It's been interesting to watch the way rich people are spending their money during this crisis.
Bill Gates says he'll fund factories for 7 different vaccines, even though some will certainly prove to be ineffective.
Jeff Bezos is sending $100 million to food banks. Mark Zuckerberg and his wife are sending $30 million to a vaccine accelerator project.
Baseball player Justin Verlander, who was slated to make $33 million this year, says he and his wife - the model Kate Upton - will donate his weekly paycheck to a different charity each week.
Other rich people are paying their own employees for not working, such as Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and sports team owner Mark Cuban.
What do you think the world's wealthy should be doing to help the cause?
Let's continue the conversation.
Bill Gates says he'll fund factories for 7 different vaccines, even though some will certainly prove to be ineffective.
Jeff Bezos is sending $100 million to food banks. Mark Zuckerberg and his wife are sending $30 million to a vaccine accelerator project.
Baseball player Justin Verlander, who was slated to make $33 million this year, says he and his wife - the model Kate Upton - will donate his weekly paycheck to a different charity each week.
Other rich people are paying their own employees for not working, such as Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and sports team owner Mark Cuban.
What do you think the world's wealthy should be doing to help the cause?
Let's continue the conversation.
Comments
There were 4,377 recorded burials in Jakarta alone for the month of March 2020 (that's double the normal figure, not including cremations).
Yet the government claims:
2,092 confirmed cases
150 recoveries
191 deaths
On a more positive note, the Indonesian Red Cross' disinfectant spray truck came to my neighbourhood today (they're working on a Sunday, bless them). Which I am very grateful for. ❤🙏🏼👏🏼
As for the thread's question: I don't know what to say? I don't know how I think wealthy private individuals should help, although I'm comfortable complaining about how the government spends our tax money. Just as long as the donations are no-strings-attached.
In some places, it's recorded as a coronavirus death if the virus was a contributing factor to a death by other causes (such as cancer), while in other places, such as Sweden, the death has to be caused by coronavirus alone.
Something I think every country is going to have to contend with is looking at the models of South Korea and Taiwan coming out “winners” of this disaster. How will people feel knowing that getting COVID-19 under control may entail shutting down borders, having precise location information of citizens, stopping “mis-information,” and punishing those who don’t follow guidelines? A lot of people won’t be happy.
Good to see you, @Leela! I hope you stay safe.
@Abbyh, here's another pattern that doesn't use elastic OR homemade ties for those of us with a limited attention span (grin): It is SUPPOSED to take 5 minutes to make (which will probably be two hours for me) but it is quite clever! (She uses synthetic clothesline for ties and gardening wire for the wire to fit to face and says you can get it from Home Depot or Lowe's although you COULD have gotten it from the fabric and craft stores (which are all closed).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm_NmpdgWWA
The thing is, if countries or communities descend into anarchy and looting, the death rate will be much higher as the disease still marches inexorably on but now through a population weakened by hunger and lack of medical care for other conditions.
I weep for countries like Venezuela in our own hemisphere with no functional economy, no medicines, no food, and no hope.
And, other rich billionaires, Tilman Fertitta, laid off over 40,000 employees at his casino, hotel and restaurant business.
That sounds a lot like how 9/11 changed security procedures worldwide.
Here's a 12-minute documentary on how a city in China is dealing with the pandemic (made by a Japanese director who married a Chinese citizen & moved there): https://youtu.be/YfsdJGj3-jM
https://youtu.be/YfsdJGj3-jM
I swear I get flashbacks of the 1998 Indonesian riots (school was out & employees stayed home then too, except this was during the dial-up ages, so no Zoom meetings, just email/SMS).
I do not think that people should underestimate how much we have been screwed by China in this, and how badly our governments and corporations that moved the supply chains to China for PPE and medications have screwed us as well.
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I absolutely agree with you : one french epidemiologist Karine Lacombe said that they used the (false) number of cases in China to prepare our own response to the virus "It is believed that there were more than 50,000 dead in China, almost 20 times more than the 3,000 admitted."
And when Italy has had such a high number of contaminated people, they realised that we were going to have the same type of spread in France.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-52172570
You couldn't make it up.
I swear I get flashbacks of the 1998 Indonesian riots (school was out & employees stayed home then too, except this was during the dial-up ages, so no Zoom meetings, just email/SMS).
