tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post4683676166671635133..comments2024-03-27T23:12:08.917-07:00Comments on CONTRARY BRIN: Lethally infectious! Was this virus man-made in Wuhan? And even worse viral memesDavid Brinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comBlogger114125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-2081102491178425982020-03-01T21:32:58.994-08:002020-03-01T21:32:58.994-08:00onward
onward
onward<br /><br />onward<br /><br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-9177427654262638402020-03-01T21:02:56.425-08:002020-03-01T21:02:56.425-08:00Tim,
Latest case in Australia stems from someone r...Tim,<br />Latest case in Australia stems from someone returning from Bali last Friday (Now trying to get in touch with all passengers on flight). After a month without adequate testing, Indonesia has just flagged two cases.<br /><br />I gather the Chinese are experimenting with foot taps by way of greeting.Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-23618561311183037742020-03-01T15:17:20.540-08:002020-03-01T15:17:20.540-08:00Deuxglass
It is very good news that the young see...Deuxglass<br /><br />It is very good news that the young seem resistant. The 1918 flu disproportinately killed healthy young adults. It was the overwhelming immune response that actually destroyed the lungs. Then secondary infections finished them off. If you have ever wondered why your kid's are being immunized against a bacteria called Hemophilus Influenza its because this was one of the secondary pathogens isolated early and confused with the real culprit.<br /><br />With your bit of medical trivia for the day delivered I'll do something that is for me not common. Agree wholeheatedly with Locum. Don't go the the ER for trivial things. You are reducing the survival chances for more vulnerable, sicker people likely exposing yourself to additional risks as well. <br /><br />At the FIRST robotics event we will be attending in a few days teams and officials are forgoing the usual handshakes and high fives. Lets hope it is an over reaction. <br /><br />We'll know in a few weeks I suspect.<br /><br />T. WolterTacitushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007086196578740689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-1679754979205164232020-03-01T12:00:19.545-08:002020-03-01T12:00:19.545-08:00For those who like wading through the nitty gritty...For those who like wading through the nitty gritty of planning details, the U.S. department of Health and Human Services updated in 2017 their Pandemic Influenza Plan. It's 50 pages of interesting and useful stuff. It gives us a lot of good details of the operational side.<br /><br /><br />https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/pdf/pan-flu-report-2017v2.pdfDeuxglasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03488986307291616948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-13792985120245659752020-03-01T10:41:27.958-08:002020-03-01T10:41:27.958-08:00Tim Wolter,
You gave a very good take on the viru...Tim Wolter,<br /><br />You gave a very good take on the virus situation. The French director-general of health (the top functionary in the department and not a politician) just announced that there are new cases in St. Martin and Guadeloupe which are tropical. They are watching it carefully to see if the virus has a harder time in warm and humid climates. Also he gave a good explanation of why children seem very resistant. Their lungs are immature and haven't yet developed the parts of the cell walls there that allow the virus to attach to them.Deuxglasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03488986307291616948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-81792600429042977952020-03-01T10:31:04.849-08:002020-03-01T10:31:04.849-08:00Starship SN1 blowed up real good Friday night. So ...Starship SN1 blowed up real good Friday night. So it looks like many months or perhaps years to analyze results, rethink, and redesign. Just kidding. They'll begin stacking SN2 in a few days or even hours (this time with the welding torches set properly), still planning orbit by year's end. Astonishing.