wrong to text #boomerremover to all my older relatives?
The more general error is lack of thrift. I have (even with the present crisis) more TP and bottles of water than I need. I just keep them in a pantry and rotate stock, but I bought them when they were “loss leaders” on sale (25% or more off) at the local stores. When the water is under $0.10/bottle, I buy several cases, if I have room. Same with TP that doesn’t go bad. Buy low. I’m tempted to “sell high”.
I’m not as worried about food as I’m in a net producing region, and if they can’t get the cattle to the remote processors, I might get tired of steak. And eggs.
The same inaction is staying in Lagos until the cannibalism starts…
Get to know your neighbors and look after the vulnerable.
One hundred times this.
Really miss the old neighborhood. Everybody knew everybody and they were friendly. You shoveled the old ladies walk when it snowed or dug out the fire hydrant at the end of the corner just because.
Would always have a laugh on the street or help carry out an old sofa . . . ..and then the yuppies showed up.
Living in a cheap condo development south of the city and my neighbors just flat-out suck. Never seen a bunch of more self-centered ,arrogant assholes in my life.
To make matters worse they just finished the ” obama housing ” at the end of the street. Now I’m surrounded by assholes. Truly hope this virus hype is a nothingburger.
Thanks for posting on a sunday Z
Totally off-topic Zman, but would make for a good column from you – latest fertility doctor scandal reported at Daily Mail (the usual, using his own sperm to father dozens, rather than the intended sperm from partner/husband) in Holland. Take away line from one of the more than 60 people who find themselves to be half siblings: “Before this happened I thought nurture was more important than nature, that we are all a product of the way we are raised. But meeting Marsha, and all of the others, makes me realise you’ll never change that blueprint. Many of the Karbaat children are doctors or health professionals. It’s strange.’
All the talk about “price-gouging” and “hoarding” brings a simple question to mind. Which is more desirable in a disaster situation: Price-gougers selling crucial supplies at very high markups? Or no crucial supplies available to buy at all? Honest question: Which is preferable?
Just because you say it’s an honest question doesn’t mean it is.
Honest question, which is more desirable: People delivering critical supplies at reasonable markup or gougers showing up, taking valuable resources (gas, transportation, housing, preventing efficient distribution) to gouge people in need?
See two can play that game.
I asked first Chris. But if you answer mine, I’ll answer yours. Deal?
Hey, just answer the question Frip!
Check and compare the latest stats for the U.S. against the rest of the world especially total cases per million population.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
WRT China’s higher death rate, I’ve been to China many times, and unless you’re in a five star hotel in a major city, the place is filthy, and people live on top of each other like ants. There’s no way the situation will be as bad in the U.S.
And the bad news keeps on coming?
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/mexico-mulls-shutting-northern-border-over-virus-spread-threat
Mexico closing their northern border is sure to set off a whole new bout of cog-dis amongst a bunch of people. Bring it on!
Over at Hot Air (my normie conservative habits die hard), Jazz Shaw’s byline accompanying this story was, “You guys need a hand with that?”
LOL Who the hell is going to do the enforcement? The drug cartels….?
Something I haven’t heard discussed at all is what will happen to the millions of opiate and cocaine addicts who won’t be able to get their goods. I don’t think many of those people are much into prepping. I predict another few weeks of this and along with all the Wuflu cases there will be tons of people going into seizures from withdrawal. Then again, if you traffic drugs you have a high risk tolerance. It will probably hit the people addicted to prescription opiates hardest as the supply lines from China shut down. Bad month to be a garbage-head.
I hope the ladies will listen to Doctor Oz:
Dr. Oz on Coronavirus: “This Has been Around. A Lot of People Had This and Didn’t Realize It. 80% of People Had Very Subtle Symptoms”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/03/dr-oz-on-coronavirus-this-has-been-around-a-lot-of-people-had-this-and-didnt-realize-it-80-of-people-had-very-subtle-symptoms-video/
Does The Woodpile Report presage the demise of Mrs Remus?
http://www.woodpilereport.com/
The Ed Dutton video is both perceptive and hilarious!
He’s a “hoot” as my ancestors would have said. 😉
It was hilarious when they asked him to use a microphone because he was breathless. “I’ll carry on!”
“nature is probably going to clean up the mess in aisle crazy for us”
Z sure can turn a phrase.
From the ground.
I live in California which has more mutants than Genosha.
People here while buying lots of guns and ammo and the like are actually more pleasant than usual and behaving fairly soundly.
I just see a lot of perplexed people and a lot of concern
However stores are basically bereft of goods and this is a real problem as they aren’t being refilled. The same “just in time” systems are tied to lean manufacturing and one guy comes down with so much as the sniffles the factory gets shuttered and there is no surplus labor to make or ship or fill.
Not enough workers , many underpaid for where they live and none of them will show up for work. Not worth the risk There are also no extra people to draw upon and because its all fairly specialized labor you can’t threaten to fire them.
This is starting to include fuel and will create enormous problems in a month or two though none of them will be massive piles of bodies from Covid 19
Also the fear of crowds has emptied all kinds of places, restaurants are empty and many other public areas are low on people. The caveat seemed to be the book store which was roughly as busy as usual for this low reading state.
This is also going to create havoc.
Long term I’d guess prepping will become part of the general culture and many people will be putting what extra money they have into bags of rice or the like.
This will hurt discretionary spending type businesses a lot which will produce even more problems.
Longer term, how President Trump handles this will determine his legacy and the future of the US though not his second term. Not one Democrat could even start to handle the problems in a sound way
If none of that happens to near the degree you espouse, would it be ok if I revisited your post 4 months from now and called you “panicky”?
Sure. But I have assumed everything is gonna go since the late 80’s. Assume the worst, hope for the best, you know the rest.
That said some supplies are still available, Costco had a small amount of paper goods and rationed them pretty well. Bottle water is not available which is silly. I doubt the water supply is going to go out any time soon.
People in general have been pretty polite though. I
Shelves being empty of most everything except crackers, ,candy and soda is highly disconcerting
Spare a thought for your local neighborhood sex worker.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/covid-19-pandemic-crash-sex-worker-income
I live in a university town in the Upper Midwest. I went to the local SuperSaver on Thursday to pick-up a few items (primarily for my strategic beer reserve), and it was worse than the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Paper products were gone and so was bread, however, other items remained in full supply. I went to the SuperSaver this morning and most paper products had been re-stocked (although, you were limited in purchase amounts).
On the balance, it was orderly both times, but people were on edge. Hopefully, the worst has passed.
The grid never went down in Wuhan. I see no reason to believe it will here.
