No, Really

Compare & Contrast Countries: These United Snakes & Iran

You thought there was a difference? It's like Hitler vs. Stalin: Root for injuries.

DW.COM:
Iran faces catastrophic death toll from coronavirus  —  Beyond China and Italy, Iran has been hardest hit by COVID-19 — but it could get a whole lot worse, thanks to a lack of international aid, government mismanagement and nobody knowing quite who's in charge. [Where have we heard that before? — M.B.]
David Gilbert / VICE:   3.5 Million Iranians Could Die From Coronavirus If The Outbreak Is Not Controlled
Reuters:   U.S. sanctions Iran, seeks release of Americans amid coronavirus outbreak
Patrick Wintour / The Guardian:   UK presses US to ease Iran sanctions to help fight coronavirus

Not that there is any sympathy here for the religious dingbat hostage-takers of the Islamic Republic. Pharoah, let our people go, then we'll talk.

Editorial Honesty: Face it, on a rock swirling in cold empty space that is infested by over seven billion (w/ a "b") allegedly sapient beings, a few million are not a drop in the (proverbial) bucket, they are a single H₂O molecule
in a five-gallon bucket.

Token Resistance On Iloilo; Sub Sighted, Sunk

SUN 18 MAR 1945
Pacific
TF 58 (Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher) planes bomb airfields on southern Kyushu and shipping, attacking convoy KATA-504, escorted by Coast Defense Vessel No.29 and submarine chaser Ch 58, damaging cargo vessel Kiyo Maru and sinking transport Kenyo Maru and tanker No.1 Nansei Maru, and Okinawa-bound auxiliary sailing vessels Kamo Maru and Tenjin Maru off Noma Misaki, 31°24'N, 130°07'E. Off Kyushu, Japanese planes bomb carriers Enterprise (CV-6), 30°50'N, 133°42'E, and Yorktown (CV-10), 30°40'N, 133°49'E, damaging both. Intrepid (CV-11) is crashed by kamikaze and hit by friendly fire, 30°47'N, 133°50'E.

TG 78.3 (Rear Admiral Arthur D. Struble) lands Army troops (40th Division, less one RCT) at Iloilo, on the southeast coast of Panay, under covering fire of light cruiser Cleveland (CL-55) and three destroyers (TU 74.2.2); the troops encounter only token resistance.

PV-1s (VPB 128), on the basis of reports from Filipino guerillas, bomb two Japanese midget submarines in Davao Gulf.

Tank landing ship LST-635 is damaged by grounding, P.I., 11°05'N, 125°05'E.

Submarine Balao (SS-285) sinks Japanese merchant trawler No.2 Daito Maru 35°00'N, 123°51'E.

Submarine Springer (SS-414), attacking Japanese convoy, sinks fast transport T.18 and damages minesweeper W 17 near Mutsure Jima, Ryukyus, 26°38'N, 127°12'E.

Submarine Trigger (SS-237) sinks Japanese army cargo ship No.3 Tsukushi Maru northwest of Okinawa, 28°05'N, 126°44'E.

TF 58 planes sink Japanese auxiliary submarine chaser No.43 Yusen Maru 45 miles southwest of Satamisaki Light; planes from carrier Hornet (CV-12) sink merchant vessel No.1 Nansei Maru and damage Tokuho Maru and Asahi Maru in Yamakawa harbor.

Japanese landing ship T.137 is damaged by aircraft, Yaene, Hachijo Jima.

Japanese merchant cargo ship Taiju Maru is sunk by aircraft, off Hime Jima.

Japanese ship Koichi Maru is damaged by aircraft, Amachi harbor, Kochi-Ken.

Atlantic
Destroyer escorts Menges (DE-320), Mosley (DE-321), Pride (DE-323), and Lowe (DE-325) sink German submarine U-866, northwest Atlantic, 43°18'N, 61°08'W.

