New Coronavirus - COVID-19

[freebeard]

theregister.co.uk: Bad news: Coronavirus is spreading rapidly across the world. Good news: Nitrogen dioxide levels are decreasing and the air on Earth is cleaner

As humans stay put at home, fossil fuel consumption levels decline

[redpoint5]

By no means am I trying to paint the behavior as innocent and I'd rather withhold judgement until the facts are clear, rather it's a critique about the system that encourages antisocial behavior in the first place. Why do we allow people in likely positions of insider information to invest in certain ways if we don't allow them to act in certain circumstances on that information? Were these people selling individual stocks, or their portfolio in general? I only have index funds, so I can't even have insider information to act on other than generally which direction the market is headed (which I don't believe falls under SEC rules, but I'm no expert).

Your other point about lack of notifying the public is also not so cut and dry. There's a certain amount of social engineering that must occur to achieve optimal outcomes, so it isn't clear that withholding certain information was meant purely for selfish political purposes. For example, if a fire started in a theater, and the attendant told people they had a technical problem and needed everyone to evacuate immediately, it would empty faster than if the guy yelled "fire!". In one scenario, the best outcome was achieved despite incomplete information, and in the other a suboptimal outcome occurred despite full information.

Again, I'm not calling the actions of the administration good or bad until enough time has made that more clear. I suspect the top people in their areas of expertise report to people who have the president's attention, and that a president regardless of political affiliation leans heavily on the expertise of their advisors. I doubt outcomes would be significantly different regardless of who is the face of the executive branch.

[freebeard]

Again, I'm not calling the actions of the administration good or bad until enough time has made that more clear.

The American public's approval has risen from 46% to 55%. [citation needed]

Here's an article from February the First:
[URL="https://metro.co.uk/2020/02/01/us-australia-close-border-chinese-arrivals-amid-cornoavirus-outbreak-12166512/"]metro.co.uk: Nations ramp up border controls as Coronoavirus death toll rises

Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2020/02/01/us-au...2/?ito=cbshare

USofA and Oztralia followed Russia, Mongolia and North Korea. I fail to see how trading in mid-Feb was insider trading.

I can't find anything on Madagascar. Have they shut. Down. EVERYTHING.

Russia have positioned themselves well for the aftermath so here's a celebration from one of my favorite bands, Otava Yo— Medieval Disco:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghO5oPVtG_w

[Fat Charlie]

Congresscritters buying and selling stocks based on what they know about their committee business is the scumminess that we expect, and get, from the swamp. They're the only ones who can make it illegal, and they won't.
I'm not looking at the insider trading, as such. I'm asking what duty the chair- the ranking member of the majority party, which also happens to be the party in the White House, has to the country.

The most decisive action Washington took in February was... to sell stock. While telling everyone that there was nothing wrong. And then belatedly warning donors.

Burr's oversight functions allowed (required) him to see exactly what was going on. And he didn't use those powers to push the Executive to change its tune or even brief the wider Senate. The only people he warned were political donors from his home state- and he only warned them the day his financial disclosure was required to be filed. Apparently one of those donors has an intern watching things like that, and Burr knows it.

[freebeard]

Is is any worse than thoughtless THOTs licking toilet seats and posting it online?

I nearly split a gut when I heard Juan Williams refer to Ilhan Hoe-mar.

There's another song (from Canada) but I think I will put it in the driving music thread.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by Fat Charlie

I would submit that members of the Senate Intelligence Committee are not innocent bystanders on railroad tracks, but actually have an important duty to the country.

You are absolutely right! We really could have used those three weeks! There are now four senators in trouble for doing the exact same thing. Were they the [financially] smart ones? Seriously, they needed to say something!

The governor and state super Nintendo cancelled school until April 10th.

[Xist]

Fauci said there is only anecdotal and not scientific evidence that the malaria drug is effective against coronavirus.

There are up to 70,000 other ventilators that can be retrofitted to work in intensive care units.

[redpoint5]

Kids licking toilet seats and wanting attention register high on my annoyance radar. That's what they do, and the risk was probably extremely low. Not condoning it, just think it's pretty expected behavior (perhaps because I'm barely more mature).

Originally Posted by Xist

The governor and state super Nintendo cancelled school until April 10th.

Nintendo cancelled school? Now that is a diabolical plan to sell more video games. Perhaps this virus was the work of the Japanese, not Chinese.

[serialk11r]

I'm actually glad Burr sold his stock on Feb 13. That means he's not stupid enough to actually believe what he was saying about everything being under control. It's difficult to be the one person speaking up and not toeing the party line, that's just how herd mentality works.

There are some other people in government that seem to drink their own Koolaid and that worries me much more. People who drink their own Koolaid are dangerous because you can't even convince them to do what's good for themselves.

I made good money off the crash, it was very obviously coming if you watch the normal news. The reports about how infectious the disease is and how it's more serious than influenza or the cold were very obvious. Congress (well, and much of the rest of government as well) is in fact extremely corrupt, but I'm sure there are much more outrageous examples than this, where many people around the world were simply in denial and continuing to buy the bubble.

[freebeard]

Sh-tuff just got real. I have it on good authority that Arcimoto has ceased production for a week. Tesla in Fremont is still operating?