A basic explanation of why bailouts are so unpopular for corporations (using the Airline industry as an example!)....

Airlines: $35 to put your bag on our plane

Airlines: $16 for bag of chips

Airlines: Sorry you want your *legs* to fit? $75

Airlines: haha, you have to fork over an extra $50 to choose the seat you already paid for

Airlines:

Airlines: Oh no someone help us we r out of monies

— Melanie Schmitz (@MelsLien) March 20, 2020

This is what annoys so many people.  We've watched the stock market zoom to unimaginable and unexplainable levels.  We've watched prices increase (or portion size decrease) over the entire range of items used by the public.

In short we've already bailed out corporations.  We've sat silent while they maximized profits, overshored production and basically acted as if they were guardians of the galaxy.

Now?

Now we have this crisis and instead of setting themselves up to weather the storm they automatically back up to the loan window and expect the taxpayer to ponie up and save them again.

I hear everyone talking about little the old, weak and medically jacked up perish so that we can have herd immunity sooner.

But what about corporations?

If we can be cavalier with the lives of everyday Americans that happen to be elderly then why MUST we save every corporation?

If death is the only fair thing about life (meaning we all have to eventually die) then why are taking extraordinary steps to save corporations that probably should be allowed to die?

Coronavirus News. Simple hand washing really isn't good enough...The public needs to be taught SURGICAL hand washing!

A good illustration of why the surgical hand washing technique is really very important pic.twitter.com/zI3W5Ym4ZA

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) March 21, 2020

Classify me as being stunned.  They're pushing hard on simple hand washing but if we really want to protect ourselves, our families and society then we should be doing surgical handwashing.

Tonnerre (L9014) Amphibious Assault Ship to transfer coronavirus patients in critical condition ...via Naval News...

View this post on Instagram

France will use a Tonnerre (L9014) Amphibious Assault Ship to transfer coronavirus patients in critical condition from Corsica to hospitals in the southeast of the country, its armed forces minister said today (Mar 20). As of Mar.19, there were 162 confirmed coronavirus cases on the Mediterranean island. The last official breakdown, on March 15, showed six deaths and six people in intensive care. #COVID19 #corona #frenchnavy #france #tonnerre #L9014 #amphibiousassaultship

A post shared by Naval News (@naval_news) on Mar 20, 2020 at 11:19am PDT

Can't comment on what has gone on before in Italy because quite honestly I haven't been following it closely (I know my readers have)...what I do know is that this is a nice use of military assets to aid the civilian emergency response to this pandemic.

If you do have stones to throw at the Italian Govt then I recommend another blog.

Everyone will be doing after actions on this crisis and most will fall short.  Only one thing is certain and should be the opening paragraph of every report. The Chinese unleashed this disease on the world and did not properly warn others of the danger.

Once that's done then each city, county, state, and national govt can decide what they need to do better when the communist decide to engage in more biological warfare on the world.

Rick and Morty Public Service Announcement...Get your shit together & wash your hands...

Just get it together and wash your hands. pic.twitter.com/P6FZn2AYKo

— Rick and Morty (@RickandMorty) March 20, 2020

How the World Health Organization placated China and potentially doomed the world...A MUST READ!

Dedicate this article to the China/WHO apologists...history will not be kind to you!

via Endemic Times.

The goal of this post was to provide a clear timeline of the key events related to the coronavirus COVID-19. In order to prepare for our future, we must understand our past. The WHO is not our friend. They are a conglomerate of nations under the guise of credibility that has used their power and connections, to benefit themselves.
Rather than helping those they say they are there to protect, they are protecting their own self-interests. The WHO is to blame for the delay, the lack of transparency and expediency that was needed in a desperate time for our planet. The WHO is to blame for not holding China to account. There insistence on a delay of the known truth has contributed to so many lives lost, and many more to come.

