Coronavirus

What's happening in Italy is truly awful. Utilitarianism at full force: prioritise younger patients over those over 80 years of age. The most heartbreaking of all developments, in my opinion.

Iran using police force to clear the streets. The NSW premier confirmed the police force will do the same thing. Victoria has been declared a state of emergency for 4 weeks, with penalties of $20000 for breaking health recommendations by authorities.

Lebanon has shut down. Spain and France I think has as well.

If the riots in Hong Kong really break up because of the spread of the virus, I think it underlines the theory that China deliberately released it. Between shutting down anti-Chinese protests in Hong Kong, dealing with the population boom on its mainland, and disrupting the West's economy, there are ample motives to support the claim.

A generation of Western politicians and corporate elites foisted the wondrous Rise of China narrative on a lazy and complacent electorate. This was coupled with open borders and open markets, neoliberal totalitarianism on all matters economic, social, and cultural. Sure, dismantle all local manufacturing and ship it to China because "efficiency." Sure, turn Western universities into low-grade degree factories for children of Communist Party apparatchiks. Can't afford to buy a house in your own city while you suffocate on a sardine tin of a train? Oh well, suck it up, this is what progress looks like. I mean, what are you, a racist?

I don't know if we live in a righteous world. I suspect not. If it were one, however, I'd suggest there would need to be massive decoupling from the Chinese economy, and perhaps a concerted effort to dismantle China as a state for, once again in this millennium, foisting a pandemic on the rest of the planet.

We need a world of broadly self-sufficient nations. Nothing wrong with peaceful, mutually beneficial commerce, however what's we've seen over the last quarter century or more is the wilful destruction of the Western working and middle classes and their lifestyles so that China could move up a peg. And no, cheaper consumer crap doesn't make up for real estate bubbles and  stagnant wages, sorry. When I say lifestyle I mean something both more tangible, community-oriented, and spiritually fulfilling than being able to buy a cheaper TV while your neighbourhood's skyline is turned into a pile of Lego blocks.

Now the diseased bats are coming home to roost.

So COVID-19 should be a wake up call to everyone who's sleepwalked into the "Asian Century" baloney they've been force-fed. The People's Republic of China is an existential threat to the West in a way that is a thousand-fold more insidious and far-reaching than the USSR ever was. The looming economic and human disaster must signal the end for neoliberal totalitarians and their paymasters in Beijing or else we're, plainly, fucked.

Excellent post. Our reliance on China is beyond a joke. You're in politics, right? Let us know your name so we can vote you in.

In other news, Olga Kurylenko has tested positive for coronavirus.

Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang wrote:

Excellent post. Our reliance on China is beyond a joke. You're in politics, right? Let us know your name so we can vote you in.

I'm not a member of any political party, but will happily lead any coup.  

Look, there's an opportunity to reset the political landscape in some form. You're seeing it with the likes of Trump and Sanders at opposite ends of the spectrum. Something's gotta give, because you could argue that even those guys aren't doing enough to smash the "consensus" politics that has dominated for the last however many decades.

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In other news, Olga Kurylenko has tested positive for coronavirus.

Best wishes to Hegla.

Perennial Bond-to-be Idris Elba has also tested positive.

Heh, could have sworn you were in politics professionally. You should be.

Too kind, my friend!

Laz finds parallels between Blofeld's evil and China's 'accident'.

George Lazenby wrote:

Hey guys – many people are wondering how I’m doing and all I can say is that I’m back home in LA safe and sound. Very sad I currently can’t see my young kids because of this Corona virus. Believe it or not, Operation Corona was coined by Ian Fleming for the scarily similar story in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. For the last two weeks, I’ve been on the road catching up with my Oz family. I was also one of the special guests at Supanova Comic Con & Gaming in Melbourne. Then my manager and I flew to Sydney for some personal stuff. Was busy doing media and then on to the Gold Cost. Through all this craziness, we got to remember our loved ones. Today is my sister’s birthday so this post is for her. Thank you for always looking after me Barbara, I love you. Stay healthy everyone, George xx (Photo by my niece taken in Sydney a few years ago.)

