1 minute ago, G-RFRY said:

A mask will not stop you getting the virus more likely stop you spreading it, washing your hands is as important if not more the virus can be live on some object for a few hours, two very healthy nurses dyed this week form Covid-19, so the virus has no respect for age. 

And this, is why the disease runs rampant. So many people refusing to accept or do what needs to be done by everyone to stop this thing.

17 minutes ago, KevinAu said:

And this, is why the disease runs rampant. So many people refusing to accept or do what needs to be done by everyone to stop this thing.

For many this killer is still not visible (nobody trust TV), its still like the flu an they still dont understand why the whole world is on halt.

I wonder what more needs to happen for everyone to get that? Maybe a deadlier second wave like what happened with the Spanish flu .

2 hours ago, KevinAu said:

...and note the utter idiocy the UK government handled this and destroyed the economy and got people killed needlessly. Things like not testing people because they hadn’t been overseas, when that is exactly the kind of testing you need at the beginning to detect where it is gaining a community spread toehold. Or telling people in all capital letters not to wear masks. Think of the trillions it costs, the lives lost, the jobs lost and the lives changed because of the stupidity infecting those people in positions of power and influence.

Fixed it for you  although other countries are available..

10 hours ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

On the financial side every country has a national debt. I don't know who is responsible for controlling that but it seems sensible that could be looked at and part of the slate wiped clean if possible.

Who owns the United States debt?

The United States itself owns the majority of its debt, but there are trillions of dollars owned by other countries. The Washington Post issued a chart that highlights which foreign entities currently hold the most U.S. debt. Here is a list of the top 2: China: $1.3 trillion. Japan: $1.1 trillion as of January 2018. Social Security owns a substantial amount as well. The government has been robbing - er borrowing from the SS trust fund for years.

According to most of the sources I've found, the Bank of England owns the majority of the UK's national debt, while some is owned by private investors, companies and some other countries.

 

Careful guys or this thread might get closed.  It's best to just ignore posts that start getting into exchanges over specific countries and/or governments and not respond.

Noel

I think it is more significant to post who owns the US debt as a percentage Fr Bill.

American Investors hold 32.5% 

The Federal Reserve holds 11.2%

The US Government itself holds 29.3%

Foreign Investors hold 29.3%  China and Japan, the two leading holders of US debt, see-saw back and forth as to who owns more.  Their interest is in holding up the dollar.

Noel

2 hours ago, G-RFRY said:

A mask will not stop you getting the virus more likely stop you spreading it,

Depends on the mask, If that was the case healthcare workers on the front line wouldn't be wearing N95 masks. Not all masks are equal in effectiveness so one needs to be more specific. So until the N95 masks become more available and our front line healthcare workers no longer have a shortage of them, I would suggest wearing some sort of a mask given it can't hurt.  But staying at home and social distancing are known to be effective, so that is the most important thing each one of us can do right now. The virus can live up to 96 hours on some surfaces and remain airborne up to 3 hours, and new evidence suggest that talking alone is enough to exhale the virus in addition to coughing or sneezing. And if that is not bad enough the percent of asymptomatic cases seem to be much higher than originally thought. Stay safe and use common sense!

Martin    

Edited April 4, 20206 yr by MartinRex007

Lots of mask hypocrisy going around. Corundum. Warp in the space time continuum.

@n4gix, that surprises me.  No mention of the IMF. Does that not get used by the US. Seems odd you can owe yourself money. If that is the case then why not just write it off as the EU did for a substantial amount of Greek debt some years ago.

Anyway, it was just a idea of mine that some debt could be wiped off given how many countries are building up such huge amounts for no fault of their own.

In case I haven’t made myself clear yet. Wear a freaking mask.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/face-masks-how-the-trump-administration-went-from-no-need-to-put-one-on-to-fight-coronavirus-185852253.html

Ray, the US is the largest contributor to IMF and as of last October has 155 billion US dollars in the pot.  But it also borrows small amounts of foreign currency from the IMF from time to time to boost the dollar in foreign markets.

Noel

1 hour ago, KevinAu said:

In case I haven’t made myself clear yet. Wear a freaking mask.

Go ahead - but even now the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has this to say

 

5. Are face masks effective in protecting against COVID-19?

If you are infected, the use of surgical face masks may reduce the risk of you infecting other people. On the other hand there is no evidence that face masks will effectively prevent you from becoming infected with the virus. In fact, it is possible that the use of face masks may even increase the risk of infection due to a false sense of security and increased contact between hands, mouth and eyes while wearing them. The inappropriate use of masks also may increase the risk of infection.

 

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/questions-answers

The most effective measures still appear to be contact tracing, distancing and basic hygiene, inconvenient and bothersome as they are

Cheers Mallard

 

10 minutes ago, Mallard said:

Go ahead - but even now the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control has this to say

 

5. Are face masks effective in protecting against COVID-19?

If you are infected, the use of surgical face masks may reduce the risk of you infecting other people. On the other hand there is no evidence that face masks will effectively prevent you from becoming infected with the virus. In fact, it is possible that the use of face masks may even increase the risk of infection due to a false sense of security and increased contact between hands, mouth and eyes while wearing them. The inappropriate use of masks also may increase the risk of infection.

 

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/questions-answers

The most effective measures still appear to be contact tracing, distancing and basic hygiene, inconvenient and bothersome as they are

Cheers Mallard

It’s not about protecting yourself.

50 minutes ago, Mallard said:

If you are infected, the use of surgical face masks may reduce the risk of you infecting other people.

That is all the more reason for wearing a mask; to not become a silent killer at worst or a super-spreader at best.

I've been following the insidious spread of Covid-19 in my county. A week and a half ago we had zero confirmed cases. A few days later we had seventeen.

This morning there were 245 cases, this afternoon we have 313! This is terrifying!