(:Motherly comforting mode on:) You survived that, you will survive this, too! (:Motherly comforting mode off:)
When President Trump says we need to restart the country very soon because "the cure can't be worse than the disease", I don't think a lot of people understand what he's talking about. He assumes that people understand economics. He would be wrong.
Deliberately shutting down this or any country is a TERRIBLE decision to make. A lot of businesses will not come back. Banks will fail. Savings will be wiped out. People's lives will be ruined. A lot of people become unemployed and, if there are no taxes coming in from businesses, a lot of states will not be able to pay unemployment for long (some states are functionally bankrupt now in a (previously) very good economy). We could potentially be facing the biggest worldwide depression that we've ever seen with an entitled population that has been educated in social justice and no practical skills with which to earn a living. The long-term economic consequences could ultimately prove to be more deadly than the Chinese plague.
TL/DR: Governments worldwide may fall because of the choices that they have to make immediately. They do not know at this point whether their decisions are "correct". Nobody does. It could be an economic armageddon.
I don't think that there is such a thing as the "correct" answer. Leaders have to choose which variety of sh*t sandwich they want to hand out to their constituents. Of course, there will be textbooks written about which world leaders made horrible decisions from academics who didn't have to make a decision or choose the course to plot for their country without the luxury of time to ponder the ramifications of the decision.
Now, gloomy mode off. There may well be an enterprising methamphetamine-making moonshiner from Florida that is mixing a concoction of moonshine, meth, ivermectin, metformin, and hydroxychloroquine in quart jars for sale for $50 each that will save the day.
/I hope I'm not giving a business idea to meth-making moonshiners here. It was a JOKE, not a business model!
https://www.vulture.com/2020/04/pink-reveals-covid-19-diagnosis-gives-usd1-million-to-crisis.html
I think that’s kind. I don’t believe we have the right to tell wealthy people what they ‘should’ be doing with their money but when many are choosing to do good, I applaud them. Also during this time, unfortunately, some are giving donations just for the recognition that goes along with it, but if they truly do good, I still applaud them. Blind Gossip has a blind that insinuated that a celebrity had claimed a $1M donation but it was actually in product (not really helpful) and not money. So there is that, and I don’t applaud that.
Keep a, welcome from a fellow N Carolinian!
I agree about celebs. So far, Reese, Pink, and I think Oprah ( noticed her big mouth has been silent though )
My question is where are all the walthy New Yorkers helping the medical staff there.
Usually they are chirping like birds. All I hear is silence. Deafening.
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/04/05/02/26820532-8188049-image-a-127_1586048976407.jpg
when someone dies of coronavirus it's mentioned whether the person has underlying health conditions. Some one can live with heart disease, diabetes, asthma or kidney disease for years as well as other autoimmune diseases . The fact that people succumb from coronavirus shows how powerful this virus is.
That's like saying someone with late stage AIDS who also had heart disease did not die of AIDS. An autopsy can pinpoint the cause of death and contributing factors. I don't know what Sweden is gaining from this.
What if the US started reclassifying the cause of death of people with coronavirus and co-morbid conditions???
That meant to read welcome Leela. F auto. Sorry Nutty.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/boris-johnson-hospital-coronavirus-tests-covid-19-202233703.html
From FirstCoastNews about black distrust of medicine: Cities with large black populations like New York, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee and New Orleans have emerged as hot spots for the coronavirus. Figures released by Michigan's Department of Health and Human Services show 40% of those who have died from COVID-19 are black in a state where African-Americans are just 14% of the population.
That is HUGE.
People with darker pigmentation are less likely to have adequate vitamin D blood levels and, the farther north they go, the lower their vitamin D levels would be unless they rigorously supplement and have those levels checked frequently.
Low vitamin D blood levels have also been connected to unstable blood sugar control, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure which also plague the black community and, per Chinese research (I know, I know!) seems to put persons with diabetes and high blood pressure at much higher risk for death from Chinese disease.
This may explain why New Orleans has such a high death rate.
SA’S COVID-19 INFECTIONS NOW AT 1,655, WITH 11 CONFIRMED DEATHS
The total number of COVID-19 tests conducted to date were 56,873, which was an increase of 2,936 from those reported on Saturday.
The 2 deaths that occurred between yesterday's reporting and today's were both in their 80s (one a Muslim woman from District Six, who was buried today according to Muslim custom - they get you into the ground quickly!)
