Topic: Coronavirus outbreak

@Toy_Link @WoomyNNYes It's true that the virus doesn't spread as well outdoors because the air is flowing much more. However I'm still quite worried about it because these people at times aren't just close, they're basically on top of one another. They're dumping milk on each other to help deal with tear gas, many aren't wearing masks. I think the virus spreading through these protests is probably inevitable. But how much it will is uncertain.

All I can say right now is that if/when I return to the US, it wont be the country I left 5 years ago. Thankfully my friends and family have mostly remained safe and healthy with only one distant relative getting the virus and recovering without much issue.

@Heavyarms55 So, how is your region bussing kids to school?

@Toy_Link Here's that NHK World video illustrating enclosed spaces vs with window opened. Sun(UV light) kills the virus too, I don't know how quickly though.

america is starting to suck harder than it ever has

Well, at least now people are regularly discussing something other than the virus.

@WoomyNNYes Japan doesn't use school buses like the US does. Most elementary school kids walk to school, while most JHS kids ride bikes. In high school kids either ride bikes or take the train if they go farther. Some Japanese high schools also have dorms.

The numbers of infections in Japan remain very low. That doesn't mean there's not still risk of course but for the moment things aren't bad. Of course after doing class today I can say it's only going to take one person showing up sick for the whole school to get it. Most kids are wearing masks for now. But they still play a lot, no real social distancing going on. The only thing we're still doing is that all club and and other non-class related activities are still postponed or cancelled. So no school festivals or sports days or school trips for the foreseeable future. There's talk of perhaps having them in late fall but it's just talk right now.

Another thing is, all the kids were wearing masks - and then we had class pictures... Everyone standing close together with no masks and the teacher just saying "try not to breathe"... I wish I were joking.

But like I said, the numbers in Japan are low and at least in my town, which is very very rural, there have been no cases. In the closest city there has been, but not in this town. Officially anyway.

@Heavyarms55 So in your rural area, kids all walk? (sans outbreak) Is there a train in your rural town?

@WoomyNNYes It's very rural, but it's still Japan. You gotta remember this isn't a large country. And yeah, we do have one, old, private train line. I guess JR is technically private too but still. It's good enough though, I can ride it into town and easily transfer to a main line.

Anyway, yes, the kids do walk or ride bikes. It's rural farm fields. The only dangerous things are idiot drivers screaming down the road in the middle of the night at stupid speeds occasionally.

people on unemployment dont need an additional 1200 per month in america.
if yer staying home because yer afraid of going to work and catching the virus, i agree with that act.
however...if yer staying home because yer lazy and arent afraid of catching the virus and want free money, its time to get back to work and stop stealing money.

@ogo79

Unemployed people are required to search to for work while under unemployment. In my state, people under unemployment are required to submit weekly activities included earnings and job searches. Unemployment can be taken away from the unemployed if they are not actively looking for employment.

@MortalKombat2007
yeah but they can make up fake work searches.
im on the fence about it sometimes, right now im sure its not easy looking for a job.
my deal is the people that are taking advantage of the situation.
i took a leave of absence to play it safe due to the virus.
ive been on unemployment myself several times. i just hope that people are staying home from work like i was to avoid getting sick, and getting loved ones sick as well.
ive been on quarantine or whatever you wanna call it for over 3 months now.
im bored sitting home, id like to go back to work. got to risk it a little and go back to work very soon.

If someone doesn’t have a job them they are far more likely to need money than people who have income coming in. $1.2k was such a random number to pass out rather than looking at the cost of living from area to area and adjusting it.

In any case never understand why people chose to target the poor for needing help rather than the rich who cheat out of paying their fair share.

@MortalKombat2007 Not true. I have been on furlough since April and because I do have a job that I will be returning to in a few weeks actually, on the reports I did for unemployment I didn't have to report any job searches in fact I didn't have to look for anything these past few months.

@Tasuki Correct. The requirement to seek employment was waived in most if not all states.

@jump To clarify, the $1200 stimulus isnt unemployment. The federal unemployment supplement is $600/week in addition to the state amount. The state amounts largely differ, as it's a $330/week max in Georgia.
While I understand the sentiment, I often disagree with the "fair share" argument in terms of taxes. And this isn't to dismiss your opinion, just explain why it boggles me. It's just that since the income tax brackets are tiered, it already is set up that way. Make more, pay more. Then there's things like my property tax, in which hundreds of dollars go to school districts that I don't attend or have any children. I completely understand why, and I'm okay with it, but that isn't really my "fair share". Ive learned that in most general cases, "fair share" really means " far more money disproportionate to the measured income". But I digress

@HobbitGamer I know for my state, if your not furloughed due to the virus you still have to look for a job.

Rather ironically, after you made the point about disinformation, the Lancet study on hydroxychloroquine has since been retracted after they found out that the data was apparently falsified by the researchers.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/authors-retract-study-that-found...

It genuinely looks like they might have invented fake data simply to make Trump look bad. A few years ago, I wouldn't have believed anyone would do that. But I'm seeing a complete breakdown in trust and professionalism amongst so many "experts" at the moment, that it seems entirely possible they just deliberately lied.

So I don't know if that is even the story since it is a SUBSCRIBE TO VIEW OUR NEWS STORY situation, but trusting one study is often a mistake, don't do it. Local news stations always bringing up how everything ever is bad for you actually, according to this one study once, made that pretty apparent to me after a while.

@kkslider5552000

Here's a writeup:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/04/covid-19-lancet...

It was a big deal because the WHO used this one paper as a justification for halting trials into the drug. Given how corrupt we already know the WHO is, it seems very likely this was a deliberate stunt.

You know what i love about the way restaurants are dealing with this? Now that some places are opening up we got one subway, Pizza hut etc that will let you in the dining room to eat and another in the same town owned by the same owners who still won't. Could we at least get some consistency with these Idiotic precautions and rules? It's bad enough i can't even go into a walmart without seeing strips of tape all over the aisles telling me which way I'm allowed to walk. For fugs sake!

Even though the lockdowns are lifting the concept of going out for anything isn't very appealing. Sure wish somebody would hurry up and invent spaceships already! I want off this damn planet!

@HobbitGamer Whilst income tax is tiered it doesn’t mean billionaires are paying it as their main sources are capital gains and dividends which have lower tax rates than salaries. There’s also plenty of tricks like company owners giving themselves relatively small salaries to avoid tax but then have their company own their home, car as well as giving themselves cash advances which aren’t paid back until they sell their share of the company. People declaring their company bankrupt to avoid debts and then purchasing the company’s assets for a less than the debts. There’s the long ongoing issue of tax havens to legally avoid paying tax. Plus hundred of other loopholes.

I don’t know any Yankee stats of the top of my head but in to the UK there was £34b of capital gains last year with it averaging out as less than a million paid per person out of 9k people.

With that said I do feel bad for higher tax rates for people who have shorter windows to make that money like indie bands or athletes.

oh trust me i agree with that