I know that control of freedom of association is a part of the whole alt-right zeitgeist. But I see no reason to give this liberty up for anything more than, say, a 3 month period.
My response to people going on about how terrible the covid-19 pandemic is/is going to be is to recite Vanderboegh’s Dictum.
“When in danger, or in doubt,
Run in circles;scream and shout!
Non-mutants and non-AWFLs get it and laugh. Those who don’t aren’t worth your time.
I’m always a little taken aback when people say they don’t know their neighbors. We have one neighbor-from-hell but everyone else is really, really nice. We house/pet sit for each other all the time. Anyway, I’m self-quarantining because ever since I got gassed I’m susceptible to lung infections. So, does anyone have any podcasts or films they can recommend? (No politics, though, it’s just too depressing.)
Always interesting when specialists differ, either factually or in degree of alarm.
Michael Osterholm, prominent public health, infectious disease expert, Univ. of Minn, on Rogan:
“People say, ‘Wait a minute, flu kills a lot more people every year than Coronaviris does.’ And I’ll remind people that this is just the beginning…Our best guestimate is that Covid19 will be 10 to 15 times worse than the worst seasonal flu year we see.”
1:28 to 1:45
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3URhJx0NSw&t=1479s
Jonathan Runstadler, Tufts Univ. infectious disease expert:
“In some ways, COVID-19 has behaved similarly to the flu, though perhaps it’s a bit more contagious in the right conditions. It appears that for most people, COVID-19 is a mild disease—probably a little flu-like, but maybe even milder and more like a cold.”
The truth is we just don’t know. Not yet, anyway.
I posted a clip from Osterholm earlier this week – Z called its content scare-mongering and that’s what my instincts were as well.
These are the same government “scientists” who told us 15 years ago that the glaciers would all melt in 10 years, and now tell us that gender is a choice.
I don’t know, Osterholm has a lot of experience studying these things. In various interviews he does display some over-hype tendencies and ego-need for recognition. But he has serious background and has always been the opposite of PC on China. My view is to take in as much expert opinion as possible, and not be too quick to wave them off as mere charlatans.
Frip- I see your point, but the Joe Rogan Experience isn’t where you go if you’re about serious, nuanced discussion.
Rogan was probably a C-, D+ student. That doesn’t mean his guests are dumb. Interview was an hour & a half. They covered a good bit. But yeah, if you meant to just generally dis Joe, I’ve got no problem with that. He’s sucks at follow-up questions and is afraid to truly question expert assertions, because he’s afraid to look dumb. Many missed opportunities with Osterholm.
Scientists unable to stand up against stupid things like “gender is a construct” does not bode well for their credibility. Tenure and funding mean towing the official line.
Now no one believes the official line.
As much as I enjoyed the content here just a few months ago, ZMan’s coverage of this panic is the best out there. Quietly taking steps to protect you and yours is a very prudent course of action, but we also can’t lose sight of how our culture has been consumed by the concept of crisis, of which this is the most egregious manifestation yet. Every politician, every “expert” out there is now the equivalent of the telegenic Kens and Barbies that stand out in a windy squall, insisting that this latest tropical storm is the most calamitous of all-time.
Time was that men, real men, bravely faced crises with a stoicism that was intended to reassure their weaker acquaintances. Let’s be those men.
Yes, the freak out has been turned up to eleven for a while…and now they found a way to get it to twelve.
As I’ve said,
This is, of course , the Orange Man’s doing.
It destroyed Bernie’s candidacy.
1. Granda’s legacy will pay off the Student Loans of the whinging X’ers who accumulated six figure debt for their degree in Messican Lesbian Literature
and the subsequent job at Starbucks- no taxpayer bailout.
2. The housing shortage is solved: They can move out of Mommy’s basement and into the newly vacant Retirement Villages. -No excuse to destroy affluent white suburbs by flooding them with high occupancy zoning codes .
3. No need to import a million Guats a year (plus dependents) to change all the adult diapers. Screw the open borders idiocy.
4. The savings on medicare and social security negate the need to increase taxes on the productive (and the parasite bankers, of course).
It was pure genius, and we are guaranteed that to never be allowed to get close to say, six million dead, we obviously could’t have that. A bargain.
He has a plan to take care of Biden, too.
It’s called Biden.
And his bring the jobs back to the US from China looks pretty fucking bright right now, doesn’t it?
You protect the neighbors/old people/vulnerable by NOT PLAYING CARDS WITH THE NEIGHBORS. Social distancing is how you slow this thing so the healthcare system can manage it without getting overwhelmed.
That means canceling your spring dissident-conferencing plans. That means NOT inviting your friends or the neighbors over. That means limiting trips out of the house only for absolutely necessary things. Might be staying inside for a long while.
When the uncertainty diminishes, you can always return to your normal lifestyle. Until that time, a conservative approach is prudent, and costs you nothing but inconvenience/discomfort/boredom. You lose practically nothing if this virus turns out to be a nothingburger. Consider what happens if you’re cavalier, continue on your daily routine, and it turns out to be much worse than you suspect? What could you lose there if you’re wrong?
I’m in Florida. My ER physician wife is watching nurses without face masks treat a ‘surprising’ ‘unexpected’ surge of patients with lung rales/bilateral interstitial pneumonia. Young and old. There are zero beds open in her hospital’s ICU. There are no n95 masks for healthcare workers of all stripes, and there are no contingency plans. Because she actually was prepared, she has her own protective equipment.
It remains to be seen how bad this is going to get…but after your last few posts, my wife can’t read your column anymore. You’re an absolute clown on this, a total idiot. We’re all avoiding panic. We’re about to see the cost of complacency.
BFWTY. You take “playing cards with neighbors” too literally, and ignore the admonition to “protect the vulnerable” in Z-man’s post. You read your own fears into whatever is placed before you. I understand this. We are all human. But as has been talked about here in postings and commentary, is—as a great American once said, and other Americans of the time understood—“…all we need to fear, is fear itself…”
Your call is basically for the reader to stay away from others, to cower in fear, to hunker down, to save his own ass. The modern euphemism is “disengage”. Z-man’s call (and others) is for us to step up and take our rightful place as protector, and leader of family and society. To increase our effect by finding and interacting with other such minded individuals. Today’s posting does not call for ignoring the present danger, Z-man says this specifically, but to joining others in meeting such adversity and aiding each other as we can.
That is what made our country great—meeting adversity as one united people. Z-man calls for rebuilding this ethos—one neighbor at a time—one neighborhood at a time—one city at a time—until we are a united people once again. Only then can we be worthy of the homeland we seek.
