This week the big news is pretty much anything related to the Coronavirus/COVID-19. So naturally there are some stories related to the coronavirus this week. However, I did manage to find some things that have nothing to do with the virus. Let's see what's going on.
Education News
- San José, California is one of those seriously expensive places in California, part of the Silicon Valley. Homelessness there has been on the increase, and this includes students of the California State University System, that includes San José State. How bad? Well, for example, "early last year a student group asked the San José State administration, among other requests, to set aside 10 parking spots for students who sleep in their cars." This gives a new definition to campus housing, maybe we call it mobile campus housing. It is also bad for faculty and staff, which I am sure also makes it difficult for the school to recruit new workers. So, one option they are trying is "investing heavily in building subsidized housing for faculty and staff." Story via Inside Higher Ed. On a side note, my current workplace used to have a somewhat robust faculty housing set up that has mostly declined to three or four houses or so used mainly as transitional housing to attract new faculty (you can rent the house for up to three years while you get your own place). Not a bad deal but certainly not what it used to be. The rationale back then, according to old timers I have spoken to, for having good faculty housing was to encourage more faculty to live in town (instead of commuting) and thus integrate to the community. I can only imagine how bad it can be if you have to commute two hours or more to get to your campus on a daily basis.
- You know things are bad in a workplace when others warn you to stay far far away from said workplace. That is what just happened at Texas Southern University, which recently fired their college president. The situation is so bad that the college president of a neighboring school is warning potential job candidates to stay away. Story via Inside Higher Ed. I admire this gesture because I think if you are fortunate enough to escape a toxic workplace, or they fire you, it is more than fair to warn others way from said toxic place. If you can do not let anyone walk into the hell hole that you just left.
Government News
- The hysteria about the coronavirus is in full swing. People are rushing supermarkets and grocery stores like it's hurricane season in the Caribbean. People are hoarding basics like toilet paper and hand sanitizer. This behavior is getting some government officials worried, and one legislator has gone so far as to urge Amazon to tamp down on price gouging for things like hand sanitizer. Story via Reuters. LOL. Like Amazon would honestly give a shit; they probably figure the more money they can make off those hoarding suckers the better.
- When people in the U.S. love to whine and bitch that we cannot get Medicare for All or any form of universal care, it's interesting to note that they never once question how much the Pentagon and the Department of Defense love to waste money. Story via TruthDig. It is so bad that you need to "keep in mind that the Defense Department remains the only major federal agency that has proven itself incapable of even passing an audit." But I guess Americans prefer to make sure their military has the latest doohickeys in the quest to kill more people rather than making sure Americans can be healthy and alive. It's a matter of priorities.
- Meanwhile, the government also failed their job to keep coal companies accountable, and as those companies went bankrupt they also conveniently abandoned their responsibilities to their workers. They just shifted the workers disability claims for things like black lung to taxpayers (i.e. most of you and me). Story via The Lexington Herald Leader based on a GAO report. Here is a link to the actual GAO report if interested.
The Bad Economy Around the World
- Speaking of the Caribbean, area nations are increasingly concerned the coronavirus may affect tourism. Story via Global Voices.
- Down under, the Australian Associated Press, the country's main wire service is going out of business and closing. Story via Nieman Lab.
In Other News of the Bad Economy
- In more travel news, the International Air Transport Association, which is the major trade group for the commercial airlines, is already claiming they will lose as much as $133 billion as a result of the coronavirus. Story via UPI.
- However, not all trade groups feel the coronavirus may bad for business. Learn how funeral directors are preparing for coronavirus in this article out of VICE.
- Over at Juanita Jean's, they explain how barely literate books by politicians reach the bestseller list. Often, it is because a political party, in this case the Party of Stupid, buys a lot of copies of a book like Donald Trump's Jr. book to give away at events and so on. Those sales do elevate the numbers, but is anyone reading those books? LOL, highly unlikely. This is a pretty common practice when it comes to those mostly ghost written screeds that politicians "write" and often put out around campaign time. To say the practice is shady is to speak mildly. This is the nice thing about public records; you can find out shady details like this, and the post includes a list of such sales.
- Apparently, there are more and more old people in the U.S., and that is becoming a serious problem, especially in rural areas. Story via Route Fifty. For example, "the South was one of the region’s hardest hit by the last recession. Should another downturn strike and drive up unemployment, the report adds, it could present budget difficulties for states in the region with higher populations of seniors." They also tend to have a higher population of geriatric voters who keep voting for the Party of Stupid even as said party's platform includes cutting things like Medicare and Social Security. I guess that can be a problem too.
- As if you did not have enough reason to hate Amazon, let's be honest, the company is mainly focused on eliminating as many jobs as possible to enrich their billionaire asshole owner. Story via Forward Kentucky. Enjoy your packages and prime two day shipping, well, as long as you still have a job that pays you enough to buy said packages.
- Oh, and also feel free to enjoy your coffee at Starbucks or if you buy Nespresso. Those 8 year old kids picking it barely make a living so you can overpay for your coffee. Story via Telesur. According to the story, "The investigation found that the children spend eight hours a day and six days per week picking coffee in backbreaking conditions for wages depending on the weight of beans they manage to gather. A child earns less than US$6 a day on a good day, though much of the time the wage is much lower. "
And finally for this week, today's public service announcement
- Tito's Homemade Vodka, that fine Texan vodka, would like to inform their customers and friends that you CANNOT use their product to make hand sanitizer. Story via CNN. Yes, they are aware that with people hoarding hand sanitizer due to the coronavirus hysteria that some folks may want to make their own at home. And you can make your own at home as long as you are using ethyl alcohol of at least 96% alcohol to work according to the World Health Organization (link to their recipe and guidelines, PDF). Here is another simpler recipe via 12 Tomatoes (the recipe comes from a PhD in biomedical sciences). Bottom line is to wash your hands with soap and water as your best option, then a good alcohol based hand sanitizer if you must. Feel free to drink the vodka if you need to calm your nerves a bit.
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