<br /><br />Unlike the WH, I don't think Musk wants to bring boffins to heel. What he wants is a different thing. In fact, the opposite thing. As Dave Chappelle once said, "Mars, bitches".scidatahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07152319593457629592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-61174879199818679452020-03-01T09:58:27.746-08:002020-03-01T09:58:27.746-08:00Columnist Clarence Page continues to agree with me...Columnist Clarence Page continues to agree with me. Too much to quote in full, but he hits on all the points I made above: The administration response is more about "It's not my fault" than about solutions; Trump the private citizen repeatedly attacked President Obama for his response to the ebola crisis; and that gutting the CDC will turn out to be a mistake for which the answer to "Who could have known?" is "Anyone with a working brain."<br /><br />https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/clarence-page/ct-column-trump-coronavirus-cdc-page-20200228-25n2oswzanbzdbvj27mhl5w77a-story.html<br /><i><br />President Donald Trump’s news conference Wednesday about efforts to stem COVID-19, the coronavirus spreading around the world, quickly became focused on stopping the spread of blame to Donald Trump.<br /><br />As a result, the news conference meant to calm fears appeared to have precisely the opposite effect on jittery Wall Street markets and other yardsticks.<br /><br />...<br /><br />The markets had been spooked, he said, by the possibility of Bernie Sanders or one of the other Democratic candidates becoming the next president.<br /><br />...<br /><br />Then still a New York real estate developer and reality TV star, apparently hurt by the ridicule Obama had heaped on him before an audience of Washington elite at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, Trump tweeted the following:<br /><br />“Ebola patient will be brought to the U.S. in a few days — now I know for sure that our leaders are incompetent. KEEP THEM OUT OF HERE!”<br /><br />When the Ebola panic was growing as cases spread in West Africa, Trump called on Obama to cancel flights coming out of the region. “I am starting to think that there is something seriously wrong with President Obama’s mental health,” Trump tweeted in 2014. "Why won’t he stop the flights. Psycho!”<br /><br />...<br /><br />The story of the Trump pandemic response actually began early in his administration when he began cutting funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including major cuts in funds for global disease outbreaks and the National Security Council’s section for global health security.<br /><br />...<br /></i>Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-26512473801200981672020-03-01T09:43:18.197-08:002020-03-01T09:43:18.197-08:00A Public Service Announcement from an ER physician...<br />A Public Service Announcement from an ER physician, seriously:<br /><br />Since Robert has invoked SARS & CNN is in full panic mode due to an isolated case of 'community spread' in a Kirkland WA nursing care center, remember that SARS and MERS are (1) both endemic in North America for 8 and 17 years respectively, (2) both cause respiratory symptoms indistinguishable from COVID-19, and (3) both are CORONAVIRUSES that may be indistinguishable from any other coronavirus with our current rapidly-improvised COVID-19 test kits.<br /><br />And, please, please, pretty please, DO NOT GO to the nearest ER if you come down with mild to moderate upper respiratory (and/or flu-like) symptoms unless you want to completely destroy our tottering understaffed medical system.<br /><br /><br />Bestlocumranchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06812045410916208141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-37255227882323471582020-03-01T09:24:58.519-08:002020-03-01T09:24:58.519-08:00Tim said: "The CDC has hardly been gutted, bu...Tim said: "The CDC has hardly been gutted, but it has been encouraged to focus on its core mission which is stuff like this. Current director appropriately is a virologist."<br /><br />So? Only the most paranoid perceive the War on All Fact Professions as intended to destroy all technical abilities and bring total darkness. (Though yes, it sometimes seems consistent.)<br /><br />No, the aim is to bring the "boffins to heel" and teach the smarty-pants experts to obey like good little nerds. The entire pandemic preparedness division at CDC was not "behaving". Good excuse for a budget cut. For which we may pay thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of doallrs.<br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-25221785595100511842020-03-01T08:11:49.963-08:002020-03-01T08:11:49.963-08:00Robert:
There's a reason Ontario had most of ...Robert:<br /><i><br />There's a reason Ontario had most of the SARS cases (and deaths) in Canada.<br /></i><br /><br />Dave Sim, who is from Ontario (Kitchener) had a theory for that. Remember, this was just after the US had demanded a "coalition of the willing" to help invade Iraq, and Canada had politely refused. According to Dave, SARS was God's way of demonstrating to the liberals of Ontario the consequences of siding with China over the US. See, China was against the Iraq invasion, and SARS began in China, so...<br /><br />I wish I was kidding.<br /><br />Shortly thereafter, there were major unexplained power outages affecting both London and the US east coast. In all seriousness, I wrote to Dave asking if <b>that</b> might be a sign from God that he disapproved of the bombing by those two countries which was knocking out power in Baghdad. He accused <b>me</b> of playing parlor games.<br /><br />Again, I wish I was kidding.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-73823157755290603532020-03-01T06:37:09.873-08:002020-03-01T06:37:09.873-08:00Robert here,
firing all the folks in charge of pr...Robert here,<br /><br /><i>firing all the folks in charge of preparing and/or fast decision making re pandemics</i><br /><br />Mike Harris did that in Ontario just before SARS hit. There's a reason Ontario had most of the SARS cases (and deaths) in Canada.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-50652198139221732192020-03-01T06:29:45.701-08:002020-03-01T06:29:45.701-08:00But the thing is, congress, even the Republicans t...<i>But the thing is, congress, even the Republicans therein, are not supposed to be subordinates of the president. </i><br /><br />The thing is, Trump has spent his entire life in a situation where there <i>is</i> a boss, and it's usually been him. I don't think he understands any other way of organizations working. (To be fair, he's not the only one who makes that mistake. Talk to union shop stewards about the number of managers that need education in <i>actually following the contract</i> — also something that Trump struggles with.)<br /><br />Looking in from the outside, I suspect your country's biggest problem is that your political system isn't equipped to deal with someone who ignores the unwritten rules. Not just Trump — your whole Republican party (and its supporters) seem to feel that rules only apply to someone else, or that rules can be made and unmade on-the-fly for individual circumstances (something I'm dealing with at work right now, which is why I'm posting anonymously). In other words, the Law is what the strong men (and they're nearly always men) say it is.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-8166630500199720552020-03-01T05:36:07.319-08:002020-03-01T05:36:07.319-08:00Tony
Nigeria because I'm interested in the se...Tony<br /><br />Nigeria because I'm interested in the seasonality of Corona virus. That will tell us a lot about what lies ahead for the US. Of course influenza is a poor model here but it's one of the few we have long experience with. Historically the strain we are going to see starts in China in the summer but does not make it to the US until winter. With odd exceptions....why cruise ships in Alaska get hit early...?<br /><br />Will this be a fall/winter disease? If so we might see flares in places like Nigeria (and I don't believe their stats) and alas, Australia/NZ. If so, look out.<br /><br />Or maybe not. We've had similar epidemics fizzle out for reasons also unknown.<br /><br />Errors aside reducing the number of cases coming from known hotspots will at a minimum give us a smaller base to the pyramid and a little more time to figure things out. <br /><br />There is an excellent discussion of the economics of this coming out of the container ship industry.https://pjmedia.com/trending/the-shipping-container-industry-has-gamed-out-what-the-coronavirus-may-do-take-a-seat/ Actual article behind paywall but here's the short version.<br /><br />Re Ebola response it has been robust and ongoing. I know people in the field right now. The CDC has hardly been gutted, but it has been encouraged to focus on its core mission which is stuff like this. Current director appropriately is a virologist. In the way of our current body politic he did come in for some criticism for business dealings but he is in no way a science denying hack.<br /><br />T WolterTacitushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007086196578740689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-3460425539103714292020-02-29T20:59:43.212-08:002020-02-29T20:59:43.212-08:00Why Nigeria?