I know this is hard to grasp, but “leading” in the present circumstance specifically calls for physically avoiding others. Sure, go be Captain America, but do it over the phone. Is that easy? No. Is it effective? Yes. In fairness the option to be a “protector” came and went about a month ago, when n95s, lysol wipes, etc. all sold out. If you’re healthy, you’re protecting the sick/vulnerable by NOT INFECTING THEM.
Living your feel-good hero narrative – “interacting with likeminded individuals” is likely to adversely affect either the exposure or the prognosis of someone vulnerable you care about. Stop waxing poetic/indulging your emotions and start thinking about the best thing you can do to help.
As an aside, I can’t believe a regular reader of this blog is talking about a “united people.” It’s not 1958…time machines don’t exist, the country can agree on nothing and a plurality of your fellow citizens are going to be happy when you (and I) eventually die.
When you have an elderly neighbor, with little ability to go to the store—or is just scared out of their wits to leave the apartment and you are going to venture out, should you perhaps knock on the door and ask what you might purchase and bring back for their needs—or is that too much “Captain America”?
Don’t hide behind a facade that ignoring your neighbors by staying away is preventing their infection. They’ll tell you if they are nervous and wish to avoid contact. The only one indulging their emotions is yourself, except you’re not honest about it. You submit to your fear and profess it’s for other’s good.
Yes, build community how you can. Our church did Facebook Sunday today. I am not on Facebook, but the Mrs. is, so we “went to church”. (BTW, I was impressed with Facebook’s potential for good, and for community-building. Too bad it is used for such malign things, and Z-berg has obviously sold out to the Chinese, which is a whole ‘nother thing). It was actually a very interesting way to come together for an hour. Given the need to quarantine for a while, “playing cards with the neighbors” has all sorts of real-world ways of doing it.
This. Exactly this.
“You lose practically nothing if this virus turns out to be a nothingburger.” Ha, as if. I’ve already lost 10% of my net worth in three short weeks. Not everyone has an ER doc for a spouse to bring home that bacon; so stop being so self-righteously cavalier and STFU.
You were going to lose it anyway – and you’re going to lose a lot more too. Nobody can put the wuhan genie back in the bottle. You can, however, try to diminish the direct (medical) impact this will have on yourself, your family, your community.
Or, a silver lining at least for me – I won’t have to hear you morons complain about your portfolios when you’ve got tubes shoved down your throats.
Get a grip, grow a pair.
You said, “That means canceling your spring dissident-conferencing plans.” NO WAY! NOT GONNA DO IT!
Well, not yet at least. 🙂
A Field Report;
Fear not, for I bring you glad tidings of great joy. On our roads local log trucks are still picking up Poppel Logs* from the winter woods. Those log trucks are still driving to nearby paper mills. There those logs get made into, ….TP_!!!
Hallelujah, the TP supply chain lives_!
Z Man: My compliments on your nice lite, semi-humorous touch above.
___________
* Poppel is local for any sort of fast growing softwood.
I suspect then that you are aware Georgia Pacific continues to produce mass quantities of TP (and likely you are also aware Koch Industries owns GP). Charles Koch can’t be too unhappy these days.
Been on a call with family back in the UK today. They personally know three people who have been diagnosed with the Wuhan Flu and all are critically ill or fighting for life. So that answers my question of whether this whole thing is bullsh*t or not.
Nobody sane thinks the virus is bullshit, it’s the projected scope and incessant panic mode of the media that is bs.
Anyway, we have 10 to 14 days before the supposed worst case scenarios manifest.
Unless you’re old or have a compromised immune system, it’s total bullshit.
Most here think its bullshit. They are royally pissed at Trump for being a serious Buzzkil about it.
Their advice is to simply ignore whatever the government says and just party on.
As per usual, Trump’s initial instincts were dead-on, then he got horrible advice from those around him. (Rumor has it a certain son-in-law featured prominently in that advice).
I don’t see how this can be anything other than a catastrophic “L” for him. I’m open to arguments otherwise, but there’s no way this will be his Pearl Harbor; more like a nationwide Katrina.
Morning Z! Yep….you have a true following. So many of us turn to you for rationality and stability. We don’t feel so alone reading you in the morning. And you give us a rueful laugh.
Okay….enough about toilet paper already. We should write odes to toilet paper in the time of pandemic. Is it a sign of first world civilisation that we obsess over?! That we don’t wish to be hurled into the void of Turd World sanitation. Think you’re right. And your point is…. Yet the level of security and satisfaction that Range and Basic Husband have the perspicacity to keep a stockpile is indeed great. Seek ye your own yellow pages!
Got word that no more Mormon funerals…..gravesite for family only. Nursing homes on lockdown so no visiting your elders. Here in Cedar City, the morning Salt Lake news trumpeted 14 more cases of Orange Haired Virus in the termite mound. So for now we’re staying away from town and particularly restaurants.
Instead to assuage my stir-crazyness, will head west 20 miles out of town back into the pinyon and juniper forest, take a picnic lunch, get blown around a bit, and collect very small limbs for stage 2 of fire building in wood burning stove of which we are running a bit low. Looking forward to a lovely day collecting wood and finding old cans and bottles from the way back time. Mormons have been here a long time and you just don’t find the Acme blue beer bottles nor the old whiskey bottles like we find at mining camps such as Hamilton City and old Frisco north of us. Then back to a warm home and yummy meat!
My reading project for evening is The Storm before the Calm-George Friedman and study of latest and best meat book in the market The Carnivore Code for those of us with trashed immune systems and I am in deep keto. Been Meat-Salt-Water 6 months, nothing else, and labs show no nutrient deficiencies. All body pain is Gone! Completly! Legs work again. Is it hard….of course. All my food traditions are gone. Lost 1/3 of my body weight and back to my mid-20’s weight. No food cravings at all zip nada and great sleep. You couldn’t eat this way if still experiencing food cravings. Meat and deep keto calms my immune system totally down so when I get a sick bug, my immune system is not distracted firing off ammo at plant toxins. It can solely concentrate on the invaders. At my age my immune system won’t heal. This is the rest of my life and worth it as I frisk around trotting up and down stairs, just started my first bench press when the Orange Hair Virus broke out! In January, got a 2.5 day bug, never even hit the level of composite volcano eruption nor flood basalt stage, just tired and a nap, then pronto well and going again. Basic Husband is back to study of The Silk Road period of history and study of Division of Mines and Geology maps. For us, this too shall pass. Godspeed and may your TP always be abundant, Z Folks.
Yes, Range Fault, that’s exactly what to do. Keep living, enjoy life. Wife and I are catching up on chores. Tomorrow is being prepared for, but that is not considered one of death, gloom, or whatever. It’s life. God’s will, not ours will see us through.