Another Smart Senator (There Are Soooo Many)

There are Americans who eat squirrels, possums, raccoons, alligators, raw fish, fish eggs, animal organs, pig entrails, cow brains... Let's talk about culture, @JohnCornyn, you racist lunatic. https://t.co/51tbWtMbmV

— Alexandra Halaby (@iskandrah) March 18, 2020

Apparently armadillo isn't reg'lar fare in Tejas, but I hope it comes to this again,

During the Great Depression, Americans were known to eat armadillo, known begrudgingly as "Hoover hogs," a nod to the belief that Herbert Hoover was responsible for the economic despair facing the nation at that time.

& Senator Cornhole gets some 'dillo shoved down his piehole & contracts leprosy.

Another armadillo oddity:

The nine-banded armadillo also serves science through its unusual reproductive system, in which four genetically identical offspring are born, the result of one original egg. Because they are always genetically identical, the group of four young provides a good subject for scientific, behavioral, or medical tests that need consistent biological and genetic makeup in the test subjects. This is the only reliable manifestation of polyembryony in the class Mammalia, and exists only within the genus Dasypus and not in all armadillos, as is commonly believed. Other species that display this trait include parasitoid wasps, certain flatworms, and various aquatic invertebrates.

ADDED 19 MARCH 2020 AT APPROX. 0505 hrs.: Steve M. delves more deeply into leprosy & consuming the living tanks.

Social D

Surrounded by social distancing signs on seats, Orange County Sheriff’s Dept. Undersheriff Bob Peterson
listens to Orange County Health Care Agency Director addresses the Orange County supervisors during a
discussion on the county’s latest efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic. [All sic. Gee-zis. I paid for this?]
(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Making America Great Again

Drive-in theatres may be back. You & the family can enjoy a bargain evening at the movies from the safety of your
soon-to-be-airtight electric shitmobile.

Michael Ray, 11, plays with a ball before a movie at the Paramount Drive-In. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Emergency Measures: Broke down & purchased a US$1.00/8 wks. subscription to the local fishwrapper, as the billionaire publisher hasn't had the simple human decency to suspend the Times paywall & give all of us access to vital viral information. Cheap bastard. Hope this has all dried up & blown over w/in eight wks., as the butcher's bill goes to US$4.00/wk. after the initial eight. Nonetheless, that dollar will go a long way; we fully intend to steal as much text & as many pix as humanly possible ("All the news that fits.") & to share it w/ you, our reader.

Go Play In Traffic, Senator Stupid

“Getting coronavirus is not a death sentence except for maybe no more than 3.4 percent of our population… probably far less. We don’t shut down our economy because tens of thousands of people die on the highways.”

— Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), quoted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Perhaps someone could point out to Sen. Dimbulb that three per cent of the population of these United Snakes would be around 10 million people. Or explain the difference between traffic accidents & a viral pandemic. Or beat him about the head w/ a stick.

Maybe he'll change his tune when he's wheezing, gurgling & spitting up blood. I'd pay a dollar to see that.

[Political Wire/Shitty Website That Wants You To Turn Off Your Adblocker]

The Current Crisis & Beyond

A possibly fortunate coincidence: Target gave this reporter a free (allegedly a "($99 value)") one yr. Shipt membership because the local Target is being remodeled. We'll see if/how that works. Gave it a shot today & was advised:

High demand may limit availability

And, US$7.00 for orders under US$35.00. (Contracted it & died saving himself seven bones.) My only immediate need is moloko for coffee, & I'll bet there's no milk at any of the local stores anyway.

Less immediate desires may also be affected*:

 NOTICE: Our shipping department is closed until at least March 30 due to government mandated closures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. All orders will ship when our shipping department re-opens.

Haven't heard that the U.S.P.S. is stopping operations. Maybe they laid off the wage slaves but don't want to admit it. Similar outfits have closed their meatspace facilities to the public but are still shipping.

---

*Disruption in China may have a longer term effect on toy trains. As in may not be any more made for some time.

Battery Failure

Nice sky toyesterday, even if everything else was warmed-over shit.

It Might As Well Be Spring

St. Paddy's Day, 1945

Up The Irish!

SAT 17 MAR 1945
Mediterranean
Motor torpedo boats PT-303 and PT-305 engage two German F-lighters off Point Mesco, Italy; PT-303 is damaged when she is accidentally rammed by PT-305.