Well, they had sufficient medical ski...Why Nigeria?<br />Well, they had sufficient medical skill to see off Ebola.<br />They currently have one reported case.<br /><br />Incidentally, number of cases reported depends partly on the number of checks being made. Apart from the community cluster, Korea has been testing diligently. The US, not so much. Indonesia, barely at all.Tony Fiskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14578160528746657971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-91802254995380570972020-02-29T18:36:57.595-08:002020-02-29T18:36:57.595-08:00Rim said: "And limiting air travel from hot s...Rim said: "And limiting air travel from hot spots? Exactly the right thing to do. I know my progressive colleagues here have a hard time admitting it."<br /><br />You "know" this, Tim? You know no such thing. It is part & parcel with the desperate need of RASRs ti come up with "liberals are as cray as the rbid insanity of conservatism. Alas for this incantation, it's not even remotely true.<br /><br />"Mistakes wer made"... like firing all the folks in charge of preparing and/or fast decision making re pandemics? You cannot bring yourself to admit that was insanity and treason and the surface fizz of an al-out war vs all fact professions?<br /><br />David Brinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14465315130418506525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-20784798197890401532020-02-29T17:42:44.962-08:002020-02-29T17:42:44.962-08:00Not just Nigeria, Tim. Bangladesh, much of easter...Not just Nigeria, Tim. Bangladesh, much of eastern Europe, and the central African regions are all catastrophes waiting to happen.<br />Truth is the first casualty of war, and we will be at war with this disease soon enough. But in early days most government are interested in truthful and accurate information in order to fight it more effectively. For now, the exceptions seem to be the US, and North Korea.Zepp Jamiesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03024670772812706971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-27977017127411765822020-02-29T17:23:03.776-08:002020-02-29T17:23:03.776-08:00Tim Wolter:
I think efforts to "blame" ...Tim Wolter:<br /><i><br />I think efforts to "blame" the Trump admin for whatever happens with the coronavirus are ill considered.<br /></i><br /><br />Maybe so, although not as ill considered as previous efforts to blame President Obama for ebola--efforts in large part engaged in by then-private-citizen Donald Trump.<br /><br />I've said often that I'm willing to let Republicans determine the rules as long as everyone then plays by those same rules. I'm not willing to let Republicans lay the blame for any kind of s*** at a Democratic president or congress and then turn around and go "It's not really any individual's fault..." when something similar or worse occurs under their leadership. I've already related (though you might not have been "here" at the time) that I work with an Iranian expatriate who is happy with Trump as president and seems mainly concerned with the fact that the stock market does so well under him. When I reminded him how well the stock market did under President Obama and asked rhetorically whether he gave that president the same credit, he thought about how to answer and went with "Well, really it's not the president's doing either way." But he said it with the kind of look that meant "But in Trump's case, he <b>does</b> deserve the credit."<br /><br />Fairly or unfairly, your comment above struck me similarly.<br /><br />I'm not so interested in blaming Trump for the disease (what exactly would follow from that anyway?) as using this as an I-told-you-so teachable moment as to why many of us seemed to actually <b>care</b> about the fact that this man is unqualified to perform the duties of the office of the presidency. So far, we've been lucky enough for his incompetence and grifting to mean little more than entertainment and a means of upsetting liberals. I expect and fear that is about to change, and that even those among us who don't want a <b>liberal</b> president will rue the day they elected an <b>incompetent</b> one.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-80470674286059384732020-02-29T17:10:41.017-08:002020-02-29T17:10:41.017-08:00locumranch:
but I'm out -- I'll be nappin...locumranch:<br /><i><br />but I'm out -- I'll be napping on the sidelines... <br /></i><br /><br />Despite your Roarschach fantasies, we could wish for nothing else.<br /><br /><i><br />with the adults -- wake us when you've settled it amongst yourselves.<br /></i><br /><br />The adults no doubt going, "What do you mean 'us', white man?" :)Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-90943115995653017782020-02-29T14:34:26.962-08:002020-02-29T14:34:26.962-08:00Zepp I don't straight up trust any official i...Zepp I don't straight up trust any official information. Ever wonder why the 1918 virus was called "Spanish Influenza"? All the other major nations were fighting to the death in 1918 and had heavily censored newspapers. Only neutral Spain told mostly truthful accounts of what was going on. And their reward is to have the pandemic linked with their country forever!<br /><br />Keep a close eye on the cases in Nigeria. If it gets out of hand that's where we will see it first.