Well said.
Also I picked up the biggest bottle of Bailey’s the liquor store had. 😉
Always love hearing from you, Range Front. Best to you and basic husband – keep well and congratulations on your health – I am totally jealous of your weight loss!
Sweet! 3g…keep your observations on the world coming. Best to you in return! Thanks! Each day I have a startle moment….what body do I have on now. Women get pregnant….we forget what size we are and whack the tummy into the kitchen sink. Then baby is out and body is back to normal size. We get fat…we get thin. I dream in different body sizes. Often when I wake up, for a moment I’m not sure what size I am.
PS: Men appreciate my weight loss. Basic Husband proudly comments on my size. Women often go to eyeball rolling or mid level hostility. Two women loudly proclaim each time they see me, “I’m never going to eat the way you are. I’m never giving up my bread!” I say nothing. Why bother.
I fatten up before the collapse.
Range, You might add Daniel Defoe’s “Journal of the Plague Year.” to the reading list. It’s been a long time since I’ve read it but I recall him being somewhat scathing on the topic of local government responses to the Black Death.
At this Amazon link, I note that some enterprising soul has republished a paperback edition, it’s dated March 3 2020 (After 250 years, I’m sure the copyright has run out, even in the States)
https://www.amazon.com/Journal-Plague-Year-Daniel-Defoe/dp/B085KBSW6D/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=journal+of+the+plague+year&qid=1584317461&sr=8-3
I’m circling the pool on the “Man shall live in Meat alone” diet,
I’d love to hear more if you’d care to (as they say) share. I hear an enhanced appreciation of TP is a side effect of the first couple of weeks.
Bile…thank you for book suggestion….Will momentarily look it up! .
Your body will become adapted to a high fat keto food plan. It took about 4-5 months for me to not spend half a day near a biffy. Now my gall bladder is fat adapted. Running on ketones like a 15,000 YO woman. Also takes up to 2 years to develop the neuronal infrastructure to be totally fat adapted and efficiently burn ketones instead of glucose. Then normies can have a day or two eating normie food then go back to full meat and keto transitioning back and forth. I won’t be able to do this because Lyme disease wrecked my auto-immune system. I gain weight and mild inflammation eating poultry-fish-pork. This is a mystery. My bod is happiest with fatty beef….my favorite is a well-marbled ribeye steak. My hunger is best satisfied with beef. And I eat with the beef a high grade whipped tallow for additional fat. Other forms of meat and eggs don’t provide hunger satisfaction for me. Once a month I throw a couple of fried eggs on top of a steak. I could not eat this way if beef did not take away hunger and appititiveness. I can watch women chow down at a dessert pot luck, mentally think…hmm..that would taste good…yet have no deep desire for the sugar anymore. 2 meals a day and about 16-17 hours from dinner to brunch next day. No hunger. Eat when hungry. Eat until satisfied. Don’t count calories.My blood pressure is now 100/59 and fasting blood sugar is 98. No more deranged metabolic syndrome. Best to you! Feel free to ask for further info any old time.
Danke.
Men cannot entertain even an atom of fear. In times of crisis, women and children instinctually follow our example — whether they admit it or not.
Most of the charts being presented in order to generate and support a panic, display exponential expansion, asymptotically approaching infinity. Very few things in nature exhibit such dynamic instability. Instead, sinusoidal behavior, often critically damped, is typically what happens when a previously stable system is disturbed. The sigma in today’s equation in the U.S. is probably at about 20 degrees. If one believes the reports from China, theirs is probably now at 60 degrees, though the exponent is of course much larger.
nig-nogs to the right of me, wine box ladies to the left of me. books and bullets in the middle. the box wine ladies get a pass. the nig-nogs ,well I’m sure there are plenty of new Orleans type jerk spices left on the shelfs just in case. I haven’t owned a tv in 15 years, don’t do the smart/dumb phone thing, got rid of Netflix when the dear white people show showed up a few years ago. so not really a stretch for me. I got a stand up old lady and no rug-rats or dogs to deal with. come to think of it a dog would be alright with some kimchee “just in case”. thanks Zman for cranking one out on a sunday,
As bad as things may get during whatever course the WuFlu will take, once the worst is over the demands for gibs from the usual corners and the endless hissy-fits and demands from the AWFLs will make covid-19 seem mild in comparison. Many of the worst are toning it down a bit, taking a wait and see attitude…just in case. But once it’s past that’s when the real plague of endless demands and threats begins.
Getting to know your neighbor and developing a relationship, even the start of one, may pay off when our leaders on behalf of the parasites start demanding we pay up more and more of what we have left to those they deem more and more deserving.
Actually, as I remember throughout my life, power interruptions have caused more neighborly interaction than anything else I can remember—both in the large cities (NYC) and the local smaller bergs I’ve lived in. Folks seemed to get out of the home and walk the streets. We live in a world of electronic distractions I guess.
The fires in 2003 really brought our neighborhood together, what was left of it. Until the PTSD set in, and then things got a bit testy.
It’s extremely unlikely that utilities such as power, water, internet will be widely disrupted. The WuFlu is, at worst, as bad as the Spanish flu of 1918. Even though about 30% of the US got infected and it had ~1% mortality, the economy hardly noticed and 1918 was a good year for the stock market. That pandemic targeted middle-aged people (I.e., working age) more that this one, which seems to have a very low mortality rate among people under 60.
If it were to get so bad that internet service is disrupted, we’ve got much worse problems than Netflix being offline. People would be too freaked out to leave the house, never mind playing cards with their neighbors.
The Spanish flu was unique in the high mortality rates for young adults. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3734171/
Young adults were also unique at that time for spending the prior four years standing around ankle-deep in contaminated water in rat-infested holes in the ground and subsisting on potatoes and turnips in between the times they spent trying to kill each other. That’s why I’ve always thought it ridiculous to try and draw conclusions about pandemics today from the Spanish flu. Half the world at least was completely devastated after four years of destruction and deprivation and hardship. It’s no surprise that not many countries had the resources on hand to deal with flu outbreaks in 1918.
Absolutely. But it struck down that demographic regardless of whether they had served or been abroad. I don’t know (neither do most posters on most sites.) I do wish people would keep an open mind instead of doing the -up/-down vote crap social media promotes.
The reason the Spanish flu didn’t kill more because we were a rural country, long distance driving just did not happen, cars were in their infancy and outside of town or the cities, roads were just muddy tracks.People stayed put.