Europe
LCVPs (TG 122.5.1) ferry 2,500 army troops across the Rhine River.

Pacific
Submarine Sealion (SS-315) sinks Bangkok-bound Thai oiler Samui off Trengganu coast, 05°18'N, 103°23'E.

Submarine Spot (SS-413) attacks Japanese Keelung-to-Shimonoseki convoy TAMO-49 escorted by escort vessel Ikina, Coast Defense Vessel No. 41 and minesweeper W.17, sinking army cargo vessel Nanking Maru off Yushiyama Island 25°28'N, 120°10'E, and damaging cargo ship Ikomasan Maru, which is beached off Matsu Island, 26°07'N, 119°57'E, to permit salvage. Spot is damaged, however, by gunfire from one or more of the escorts. Later that day, USAAF B-25s further damage Ikomasan Maru (see 26 March).

PB4Y attacks Japanese convoy TAMO-49, damaging cargo vessel Kitakata Maru, 29°09'N, 122°07'E.

U.S. freighter Oliver Kelly, while proceeding through Surigao Strait, is damaged by what is most likely a dud torpedo; Japanese midget submarine activity during this month is recorded from bases on the coast of Cebu.

Japanese transport Ken'Yo Maru is sunk by aircraft, Kagoshima Bay.

Japanese cargo ship Mansei Maru is sunk by USAAF mine in the Yangtze, near Shanghai, 31°19'N, 121°42'E.

USAAF B-29s (20th Air Force) bomb Kobe, Japan, damaging Japanese submarine I 158 and cargo vessels Enkei Maru and Teika Maru (ex-Cap Varella).

Gimme Some Money!

Hand-Outs In The Time Of The Plague

What if I contract the virus when I go to deposit the check?

Living Medal Of Honor Recipient

FRI 16 MAR 1945
Pacific
Iwo Jima is declared secured. Nevertheless, this day Pharmacist's Mate Second Class Francis J. Pierce, who distinguished himself the previous day, volunteers to accompany a patrol forward. Shot through the left arm, Pierce directs the treatment of a wounded marine and refusing having his own wounds dressed, fires his pistol to draw enemy fire. He remains in that exposed position in the line of fire until the casualty is safely borne away. For his actions this day and the previous one, Pierce is awarded the Medal of Honor.

Transported in medium landing craft (LCM) and one submarine chaser (SC), and supported by gunfire from three destroyers, two LCI(R), three LCS(L) and 2 LCI(M), Army troops (a reinforced company) land on Basilan Island Sulu Archipelago, P.I.

Tank landing ship LST-928 is damaged, by grounding, off Iwo Jima, 24°46'N, 141°19'E.

Japanese Coast Defense Vessel No.69 sinks while in tow, eight miles off Hong Kong, 22°00'N, 113°40'E, as the result of damage inflicted by USAAF B-24s (14th Air Force) on 8 March.

Japanese guardboat No.19 Gokoku Maru is sunk by U.S. aircraft, Kikaiga Jima, Japan.

Japanese merchant tanker No.1 Nanryu Maru is sunk by aircraft, 29°09'N, 122°01'E.

Today In Plague Tweeting

America gets what it deserves: You're going to lose all your money, & then you'll die. HA HA HA! #ServesYouRight #JusticeAtLast

— M. Bouffant (@MBouffant) March 16, 2020

Maybe There Won't Always Be An England

William Hanage / The Guardian:
I'm an epidemiologist.  When I heard about Britain's ‘herd immunity’ coronavirus plan, I thought it was satire  —  Vulnerable people should not be exposed to Covid-19 right now in the service of a hypothetical future  —  Your house is on fire, and the people whom you have trusted with your care are not trying to put it out.

 Denis Campbell / The Guardian:
UK coronavirus crisis ‘to last until spring 2021 and could see 7.9m hospitalised’  —  Exclusive: Public Health England document seen by Guardian says four in five ‘expected’ to contract virus  —  The coronavirus epidemic in the UK will last until next spring and could lead to 7.9 million people being hospitalised, a secret Public Health England (PHE) briefing for senior NHS officials reveals.