<br /><br />T. WolterTacitushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007086196578740689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-10094580141136551872020-02-29T10:25:58.869-08:002020-02-29T10:25:58.869-08:00Doctor: the story is out now--CNN and the NYTs bot...Doctor: the story is out now--CNN and the NYTs both had it last night. <br />TCB: Trump is ALREADY blaming Democrats and their "open border policies" for the coronavirus. As of this morning, the US had 68 cases, Mexico 2. <br />Tim: One expects screwups. The testing kits that didn't work properly are a fairly typical example. Yes, there will be honest mistakes. But the incident at Travis goes far into the realm of utter, mindblowing incompetence. And the fact that all information relating to the spread of the disease is to be funnelled through Pence's office means we will be getting incomplete and inaccurate information, and flat-out lies. The Trump administration cannot be trusted. <br />Scidata: I always liked Robin William's description of how it is for Canadians living next to the US: "It's like being in a really nice apartment over a meth lab."Zepp Jamiesonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03024670772812706971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-81004969079959517012020-02-29T07:46:57.797-08:002020-02-29T07:46:57.797-08:00Chuddish children on both sides spoiling for a fig...<br />Chuddish children on both sides spoiling for a fight: The Right's boorish behaviour seems to court tumbrels & the Left's slanderous accusations invites pogroms.<br /><br />The odds are 5 to 1 that both sides will get the fight they want, but I'm out -- I'll be napping on the sidelines with the adults -- wake us when you've settled it amongst yourselves.<br /><br /><br />Best locumranchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06812045410916208141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-33067281220070893332020-02-29T07:35:32.526-08:002020-02-29T07:35:32.526-08:00I think efforts to "blame" the Trump adm...I think efforts to "blame" the Trump admin for whatever happens with the coronavirus are ill considered. Of course there will be screw ups. We are dealing with human beings. If the CDC people on the ground did not follow sensible precautions then then the ramifications are on them and on their supervisors. I'm a fan of firing the incompetent...or better yet their managers.<br /><br />But if we are being honest there are other factors. This is an evolving situation. Mistakes made weeks ago with the available info can't be judged by today's new data. Although of course it is the job of the managers, not the grunts, to project trend lines.<br /><br />And limiting air travel from hot spots? Exactly the right thing to do. I know my progressive colleagues here have a hard time admitting it, echoing as it does the concerns about Muslim Bans and Border Walls and such like. But hey, when Obama did something right I said so. Don't see everything as Black and White. Or Blue and Orange.<br /><br />T.WolterTacitushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17007086196578740689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-39726522242513044872020-02-29T07:26:37.427-08:002020-02-29T07:26:37.427-08:00Well, it's delayed by a day for leap year, but...Well, it's delayed by a day for leap year, but once again we move ahead from the six consecutive months with seven-or-more letters in their (English language) names to the six consecutive months with fewer-than-seven letters. Usually the most wonderful time of the year. <br /><br />With all that's going on, it's hard to be excited about such trivialities, but I've got to have <b>something</b> to think positively about.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-63703157717172436832020-02-28T19:53:11.147-08:002020-02-28T19:53:11.147-08:00Meanwhile, on the Dem side of the aisle: 'The ...Meanwhile, on the Dem side of the aisle: <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/28/democratic-party-has-problem-bloomberg-hires-super-tuesday-state-democratic-vice" rel="nofollow">'The Democratic Party Has a Problem': Bloomberg Hires Super Tuesday State Democratic Vice Chairs - "It boggles my mind that this doesn't seem to break any rules."</a><br /><br />An oligarch is trying to buy the only party that can stop the oligarchs.<br /><br />Do you want Robespierres? Because this is how you get Robespierres.TCBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08153506222271955110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8587336.post-12467369242678578172020-02-28T19:34:18.736-08:002020-02-28T19:34:18.736-08:00duncan cairncross:
If you actually worked for a l...duncan cairncross:<br /><i><br />If you actually worked for a large company you you would realise that any criticism of the CEO or the awful incompetent decisions taken will lead to your immediate termination!<br /></i><br /><br />But the thing is, congress, even the Republicans therein, are not supposed to be subordinates of the president. Their relationship is not one of boss to employee. And that is certainly true of the New York Times or CNN. The media's job is to inform the public of reality, and congress has an oversight role. The idea that they're doing something wrong, let alone something sinister by accurately assessing the root causes of governmental malpractice is absurd. I'll go further and assert that actively trying to defeat a president who is a clear and present danger to the country is no vice. <br /><br />Limbaugh, Mulvaney, and Benedict Donald himself are the un-American ones in the scenario.Larry Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058877428309776731noreply@blogger.com