Yeah but in 1918 there was social cohesion. 75% of the population wasn’t obese, on happy pills or addicted to the feelies. Country was 90% european and blacks were relegated to their own homogeneous neighborhoods. It was a completely different society. What we have now is a deracinated incoherent mess.
Well, writing from near the epicenter of the largest concentrated outbreak in the US, so has been interesting to watch this play out. First batch of cases within town boundaries came in last night. FB exploded. I monitor it just to keep on top of local situation. This is AFWL-burg so am down to exactly two neighbors of the same ilk. However, there is a small network of the like minded and we check in with each other regularly. Panic took hold over the last few days–very similar to what I saw during Sandy. These people are not well adapted to living without Amazon, Blue Apron and the hired help. I’m from midwestern farm stock–you are your own savior–and growing up in S Florida it was the days before FEMA so each June the paper would list the things you needed to have…because no one would come for up to two weeks. Not here. I hope this is overblown, but have always been prepared to live at least a month on our own. Thankfully one of the kids–the engineer one–is back from school. He skills are invaluable. Biggest concern is we sit adjacent to two big concentrations of the “gibs” crowd–and their idea of preparedness is having enough on the EBT to buy and extra bag of chips. Always have to take that into account. We’re going to lock down hard for a week and then re-evaluate.
WTF has happened to New Rochelle?
I lived there, near eastchester and north, in the early seventies; it seemed like such a nice place. lots of trees and open space, nice people, clean streets.
Zoning changes?, over-development?
The virus is a fraud (higher contagiousness with a mortality rate of the flu) but societal panic to it is not. It will be interesting to see how our just-in-time distribution system, with very little reserves (reserves cut down profit maximization), will or will not cope with people “self-isolating” in their homes for week, driving down consumption enormously, and how the stock market, with its historically high amount of debt and the highest PE ratio of all time (https://www.multpl.com/shiller-pe ) will react to it. My concern is a cascade effect where we are basically willing a Great Depression 2.0 into existence with fraudvirus as the catalyst. Except this time, instead of an all white, high IQ, high societal cohesiveness, tough population, we have an extremely poor population quality and none of the skills necessary for survival in such an environment. This may make 1929 look like a picnic.
To me, the most surreal aspect of this situation is how the US has collectively decided to euthanize its entire economy with barely a whimper of protest. Is it because there is some mass realization that asset prices are far too high and air needs to be let out of the bubble?
Totally agree about the poor quality of the population. I was just at the grocery store picking up enough supplies for the next 10 to 14 days. The average person there was an aimless, chronically ill, decrepit, obese mess. They are not going to do well at the first sign of real trouble.
Yes, scary as wrt population quality. I am in that age bracket. I admit to bad thoughts on such as well. I’m scared because I look at them with horror and fear and in my worse moments I think “will that be me”, “how long before I become like them”, “how rude to even think such thoughts”, “who am I to judge”—but I can’t help it.
I ventured out to the gym this morning and was very pleasantly surprised. About half the people that there are normally – and far more of them were White or black. Almost all the Asians stayed home, same for the dot Indians. All the AWFLs were absent and all the LBFMs – about 75% male crowd. It was so much less stressful and I had no trouble using whatever I needed. I could easily get used to this.
You prefer blacks to asians? I find that very odd since when asians replaced the blacks and browns in my area the graffiti was gone and it became a lot more civilized. I can’t read any of the signage on most stores but I’m far less worried about getting mugged these days.
I don’t want to live among any of them . .. but at the gym, the black males are at least exercising – and given my death stare, no one has ever hassled me. The Asian women are always on their phones, or twittering together like birds, and they only pretend to exercise at best. The other day there were some Asian male teens and they were struggling with 10 lb dumbbells. They’re irritating in the extreme.
Yeah ok, but why should you need a death stare to not be hassled? Does not sound like a plus in favor of blacks. It’s mostly asians at my gym and sure they are weak but that just frees up the heavy weights for me 🙂
Find a better gym, dude. Not busting your nuts, your stress level will go down and your post-workout satisfaction will go up markedly if you don’t have to exercise around mystery meats and women.
I’m not a dude . . . and my husband’s cheap (at least re gym membership)! Actually, we’ve belonged to numerous gyms at numerous prices and there are always women and mystery meats. My older son’s girlfriend claims her new one is much less diverse so I’m going to check it out.
(Puts on best Sir Alec Guinness Voice) “LBFM… Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a very long time!”
I learned it from my hubby, who learned it from his father, who was an army officer. Passing down of knowledge ya know!
“Willing a Great Depression 2.0 into existence…”. Yes. Though it was due anyway, given everything that has been going on for a while. This is simply the catalyst.
Dutch – how about willing a man-made famine into existence? Stalin had to starve the Ukrainians, the Globalists just induced a panic.
“…sixth millionth time.”
ISWYDT
Gorrilinth….
Good advice Zman.
The panic will be the most dangerous thing we face. Walter Williams used to call the “black leadership” — Poverty Pimps. I think we now have Panic Pimps causing havoc around the country. The Wife was sick in bed for 3 days — and could not believe what had happened by the time she was up yesterday. Crazy people doing crazy things she cried.
I will make a prediction that I know many here will not agree with; but we can disagree here can we not? I predict that the corona virus will cause less death than the years we have a really bad flu. We will lose some elderly people (mom is 85), and some unhealthy people. But not any more than normal. We will have more people wanting to go to the hospital at the first symptom because they believe this is the new black death.
As an aside, please tell the young guys that a lot of the old folks alive today gave birth to the boomers and are not a boomer themselves.
Yep. I agree with that analysis. Saw a video yesterday with a doctor who claims to cite the latest stat’s on the seasonal flu, 45M infected, 40k or so deaths and the season is not over.
I tend to agree with this, but I don’t have enough information to come to anything close to a firm conclusion. That’s the frustrating part of living in this age, the more information I have, the less I trust.
My wife finally put her Facebook on ‘pause’ today. I’m hoping it’s permanent. We’re going to a neighbor kid’s birthday party today. Our neighborhood, even though its one of those ‘synthetic’ ones Z rails against (named after the farm that was torn down to build it), does have lots of women that glue the (real life) social network together.
It’s exceedingly hard for me to imagine living in a world in which my wife is glued to Facebook, or some other form of “social media,” and I have no other say-so in the matter than ‘I hope her putting it on pause is permanent.’ Or, in other words, ‘I hope my wife’s temporarily coming to her better senses under extreme circumstances translates to her permanently coming to her better senses under “normal” circumstances.’ Hope in one hand, and sh*T in the other, bro, and see which hand comes out the winner in all of that, best I can tell you. Making sure – always! – that your wife doesn’t start acting on her worst instincts is one of your primary jobs as her husband, brother! Ask my wife, she’ll tell you straight up. Don’t be an ‘absentee husband,’ man! It’s a mistake, I’m telling you!