The document, seen by the Guardian, is the first time health chiefs tackling the virus have admitted that they expect it to circulate for another 12 months and lead to huge extra strain on an already overstretched NHS.

It also suggests that health chiefs are braced for as many as 80% of Britons becoming infected with the coronavirus over that time.

Again, the line between satire & so-called reality has been blurred, to say the least.

Click Clack

Lancetfish Sunk By Accidental Improper Operation Of Torpedo Tube Doors

THU 15 MAR 1945
Pacific
On Iwo Jima, Pharmacist's Mate Second Class Francis J. Pierce, assigned to a marine rifle battalion, is leading a stretcher party to a forward aid station when the group comes under heavy Japanese rifle and machine gun fire that wounds the other corpsman and two of eight stretcher bearers. Pierce takes charge, carries the newly wounded men to shelter and treats them before he draws his pistol and engages the enemy, covering the litter bearers while they carry three wounded leathernecks fo safety. After treating a hemorrhaging casualty who is hit again while the corpsman is taking care of him, Pierce expends the last of his ammunition and kills the enemy soldier who fired on them. Pierce, although exhausted and out of ammunition, makes two trips carrying wounded marines 200 yards over fire-swept terrain (see 16 March).

TF 92 (Rear Admiral John L. McCrea), consisting of light cruisers Richmond (CL-9), Concord (CL-10) and Trenton (CL-11) and seven destroyers, bombards Japanese installations on Matsuwa, Kurils.

Submarine Bream (SS-243) is damaged by depth charges off North Borneo, 05°36'N, 114°33'E, and is forced to terminate her patrol.

USAAF B-24s bomb Japanese convoy YUMO-01, which had departed Hong Kong the day before, but while the attack upon cargo ship Tatsumiya Maru proves unsuccessful, the Liberators damage one of the escorts, Coast Defense Vessel No.36, 23°03'N, 116°52'E.

USAAF B-24 sinks Japanese auxiliary powered sailing vessel Hoseki Maru in Tonkin Gulf, 18°34'N, 108°37'E.

Japanese submarine chaser Ch 21 is damaged by marine casualty off the south end of Namoa Island.

Japanese netlayer Wakamiya Maru is damaged by marine casualty off Keelung, Formosa.

Mediterranean
Destroyer Parker (DD-604) and three British destroyers carry out anti-shipping sweep in the Gulf of Genoa, but encounter no enemy vessels.

Atlantic
Submarine Lancetfish (SS-296) is sunk by accidental improper operation of torpedo tube doors, Boston (Massachusetts) Navy Yard.

Quoth the Wiki:

While tied up alongside Pier 8, Lancetfish flooded through an aft torpedo tube and sank 15 March 1945. She was raised eight days later and decommissioned 24 March. Assigned to the Atlantic Reserve Fleet in uncompleted condition, she was transferred to the First Naval District 27 February 1947 and was assigned to the New London Group 9 December 1952. She was struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 9 June 1958 and sold for scrap for $57,189 on 20 August 1959 having never gone to sea on patrol, to Yale Waste Co., Boston, Mass.

Although Lancetfish was commissioned at the time of her sinking, she never saw active service, and she is not counted among the 52 American submarines lost during World War II.

More salvaging at NavSource.

Keep It Clean

So much for "civilization": Like War of The Worlds, it took but one wee germ to set the best-laid schemes o' mice & Martians a-gley.After the crash: "Silver & gold have I none ..."

Sound Advice In A Time Of Plague

Not just your hands.Nice Mao jacket on Redd, too.

Stay Away From Me (If You Know What's Good For You)

Gov. Gavin Newsom asked Californians over the age of 65 on Sunday to isolate themselves from others and told neighborhood bars and pubs to close their doors as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state continued to rise.

I'm getting a shotgun, & if anyone gets w/in six ft. of me they are meat.

P.S.: If I do get it, I will be starting an infection tour. Closer to the ocean, where the real pigs live. AH-CHOO!!!