"armed robber charged with breaching social distance laws" Topic

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Although armed only with a broom, this is still a serious matter but I couldn't help but laugh, albeit a bit hysterically, at the two robbers being charged for breaching social distance laws.

Truly, we live in crazy times.

We've got people doing stupid stuff here too, e.g. licking ice cream, or partially drinking beverages, and then resealing them and putting them back in the grocery aisles. Others are threatening people with Covid-19, and pretend coughing/sneezing on them.

Reportedly, if doing the latter, they can be charged with "terrorism", though it's really non-violent "terrorism", so they might get a stiff warning, small fine, and time off for good behavior, or jail/prison over-crowding (the latter just seems a bonus punishment to me to deter them from re-offending, but that's just me). We can't make jail or prison too uncomfortable for the criminals, since they might not like that.

Are they doing "catch and release" down your way too, allegedly because of Covid-19?

Here, they're releasing "non-violent" criminals, who are immediately re-offending – one committed a murder right after being released, and another robbed a bank literally the day after he was let go.

Wonder how long until they'll be released again because of the "crisis"?

Lots of $1,300 USD fines for failing to follow the SD laws. It's mainly 20-somethings who think laws don't apply to them & have parties or crowd together on a beach.

One guy in gaol in WA. He tested positive but travelled from Victoria to see his girlfriend who promptly threw him out. He continually broke out of the hotel the government put him up in. He even caught a bus!
A grub like this needs a spell inside to remind him we aren't kidding.

A bunch of para-medics in Tasmania held a dinner party & there was an outbreak that made the state government close three hospitals.

Having written all this, the vast majority of cross-grained, argumentative & anti-authoritarian Aussies are behaving splendidly in the crisis. 63 dead – too many but it could be a lot worse.

Yea, I can see that one.

Here, they arrested a guy who was all by himself on the beach. Seems to me the police closing in on him are/were more of a danger than his actions, especially to the go seeking some alone-time.

On the other coast, they arrested a guy surfing by himself, after they caught him. Apparently he dove off the board and made a swim for it from the US Coast Guard, before he was caught.

People here are starting to rebel at all the silliness, and the news shows are showing our leaders not following their own suggestions/proclamations. Of course, you can bet they won't be fined or jailed.

Yeah, the police tend to over react here too but wouldn't you want them to err on the side of caution?

At any rate, 4 more weeks before OZ scales back to normalcy.

And aren't we being a bit too serious on a board called 'Utter Drivel'? I'd better go watch some 'Three Stooges' re-runs.

threats of passing on a disease that could be passed to elderly of people with problem s in my mind should be stamped out by charging these people with attempted murder and lock their sorry asses up for 10years

Four more weeks? We can't even nail them down to the nearest year! A few days ago, the state health people announced that we'd done such a good job of being laid off and confined to our homes that the coronavirus peak had been moved from April to May--which means at least another month of lockdown after that. One more such triumph, and they can keep it going until the much-heralded fall resurgence.

My guess is that they've killed more people with "deaths of despair"--drugs, alcohol, and an upsurge in strokes and heart attacks--than the virus has taken. Maybe more than the virus could have taken.

I'd better go paint something.

"…but wouldn't you want them to err on the side of caution?".

Yes, but I live in an upside down world where they release "non-violent" felons who rob banks or murder, immediately upon being set free, while arresting and jailing people for quarantining in fresh air, so…..

They're talking 18 months here now, so they can create a well-working vaccine, and I suspect that is optimistic, since we don't know if that is even possible.

We've gone from "flatten the curve" to "no one must die from the virus", and yet they ignore tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of deaths annually from many other causes, e.g. the common cold, the flu, drinking, drugs, traffic accidents, etc., etc., and some that aren't politically correct to discuss, but that kill 100 – 125 X more people than this virus does, annually.

robert is correct.

"…but wouldn't you want them to err on the side of caution?".

Depends on what level of caution you are talking about. Are we saying we can't have any more coronavirus deaths before we can resume our economic lives? That will destroy the economy and kill many people according to a Lancet journal article that reported a study on the 2009-2010 recession.

We need to figure out a way to open up and reduce our chances of infection.

On the initial post:

The alleged robbers were arrested a short time later and charged with assault occasioning bodily harm and stealing

, so the refusal to distance was an add-on charge. They might beat it, though, by arguing that they used a broom as a weapon in order to keep a safe distance from their robbery victim.

Thresher01's comments about causes of death leads to review of the material here:
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Yesterday town police arrested a perp for domestic violence and while being placed in the squad care he coughed in the faces of the policemen.

So, only 60+ dead in OZ and 6468 current cases nationally. It looks like our lot (no matter how unimpressive they usually look) got it right. Federal & States formed a 'national cabinet' to co-ordinate their strategy & listened very carefully to medical experts.Clear & generally unambiguous communication & getting everyone on-side. Political differences have been minimised. It's clearly working.

I'm willing to believe in their further 4 weeks of Lockdown.
There will be a spike then but they've planned to contain this too with vigorous tracking, etc. Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore etc, there are examples on how to deal with this crisis effectively & minimise deaths, cocoon the economy and then come out of the crisis in a position of strength.

Our lot (with OECD backing) think a 6-7% growth of our economy in 2021 is possible.

But "life as normal" isn't possible for many, many months.

Meantime, broom-wielding "free-enterprise" types, will be charged with one thing or another and life goes on.

On the plus side, violent crime is down. On the downside, voyeurism is up, because people are bored. So be sure to draw your blinds… ;-)

Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore etc, there are examples on how to deal with this crisis effectively

It's worth mentioning New Zealand, which really took advantage of being islands in the South Pacific.

On the downside, voyeurism is up

I pity the fool who peeps into my house at the wrong time. He's gonna have to make a sanity check.

I also want to "err on the side of caution" Ochoin. That's why I favor capital punishment. Oh. That wasn't what you had in mind?

"Caution" is not a substitute for prioritization.

When I see a headline about police overstepping the mark that doesn't specify the location I think to myself, 'Ah, Victoria…', and when I check the details I'm rarely disappointed.

And aren't we being a bit too serious on a board called 'Utter Drivel'? I'd better go watch some 'Three Stooges' re-runs

Hear hear!!!

That where the Beast joke came from?

youtu.be/b0hnZGLoxwE

Oberlindes Sol LIC link: CDC Leading Causes of Death US-2017

Number of deaths for leading causes of death:
* 647,457 Heart disease
* 599,108 Cancer
* 169,936 Accidents (unintentional injuries)
* 160,201 Chronic lower respiratory diseases
* 146,383 Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases)
* 121,404 Alzheimer's disease
* 83,564 Diabetes
* 55,672 Influenza and pneumonia
* 50,633 Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis (kidneys)
* 47,173 Intentional self-harm (suicide)

I am surprised at the flu and pneumonia numbers – thought they'd be higher.

A lot of dead and a lot of ways to die …