Beginning to see your point. There needs to be a source of stability. The weaker partner will inevitable gravitate toward it. Personally, I note that I attract the most attention when the discussion lately has moved to preparedness wrt home quarantine and supplies. What was once laughed at and even ridiculed, now attracts absolute attention as I point to where such supplies are and how they can be used and how long such will last. Not just food/water, but communications, lighting, solar power, money, and such. Hell, even the dogs have an emergency supply of “Purina”.
I’ll give you a break since we don’t know each other, and I certainly didn’t really make it clear, but my home situation is a lot more complicated than it appears, due to significant medical problems for her after childbirth (both physical disability and both short and long-term mental instability). I am often acting as caregiver rather than just husband. I certainly understand your message and agree with it. The challenge I face is identifying when the battle is worth fighting, because otherwise it is fighting and dealing with anger & resentment all the time. I work my ass off to keep things moving in the right direction. Feeling like you’re raising your kid by yourself most of the time sucks. I am lucky enough that my parents are nearby and (unlike many boomers) are very helpful with my daughter.
BadThinker, I make no judgement upon anyone. Can’t speak for others, only relate a recent experience that I find ironically amusing in the present context of pandemic and preparation. If the environment deteriorates and we need to “pull stores”, I’ll also comment on how well I prognosticated. All the best.
Sorry wasn’t clear (again), wasn’t reacting to your comment, but mr. morris’. I appreciate the sentiment.
Great column.
We should signal boost the panic mongering, make people appreciate their primary social networks more.
Absolutely. Normie does not think, normie is only afraid. Let the word “corona” be the new razizz.. This time we say the normie scaring magic word to get things done.
In Taiwan on business. On another day we’ll take up the infuriating subject of how you have to go hat in hand to East Asia if you want to manufacture any kind of physical object.
Just want to point out that there has been no panic here. No empty shelves, no fighting over toilet paper. The government has set up a system of rationing masks and hand spray. Your temperature is taken at a number of big stores and government buildings. Things function normally. Infections are low, about 50 cases and 1 death.
I could point out the obvious virtues of their being ethnically homogenous and high-IQ, but you already know about that.
But really being in a place like this makes you realize the critical negative components of this: One, no underclass. In America, there’s always that “powder keg waiting to explode” feeling. No underclass, no powderkeg.
And two, no alien overclass. Sure, the politicians here get caught with their hand in the cookie jar, or with their you-know-what in a woman not their wife. But they don’t fundamentally hate the people in their own country and aren’t willing to casually throw away the lives of millions.
It’s hard to explain in words, but all this adds up to a very different feeling of life. A good feeling. I really hope that white people all get to feel that feeling in their own countries. I can see why our opponents are fanatically devoted to making sure we never get a whiff of that feeling.
Of course, there’s the interesting subject of why Taiwan is so orderly, and why China, where the virus started in the first place, is such a mess, despite the two countries sharing a racial and civilizational background.
But I’m just a lowly merchant, not a sociologist, ha. My armchair theory is that size itself dissipates social trust. China is just too big to cohere.
You have a point. Here in the US, I feel a bit more affinity for my State and the West in general than say the East coast. But obviously, the East coast more than say Canada.
What’s the adage… Me against my brother, my brother and I against my cousin, my brother and I and my cousin against all others…
Paul – I find myself feeling a twinge of jealousy for countries like Taiwan, SK, Japan, etc. Just to not be incessantly confronted with the diversity. And their endless demands. I have nothing personal against any group of people – it’s just what Derbyshire says: a little salt in the stew is perfect. But endless amounts destroys the stew.
I miss feeling like a people. I miss the celebration of European arts and music. Or the traditional American spirit. I’m a dreamer I know but what I wouldn’t give to turn the clock back. Way back.
I disagree with the rice burner derbyshire whos children do not look like him much at all. A little salt is like giving a mouse a cookie, he’s gonna come back for more and tell all his mice friends, then you have an infestation on your hands and before you know it the pantry is empty.
You may be a dreamer, but you’re not the only one….
(sincere apology for any song refence this may have engendered)
I talked a while back of my intention to retire in Taiwan. I know that doesn’t sit well with many here, and I understand why. I won’t argue their points, but this is the trajectory my life is currently on.
One overwhelming reason why the idea of retiring there becomes increasingly attractive to me is that with one fell swoop the tax disappears from my life. Here in my upstate, rust belt city, the old way of life has been thoroughly dynamited. I was at mass this morning and whereas the church was SRO in my youth, there were maybe 40 people in attendance today. A great swath of high-functioning Caucasians have fled for greener pastures and been replaced by gibs-addicted, demi-negro Hispanics. If you haven’t lived through the demographic replacement, you won’t understand how heart-breaking it is.
If nothing else,Taiwan is one place where the old feelings of competence and community remain intact. To be sure, I’ll always be an outsider in some respects, but the benefits of not spending every waking moment ready for battle make it worth it. Until then, I will do everything I can to reclaim my homeland for my people. And if, by some miracle, the white rebirth and awakening happens, I’ll reconsider my next steps. God bless us.
“…with one fell swoop the tax disappears from my life.”
KGB, not sure what you mean exactly, but be aware that our fedgov holds all American citizens and “U.S. persons” worlwide liable for income taxes, no matter what country they live in, how long they’ve lived there, or where and how their income, interest, or capital gains were acquired. And under most circumstances your foreign bank, brokerage, and other fincancial accounts may be considered reportable each year to both the IRS and the Treasury Department Financial Crimes Division. The increasingly oppresive regs in this regard are somewhat complicated, and the penalties for non-compliance are draconian. Consider a consultation with your accountant or tax lawyer before you go.
KGB is talking about the “Stupid Tax”. It’s a Z-man thing…
Ah so. An equally inescapable tax in my AO. .
Blogs such as “Nomad Capitalist” and “Sovereign Man” offer much advise for dealing with the U.S. policy of global taxation. I recommend reading those blogs.
Kgb, do you have a Taiwanese wife or plan to start a business there? Taiwan doesn’t have a retirement visa. However you can get permanent residency after working or running a business for 5 years
Mrs. KGB is Taiwanese, our daughter holds two passports too. In fact, my wife inherited a small strip of land on Penghu when her father passed away. With some capital improvements, it would provide a peaceful retreat from the bustle of Kaohsiung.
