What should I use to wipe off my keyboard, mouse, computer , and cordless phone? My tech friend advises avoiding any water-based cleansers that I use in my kitchen and bathroom.

Ah yes, open the prisons. That will end well.

@1: Well, soy sauce of course.

I guess it takes a crisis for the great writers to start hitting it out of the park. Another excellent article Charles.

I take exception only with that little bit towards the end, but that is simply a matter of emphasis. Australia is under center-right leadership, and it is doing a very good job. But like Canada under Harper, when Australia went right, they didn't go all batshit crazy like Reagan, let alone George W. Bush, let alone Trump. They still had a functioning government, with input from the left. They are still a liberal democracy, even if they are controlled by the center-right. That allowed them to learn from the experiences of the rest of the Asian democracies (who largely did better than the European ones) in dealing with the crisis.

Seattle -- and the rest of the state -- has the good fortune of being under the auspices of a center-left governor who is, at the very least, sensible. Despite the federal government completely, utterly, fucking this crisis up -- he has managed to push aside the petty insults and do what it right, even if there may be a political penalty. That snake has balls.

"....you're only as safe as the most marginal people in your community."
The thousands of people defecating on sidewalks, shooting up with dirty needles in the parks?
Those people?
Seattle will not fare as well as Jonathan thinks.

And the mortality rate for this virus in this country is not known but is far far less that 2.5%.
Less than a tenth that figure, comparable to the common flu,
you know,
the one Leftists haven't shit themselves over,
the one we haven't destroyed our economy over...

This virus targets the already old and seriously ill;
So far no one under 50 has died in America;
in the whole world no one under q10 has died from it.

COVID-19 is not a national emergency;
societies' economy-killing social anaphylactic over-reaction is.
We have met the Enemy and he is us...

@1 Although bleach is a terrific disinfectant, it's probably not the best choice for electronic devices. However, pretty much any liquid "disinfectant" cleaner will work as long as you're not hosing it down lol. Wipe cloths are also a good bet, but in scarce supply now. Other choice would be a spritz of isopropyl alcohol and wiping with a clean rag should be fine.

Excellent interview & info! Thx Charles for putting this together!

Who the fuck is @5 working for? What the fuck is their endgame?

I think it is Trump. Same mindless babble ... trying to make a point, but falling short. Completely wrong with the one fact they cite, but ready to hold onto it until, of course, it is proven wrong.

@9 -- Except that no country -- rich or poor, free or not -- took that approach. If any country was willing to just let a good portion of their country die for the sake of the economy, it was China, but even they shut down the factories (!).

@15
Of course, the more poor ppl that die, the higher the wages are gonna fly when the dying is done.

Happened after the Black Plague, which basically engendered the idea of a middle class in the first place; women were (slightly) emancipated after the charnel houses of WWI and the Spanish influenza shut down; after WWII universal-ish prosperity had a long run...

If this current sitch goes on long enough, the toffs will have a reduced but empowered working class to fear and/or respect. Provided of course they don't croak themselves, or fuck off to Mars or some shit.

Norovirus is resistant to hand sanitizer. After 50 years work, there is no vaccine. It killed 50,000 people per 3-month period, averaged, last year.

COVID-19 succumbs to hand sanitizer. Progress towards a vaccine is promising and rapid. It's killed 9,000 people in the last 3-month period.

Hysteria is a social construction. More disease is a reality of more population. Reality can't be regulated or legislated against by Jay Inslee. It is our job to adapt to nature, not visa versa. If you find this world too brutal to live in you have the option of leaving anytime you want. For the rest of us - end the event bans and let nature run its course.

@3: jerk

8
Here, let us explain it to you like you are a 5 year old.
We'll try to use short words.

This virus kills old dying people, people who are already going to be dead from something sooner than later.
People die all the time, btw; evidently you haven't heard....
The hysterical panicked overreaction we are enduring is destroying tens of trillions of dollars of our economy.
And causing damage, mostly to the poorest most vulnerable elements of society, that will take years, maybe decades to overcome.
It is a poor expenditure of resources.

Are you squeamish about people dying?
Here is a cause you can get behind;
ban all automobile traffic.
now.
Instantly.
the payout, in human terms?
Over 35,000 lives saved.
Every year.
guaranteed.
sure, there would be some economic cost but what heartless monster would trade 35,000 lives for money?
Would you?
Do you advocate we stop all automobile, bus, truck traffic, now?

Moron.

"And it is no secret our country is under cyberattack by a global effort to undermine our elections and public health."

... elections, and public health, and the Super Bowl, and free-flowing knowledge about UFOS, and and and and ...

Garb has never seen a conspiracy theory he didn't like. It's like the FEMA Camp conspiracies of the mid 2000s during GW Bush's reign (of course, then Obama was elected, and the right-wing CTers took the FEMA camp theories from the left-wing CTers). We spent 16 years just weeks away from all being rounded up and taken to concentration camps!

"California estimates 25.5 million residents — 56% of the state — will get virus in next 8 weeks"
(https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/19/coronavirus-california-estimates-25point5-million-residents-56percent-of-the-state-will-get-virus-in-next-8-weeks.html)

So remind me, why are we bothering with these disruptive, economy-crashing measures if the inevitable is inevitable? Oh yeah, because Dumbo Inslee wants to prove to everyone he has the biggest dick in the 50. Open all events, let nature run its course. Run PSAs encouraging every infected person to infect 15 others.