still in lockdown: Hunger is coming

Each morning, I watch the wuhanflu press conference(usually via Youtube) while I surf the net. Usually I stream it from CSPAN so I don't have to put up with commentary that gaslights viewers to ignore what they just heard.

earlier this week I laughed at the hysterical MSM in the US who were reacting with horror when Trumpieboy said he would  be in charge of reopening the US economy, not the governors.

Put MSM outrage articles here.

My comment: Don't throw me into the briar patch cried Brer rabbit.

i.e. he was trolling them to fill the 24 hour news cycle with outrage against the dictator Trump who is not letting the governors rule their own states, at which point he will "pull a rabbit out of his hat" and voila, a plan to let the governors reopen their own states

So today, the task force opened with a long plan to reopen the US economy, to be run by the governors (since each state has different populations and geography this makes sense.) And of course, since such guidelines take time to devise...Hmm... 

At the newsconference, the Michigan demonstration was condemned of course, even though driving a closed car doesn't spread infection. But from discussion boards, it wasn't the stay at home order per se that made them upset, but because the governor put out absurd orders such as stopping you from buying things that are available inside the stores you visit if she decided you don't need them: e.g. plant seeds.

fox video here does talk to the protesters.

People wanting to plant a garden are not in danger of spreading infection either, especially in suburban or rural areas, and this was the last straw for many of them. This petty over reach was the cause of the anger, but was not mentioned in most of the news articles, even though it could easily have been found if anyone bothered to check.

here in the Philippines, people are also getting upset. 

Duterte is threatening to shoot them, but if people get angry enough, that won't stop them (here, demonstrations are a way of life, and if people get angry enough they won't require the usual 500 peso fee to go out and vent their feelings in public demonstrations).

but the main problem is the hassle at trying to do shopping etc. Basic food is available here since we are in a rice and vegetable growing area, but we are having trouble finding things that come from Manila.

Here, they are getting stricter: I guess the grocery stores were too crowded, (you stay outside to keep the numbers inside down, and of course have to wear a mask).

So now we are going to be given a pass to go out only on certain days: Our barangay (neighborhood) is Sunday and Thursday. This is to stop the daily shopping for food and commodities that crowd the stores.

The problem? Most poor people don't have refrigerators, and shop every day.

my main problem is getting my checks processed at the bank: I get my IRA check by mail, and the latest one took 2 months to get to me, but there are no couriers to take checks from our bank to the Manila branch, so I can't cash that check or a personal check from my US bank to transfer my SS. I did get my American bank to wire me money (electronic transfer is more expensive but can be done) so I am okay for now. 

But what about our rental properties in Manila? They might miss payments meaning we lose that income too. So money is tight.

In the meanwhile, Kuya is back harvesting rice, so we will have income... we usually sell it as our own brand, but with all the difficulty shipping rice to market and getting paid for it, he will probably sell some of it directly to the rice dealers so we have some income to plant the next crop in June.

There is a shortage of rice due to the drought in Vietnam and Thailand, so rice dealers are calling him asking for his crop to tide them over until they can find rice (the main planting season is June; the present harvest is the dry season harvest, for those who have irrigation).

if there is no change, things will become bad in the near future as prices go up. But the Government usually keeps the price of rice down for those with a card who are registered as poor.

Yes, there are officially 5000 cases of wuhanflu here in the Philippines and probably many more. But right now, the experts have decided that Luzon will stay on lockdown through mid May, and things will get worse for the poor who are out of work, and people can die of other things: people who aren't earning money won't be able to afford their high blood pressure or diabetes medicine, for example, or people who throw out their dogs because they can't afford to feed them means more dog bites and maybe more rabies cases. 

If you are a dog lover, don't come here: The stray dogs will break your heart... and they are also a rabies danger.

The big worry is about the ability to prepare the fields for the main summer harvest if they can't get fertilizer, seedlings, etc. for the fields. 

Joy is arranging another delivery of rice to Manila this weekend and has bought protective face masks for them to use when they take the rice out of the truck. (they already use masks).

there are rumors that the elderly with the virus are being neglected in hospitals here: One old lady died at the regional hospital and relative claim she wasn't treated properly.

Note: We don't have a lot of ICU beds here, so that might be true. But I have been kept inside and haven't talked with Angie or the other relatives who work at the local hospital so I don't really know what's going on.

So the economic collapse is the real story, not a mild but very infectious virus...And not just in the Philippines... there could be starvation deaths all over the world because of this epidemic shutting down the economy.