Why would anyone have an issue with you retiring in Taiwan? My self, I’ve considered Costa Rica, Panama, and Malaysia. I have a friend, originally from Canada, who lives in Shanghai, but has recently bought a place in Georgia (Caucasus) where he and his family are currently riding out the plague. Having a plan B (international living with second passport), as the sovereign man puts it, is basic horse sense. How can one argue with horse sense?
>>>> Why would anyone have an issue with you retiring in Taiwan? My self, I’ve considered Costa Rica, Panama, and Malaysia.<<<
Boomers: say shit like this
Also Boomers: Why do people hate us so?
You must be joking!
Why would I take life advice from guys like you?
Aren’t you a silly boy/
I talked a while back of my intention to retire in Taiwan. I know that doesn’t sit well with many here, and I understand why.
No, I don’t understand this mentality at all. We can debate politics and other stuff to our hearts’ content on blogs like these. But at the end of the day, your life choices are your’s top me. I would not take advice from anyone on the internet unless they have some specialized knowledge that is necessary to you.
That knowledge certainly is not to be found on an alt-right blog such as this. Websites such as “Nomad Capitalist”, “Sovereign Man”, and Doug Casey’s “International Man” are much better sources of information on international living than any political/cultural discussion blog such as this.
They definitely don’t want us to get a whiff of that “Hitler feeling”.
I live in another Eastern Asian country and don’t see any empty shelves except for face masks (which the government banned private entrepreneurs from selling on or off line. You have to go stand in line at a government center to get masks now). People don’t seem to panicking.
Let’s just say you’re dealing with a higher quality human capital and leave it at that.
One wonders whether demographics is being considered in the projected death tolls.
The ratios on total-infected per fatality (based on China CDC numbers) for COVID-19 by age follow:
80 and older ….. 7
50-something … 77
40-something … 250
10-39 ………….. 500
http://www.talkstats.com/threads/wanted-rational-coronavirus-analysis.74951/
A point I keep making is that Italy is really old. It also has a huge Chinese migrant population at the center of their outbreak.
Take Italy out of the mix and we have SARS.
It’s puzzling, isn’t it? For a universal virus, you’d expect Africa, Central/South America, and India to get hammered. That doesn’t seem to be the case though. At least not yet.
There is reported heavy infection in Africa but even mass casualties would go unnoticed as everything can kill you in that slaughterhouse of a continent.
They are also a lot of young people with robust immune systems so the casualty rate will be low.
Those people all die before they reach 50. This is offset however by extreme r selection. All the women have 6+ kids. 20% of that continent has aids, this virus is not going to do much. They have the breeding strategy of mice, human life is extremely cheap to them. The reason our groups are so different is not simply due to culture, there is a strong genetic component.
On the cases-per-fatality rate, you’d think that the American healthcare system would be able to improve on the Chinese rates — such as 7 cases/death in over-80s — since we spend some 17X more on healthcare-per-person than the Chinese ($10.2K vs $605, c.2018), and have such open and free communication here in the States.
You’d think. Wouldn’t you?
We spend more — as you noted — on the “healthcare system,” not the “patient care” system. Once healthcare was financialized and the stockholders’ returns became paramount it was all over. It’s easy to find the rate of growth of administrators v. providers. Medicine ought to have been the one sector immune from financialization. Healthy people don’t need it often enough to make it profitable and the price destroys sick people (who are often taken advantage of when they are least able.)
Spend the most by far yet we are the only first world country who’s life expectancy is falling. Maybe paying some Indian with a third world degree from mumbai U 500K a year was a bad investment. Maybe allowing tribesmen owned drug companies to run rampant with very little oversight was a bad idea too. Wasn’t Obamacare supposed to fix that? But he’s a nog so to criticize him would be racist. What a fuckign mess.
What is the worst n word you can call a black person? Neighbor.
Mine advised me one day that I was the worst racist she ever met. She’s a retired elementary school teacher and I asked her a question about an incident I experienced that – to me – indicated a high degree in indoctrination in our public schools. Race never entered into anything I asked her.
Did I mention her ancestors came from the “dark Continent”?
“I cannot rebut your argument. Racist!”
I’d like to think that this epidemic will cull the herd, but I fear that only a few thousand sick, old people (I’m in the old, but not the sick category) will die. Then it will be back to business as usual and within a few months, this will be forgotten.
Yes.
It’s Climate Change on fast-forward. The Danish PM just put me in hock for $6,000 to prop up Danish employers, the total amounting to a fifth of the Danish GDP. That’s a pretty deep trough, not to mention that in a few weeks, the banks will start buying up assets at rock bottom prices.
The Western countries are fat and rich from generations of labor, but now it’s time to butcher the golden goose. In six months, we’ll all be speaking Jewish.
In America we already do but don’t realize it. All that talk about capitalism and socialism, the city life, the dollar chasing, everything for sale, the neurotic focus on healthcare and therapy, gynocracy, etc.
Or Jews are just exemplary of all that, I can’t decide. All I know is it’s an insane asylum.
Mette Frederiksen is Jewish?
Aryans can be idiots all on their own without the necessity of puppeteers.
Mette Frederiksen is Jewish?
I wouldn’t be surprised.
She has decided to close our borders, but that it doesn’t apply to asylum seekers, who will be admitted as per usual.
Germans, Swedes, Norwegian, Brits, they can stay the fuck away, but refugees are always welcome.
Yes this is a panic to get money from the government , then use the free money to buy up the bankrupt in 6 months. No doubt we’ll be told its a recovery; “an explosion of pent up demand.”
Wait, don’t the Danes count Govt spending as part of the gdp? That’s how the US gov boosts gdp – useful products can then be turned into useless scheiss by useless people and it counts as a win.
I think so too but per Z’s post a couple of days ago this is a preview of coming attractions. Let’s use the ‘calm before the storm’ to get ready. We’re getting a useful look at what the future troubles will be.
Its a panic to get free money from governments then profit buying out the bankrupt in 6 months.
The problem is that the precedent has now been set for a society-wide shutdown every time one of these viruses comes along.
We’ll be seeing this show on repeat in the years to come.
Meme, I hope you’re right. Their problems are our advantages now. Communities of level-headed realists that don’t soil themselves at the thought of collapsing the Chinese supply chain will have increasing leverage, influence and appeal.
Exile – the next time it happens, its curse shall be on Slow Joe’s head.
It won’t, the economy isn’t like a water faucet you can turn on and off.
China hasn’t even gotten it’s factories back on line. The trains that ship Chinese goods from Long Beach harbor to the rest of the U.S. haven’t been running for 4wee very weel ow. I used to hear one inter-modal train come by about every hour. Not anymore. Same with the trains goingLos Angeles.Every week this situation continues it means factories laying off workers and shutting down lines. This all has consequences.
