Posts from Splinter in thread „Daily life in the time of Covid-19“

Quote from Rice

Was all that heavy weaponry evident before the virus, or is that a new development?

To be fair, I'd seen them loads of times before, but seriously - at a health checkpoint?

Quote from Mckenna

Just watching what is happening at villa azul, i am shocked to see the display of force by the police and the kind of weapons chosen for such operation

I did not see any weapon that could be used with non lethal rounds,submachineguns do not fire rubber bullets.

This is starting to taste a lot like kool aid to me and i'm hoping this is not a dry run for something more sinister, the attitude and armament does not say '' we are here to help assist and contain''.......

Agreed completely.

I travel the streets every single day on my bike and regularly see Prefectura, Gendarmerie and Feds with those huge, menacing looking shotguns and I ask myself why. Why all the scary hardware when all we want to do is get on with our lives?

Here's a letter from the local police at La Nata, near Tigre, to residents of a gated community in Santa Clara, Nordelta, clearly threatening them with six months prison if they attempt to go out onto the streets and protest. I don't know what any potential protest would be about, but presumably quarantine restrictions?

On the other hand, many groups wander up and down Av 9 de Julio with huge flags and banners, and nobody says a word.

@JAN

It was practically a civil war and the people were asking for something to be done. I know, because I was living in Martinez in March 1976 and when the coup started, there was a palpable sense of relief that finally a sense of control had emerged.

Isabel Peron was clearly unfit to be president, not to mention Lopez Rega who pulled the strings and was waging his own war with his band of AAA terrorists.

My father worked at the British embassy where some of his staff were kidnapped on their way to work and never seen again, we had four bodyguards, I was almost dragged off a bus by the secret police and later on the country was facing a state of terror. State terrorism in other words.

It's not a period of time that can ever be underestimated and the likelihood of anything similar ever returning to Argentina certainly cannot be envisaged in my lifetime.

Which time period are you referring to @JAN ?

It all depends on what is meant by becoming another Venezuela. If that means a totalitarian regime, I highly doubt it.

How long have we been hearing about Argentina becoming another Venezuela?

For years and years, going back to 2011 and before. I really don't think we'll end up with anything like that situation because these are two entirely different countries with very contrasting resources and a people who simply wouldn't take it. Remember 2001?

Stole this from Facebook comments on the Fernandez/Larreta meeting where they weren't wearing masks:

Quote

Los barbijos son para la gilada, ellos son inmunes.

Pasean por todos lados y despues se juntan todos sin barbijo durante horas pero abrir una peluqueria es un crimen de lesa humanidad.

Chins are for the gilated, they are immune.

They walk everywhere and then they all get together without a chin for hours but opening a hairdresser is a crime against humanity.

That's it! I'm sleeping in the garage, alone, with full protective gear and several condoms just in case.

You never know.

Pics to follow.

For the second time week I've ridden past protests in 9 de Julio. Not very large, perhaps about 40 people observing social distancing, but with hardly anyone about to notice them, one wonders how effective it really is.

Today we went for a walk by the river for the first time in two weeks and although we saw a few people about, it was pretty deserted really. We wore masks, but only covered our noses and mouths when within about ten meters of other people. The public area by the riverbank was taped off by the police who sat in their patrol car and turned their siren on when we approached, i.e, fuck off and don't even think about crossing the line.

I then spotted what I think was a Ferrari, driven by a gent who was clearly enjoying the drive as he did several laps around the block. What a beauty!

We didn't hang around though, in spite of it being almost springtime weather because the mosquitoes began to invade.

And we weren't arrested and carted away, so that's something.

The Feds

Ferrari?

Palo borracho

Generally speaking, I'm not a conspiracy nut job, but this is now getting out of hand.

One could of course turn up at Carrefour, drop your trousers and bend over in the knowledge that a rectal temperature reading is more accurate than the Chinese pistol whipping.

And don't forget your yellow rubber gloves!

Carrefour security employees now measure your temperature with the pistol laser device before you enter their supermarkets, which I only heard about yesterday from Adri. It's not clear what their reaction is if you refuse to cooperate.

This move is yet another imposition and an abuse of power on everyone, especially since you probably will have been waiting in a queue for about half an hour in the first place.

The controls being placed on us are now getting out of hand. A new SUBE card is being developed which won't let you travel if you're not essential, cameras with temperature sensors are being installed in many places so that you can be tracked, the police controls are a joke and have made travelling a very challenging experience, especially when so many road junctions have been blocked off.

Average price of fags in the Chinese is around $180 where we are.

Anyway, today I'm delivering two boxes of fresh empanadas from La Lucila to a posh lunch at Recoleta and then a laptop from Florida area to Villa Urquiza, with 25% Sunday surcharge.

Later I'll be checking over a laptop with a suspect charger for a friend and then copying some VHS tapes for a customer.

Last week I digitalised 20 VHS tapes, several CDs and SD cards for another customer and tomorrow I already have Speedy Moto work lined up.

Frankly, I've never been busier and the quarantine extension, for me anyway, is most welcome.

Quote from Mckenna

Was able to get a pack of red point and tobacco at the barrio obrero kiosko just an hour ago.....i swear i felt i was in a bad 60's spy movie how he sold it to me... looking both ways and telling me it was his last...

You are in a bad 60s spy movie @Mckenna . Didn't anyone tell you?

Move around town with no good reason or drive your car without authorisation and you'll be in deep shit. On the other hand, make a home home-made banner out of loo rolls and sticky tape and then walk your fat, entitled ass around the city centre and become immune to the authorities.

Scheisse!

Quote from UK Man

Heard through the grapevine that due to the scarcity of cigarettes in the town a Kiosco who somehow had stock is charging 500 pesos for one packet of 20.

I suspected this would happen.

We could always arrange a Red Cross parcel.

I have a vested interest in lockdown, only because I've seen my courier service take off like nothing before. But travelling around and seeing 90% of businesses closed is quite shocking.

With sensible measures in place, there should be a relaxation for businesses to operate right now. It really has become a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Do the thought police make regular patrols and have your children reported you to the ministry of love?

Have you still got that ridiculous curfew down your way UK Man and @Mckenna ?