I don’t like you, but let me give you a tip: order a bunch of food from a local restaurant and have it delivered to the ICU nurses (or any floor), then have someone ‘leak’ your huge act of ‘selfless’ kindness. It will be at most $1000 and will gain you some great publicity. You can’t afford not to.
Do I think they’ll do it? No. It’s not 100% self serving and tone deaf, so not up their alley.
And the moonshine idea to save the economy. 🥃😂😂🍹
Welcome to the Roaring 20's! 🖤
Even better, once a week surprise another unit, keep yourselves consistently in the news for a relatively inexpensive cost.
Do I think they’ll do it? No. It’s not 100% self serving and tone deaf, so not up their alley.
Well, perhaps she could pose in a nurse's uniform and fish-net stockings. Heh.
@SwampWoman: Thank you for the comforting words. 💜💜
And the moonshine idea to save the economy. 🥃😂😂🍹
Welcome to the Roaring 20's! 🖤
You're welcome, Scandi! (grin) There is so much research being done. Any day a medication being used for something else may accidentally prove to be effective against the virus.
Yes. Over-sexualizing Nurses. Minimizing their brains, knowledge, and professionalism. Not to mention minimizing their EXTREME sacrifices during this time.
This sounds like what she would do.
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SwampWoman - I believe that another factor in the high death rates amid African-Americans as an underlying problem of high blood pressure. 75% compared to 55% caucasian males and 40% caucasian females.
I have a headache. I spent most of the day making 4 face masks. I used a dish towel and some microfiber cleaning towels I had.
Um, the pattern directions ... weren't as well marked as I thought. I was right the first time but I spent a lot of time reinventing the wheel and then realized I didn't need to.
oh man. the microfiber fabric is not easy (she writes in the passive voice) to sew with. The only positive is that it is one layer not two. Dish towel may be thick but it doesn't have the issues with the feeder teeth the way microfiber can.
My layers were thick and when you add in covered seams, it was difficult on my machine. The pattern has nice topstitching visible everywhere. Nice on thin fabric, wobbles on thick. Real zigzag would have looked better. It also would have been less obvious if the thread color had not been chosen to make it easier to pull out if I needed instead of matching the fabric.
Thank you and I love your part of the state as well!
I will say that I read a couple of articles that said that a double layer of blue shop towels (brands by Zep and ToolBox) inside a mask provide a more effective filter than just the cotton masks. DM ran a reprint of the article as well: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8187603/Designers-say-layers-blue-shop-towels-inside-cotton-masks-help-effectiveness-homemade-PPEs.html
SwampWoman - I believe that another factor in the high death rates amid African-Americans as an underlying problem of high blood pressure. 75% compared to 55% caucasian males and 40% caucasian females.
Yes, and that could also be linked to vitamin D deficiency. Lots of possibly interconnecting things there.
I will note that people my age and skin color here in Florida are out gardening in long-sleeved shirts and long pants and big hats and oversized sunglasses looking for all the world like Jackie Kennedy Onassis trying to be incognito. By this age, we've had more than one skin cancer removed (raises hand) and have been warned by our dermatologists sternly to not venture out into the sun without wearing a sunscreen with a high-enough SPF to block a nuclear detonation and cover up cover up cover up.
At the risk of sounding really morbid, I'm looking forward to seeing the ,er, autopsy of this virus once everything settles down. It won't be as accurate as we'd like, because statistics are gathered very differently from country to country, and the communist countries will lie about everything, but it shoudl still be interesting.
Am I getting correct info when I hear that only 2 people died of C19 in the US yesterday?
Yes, SwampMan takes an ACE inhibitor and I am not at all happy about it. I'm trying to keep him HOME but it is a difficult task for he will sneak off to the hardware store or auto parts place.
I am interested in what the lab guys (and I mean that in a genderless way) ultimately figure out. I would really, REALLY like to see the ages and pigmentation of those that lost the battle as well as comorbidities, if any. For example, if a patient is listed as "caucasian" that died in the northeast, you would say "Okay, Swamps, this one doesn't fit into your vitamin D hypothesis" but caucasians can be darkly pigmented.
Crowd sourcing data could be interesting. The weaponized autism on display at Reddit would be in their element and would probably detect patterns that normies do not.
DANG! I haven't done any CoBOL (or Fortran) programming in 35 or 40 years! Heh. The people young enough to not be in elevated danger of dying from the virus probably haven't done it.