Well chaps I wish I had Laze's fortitude. Corona has effectively cost me the job I started a year ago and though was the bane of my existence, is quietly devastating. I've never lost a job since entering the workforce in 2011 (after a long two and a half years out of work after graduating university) and for this. No one's buying tickets, no one is coming into the country or is able to, gradually by Monday we were firing other guides and then by Monday night the situation snowballed for all of us survivors to come into office.
First time the company's suspended service. It ran a skeleton service after 9/11 and 7/7 which nearly finished the company but this...well, it's never happened. Worldwide we're grounded so to speak.

And there, weeks (well months now) from me unleashing my James Bond walking tour on people as apparently "I'm the no.1 Bond expert" in the tour guides, ha.

Way it's going, we could not be active until June/July by which point we would've been two months into the peak season. Instead, we're not officially redundant as they want to keep us on but we're not exactly working.

Sorry to hear that, Hilly. The whole situation is just devastating and infuriating.

Sorry to hear, Hilly.

Starting to think the virus was released by SPECTRE.

Thank you chaps. It's been a surreal week. As I say, we had at least a week (come Monday gone) where we figured it'd be that. We've been told since that there's no money to pay us beyond the next week. The company is based in 26 cities worldwide and usually if one part dips, the rest can help out but everyone is shut across the board. Government says about help and stuff, we'll see if that happens.

We've spoken elsewhere but I'll reiterate that I hope you (and the world!) bounce back soon. Amazing to think the devastating affects of a virus. It's the stuff of movies, but I suppose art imitates life.

On a more trivial note, the closure of the UK's pubs, clubs, restaurants, cafes, theatres and cinemas as of last night means I'm looking at a distinctly 'drinking-in-the-house' shaped birthday celebration next week .

I'm stuck in my dead end job doing very little. No telling how much worse it will get or when city wide quarantines may start.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

On a more trivial note, the closure of the UK's pubs, clubs, restaurants, cafes, theatres and cinemas as of last night means I'm looking at a distinctly 'drinking-in-the-house' shaped birthday celebration next week .

It's quite possible March babies mark the beginning of many months of birthday isolation.

Putin sends aid to Italy, naming the gesture 'From Russia with Love.

I hope the Fleming estate sees that and sues for copyright...

COBRA meeting today, BoJo to address nation at 8:30. Announcement of tighter restrictions on the likes of using public transport (at the very least) is expected.

After today's story about the Tube, not surprising. Parliament were voting on emergency powers today. It's beyond wartime now. Things at least kept on in WWII.

Imagine some of the social media generation getting through the plague of 1665 or whatever. Stay at home? Madness.

Well, looks like I've got time now to do a long overdue Bondathon.

Public transport should be closed. It's a feast for germs. Still open in Oz today but a meeting with state leaders and the PM tonight will probably lead to more closures... public transport should indeed be one of them.

Hilly wrote:

Imagine some of the social media generation getting through the plague of 1665 or whatever. Stay at home? Madness.

Yep. Staying home in the age of technology keeps everyone connected. The likes of FaceTime especially.

Hilly wrote:

Well, looks like I've got time now to do a long overdue Bondathon.

I'll be visiting the Bonds 1-20, starting with the Cold War-centric stories.

I'll hold out for the lesser ones and Skyfall closer to NTTD's release, should it happen this year at all.

Only food and pharmaceutical stores to remain open and to be visited as infrequently as possible.

You can go for a walk/run, but it has to be alone or with someone from your household.

No visiting anyone else.

No public gatherings of more than 2 people.

All enforceable by the police if necessary, and in place for the next 3 weeks.


Apparently in Canada, the stores remaining open include the liquor and cannabis ones. Seems like a plan ...

We've just had the PM announce more closures but shopping centres, schools and hair salons are considered essential services.

Because if we're all going die of a bioweapon attack, we may as well have our hair done.

The list of stores still open in the UK is actually a good deal longer than what I'd thought, but doesn't include hairdressers.

We're all going to end up looking like an 80s hard-rock band!

BI wrote:

We're all going to end up looking like an 80s hard-rock band!

Could be worse things than that.