What China and our dependency on them showed was how fragile globalization is and how easy it is send Western economies into a full recession when they get the flu because that is what is coming next,
Sadly in all this there is no demand that we bring back our medical industry to the U.S. Which is insane considering China views us as the enemy.
Good point. The reliance on China is nuts. Still I think you’ll see what Americans are capable of when people are ready to get back to making money 🙂
There will be a demand to bring back medical manufacturing to the U.S. Everyone who manages a supply chain understands being dependent on a single source for anything, and China with the Kung Flu is certainly a single source. However, international trade and commerce, in general, will never go away. Rather, manufacturers will seek to diversify their sourcing so that they are not dependent on a single region for any of their inputs. Some of us call COVID-19 the Third World (non-Chinese) Full Employment Act of 2020. I think South East Asia will take over for a lot of China in the coming years. I have lived in SEA and may will do so again in the future.
The prediction is for 500,000 to 2 million deaths, mostly elderly. I suspect the long term economic impact will be minimal. The 1918 Spanish Flu did not crater the economy, and the roaring 20’s came in in full force. I see no reason why it should be any different this time.
Never let a good apocalypse go to waste!
Fun Fact: the world ends 29% more often today than in 1960…
Thanks for donating your Sunday morning to post an article. A day without Zman is like a day without sunshine. Agree 100% with your sentiments.
Remember the merchants and people that are currently taking advantage of this situation. Price gougers and fear mongers. When power was out in the 80’s here during the summer we all repaid the store that charged $20 for ice. He didn’t last long.
They aren’t price gouging. They are part of the market indicating necessary pricing. /sarcasm
This is from the same people that told us that shipping everything to China was a smart move.
To be fair, sometimes it costs a lot of money to bring something scarce to market. Like if a region runs out of something and the regular logistics aren’t working, it might cost way more than normal to get the good. Sometimes the oil pumping stations go down and there are gas shortages and the only way to get the gas is to truck it in, which costs a lot of money and then consumers complain about the higher prices. Or water in a disaster area. It costs a lot of energy to bring that bottled water into a disaster area, especially if you are doing it with a car and not an 18 wheeler. Is it better to pay through the nose or go without? Guess it depends.
But there is no excuse for the guy who was buying up hand sanitizer and selling it for an outrageous price on Amazon and Ebay!
Did you happen to see the guy who went through multiple states buying up all the hand sanitizer, was banned from selling it through Amazon and Ebay, and thought it was a good idea to complain about it to the NYT? Some people . . .
“Ban “price gouging” (otherwise known as “market pricing’), and you won’t have any market at all. And you will be shocked and amazed and have no idea why that happened.” – top post on Insty about the guys.
Some people of have no clue and mindlessly worship at the market altar.
It’s one thing to buy up generators that aren’t being used and spend lots of money and time to drive them into a natural disaster area. It’s another thing to take advantage of panic to profiteer by hoarding.
Buying generators and transporting them to a disaster zone to resell is fine. Doing that and then charging ridiculous prices is not.
People who do that are incurring large bills to do it. That is why they have to be sold for much. They have to drive around to a bunch of stores and buy them and then drive all the way to the disaster area and have to eat on the road and probably stay at least one or two nights in a hotel. Once they get there, people there are going to offer more money. There will be a bidding war if there are multiple people where you are selling them.
Doing that with critical items is a good way to get worked over with a hammer or a tire iron.
This entire thread about gouging in scarcity brings up a matter long on my mind; distribution of necessities if and perhaps when the money supply breaks down.
Shelter we have.
Water and energy are installed, and can be commanded by the state at many levels as we have seen thru numerous shocks.
The problem is food distribution if money is worthless.
A problem I urge you all to consider, as famine is in that scenario a possibility. Its not food itself, its distribution.
Now the problem is even if the shopkeeper gives it away – or its taken – is if the merchant has nothing of value to send upstream then he can’t get more food even to save his life. There must be an alternative money to keep food distribution going. When you consider that necessarily means trucks I have an answer; Gasoline and Diesel. <<Veterans and duty inclined take note.
Now I didn’t just whiteboard that, its actually the Iraqi and every other insurgency 101. They or the gangsters always take and keep the gas stations. So think about it, because men if its not you its someone worse.
And frankly you being helpless already means its worse.
Remember your main duty as a man is to protect.
My daughter legitimately ran low on TP and baby wipes and tried to get some online. IMS, she wound up paying over $60 for a single roll of that 12″+ diameter roll commercial TP. I thought Amazon had controls in place to prevent price gouging like that. It would appear otherwise.
HailMaryBidet:
https://www.google.com/search?q=sports+bottle+curved+straw&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwiD0_2SiJ3oAhUvuFkKHTHOAuoQ2-cCegQIABAC&oq=sports+bottle+curved+straw&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-img.3…12233.17266..18120…0.0..0.246.1200.10j2j1……0….1………0j0i5i30j0i24j33i299j30i10j33i10.AC6__hrxqU0&ei=w21uXsPlKq_w5gKxnIvQDg&prmd=sinv#imgrc=1i4-Y4ehBI1qYM
At the supermarket yesterday, there was no toilet paper. At the Dollar General store immediately next door, there were packages galore of paper napkins—exactly the right size for the job, but again no toilet paper. Folks need to think this through a bit—but of course that’s the essence and downside of panic, fear induced stupidity. Hence the reason I speak so much on avoiding it.
My relative was complaining about all the bottled water being gone. I pointed out ” hey, you live in Seattle and its springtime, can’t they get enough to drink just by putting a pot outside”?
She’s as responsible as the seller for the price being $60. There’s no substitute for toilet paper?
edit: h/t Compsci below. You can also modify Yves search and, if you insist, find tp for a lot less than $60.
If the grocers had done a little price gouging on toilet paper the shelves wouldn’t be as empty. Seems like people love the free market only until free market principles kick in. Just sayin’.
Most stores kicked in with limiting the amount you could purchase.
If price gouging is allowed, every garage might have a pile of stuff to sell in an emergency. Don’t like the prices? Stock up before need. Think of it as evolution in action.
Ok so what about the Fed?
$500B in repo for “high quality assets like Treasuries”.
$700 Billion in QE.
The pattern is now policy. Any crisis wall street cashes in, as well as local, state govts.
In 6 months they’ll be celebrating the “explosion of pent up demand” as they buy up the bankrupt little guy for pennies.
I’ll print up a bunch of bonds, and you print a bunch of dollars to buy them with. That way it can’t be called counterfeiting, except by people with more than 2 brain cells to rub together. Producing useful goods and services is for flyover rubes.