------------------------

I found it very odd that Tedros, upon finally declaring something was wrong on January 30, decided to make it a point to show how much confidence he and the WHO had in China. That their decision that day to declare a public health emergency of international concern, was not a vote of no confidence to China.
Nowhere in the parameters of a pandemic does one need to coddle or placate the country of origin of the virus. The key is identification, mitigation and containment. Those cannot be done if the organization that is meant to be for the world’s health, doesn’t take ownership and control. China was taking the steps it deemed necessary to mitigate and contain the virus. How those measures were taken will be a subject of debate in the months and possibly years to come.
The thing to keep in mind here is that instead of standing up and owning up to obvious severity of the situation, Tedros decided to sit down, and play down the severity, all while patting China on the back.

----------------------------------------

Stephen McDonnell of BBC news in Beijing stated that very act laid bare the worse aspects of China’s command and control system of governance. Stephen also said that the spin doctors and censors will try to find a way to convince 1.4 million people that Dr. Li’s death is not a clear example of the limits to the parties’ ability to manage an emergency.
The following day, on February 8, 2020, did Director Tedros express concern of this information? No. He stated, “were not just battling the virus; we’re also battling the trolls and conspiracy theorists that push misinformation and undermine the outbreak response” (WHO, 2020). He stated that he wanted people to have access to accurate information to protect themselves and others.
There was no mention of Dr. Li. No mention of the risk he took to come forward. No mention of how the Chinese populous was outraged, saddened and angry over the whistleblower’s death. The WHO took away the voice of Dr. Li, the voice of Stephen McDonnell and the multitude of others that were voicing the valid and obvious concerns of the actions of China and the efforts they took to silence their people.
Instead of voicing concern for the Chinese people, the action taken by the WHO was to work with social media companies like Facebook, Google, Tencent, Baidu, Twitter, TikTok, Weibo, Pinterest and others to filter out false information and promote accurate information from credible sources.
Since when did the BBC become a conspiracy theory outlet? They push specific narratives like all other mainstream outlets, but to be considered not credible just begs the question of why, why was the WHO trying so hard to push silence? Why didn’t they speak up for Dr. Li or call into question the actions of China in attempting to silence people? 

-----------------------------------

Dr. Li was not the only one silenced by the Chinese government. Ai Fen, the Director of Wuhan Central hospital’s emergency department, was one of the eight colleagues on the group chat with Dr. Li (Mahbubani, 2020). After sharing a picture on that chat that spread widely, she was informed by hospital leaders that Wuhan’s health commission had forbidden frontline medical workers from saying anything about the virus in order to avoid panic.
Ai was accused of spreading reports and was ordered to not speak with anyone. She was instructed to inform her staff members that they were not permitted to publicly disclose any information about the illness (Mahbubani, 2020).
The claims of being able to control the spread “left hundreds of doctors and nurses in the dark”, not knowing about the epidemic. They could not report when they were ill, alert colleagues, or report cases that they encountered due to restrictive documentation controls (Mahbubani, 2020).
 Ai said that she would have told everyone, even though she was warned if she had known how the virus would infect more than 127,000 people, killing over 4,700. 

Here. 

Take me word folks.  Read the whole thing.  Its so good that I could pop out the entire article to highlight.

Long story short?

China lied, people died and the World Health Organization is corrupt, useless and should never be depended on to make declarations of such importance EVER again.

Taiwan informed the World Health Organization of human to human transmission of the Coronavirus at the end of Dec 2019!

via Financial Times.

Taiwan has accused the World Health Organization of failing to communicate an early warning about transmission of the coronavirus between humans, slowing the global response to the pandemic.

Health officials in Taipei said they alerted the WHO at the end of December about the risk of human-to-human transmission of the new virus but said its concerns were not passed on to other countries.

Here. 

This is HUGE!

If this is true then the World Health Organization take a big portion of the blame in the death of thousands of people around the world.

Additionally the WHO can also be blamed with causing the looming global recession and possible global depression because they valued their relationship with China more than their responsibility to the world.

If Taiwan's evidence is verified then the US should mobilize a joint NATO Special Ops mission to arrest the director of that organization and the NSA should penetrate their files electronically to gather any and all information for his prosecution in the US, the Hague or any other location agreed to by NATO members.

