muslims are talking about a big surprize they saw.

usually they see mecca like this on tv:

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...pslwlnecim.jpg


now ... i guess no one realized the floor was white!

http://i1340.photobucket.com/albums/...psy6jpvpeb.jpg

That is also happening some places in the US. Also, more and more stores now open an hour or so early for "seniors only" shopping.

And I was thinking of buying any groceries I need at Walmart because they have the "do-it-yourself" scanners at which there are rarely any lines--in normal times at least (and I assume now because reportedly shopping traffic is now in decline as people try not to go to stores) you can walk right up to the machine, scan and bag your own stuff, pay with a credit card and go.

And the good news (I guess):

gasbuddy.com

I think we are at the beginning of a global deflationary spiral. It will be hard to stop as Japan has discovered after 20 years of trying.

grocery stores are open. Many are limiting the number of people inside to avoid too much crowding.

That’s pretty optimistic in the face of multiple predictions of a 20%+ drop in GDP over the next three months.

Thanks! Considering talking to my boss, but I don’t think anyone wants to be the first “wuss” to say they don’t want to come in...

This is beyond even the most optimistic outlook. Full tilt... with hundreds of thousands of newly unemployed? And what about the trajectory of infections makes it even remotely possible for things to return to normal in just a few weeks?

I gather your state's public schools are all open? When they close for a couple of weeks, your boss won't have a choice.

But the question is, "Then what?" Because if they do drop off and the "lockdowns" and "distancing" are loosened, they could just as easily--and likely will--rebound. Until we reach the point where a large segment of the population is immune, because they've had it or been vaccinated, the risk is there.

It takes a hard commitment to social distancing and self-quarantine from the vast majority of the population for those measures to work as quickly as you hope, and we haven't seen that yet.

Actually schools here have been closed for a couple weeks, and aren't set to reopen until late April.

To be fair to my boss, he's under pressure from senior leadership who is apparently upset seeing so many empty desks today (despite a state-wide shelter-in-place order that went into effect on Saturday evening.)

Best case scenario at this point is a mild recession but we are facing depression level unemployment figures and tons of small businesses folding and many large ones on the brink. Many of which many not be able to hold out for another few weeks.

Without major fiscal stimulus--which the nitwits in Congress seem determined to argue over and delay, just as with TARP in 2008--I think a depression is baked in unless we decide to take off the lockdowns and let people die en masse. And it won't just be coronavirus patients dying. It'll be the accident victim and the heart attack patient whose treatment is substandard because the ER is overrun with coronavirus patients and there is no ICU bed.

Tokyo Olympics being pushed to 2021.

Source: https://www.portlandmercury.com/blog...m-on-evictions

Oh yeah? Wow.

I guess your state or federal government will have to force these guys' hands then, at some point.

Apparently Pennsylvania is the only state in the entire country and is closed
Liquor stores.

Not smart

I’ll bet they remedy that soon

As of tonight the UK is on a 3 week lockdown
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...rced-by-police

Quebec also, our infected rate multiplied by three in one day, passing Ontario and BC.

Every non essential business is closing...

NYC and NJ are talking about letting a couple thousand prisoners out because of the rampant spread of coronavirus throughout jails in the area. Rikers Island apparently has a high number of cases. Rikers, amongst with others, are planning to let their residents out to let them do what they do best- ignore rules and laws.

Of course, logically this makes sense to nobody. Let a bunch of non-law abiding citizens free, expect them to not only Social Distance, but also follow the law. At very least, a bunch of likely Coronavirus positive people out in society, at worst a bunch of Corona infected criminals preying on the rest of society. Sounds like soon we'll be headed into worse territory than before.

I'm sure DiBlasio is highly aroused by this all, since he clearly does not believe in incarceration and has been trying to get rid of laws for years now.

Georgia's Governor Kemp issued a strange Coronavirus edict today stopping short of a statewide lockdown or "stay at home" order. He requested "medically fragile" Georgians to shelter in place. He banned all groups larger than 10 persons. He closed bars and nightclubs.

Atlanta's Mayor is expected to issue an more stringent "Stay at Home" edict via Executive Order, if she can. It's unclear if she has the authority to, now that Kemp has issued his order.

There is speculation that he blindsided Atlanta's Mayor, asking her to hold off on his order, because he is trying to prevent a full lockdown of Atlanta, which represents the lion's share of Georgia's revenue base.

Sounds kind of like the dynamic between Arizona's governor and Phoenix's mayor. Then again, half the Phoenix City Council was apparently against Kate Gallego shutting down bars, restaurants, gyms, et cetera. Mayor Gallego shut everything down in Phoenix last week while the governor is only ordering shut downs in the counties where there are confirmed cases (Arizona only has 15 counties, four of which are still allegedly COVID-19 free). The state legislature just passed a $50 million crisis budget.