This action would fall under Article 5 (I contend that each member nation has been attacked...additionally it can be argued that we would be acting for global community...if this isn't a war crime then it is a crime against humanity), but because of the scope would only require Special Ops and Intel intervention.

Open Comment Post. 20 Mar 2020

Advanced Running Gear for potential use on the NGCV

#YPG is evaluating Advanced Running Gear for potential use on the #NGCV using an existing #Bradley #IFV as a surrogate test platform. The new running gear provides more ground clearance and increased transportability survivability and adjustable ride height#USArmy pic.twitter.com/8WCtgEti72

— The Dead District (@TheDeadDistrict) March 19, 2020

The irony is deliciously painful.  Could you imagine this suspension on the new built AAVs with more powerful water jets?  Could you imagine this suspension on M1A1s with M1A2 electronics/optics coupled with a diesel engine?

Could you imagine the US Army simply saying "screw it" develop a new add on armor package for the AMPV, add a 50mm RWS, APS and this suspension and call it a day on the Next Generation Combat Vehicle?

The Marine Corps has abandoned tracks.   I luv the ACV but I do have nagging doubts...especially when transitioning from water to the beach (pics of stuck HUMVEES with Marines trying to push them linger in the back of my mind) but for the Corps the future is wheels.  Apparently all wheels (has anyone asked a simple question...what happens to the M88s and ABV since the M1A1 is no more?).

Thankfully the US Army is still committed to fighting high intensity motorized/mechanized combat.

24th MEU exercises command and control of amphibious forces...pics by Staff Sgt. Mark Morrow

It has begun. California Gov orders all state residents to stay home...

via Politico.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered California's nearly 40 million residents to stay home, making it the first state to impose that strict mandate on all residents to counteract a looming surge of new infections.

The order takes effect immediately and remains effective "until further notice." Californians are not allowed to leave home except for essential purposes. They are allowed to purchase groceries, prescriptions and health care, as well as commute to jobs deemed essential.

Here. 

The messaging on this "disaster" has been nothing but a mess.  Historians will surely blame government at all levels for failing to properly inform the American people of the issues being faced.

But putting my intuition aside I have another nagging issue.

I can't figure out if we're seeing some of these governors acting out of a need or a desire for free money.

What do I mean?

We're seeing especially the governors of California and New York acting in ways that defy explanation. 

This latest move by the California Governor seems all out of proportion to the threat.  To put the entire state on a stay home order?  Now?  He has guaranteed that the unemployment rate will spike to at least 20%.

One man made a decision that will affect the entire country, if not most of the world.  But is the outbreak in California that serious?  Does it warrant this response?  Or is it a cynical ploy to grab federal dollars, make the headlines and burnish the credentials of a man that has been said to have aspirations to the White House?

Perhaps LCpl Gillon's death will change public opinion on our wars in the Middle East...but I doubt it.

Today LCpl Gillon returned from Iraq.

Rest in Peace. pic.twitter.com/lJjkxYbskY

— Pagey (@thepagey) March 19, 2020

I've watched countless men return from our wars in the Middle East in flag covered caskets.

None have moved the needle on public opinion.

Perhaps LCpl Gillon's death will...but I doubt it.

May her memory be a blessing.  God bless her family and the families of our own Soldiers that died in the rocket attack.

We lost more national treasure (the Brits too) with all their deaths.

PS.  Send the pain.  Send the hate.  I'm ready for the constant lectures of staying the course.  Victory being right around the corner.  How we're bringing democracy to the region.  Why it takes decades to win insurgencies...I've heard it all.

Geez. Who knew terrorists had combat engineers?

After the public protests on the highway last week, militias have taken a more permanent action against joint Turkey-Russia patrols in Idlib in Syria. https://t.co/ieJN5bFr7B

— Guy Burton (@guyjsburton) March 19, 2020

Wow.  This is next level trolling on the part of the terrorists.  It's also a bit telling about the forces in the region.

No one had visibility on them doing this?

If they did have visibility why wasn't a JDAM strike (or equivalent) put in motion to stop it?

Terrorist combat engineers.  Shaping the battlefield for terror into the 2020's.